Was out this afternoon for our first attempt at applying one of the techniques you described in a previous video. A good sized stainless steel colander that was kicking around the house got converted into a portable/winter/deep snow firepit. It worked exceptionally well. Thank you Mark for taking some of the trial and error out of this stuff for us.
Very nice project! I wonder if you still have the lid for the set, and cut a "restriction" ring about 3" wide to help hold the flame inside the pot. (Cut the center/top off the lid, just leaving an outer ring.) I think you will be pleasantly surprised how much that ring will change/concentrate the flame. As an aside, what I find with any fire pit like this, is the heat is felt and directed more upward than out. If you want to use this sort of firepit as something to sit around for warmth, it has to be down in a hole, or you have to be standing above it to get the heat.
Funny thing. I can't find the lid. I was going to knock out the glass center and make a focuser. I need to see if I can find something that will fit. Thanks for commenting
For complete inlet air control, cut a strip of aluminum flashing 2 or 3 inches wide and 2 inches longer than the circumference of the outer pot. Bend about an inch of each end to about 90 degrees so that they can be fastened together, forming a loop. It needs to be a loose fit around the pot, so it can slide easily. Mark the centres of the holes on the band, then remove it and drill or punch 1" holes on the centres. Fasten the end tabs together with pop rivets or small bolts and slip the band back on the pot. Install 3 or 4 pop rivets (from the inside) or screws around the pot, below the band, to keep it up at the correct level to align with the holes in the pot. By sliding the band back and forth, you can have the air holes completely open to completely closed. Since the pot hasn't changed colour, it isn't getting nearly hot enough to melt aluminum, at least down around the bottom. The fastened tabs form the 'handle' to allow you to adjust the vents with a stick.
Most gasification stoves have holes at the top and bottom of the inner chamber and are solid sheet metal in between. This allows the air between the chambers to superheat which accelerates the air into the burn chamber via the upper holes. You are right. If you wrap the inner chamber in solid sheet metal, the stove will gasify. Nice project, Mark. Thanks. It has applications for car and canoe camping and backyard use for groups toasting all sorts of things on sticks. 👍
I am planning on testing a few ways to restrict airflow like you say. It was originally meant for group hikes but car camping is more realistic I think. Thanks for commenting
Mark, great video. I could see using this with charcoal, wood pellets, chunks of wood (as you did in the video). I could see grilling a couple stakes once it was down to coals. I could see sitting around this as a very well contained camp fire in the evening. This thing is GREAT!!!
I could see this being useful for people who car camp, like I do when I go with the family. Car camping is always a race to get the last stick within a couple of miles, because everyone has picked the place clean for bonfires. So as a mini fire pit, rather than a giant hobo stove…..or both, I guess. One bag of bought wood would last a long time. Though I don’t know if a family would be happy sitting around it.
Hi Jim. In the first video I talk about making the stove to use with a group of hikers as a means of boiling up water for coffee/tea/chocolate. It would mean carrying the stove, water and wood but distributed across a group of people. In truth, I have not done that. I now have a Kelly Kettle Base Camp for that task. Car camping or something similar is likely the best intent for it. Also, it is just fun to experiment. Thanks for commenting
@@MarkYoungBushcraft Yes, using it for a group would make sense. I never camp in groups, so that didn’t even cross my mind. And yes, experimenting with different ideas is a lot of fun. You use a Kelly Kettle? Isn’t that pretty much only for boiling water? I know it’s super fast at it, but is it a one trick pony? Oh, btw, just jarred my first batch of beef tallow. Gonna have pemmican by the weekend! 😀
Great video, Mark. I appreciate whatever you do in the woods with heat and flame. The stove seems to work fine. As you mentioned, it might be working too well. To further regulate the air flow I would suggest the pipe clamp. You know the one constructed with finely slotted thin and narrow steel band. I think you could get them up to 1 ft in diameter. If not you could always connect two of them together. Slip it over the holes out side wall and tighten it. Easy to adjust the air flow by simply moving it up and down. Can't go back in time to make the holes smaller but you can block them some. Nice of you to share the experience as always.
