In this video I demonstrate how the Siege Stove cross-members can be used to turn an Ikea utensil strainer into a hobo stove and how to turn two food cans into a wood-gas stove www.siegestoves.com/
Thank you Mark, for the informative review! A few more pointers: A sheath is a separate order -- while supplies last. We were helping out a veteran who has had a challenging few years, with a bit of work, by commissioning him to make batches of these for us, as well as larger pouches. Unfortunately his health has not been improving (please say a prayer for him) and in addition, his industrial sewing machine broke down. He decided it wasn't worth the $1500 to fix, and has called it quits. In the meantime we are looking for a low-cost heavy-duty replacement machine so we can start making them again. Titanium Cross-Members are less than half the weight of the stainless sets. For most people stainless is ideal, unless planning long distance treks. Either way of preparing a can is quick: If in advance, a stepped drill bit works great for making neat, round holes. If in the field, use the hand-sharpened tips that are on the Base Cross-Member (not the one with the bullet shape in the middle). "Rub" any protrusions back into the can, using the end of a Cross-Member. Crush and recycle it after use and then make another one for the next trip. Or reuse it -- they will last quite a while. Our thousands of users around the world have been able to find cans that work well for them. The only US can -- between the most common small food can and the #10 can -- that doesn't fit well is the Progresso Soup can. Thanks again! James SIEGE STOVES
Hi James. Thank you again for sending me the set to test out. Thank you also for all the additional information you have provided in your comment. I do pray that the gentleman who has been helping you out recovers.
@@MarkYoungBushcraft Thank you Mark. For your Canadian (and international) audience I should mention that we are able to keep shipping costs very low. If a customer doesn't mind printing the instruction sheet themselves (the added weight can make a difference), and by using minimal packaging materials we are able to package a stainless steel set of Cross-Members or two titanium sets under 8.1 oz, which is the lowest cost postal weight bracket. This can save quite a lot! If the items ordered are over 8.1 oz, one can add quite a lot before exceeding the next thresholds which are 48 oz, and 64 oz (please forgive the Imperial measures :) ). For all these options we also charge less than what we pay for the postage. PayPal will calculate the shipping cost and show it before you commit to a purchase. For US customers, we have free options if the order is over a certain amount. All this is posted on our web site, siegestoves.com/order-stove.htm
You taught me a new word "pyrolicizing." If it is not yet a word, perhaps it will become one. Now I just have to get the spelling straight. I learned a lot of other good stuff here too. Thank you. Going to Siege Stoves now.
@@MarkYoungBushcraft Looking forward to your next Siege Stove video. I purchased the stove/pot supports you were talking about. They were just what I was looking for.
Good teaching. I miss my teachers so I am always looking for another one. Good ones not easy to find on these videos. I subscribe. (also I am some kind of stove nut)
I purchased that set over a year ago. Mine did not come with the can opener. I chose the B&M bread cans to use. The bread is baked in the cans, and they are quite sturdy. I haven't yet tried the cans that have pressure canned beef. They're also beefy cans. Now that you've demonstrated the gasifying effect I'll be looking for more coordinates. The can openers I have cut the cans at the seal, so there are no sharp edges, but that leaves me without that extra ridge that helps the gasifying effect. Maybe I can find a quart size paint can to try.
Mark, the size of the cans you tried are different than those in the United States. I have mine for over ten years, and work great. Coffee can, large bean cans quart, and gallon paint cans are the best to use. I also did the wood gas stove. Thank you for all your videos. Tom C
Yes, I thought as much. I could find a few cans that would work but not as many as the Siege Stove website and videos showed. Works great with the Ikea strainer though. Thanks for commenting
Mark, out here in BC, fatwood grows on trees. The other side of that is that we envy your hardwood forests. Mostly pine around here, but up above my house, it's mostly spruce. I can see why you really like spruce twigs for tinder. Thanks again for another thorough review.
