Anybody have a write-up on their homemade wood stoves? How are those IKEA wood stoves holding up?

I'd really like to make my own, hoping this thread might consolidate info from various sources, user experience, and updates.

I made a stove based loosely on the Bush buddy. I used soup cans for my raw materail and basic handtools.
Here is a picture of my baby in action:
Let me weigh it here in real time...
stove itself 4.5 ounces
.9 liter titanium pot and fry pan lid 6 ounces

Basically i took a can of fruit salad as an outer, cut the bottom off and drilled 3/4 inch hols onling the open bottom.
Then i took a can of baked beans and drilled the sh#t out of the bottom, cut the top off and also drilled holes in the top about 2 inches down for secondary combustion air. Then i cut a hole in the top of the outer can to press fit the inner can.
For a pot stand i used 1/2 inch square chicken wire rolled into a circle.
I started with an air starved or rich mixture and added air holes to the combustion air(bottom) of the outer can until smoke was minimized. Then i added holes to the upper part of the inner can until I got the secondary combustion to burn blue.
The completed stove burns from the top down and boils two cups of water in anywhere from 9 to 12 minutes depending on the wetness and quality of the wood used.
If you are interested in a Bushbuddy of similar wood stove i recommend making one out of soup cans to see if the strategy is right for you before you plunk down the major cash.

That's pretty close to what I was looking for, thanks for that!

Hope we get some more designs and examples posted up, and we can get something cookin' here!

I hope the pictures show up right. you can print them out and use them as templates to cut your own. 4 sides and one bottom. Mine is .040 stainless steel cut by cnc waterjet.

I posted my own version of an inverted downdraft gassifier back in 2006. Might provide some ideas.

Should have some burn-off contest results next week. Though I understand that the data won't be readily accepted by Bob Gross types.. So far we have 5 different stoves entered. Mmmnn woodsmoke!

Inverted downdraft gasifier.

I modeled this one after the stove featured in this bpl thred from 2008. It provides a brief but concise write-up.

The stove pictured above and the stove in the 2008 article differ in only a few ways:

- I used a "start collar" as the pot support instead of hardware cloth. You can find one in the plumbing section of one of the bigger hardware stores.


By bending the precut tabs, a start collar can form a nice tight fit.

A start collar is firmer than hardware cloth, yet still easy to manipulate with a pair of tin snips or even scissors. It acts as a small windscreen where it counts, and by drilling out the two rivets that hold the piece together, the circumference is customizable allowing it to nest in the can's rim when in use/inside the stove when not. I did my best to imitate the Bushbuddy's pot support:


Bending the tabs that make contact with the stove make it significantly stronger.


- Rather than JB Weld, I used Rutland Furnace Cement:


This is no epoxy, making it ready to use right out of the tub. At $5.00, it's hard to beat.

J-B Weld claims the red and black stuff can withstand a constant temperature of 500 degrees fahrenheit. Rutland claims their's "withstands temperatures over 2000° fahrenheit without failure." I'm no chemist, and I've only used it in this one application, but it appears to be a myo-stover's dream. Maybe someone with more experience with the product could chime in.


- Not having a punch, I just used a drillbit for the holes. A punch would have been much cleaner, but with a few hand files and sandpaper you can at least prevent the holes from slicing a finger.


- Lastly, prior to assembly, I two-coated all of the components not exposed to the flame with Rustoleum's high temperature paint. I've been curious about the proper application of this stuff. If it provides even a little bit of safe rust protection, I'll be satisfied. The metal seemed happier in general, post burn, with the paint.


The stove all packed up. The top lid is not necessary.


Save the bottom from the larger can in order to properly stash the windscreen inside the stove.


Remember that any pot support/windscreen combo should provide access for adding fuel.

Edited by dschreiber41 on 02/20/2011 12:11:33 MST.

Thank you all for the posts. This make much more sense to me over alcohol. I also need a project between now and spring.