Saturday, January 18, 2020

backpacking TENT wood camp stoves - DIY options? Popcorn bucket tent stove and more

So I have been studying DIY tent stoves - which is a step up from a DIY camp stove (since the whole smoke exhaust pipe deal is not as stringent). I recently got hold of a popcorn tin bucket (thin steel) - and have been pondering making a tent stove that can be hauled in a backpack... someone must have done so already (Indeed - see below for the vid!). but in the mean time...

Turns out there's quite an array of marketed commodity choices now!! Let's take a look before we ponder the DIY option.

Here's a Riley Baby Eagle stove offered on ebay

I'm sure Riley has a website also. I'll get to that.

So this is "galvanized steel" (like duct sheet metal you can buy at any DIY store).

$120.

It looks very well made - sturdy with legs. Wonder what the inside looks like?

So it has a double bottom - to maintain heat and keep from burning out - with air coming in from below. Pretty awesome.

But it doesn't have a baffle. I wonder if it has a damper included. No - they are pretty easy to install - if you don't break the latch toggle thing like I did.

So notice I said BACKPACKING - this stove is 4 pounds and so it is designed precisely for backpacking. Are you supposed to take it apart? NO - it's not "foldable." that's ok. It's small enough - to probably haul in a big pack.

This ebay offering is a bit more pricey - $140 - but offers a long chimney pipe (the one above would require purchasing more chimney pipe).

Nope - the "extra" flue pipe costs "extra" also.

still you get six pieces of chimney pipe.


This metal looks maybe thicker?

Yep - it is STAINLESS steel. So maybe thinner but can not oxidize like the galvanized zinc.


So you gotta figure that stainless steel is much more preferable than having zinc coated steel.

Weighs 7 pounds - but again there is more flu pipe.

But it's not a STANDARD size - for elbows, etc. compared to a standardized 3 inch pipe on the first stove.... So it's a difficult call. You want elbows to exit the tent.

I would not just trust a spark arrester for safety against a tent.

So a bigger version of same stove sells for $205 - and weighs 20 pounds

OK

a 12 pound "cold rolled steel" tent stove for about $200

So there's probably 10 videos on youtube - demonstrating this Kni-co Packer stove for winter tent camping

 
 So has a damper as well - unlike the first two.

With these two products, the cold rolled product has low carbon content and it is typically annealed, making it softer than hot rolled sheet.
I think that means just to "work" with it for production.

So that's the "go-to" back packing "standard" stove - compared to the really expensive titanium stoves.




Fascinating - Russian backpacking tent stove.
$133.

just how thin is that metal? weighs 7 pounds

Carbon Steel1425 – 1540(C) 2600 – 2800 (F)
Stainless Steel15102750
 stainless steel AISI 304

yeah that's NOT the gauge - so we don't know.

I'm just saying it looks almost as thin as tin-steel.

 So the real issue is corrosion.
304 is generally more expensive than 430 because of the chemical composition. Notably, 304 contains between 8 – 10.5% nickel whereas 430 contains 0%. The inclusion of nickel in 304 makes the metal more corrosion resistant than 430 however it is an expensive element which is one of the main reasons for the difference in cost between the 2.
Wow - the Russian stove has more corrosion resistant stainless steel than the Japanese stove! Fascinating. nice packing bag!



Only no damper. Well a stove that small - probably don't want a damper. Hard to see if it has front vents or not. Let's see if there are more photos elsewhere.

the Japanese stove is over 15 pounds - so not much of a back packing stove. Plus it needs more flue pipe.


WOW - A Russian backing tent stove - with a spark arrester Baffle design!

Also with side-walls - wild.


So you can tell these people are real campers. They want to retain the heat and do it safely!!


By far the most impressive design so far!

Amazingly it's still only 13 pounds. My guess that is without the flue pipe weight.

So it's $270 - but you are getting a much better design stove - it's safer and as the description states - it holds heat for 4 hours due to the baffle design and side walls - and heat shield in base of stove.

The stove is equipped with a spark arrester, which significantly increases the fire safety of the stove, preventing sparks exiting the chimney pipe and preventing damage to the tent's awning. It increases the efficiency of burning on one tab of wood up to 4-5 hours. Saves money on firewood!
         The stove has adjustable protective shields. They prevent accidentally touching the stoves surface during operation and assists regulating the heating of the tent.

So the Shasta stove emphasizes thicker steel

Definitely a selling point!

You retain heat.

Also has a damper.

The problem is that it's not really a backpacking stove at all. They want the stove to be heavier to retain heat and not burn through.

So now we come full circle - back to a galvanized steel stove - only it's home-made - on video

So you figure - about $50 for parts. And then there's labor. So you are saving about $100. something to consider.

https://rileystove.com/product/riley-stove-baby-eagle-wood-burning-camp-stove/

So now we go back to the Riley Baby Eagle - for a closer look.

 So you get the best price - and you can cook on it and it's made locally.

Ok it's $24 for shipping. So it's closer to $150 total.

Now people make tent stoves out of ammo boxes - but that requires special tools like a Grinder or a Welder.

For the DIY option - I want to consider a design like the Riley stove or similar to another one above - that requires no welding.

So here we have the Popcorn Tin-steel chimney stove!! video

It's obviously not nearly as good as a riley stove.

Here's another DIY galvanized steel stove that is also foldable - video

So that brings us to another pricey micro tent stove:


what's the price?

My guess is it is titanium?


Instant 4 season camping. Kifaru pioneered lightweight, collapsible stoves years ago as a practical, easy way to heat our shelters.
$333.00
So we've got a $140 price range to $333 (does that include shipping)?

Can't tell - but $333 is obviously quite pricey compared to $140...

So I happened to get some free stainless steel cups with my Berkey filter. I figure I can use those to line the popcorn bucket.

There are quite a few DIY steel can "rocket stoves" - but again not the same as a TENT stove (with an exhaust pipe system)....



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