Backpacking Stove half-day build

[Lynn LeFey]

First, sorry I've been quiet lately. I've been working on something else, and didn't really feel like I had anything meaningful to add.

Until this afternoon.

Every now and then, I just decide I need to make something. Most everything I make is shoddy and half-fast .

Including this, but it's still kind of neat.

It's a folding camp stove based on the Emberlit UL stove.

Sorry to say I didn't take pics of the construction process, but I will describe it.

But first, the (mostly) finished product...


And here it is folded (with Leatherman Rebar for scale)...


And what you all came for, I'm sure, the plans...


Okay, so the plan pic you have is WAY nicer than the first one I drew out. But I hoped making a clean version would allow others to copy it more easily.

How I made it: First, I drew it out on 1/4" grid graph paper. Then, I cut the pieces out from the graph paper, laid them on my metal, and traced them with a sharpie. Yeah, seriously high tech. I cut the pieces out of the metal using tin snips. I used a dremel to smooth the edges, and to cut the slots in the wall tabs and the slots in the walls that receive the floor plate tabs. I then fitted the pieces together, and lengthened some of the slot cuts as needed, as well as trimmed some side edges to make the thing fit together (without hammer and swearing). Then I used a drill to drill the air holes in the walls and back to the dremel to smooth the hole edges.

I can't swear to it, but I think this is 15 gauge sheet metal. It was scrap left in my garage by the previous owner.

I think I should note, I didn't cut the crenellations on the top of the walls of this stove as seen in the plan, because I didn't think they were necessary. However, on thinking it through, I'm pretty sure they're needed to allow the fire to 'escape' from the top when a pan is present. I'll cut them in later.

Total weight is about 7 ounces. I have about four hours work in it at the moment, and $0 in materials, since I had everything on hand.

I'm going to make a carry sack for it next out of some scrap material I have.

This doesn't have the sloping walls of the Emberlit, mostly because I didn't want to figure out the dimensions of the floor plate. Yes, I was too lazy to go hunt down a ruler.

[Sparky415]

Good job Lynn 

If you made the 'cross supports' deeper/wider you wouldn't need the crenellations 

 

[ducttapetech]

Nice Lynn! Also, high tech sometimes is not always the best tech. That is very  nice.
Good work Lynn. Also welcome back. Glad I am not the only one who has been away for a while.

That's us mobile.
Nate

[Lynn LeFey]

If you made the 'cross supports' deeper/wider you wouldn't need the crenellations 

That's a great solution, since the cross supports are also the weakest pieces.I could also 'notch' them so when set inside the stove, they wouldn't slide anywhere. I mean, on a stove that actually FIT correctly. On mine, i have to jamb them in to begin with.

I may make that revision tomorrow. Thanks. 

[Aloha]

Looking good.   

[SAKnight]

Looks great! Glad to see you around

[David]

Looks like you did a great good build Lynn!

[comis]

That's really good job!  At the first glance, I thought it was a product purchased!

So what's the cooking plan with it?

[SAK Guy]

Excellent!!!! I wish I could things like this!!!!

[Lynn LeFey]

So what's the cooking plan with it?

These are usually used in backpacking the way small gas stoves are, which is generally just to heat water. I have a canteen cup, a cheap mess kit and a set of nesting pots. I'll probably try each out. First, I think I'll see how long it takes to boil 2 cups of water. Then, maybe I'll try actual 'cooking' on it, but not sure what I'll make yet.

I'm also curious how much wood this thing will consume, particularly compared to a little soup-can wood gas stove. Those wood gas stoves are lighter than this, and burn very clean with very little fuel, but as they are top lighting, they're a bit of a pain in the butt to get started. This stove, with a side fuel port seems like it'd be pretty easy to get going and keep fed for as long as possible. Also, once a wood gas stove starts, it's a bit hard to stop until it burns out (or you have to deal with red-hot coals and the very hot metal of the stove).

I guess the truth is, I'm just going to mess around with it and see what happens. I'll report results back in this thread.

[Lynn LeFey]

Okay.

Well... I tried an initial burn, and determined it wasn't getting enough air, so I took my dremel and cut out the areas between the air holes, connecting hole 1 and two, holes three and four, and holes five and six, to make 3 elongated openings per side (except for the front which didn't need it).

After this, it'd boil 2 cups of water in about 8 minutes. That was in a little pot from one of those cheap aluminum mess kits with a lid to cover it. Like this kit (I do not endorse this product, I just happen to have one)...
http://www.starmarinedepot.com/coleman-1-person-aluminum-mess-kit.html?gclid=CPvD_96LlcgCFdY7gQodSkkFaw

Next, I tried a canteen cup. It boiled in about the same amount of time.

The Good: It was incredibly stable, and readily accepted the containers on top. It did indeed boil water in about the same amount of time a little gas stove would. It uses freely available materials for fuel, so in most of the world it would run essentially infinitely. And the amount of fuel required was pretty minimal. And, there's the obvious advantage that it packs up flat.

The Bad: First, this thing is a pain in the ass to keep running, requiring constant screwing with the fuel to keep it burning. Second, it eats the fuel rapidly, creating a butt-ton of ash, smoke, and soot (on both the stove and your cooking container). This alone would make me never want to use one for hiking. Clean-up sucks and that's not something I'd want to deal with when backpacking. So, for SHTF end-of-the-world? Ehh... okay? For real world. Nope, complete fail.

I have made a number of the 'wood gas stoves' from soup cans, and find that while they're harder to get started, they run like a dream when the get going. They use even less fuel than this, burn clean, and as a bonus, produce charcoal (if in very limited quantity). They lack the ability to pack flat, but weigh less than this thing by a few ounces.

On another matter... I made a container for the stove.


This is one of those instances where I can't tell if I'm a genius or an idiot. Yes, it's just the back pocket of an old pair of jeans, with the waist area and two belt loops. If this had been a pair of jeans with a button close pocket, it would have been perfect. I may actually go hunt my local thrift places for such a thing. The two belt loops would allow me to create a number of closures. Not exactly relevant to the stove issue, but it can also be threaded through the belt on your side in the 2 o-clock or 10 o-clock positions as a belt pouch. Or you can tie cordage to each belt loop and have a fabulous little 'apocalypse chic' handbag.

[Sparky415]

Genius