Camping Stove Advice Sought

Ok, comfortablynumb--that was a cool website--cool enough that I think maybe even I can fabricate one. So before buying anything, I think I will get some cans and see what I can put together. I just have to try it now!

Quint--I think that little stove you lost is the same as Campmor.com sells in their latest catalog. Called the 'Esbit' and sells for $10.

All the talk about a Coleman and I am reminded that my sister has a two-burner one if I ever want to borrow it. Thing is, these alternate fuel stoves cost much more than I want to pay, and I don't want to smell gasoline out there.

Thanks for the heads-up about open fires in some parks. I'm not heading west and we stay pretty wet here, so that isn't an issue for me this season.

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This is not stove related but,
We save the racks out of old ovens/ranges. They are handy to take with us (not hiking). We build a rock ring or dig a hole, light a log and set the oven rack over it. It holds our pans and coffee pot nicely.

..........William , I tried the link but it didn't work . I think this might work...
........... http://www.brigadequartermaster.com , fordy..

I don't like the Zip stoves. When you really want and need a quick, hot flame, all of the wood and twigs around are likely to be soaking wet or covered in snow. When I had one I spent time walking along and stockpiling fuel for the stove. That's not what I want to be doing when I am out in the woods. And if the batteries die on the trail you are totally and completely out of luck.
I have used the traditional two burner Coleman stoves and when they work they are great. You need to have a set of wrenches and a spare generator along because the generators seem to die just when you least expect it. They are also subject to clogging if the fuel isn't kept super clean or if any rust develops in the fuel tank.
The MSR type stoves where my next try and they work well if you really pay attention to fuel cleanliness. They can be field serviced pretty easily, but I had to do it in the dark in a rainstorm one at night and it was not fun. They also don't simmer for beans; great for boiling, but they don't like to run at full throttle.
What I am using now and what I dearly love is a Coleman Expponent Expert. This stove takes a special fuel cartridge from Coleman that is a combination of propane and isobutane which make it burn hotter and work better below zero. The large canisters cost $3.99 at Gander Mountain and for 6 of us for 6 days camping we will use four canisters, cooking breakfast and dinner. The big advantages of this stove are ease and speed. There is no fiddling around with gathering fuel and pouring fuel; just a quarter turn twist to connect the canister and you are in business. It is fast to heat water; about 3 minutes to boil a quart. It can also be turned down to simmer. The single burner stove costs about $45 on sale and a floding double burner one is about $60.
I love these things because they are simple and fool proof, which goes a long way for me when I am cold, wet, tired or in bad weather

Dang comfortablynumb! Now I want to build one. or two. I have just spent my whole morning looking at stove plans. Found a lot of cool stuff. I had forgotten about the pop can stoves. Here is a site I found that has tons of different plans:
http://home.comcast.net/~agmann/stove/Links.htm

Including the best description of a gasifier I have seen:
http://home.comcast.net/~agmann/stove/Wood.htm#Wood

I finally found out what the gas wick was!

Enjoy!

Sylvar

Greetings BCR

I like the zip stove. I don't do any real cooking on it (I mainly warm things up) that would require more than 5 or 10 minutes use at a time. You can keep a set of AA batteries in a solar charger- that will keep your fan going- and they really are easy on the batteries as stated earlier in the thread. I cut a 12' by 12' platform out of plywood to help keep mine more stable (I used small screws to hold the base in place).

As far as fuel goes you can keep scrap pieces of 2 x 4 on hand (or in car/ bike/ ATV) for anytime you can't locate good fuel in your area. I split the scraps as needed with a hatchet.

Happy Trails

Alright... I've built a couple of those alchohol stoves now... very cool. It took less than ten minutes to build. I've burned them both several times now, but I haven't done a boil test yet. I think I'm gonna like these!

Sylvar

I used the MRE heaters when the price got down reasonable and they were plentiful. When I did really lightweight camping I found MREs to be extremely handy. The whole meal in one very sturdy bag. You could buy a case of them fairly cheap and I thought they taste as good as or better than the frozen TV dinners you get at the store. They were light and I didn't have to worry about them spilling or getting wet or messed up somehow.

I could heat them with the MRE heaters or by boiling some water in the canteen cup. A simple, tasty and filling meal with minimal effort. I would always supplement or sometimes completely replace the MREs with wild foods of various sorts but the MREs were awfully nice when I had been exploring or hiking all day and just wanted to set up camp, eat a hot meal and get some sleep. During a long hiking/fishing/hunting/exploring trip I ate them exclusively for around 2 weeks and I did notice that they tended to...well...make the works run slow if you get my meaning. Some Marine friends of mine said that was a common complaint among the troops.

Quint--I hear you, I remember that effect from my Army days, though the C-rations always seemed worse.

Today I found the perfect solution to a grill topper for the cans! I was at a computer repair store getting a new ventilator fan and saw these small circular grills with four eyelets sticking off the sides. For $1 (maybe overpriced, but I was so excited!) I brought one home and it makes a perfect fit for two sized cans--the 5 inch coffee can and the large 'chunky' soup can. So now you can get the smoked taste of grilling on the smalle efficient grill. I plan on trying a few experiments tomorrow. I thought it was well worth the $1 since I have no welding/metal skills to brag about. I also think it might make a more stable base for a metal cup.

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for light weight stoves you can try www.cheaperthandirt.com or www.sportsmanguide.com plus they both offer free catalogs

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yea those gassifier hobo stoves really do work, ive slapped them together more than once, and an armload of small twigs can cook all day. it will take the first 10 tries to get it to stop smoking but once you figure it aout... that design is really cheap and easy.

I was always gonna make a good heavy one to take along but havent as yet got past using #10 cans... lol

for a while, I was just putting a shovel full of hot coals in a coffee can that i punched a hole in the bottom side, sticking the brass tip of a fireplac bellows in there and pump pump pump.... with a pot of water on the top open end.
like a mini forge, you get boiling water in no time, from your campfire coals!

just pack a coffee can and a fireplace bellows (with a metal tip) and you have a super hot boiler.
DONT USE ALUMINUM POTS... it melts the bottom right out (if you pump it to much like I did) the nice thing about the "can o' coals" method is if you pump slow, you got low heat, if you pump fast, you got more heat.

a tip for this can o coals method; have some old cold charcoal wood handy and broken up, as the coals burn out toss some of the old charcoal chunks on the top and POOF they ignite and keep the stove going.

Ive used bricks to make the "tower", even rocks. once I used a hollow stump.

but dont forget the bellows.... I always carry a bellows with me.

with a 3 lb can full of hot coals and a steady slow pump on the bellows, I can boil a 4 quart pot of water in about 5 min.... and less is faster.
perking coffee is fun, as long as you have a steel pot and not an aluminum one like I melted into a lump. lol

actually the only requirement for this method if you can find the right rocks,slabs, stump or heck even a hole in the dirt... is the bellows!

but it sure works better with a 3lb coffee can.

since I have insomnia i paint sketched an example. :haha: ... to boil a pot of water with no fussing, this is da bomb.

To make your own bellows, check this article out: http://www.motherearthnews.com/arc/3195/

You could probably make a small camper size. I am going to try a simple 'blow pipe' using a piece of copper tubing. It could be used and then set down, so as not to get hot and stay hot. Blistered lips wouldn't do. I also thought a piece of siphon hose on the end might make it easier to use.

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You know what I find works well...A length of aluminum arrow shaft. It doesn't transfer heat like the copper does. Keeps the lips a little safer! I always take one on the trail with me. I can use it as a straw to drink from a spring too!

Sylvar