Interesting idea. I had tried this with a Solo stove but it did not work. Might work for this stove though. I had a different Idea but I will try both. Thanks for commenting my friend
Future version three or more for sure! lol Some sort of homemade windscreen might help if it is windy. The wonderful thing about these DIY stoves/firepits is that anyone can get one for a reasonable price at the thrift stores! Any improvements just help folks make what they can afford even better! Great video, thanks for sharing! :) :)
Hi Mark, I love the Idea of that Grill being high off the fire, gives a person lots of room to feed wood & you NOT have to take off the pot. I been looking for a grill like that awhile. Love the video & keep em coming Sir. 💯👍🤝
I am enjoying learning how you are using some everyday kitchen items to make your stoves. I watched your video on the colander stove just before watching this one, and I have the perfect colandar for that, and will definitely be doing that! One thing that would be very helpful in this video is to explain some of the terms you are using. I have no idea what gasify or pyrolysis (?) means, and don't know what you mean by a solo stove either. I will need to look these terms up to see what they mean. I will be excited to be learning something new, so thank you for that, and please consider including these explanations in future videos. Thank you!
So, I have explained pyrolysis in a few of my videos. Basically, it is the release of wood gas from wood through application of heat then having the wood gas ignited through the introduction of air through secondary gas ports. Thanks for commenting
My first thought "That's a tiny Pit Barrel cooker!" If your design had a single lower vent hole with the Pit Barrel damper (a disc attached by a screw) it would be easy to adjust airflow. Some of those pasta strainer pots have a domed lid with an adjustable vent built into the lid. With a trivet or rack that nests down into the pot and a handful of charcoal you could turn your pot into an oven/smoker like the Pit Barrel cooker. It might be worth a look at RU-vid videos about the operation of Pit Barrel cookers for their damper design.
The fellow that goes camping with his two goats and two dogs "Firebox Stove" was testing a new stove today also. I get a kick out of watching his adventures. I posted my comments to this thread as a reply to another comment.
LOL...I could have used a goat to carry this stove for me. Actually, Steve is sending me one of the new Freestyle stoves to test out. Thanks for commenting
What a great video Mark and a great project at hand as you move forward with your experimentation. Super cool. Have a great weekend.-33c here in Thunder Bay,ON this Saturday morning....cheers Fred
@@MarkYoungBushcraft thanks for watching. More snow on the way still. We are used to dry winters that are not cold. Add humidity and you are cold instantly.
Lots of great ideas of how to improve version 2. I like the idea of a contained fire, so will keep my eyes open at Value Village. Do you carry this in your pack or strap it to the outside?
In truth, this type of stove is best suited to car camping or a couple of people going out so they can share the load. I do strap it to the outside of my pack. Thanks for commenting George
I guess it’s too late now but possible less holes drilled into the side and add more accordingly. Hose clamps as feet maybe. I think I’ll be getting a set of these, well done. Thanks to your Ikea strainer review I have the Ikea strainer hobo stove but, I have it slotted into a coffee can with holes drilled in the side at the bottom. I use trivets under the can so to raise it off the ground and, I use tent pegs to both adjust the height of the Ikea strainer in the can (more so for testing to get the right height for best burn and to deflect the cross wind) but, I can also use a Trangia type burner inside the Ikea strainer because it sits on the tent pegs. This makes it a multi fuel hobo stove. In solid fuel configuration the higher I make the Ikea strainer (using the pegs) I can lower the height of a pot which would sit inside the Ikea stove on the pegs. I also have trivets for the top so to add wood as necessary.
I like your suggestions. Actually, I do have a few ways to cut down the air entering from the outside that I will be trying. Let me know how your project works out. Thanks for commenting
Create a band of metal with holes to fit around the pot to adjust the size of the openings. Also if the strainer had some of the holes blocked perhaps with a cylinder of metal you might get some gasification. Alsoyour trivit might be useful in raise the stove off the ground. As it is the stove worked.
Hi Mark. cool project indeed! My couple of thoughts... I had a little round bbq that had a 1/2 moon shaped grate warming rack in it. If one was able to find a match to the size pot(s) one was using that could be very useful. Regarding the heat transfer - only an inch deep hole in the ice is actually not bad! Ice melts much easier than "ground" conducts. You can melt even very cold solid ice simply by putting your hand on it. Not very efficiently but (or for very long lol) and skin surface temperature only being about 96 would never get even the driest of sawdust to combust. Maybe that is good test.??!? In a controlled setting (when its warmer out??) do what you did today while the pot setup sits directly on very combustable material such as dry sawdust/leaves/moss etc. I would be willing to bet there wouldn't be an issue. Anyway great project which has given me inspiration to look for such a pot combination and try out.I'm looking for setups for outdoor cooking at what at this time will call our permanent camp. I would vote for seeing more videos along this subject line. Be well!
yess.. it works.. i did it with an aspargus pot.. similar to this pot, the same hight but smaller in diameter! Try a band of metal outside the pot! with this it you can regulate the airflow up or down or try to close some holes with a wooden plug.. temporary.. to check the airflow! Did you try your pot with a few kg/pounds of Pellets? it should work also very fine... a few more ideas.. smokeless heating of a Tepeetent or a big Grouptent with smokeoutlet? Heater with charcoal? with air regulation ..... 3 bolts under the pot should work, to protect the ground.. or 3 stones.. or a large cross potstand under it.... old car rim... aso... too many ideas... 😂😂😂😂😂 we wait for the next video.. part 2. to be continued.. 😁👍 thanks for sharing.. i will try to find also a wider pot, like you have... maybe a chimney over it.. i dont know the right word in english... like over a forge of a blacksmith? if you know what I mean? Emergencystove in a cabin.. tent.. cave.......
