Burning charcoal in a hobo stove worked out so well I thought I would try burning wood pellets in my Ikea hobo stove. I did have to make a small modification to keep the pellets from falling out the feed port.
Since the Ikea strainers are so cheap, you could easily make another hobo stove dedicated to wood pellets in which case you would not need to cut a feed port. In fact an unmodified strainer and a container of wood pellets would make a great addition to your car's emergency kit for winter travel.
Absolutely. I did make a screen for my Ikea stove so I could burn pellets (video in my playlist) but I have a couple of extra of the strainers so I may dedicate one for pellets only. Great suggestion. Thank you
Great vid, as usual. Pretty simple set-up and great burn from the pellets. Yeah, not at all suprised to see a little secondary burn taking place. When you do any top-down burn with a fuel that has volatiles you'll get quite a bit of wood gas production as the air comes up through the char bed. Which is the whole principle behind producing wood gas in any case. Great series on stoves Mark, looking forward to more.
I was just thinking about using wood pellets in my new IKEA wood stove, then i just saw that you just posted this video. Good video, i think you are right use one cup of pellets to make one quick meal. Keep up the great videos.
These utensil baskets are great just as they come, no extra door hole cut if you're using pellets or very small cut sticks. Buy and use. I presoak the pellets and put them in a zip bag inside the basket, then the basket inside my Billy cup. One cup (about a handful) for just getting coffee or tea in the morning. 2-3 cups at night to have a cook fire for 35 to 50 minutes and look at fire in the dark before bed. Much of the fancy gear at $50 or more is just a yuppie variant off a tin can stove anyway.
I am finding pellets to be a good fuel for a lot of occasions. I am starting to carry a small bag when I go out for a hike on wet days. Thanks for commenting Jim
Thank you for a great video, I am a new sub. glad to have found you, I see people saying you don't need a feed port but it is easy to carry the flashing to cover the port because there are times you don't have pellets and it is easier to feed sticks through the port than move the pot to feed.
Hey Greg. Glad you enjoyed the video and thank you for subscribing to my channel. In truth, you don't "need" a feed port but, as you say if you don't have one it is a lot more work to keep the stove running. A feed port allows you to leave your pot on the stove and feed larger sticks in, meaning less wood processing. I have a three-part series on building a hobo stove if you are interested ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-gH-WQUF3vQg.html
Great video Mark! I do a lot of car camping with my family and have completely give up the gas when I cook outside. Wood pellets are easy to obtain from anywhere (cat litter) especially in the UK
Thank you sir... I need to compare the cost of the cat litter against the pellets to see which is cheaper... I agree, the pellets are effective and inexpensive...a win-win...Thanks for commenting
Another great video. I tried wood pellets in my little Lixada this weekend. Definitely need airflow to them low for best performance I found, if not they suffocate easily. I've never tried one of these Ikea stoves but have seen many people use them.
of all the stoves I own (not really that many) I rate my hobo stove as one of the best considering efficiency, weight and cost.. and if you can find a pot to put it in bulk becomes less of an issue
Hallo Mark, I have just discovered your channel and the first video I watched touched on the subject of using pellets in a Hobo stove. I have one of those converted Ikea utensil holders, and so far have used only twigs and small pieces of wood to fire it up, however I find the flames shoot up too high. I certainly like the idea of using pellets and will certainly give it a try. Many thanks for your interesting videos.
