Robert,
I see your point on LNT, but it's not particularly UL. Are you bringing your own wood from home or scavenging for dead wood in the area? because that is not LNT either.

Each region is different.


In So Cal, many wilderness areas do not allow gathering wood, or even wood burning from home, so the only stove allowed is gas with on/off kill switch, exception are car camping park campsites with a fire pit.

Also in So Cal, there are regular annual forest fires, that most of the times the rocks are already blackened from the fire season, and the current forest service spin is that controlled burning, lightning fires or forest fires are healthy for the forest to rejuvenate with a natural cycle.

I'm not a biologist of any kind, but from my personal experience that is not true. I always see poison oak growing out of old ashes and I have seen saplings growing directly out of old, abandoned steel fire rings. If it's actually scorching all of the nutrients in the dirt, crush up the coals into a powder by stomping, scatter them, and kick up the dirt a bit, mix it around.
But maybe I'm wrong, or maybe I am right and it's all propaganda.

a quick search yielded supporting info that ashes are good nutrients for soil.

http://www.emmitsburg.net/gardens/articles/frederick/2004/ashes.htm

So that addresses the sterile ground long term damage.

LNT is another topic.

"I gathered a bunch of stones and rocks in a circle (firepit style) put the wood fuel source in the middle, then the pot on top of the rocks. "

You don't need any rocks. Rock rings are are meant to designate a fire pit they do little in terms of helping the fire. Unless you build up a tall wall of rocks which almost no one does. Clear a spot of duff and place your pot on or next too the coals not on rocks. Better yet buy a wood stove. They help capture and direct the heat of a small fire and make it more efficient.

Okay so the system is bigger than the pot... I am just wondering if that causes boil times to be reduced? also, that ring that was make for the bottom to increase air flow... can another ring be made for the top that will better seat the pot to add a better chimney affect? Also, check out the firefly design... notches are cut on the top to increase the air flow, and some wires can be strung across the top so that smaller pots can be made. Seems like it would be a good addition to this system so that you would not need the large holes on either side (which to me would mean a lot of heat escaping rather than heating up the pot). If a fuel hole could be cut in the side but still leave the upper ring in tact with six notches cut out of them for air flow, to me that would seem more efficient?

Whoever came up with this idea is genius by the way :)

Inspired by this stove and the mesh floor in Colin Krusor's rollup stove (found here: http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=44302), I thought that maybe a stainless steel sink drain cover would work to create a false floor that would allow airflow up under the woodfire without having to balance the stove on a separate piece that makes it less stable. The mesh has a 4.5" diameter while the opening is 4.75", so it's held in place with two titanium stakes.




I got to try it out the other day while camping on one of the Boston Harbor Islands, one of the few places in the area where you can still have a fire on a beach. We had a little fire for roasting hot dogs that was dug down in the sand and had a windblock around three sides, but was still blowing horizontally, to give you an idea of the wind. Meanwhile, the little IKEA woodstove worked great--just a handful of sticks and it got my mac and chili boiling. Every couple minutes I lifted the pot off and dropped a few more little sticks in. Everything burned to ash.



Perhaps in less windy conditions there would need to be an opening cut in the side, but the uncut caddy worked great for me, and couldn't be easier to put together.

Edited by GregPehrson on 08/12/2012 13:11:52 MDT.

https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/v36xJHwCdgLBTToQybbadg?feat=directlink

This desing i use now. It is bigger and i can store my matches and cotton balls between stove and a pot. Works very well!