Hi Mark, another great review, I bought them same cross stand awhile ago & they work excellent especially with the Ikea stove. If you want some BIG cans, go to your local Pizza Shop & ask for some Tomato Sauce cans. I'm sure, they be more than willing to give them to you & they work excellent. Love the video & keep em coming. 👍👌🤝
Very thorough review, Mark. I visited Siege's website several months ago, and may purchase some products from them, eventually. Until then I will continue to make hobo stoves for fun, and have a few that have passed the burn test well enough for use on short term hiking trips. I don't carry them on longer hikes (I am 500 miles away from completing Appalachian Trail in sections, which average two weeks per year). I took my Toaks large stove on the Long Trail in Vermont recently, but didn't use it much due to restrictions at certain sites and above certain elevations. Titanium is my metal of choice for its durability, long life, and low weight, but wood stoves require a lot of metal to be effective in the long run, and it's no fun trying to burn damp wood, so carrying my homemade alcohol stove and making small wood fires surrounded by a titanium windscreen when time and conditions permit is probably my best opinion. As far as top-down burns, they are good if one desires a long burning fire, but, I find myself using my stove for a quick meal or cup of coffee or cocoa, not for real cooking. Taking the time to let a gasification stove to work wastes time and fuel, and doesn't eliminate soot on pots, so it's pretty much a non issue for me, much as the flame pattern from an alcohol stove has little to do with anything more than aesthetics. Sit on top stoves with large holes are often easier to use and as or more efficient than one with a flame pattern which mimics a home gas stove burner. Again, thanks. Good work. 👍
Your experience with wood gas stoves is similar to mine. The only wood stove I have used so far that does not produce any soot is the Pyrolino but only after it gest started and I add the tertiary burn chimney. Of course, it is definitely not something you will hike the AT with😂. Thanks for commenting
Try putting the utensil holder inside a slightly bigger can. Maybe a coffee can, or a paint can and the utensil holder will mimic a wood gas stove with all of those holes. :) You can also cut away the ring off the paint can for the pot stand to work. :)
3 opinions... 1) always great vids! 2) it's a bit pricey but top shelf as far as being rugged and a clean, small kit. 3) as small as the kit is, you still have to carry a can or make one on the run. Maybe using it ice fishing, or car camping makes more sense then a backpack? Thx Mark!
Interesting thoughts. Yes, they are more expensive than a total DIY but they do make the job much easier for someone with no tools. I think they are best suited to a bugout bag for improvising a stove on the run as you suggest. Thanks for commenting
Very nice review and demonstration. The price doesn’t seem unreasonable and I ordered the titanium version. For me this will be something fun to use in making wood stoves every now and then (I was just about to make a little wood gas stove and had picked up several canned goods for that purpose yesterday). I suppose if the United States falls into civil war and I’ve bartered away all of my other cooking appliances for food and gasoline, this could be a real lifesaver 🙂. I probably shouldn’t joke about that yet....
Interesting concept. Hope I'm never under such duress I have to resort to these but good to know about them. Some might say just have a fire but this would be much more covert.
Very thorough demonstration of this unique kit. I’m wondering if you could use the cross bars on that homemade wood gas stove with the lip by snipping the lip in four places where the stand wedges in. I like how tall the pot stand is. Very cool demo
I am sure you could do as you suggest to create an even better stove. I tried to keep it simple for this video as if they were the only tool I had. Thanks for commenting
Exactly, Kelly Johnson. Almost everyone who travels outdoors on a fairly regular basis will at the very least have a Swiss army or Leatherman knife/tool and be able to notch the lip inside that can to make a better fit. In reality, the best fit is when the inner can is snug against the lip of the outer can.
Thanks Mark. I was wondering when you might do a review on this product. I think a nice heavy duty leather sheath for the siege would make it very useful and traditional. I was wondering, could you use the brackets in reverse (top on bottom and bottom on top) for those pesky odd sized cans?
Reversing the bars top to bottom is an interesting idea. I will give it a try. Looks like Siege Stoves may not be able to supply sheaths in the future so making a set is a good idea. Thanks for commenting
What a fascinating idea! I've never heard of this stove, and for the life of me, other than urban preppers, or perhaps budget minded, occasional campers, I can't think of a good reason to buy one, but I still love the idea. Mark, I have to tell you a little story. I had my firebox out while making lunch with a friend, and I was talking about this bloody guy on RU-vid that's always on about this "top burn down" thing. I usually just burn fast for a boil, or use the side ports for a slower simmer, but I have to admit, if you need something between the two. It's not a bad idea. Have you ever done an, I forget the proper name, but Swedish torch? With the log split in 4? Oh, and have you ever noticed that a firebox, and maybe others too, burn with almost no smoke at all? I believe you're getting an almost complete burn with it, just like a "gasifier" but hotter.
