Soup can woodburner stove

[skylark]

I made a soup can woodburner, following imrisk's instructions, made some holes near the bottom, folded up the metal and put a piece of hardware cloth on top down in the can on the metal tabs.

I did not have much luck getting it to start. How dry does the wood have to be? Bone dry? It has been wet around here, a spring thaw and everything is humid. I used small sticks but they still had bark on them and I think there was some wetness under the bark. They did snap like they were dry.

I may have some design problems, I did not make the middle vents shown in the pictures. My windscreens don't have large vents in them either. It also seems to tip over quite easily. :(

Anyone have any tips or pictures of a good working woodburner stove?

[betic4lyf]

i have only a bunch of wood that is in my back yard, and it is either to thick, or wet. i usually go with wet. it works best if u use something liquid to start it. for me i use lighter fluid. soemtimes, when it goes out because the wood is to wet, lighter fluid makes things go again.

















vin diesel can divide by zero

[LostInSpace]

If you are carrying a decent knife, then you can whittle some dry wood slivers to start the stove.

[Trooper347]

For my home-made Nomad stove, I have a 12oz bottle filled with denatured alcohol, to use as a back-up fuel source used with a pop-can stove. Because I do not plan on using all the fuel between town stops, I have cut up 4"x4" gauze into 1/2" squares, and filled the bottle with them. To start a fire in the Nomad, simply use 1/16" thick twigs, in a bundle with 3 or 4 of these alcohol soaked squares. Use a long thin twig or vine to wrap it all up. It works Very well, even if wet, as the squares will burn for almost a full minute, alowing fast drying of thin twigs, and allows time to get larger pieces lit from the starter bundle. Grass, weeds can also be used as a bundle, but those burn very fast compared to the twigs. Be careful not to tie the bundle too tight, have to allow for air, and do not smother it trying to get larger sticks lit. Hope this helps. ;)

Edit : The bottle I use is from Nestea Iced Tea. It has the wider mouth to allow for easy removal of the squares.

[Trooper347]

Here is a pic of my stove, with back up and fuel bottle with gauze squares. Info and plans on the Nomad and other stoves can be found at zenstoves.net

420

[C_Brice]

Hey trooper,
Didn't know if you had tried your Nomad last time I saw you on, have you? Think you were gonna do a shakedown hike with it but that was quiet awhile ago. Everyone knows how much I like mine.

and Skylark,
Would recomend a Nomad over the soup can stove. In your pack a nomad takes up about the same square inches as the soup can, stores easier because it's flat and is a bigger, better wood stove. Tried making small "hobo" stoves and can never get a draft that will burn anything.

Enjoy,
Chris

[Trooper347]

Hey Chris, Hope you've been well. Yes, I have used the stove on a couple of overnighters now, and look foward to using it on my thru attempt. I can honestly say it's the best stove I have used for camping, easy to make, and with wood as fuel, I will Never camp with cold meals on my menu.

The stove works like a charm with holes drilled instead of the large slots (can see some of the holes in the pic posted) and it is the perfest size to use as a windbreak for the pop-can stove in extremely wet conditions.

Thanks again for the ideas and tips on it, I expect to use this stove a long time, and will never buy a commercialy sold stove again.

[art to linda]

I've used my little home made wood stove for 2 years now and love it. I've found that the wax/sawdust starter sticks are handy to carry and 1/4 of a stick will start a fire quickly.

I used a small coffee can to make mine, cut the center section out and put the 2 ends together then cut a hole in the top leaving a 1/2 inch rim that I drilled a couple of holes to put in a wire pot stand. This left a space to slip in more wood and since it has a wider base it's very stable..... the whole thing is about 4 inches tall. I used an old fashioned beer opener to put holes in the base and made a wind screen out of a foil tray that has holes punched with a paper punch around the base..... even made a little grill for it out of a wire cooling rack, just big enough for a steak or couple of dogs (4"X6").

Stove, lighter, wind screen and fire sticks fit in a small spring form pan that doubles as a fry pan/extra plate/baking pan that fits into my walmart grease pot and goes into a small stuff sack into which I slide in the grill, pot holder & spoon.

[C_Brice]

Glad you like it trooper. Looked at you trail guide and you gave me way to much credit. Oh, what the hell, I'll take it. Thank you. Glad the holidays went well and good luck on you thru hike. Keep us informed and enjoy it.

Chris