Hello. I am glad you found my channel as well. I hope my videos continue to interesting to you. I enjoy making and using the Ikea hobo stoves. Let me know how yours works out with the wood pellets. Thanks for commenting
Well Mark, I'm using wood pellets in my ikeahobostove for a while and always liked it, it's my primary choice as I don't like canister stove for many reasons. But I now want to improve the combustion effiency, you may asked yourself if I'm dump & stupid 🤔😉 But I found out that my Firebox gives me a much more efficient combustion leaving only a little but very little amount of white hashes at the end while in my ikeahobostove I always have charred pellets. My thoughts are that the air flow in the FireBox is better. I fan tell you I'm more than impressed with the performance of the Firebox,yesterday I use it with the El Cheapo briquets from the Dollorama and it performed just wonderfull. Thanks again for Your absolutelly excellent serie it's greatly made,Well explained 🙌🙌🙌👏👏👏👏👍👍👍👊☮☯ Ciao from Québec ⚜
Thanks Laurent.. I will be doing some tests with my Firebox soon... I agree, the Firebox is the all round best stove I own... I would recommend it to anyone as long as they don't mind the extra weight...For me, it is not a problem. Thanks for commenting
I use pellets also in my ikea stove ☺️like you said Mark - when you use them you dont need to atend them like with wood 😁. It works good with wood gasification stove like it works with hobo stoves. Cheers
I am finding that the wood pellets are fast becoming my favourite fuel for almost all my stoves... I actually have started carrying a small bag with me when I go out on wet days...Thanks for commenting
I think my bag of pellets got a little wet this winter in the garage. The bag looks a little swollen. I will have to check them. Thank you for the reply, Mark
Interesting. I have not tried smoking meats yet but have used speciality wood pellets on my BBQ to add flavour. Would be interesting to hear how you make out with regular wood pellets. Thank you for commenting.
Mark, looks superior to charcoal brickets that I was considering. Wonderful idea ! Kudos to you ! Don't think that I would want to use that flame starter though..... Definitely going to buy some pellets to consider using for a number ten can stove. I also wondered if pellets would work in a hibachi as the low smoke wouldn't attract unwanted neighbours and others in a SHTF scenario..... your biggest fear is attracting alot of people looking for a free lunch. I live in an area that is only semi-rural and most people are not getting ready for what definitely lies ahead. I just subscribed as I have been watching your videos more often, keep them coming.
So, charcoal is also a favourite of mine in this stove. I think you could use pretty much anything to get the pellets going. Cheapest is probably cotton balls with petroleum jelly. Push them under the surface and they will catch. Thanks for commenting
Hi Mark, great series on various fuels and it's very much appreciated. Just wondering if you or any other readers are familiar with the term " cat litter" as a fuel source? I have cats, but the litter I use is clay based. Thank You for your time and effort in helping the bushcraft community!
Hey Brad...Yes, a number of viewers have commenting on using cat litter... I understand it is important to read the label and not get the stuff made with clay... I will check out the prices and mention it in an upcoming video...Thanks for commenting
I did a little research on the price and availability of wood pellets, at least what is available in the northeastern United States. I would imagine that it will be somewhat similar for our neighbors to the north. Home Depot sells a 40# bag of hardwood fuel pellets for US$ $5.99, while Wal-Mart sells a 20# box of "pine" pellets as cat litter for $8.99. Both products are made by well known national brands. So, it would appear that on a cursory examination, the fuel pellets are a much better bargain. Thank You again for your help
wow...somehow I would have though the kitty litter would have been cheaper...Thanks for doing the research... BTW..funny as it would seem I paid $5.99 CDN for my pellets at Home Depot...I think they are gouging you :) ...Thanks again
Hi Mark. Useful video again, thanks. Have you tried a metal colander to put a fire in? I have a 27cm circular cake rack to fit over the top to support a pan or hold bacon etc directly over the coals. When it stops raining here in England I'll give it a try.
Yes, I have a mod for the Ikea I hope will address all those issues. As soon as the burn ban is lifted in Nova Scotia I plan to make a video on it. Thanks for commenting
Mark, This was very interesting to me as I have 7 big bags of wood pellets left over from being used as rabbit bedding. I saw a video about a "kindling basket" that could be used in a normal house fireplace and it looked very effective. It showed wood logs piled up on top of the basket, burning well. But the "kindling basket" is not available online anywhere anymore, and I couldn't find any viable alternative. I know that you are more interested in outdoor cook stoves, but I wondered it you would have any ideas on how to make the pellets work in an indoor fireplace.