Smaller would be better for carrying for sure. I would stick with stainless steel though. At least for the inner chamber. Not sure aluminum would handle the high heat at the center. Thanks for commenting
You could make a hoop of metal that fits somewhat snugly around the bottom pot but can still be rotated, drill holes that line up with the holes in the bottom pot and rotate it so it controls the amount of air, like the draft on a wood stove.
Great video! I am one who got the solo campfire in a 2 for one sale so it brought the price down to where I was comfortable with it. It is quite expensive otherwise. It’s amazing to me how there is virtually no heat at the bottom of it while cooking. I can pick it up and move it if need be. I think the solo as well produces too much heat at times. On my first outing with it, I ruined a pan. I’m much more careful now. I didn’t hear it if you mentioned it but how much did your version cost you. I love that you build all these things from second hand stuff. Great work! Looks like fun!!!
I have the Solo Titan and Lite and am impressed with the design but as you say, they can be costly. This project cost me less than $20.00 but that is dependent on where you buy the pots. I got mine at a thrift store. Thanks for commenting
Also, if you want to grill, use lump charcoal. Fill the strainer with lump charcoal then put some lit charcoal on top. I use a pot strainer in my Weber.
If the double boiler came with a flat lid. I think you could achieve much better gasification by cutting most of the center of the lid out. (Keeping about an inch or 25mm of the outer rim.)
Good luck. Is there a simple engineering article explaining the needed design characteristics (air in, air out) for how to construct the best gassing stove? Solo's do a great job. Has anyone "deconstructed" one not tearing apart, but just figured out the relationships?
I wish I knew of a complete but not overly technical resource for this type of information. Most of what I know I learned from a variety of sources. If I can find something that works I will be sure to share it. Check out Heath Putnam on YT. He has some great info. Thanks for commenting
Don't know what happened to my other reply. Simply use some aluminum foil and wrap it around a couple of times just for testing. Use hose clamps to keep it in place.
How about restricting the mouth of the stove or you can block off the lower portion of the colander insert side wall so that only a few of the top rows of holes are exposed.
I bought one of these pots. I'm waiting for version 3 to see how you make it Gasify, before I drill my holes. Are you going to put a lid type structure on top like the solo stove? Is this what will make it Gasify or create pyrolisis?
HI WHAT IF YOU WERE TO TURN THE TRIVET OVER , PUTTING THE HIGH SIDE IN. YOUR POT WOULD DOWN INSIDE CLOSER TO THE FIRE . I DO NOT KNOW IF THAT WOULD DO ANY GOOD OR NOT. YOU JUST WILL HAVE LESS ROOM FOR WOOD. ALSO YOU COLD USE A SMALL BALL OF TIN FOIL TO PLUG SOME OF THE INLET HOLES TO LOWER INLET AIR FLOW. THIS IS A GOOD SIZE STOVE FOR SMALL GROUP OF PEOPLE.
Mark, I think you need better research, understanding and definition of what pyroiisis actually is. Also in all the woodgas stoves I have used the gasses don't "go back in" because there is not a defined path of travel/channel for that to occur. In fact much of the air goes up the sides just once and into the chamber directly the first time. Also much of the air goes straight in the bottom and up thru the wood. The air is actually being drawn in the bottom and dispersing in all directions as directly and quickly as it can to the exit point... in any case the design of a wood gas stove provides a system with an inner sleeve for good unblocked airflow and an outer sleeve that maximises use of heat energy and thus burning more cleanly. No woodgas stove is perfect but you said yourself that your strainer system burns "pretty clean" so then you have created a "pretty good" woodgas stove that is in fact a wood gasifier. Non the less I suppose you feel the need to cover yourself by saying it is not one... I don't know about that... just say it as it is... I wouldn't mention pyrolysis. Your about the only one that does and it doesn't look any better when you are actually not verifiable.
Thanks for the information. I won't argue that I do not fully understand pyrolysis. Having said that I do feel I understand the airflow through a wood gas stove. If I said the gasses go back in then I spoke incorrectly. My understanding of the airflow is the same as you described.