Hi Jim. Its funny how many people tell me a top down burn can't work😄. The only thing with a Swedish fire torch in a wood stove is finding the right diameter log that fits inside properly after being split into four pieces. I will likely add that into a video at some point. I think the reason the top down burn works so well is part because it has a lot in common with rocket stove principles in that it draws air up from below at higher rates and causes a hotter flame resulting in a more complete burn/ Thanks for commenting
Mark Young I knew they would work, partly because I've seen them a million times, but also because the chamber in a half way decent stove creates great conditions to burn. It'll just burn more slowly. I certainly don't think it's a great idea on a tough day with damp wood, but it will slow it down and make a hot enough fire burn a little longer, so you don't have to mess with it quite so much.
Looks an incredible amount of fun. I think the trouble for twig stoves vs hobo stoves is there was a huge price difference at one point, you either spent a lot of cash or you made for next to nothing. These days Aliexpress has spoilt me. I got one of the Lixada stoves you recommended. Two hundred grams, packs flat, quick to assemble (as a puzzle stove it's closer to Fischer Price than the Voynich Manuscript) and I got it for twenty quid. I've been spoilt!! :-D
There are some inexpensive options out there that work very well for the price. I still like DIYing a stove once in a while mainly because it is fun to see what I can come up with. Thanks for commenting
Coincidently, I have been experimenting with just such a set up. I will be making an Ikea Hobo Stove follow-up video soon that will show it. Thanks for commenting
Nice review but I’m not sure it is something I would buy. I have made an IKEA stove with top cross bars made from a strip of aluminum and it works quite well. I have several other wood stoves I use also such as the Vargo Titanium Hexagon. A very small Bushcraft Essentials Pocket Stove and a Solo Stove . I also have many alcohol and butane or propane stoves as well as a Coleman stove.......yes I have a stove collection. I do enjoy watching any type of stove or stove components videos.....Take care, Bluefin.
Hi there my Atlantic neighbour. Yeah, I am a bit obsessed with stoves as well. I think the Siege Stove is more of survival tool than anything else. Although It is the easiest way to make an Ikea hobo stove. BTW glad to see you are still making videos
Nice tools and a cool idea but a bit pricey ($25U.S., $35 in titanium)...and that’s not including shipping which was said to be more than the cost of the tools.
Maybe the coffee can top could be crimped with a leather man in the places where the top crossmembers go. Hopefully won’t hurt the shape or rigidity of the can.
I have configured a number of wood gassification stoves out of various cans before and found the larger they are the hotter they get, presumably because the greater mass allows more time for the heat to accumulate. Unfortunately food grade cans don’t seem to handle the very high temperatures that occur in the process for very long. They deteriorate fairly rapidly, maybe two or three uses and they burn out. Stainless works better for the burn chamber. I share your observation that the era of the metal coffee can has all but disappeared. The plastic and cardboard ones are not well suited for the application. The gassification you achieved may be more like increased air flow from the hot air directed into the flame increasing burn efficiency. I can’t see much of a way for the wood gas to get into the outer flow since the center flame seems to be the primary fire source drawing the heat up the middle. I may be wrong but without a laser thermometer or heat probe it’s hard to tell. Either way it is still an improvement over a simple un-enhanced wood fire.
I agree with you on all points. Large stoves do appear to be able to generate more pyrolysis as a result of their mass. I also agree food cans do not last long as wood stoves. That is why I don't often use them. It was hard to tell if true pyrolysis was occurring in the cans or if it was just secondary combustion but as you say, it was improved over a single wall stove. Thanks for commenting
For the price of the x stove and Ikea body. I can purchase a cook set and a wood stove with alcohol burner for half the price. X stove is Not an economically sound purchase.