I may have also watched the same video about using pellets in the fireplace. I purchased a stainless steel grilling basket at the thrift store to try this with. I used an inverted V shaped piece that also had holes in it as a cross piece inside the basket. It works well as a aesthetic fire but I can't say it produces a whole lot of heat. I no longer have a wood stove in our house to try it in. hope this helps. Thanks for commenting
Hi Mark, great videos. I especially found the comment section comparing the wood pellets to charcoal useful. I was wondering which stove you prefer: alcohol stoves or hobo stoves. I have ordered one and am now making the hobo stove. Looking forward to taking one of them on a "yakpacking" fishing trip and camping one night in a rustic surrounding. I think your input of which to take would be helpful. Thanks
Glad you enjoy the videos. For me, having a wood stove and an alcohol stove provides options. There are times when it is too wet or I am too tired or I don't have time to work on a wood fire. That is when the alcohol stove is really appreciated. Also, we are having a very dry spring following a very dry winter and have been under a fire ban for some time. Alcohol is my wood fire alternative for these circumstances. Hope this helps. Thanks for commenting
Hi Mark. When you made the 2 grills from the Dollar store basket, the scraps from the side of the basket might have worked good covering the side feed port in your stove.
I was thinking the same thing...wish I had kept the scrap pieces...may have to go get another one...you will see another opportunity I could have used the scraps in an upcoming video...thanks for commenting
I am likeing this series. Do you find the pellets to be more efficient than charcoal or wood? Would you considder bringing pellets with you on a regular basis?
Hey Marc... I am really coming to appreciate the wood pellets... with one exception (video coming soon) they work exceptionally well in every stove I own. The burn hot and clean and are very inexpensive. The only issue is that they are too hot for grilling. That is where the charcoal excels in the right stove. I think I will likely start carrying one or two cups of pellets with my stoves when I go out, even if I don't use them. Hope you are starting to feel better
I am doing alright. Started getting movement back but the pain seems to have gotten worse. I think it is because the pills are finished. While I am out and having fun I dont seem to notice it as much. I am on the mend. Movement is improvement. 👍
I picked this one up on eBay. Check this link out as an example www.ebay.ca/itm/Camp-Stove-8-Plates-Folding-Camping-Picnic-Cooker-BBQ-Windscreen-Windshield/173352823429?hash=item285ca22a85:g:L9UAAOSwEm1bF2Jg:rk:9:pf:0
Great demo Mark! I know very little about wood pellets and was wondering how they are manufactured. Are the just held together by pressure or adhesives and pressure, just curious. Thanks for sharing!
From what I can learn, wood pellets are made through mechanical means only...the wood or other bio-matter is pulverized and formed under high pressure which produces enough heat to cause them to fuse together... I am liking them for their cost effectiveness, high heat and clean burning. They appear to be ecologically better than most other fuels as well....Thanks for commenting Jackie
That is great Mark, was worried about burning them if they contained adhesives of any kind. I don't like compressed gas so your demos have given me many options! Thanks again.
Mark, would having the feed hole above the wood pellet level have a detrimental effect on the fires/stove performance by causing unbalanced ventilation?
Potentially yes. Airflow and therefore combustion, is influenced by a number of factors. One factor is that air will tend to follow the walls of a chamber in a chimney effect. Combined with air wanting to flow through the path of least resistance, most of it should continue on up and past the opening so long as it is not cut off at the top. The other thing to consider with pellets is the need to have the feed hole high enough so the pellets don't pour out. I suppose the best design would be no feed port. As long as your could feed fuel through the top. Hope this helps
GREAT video! I've never heard of a hobo stove, let alone knew ikea sold them, gotta get me one, along with some aluminum siding :-) Thanks so much. Will you please tell me who makes your wind screen?, thanks
So, a hobo stove is a generic name for a home made budget wood stove... the Ikea utensil strainer just happens to be ideally suited for making one... I picked up the windscreen on eBay from China...quite cheap... Glad you enjoyed
I do believe so... You could also add other found sticks and if they are not completely dry, the pellets would help dry them out..thanks for commenting
@@douglaspohl1827 On re-considering I agree with you Douglas. Adding pellets to other pellets would likely dampen the existing flame. However, I would think adding sticks to pellets that have all but gone out would work well enough
