Campfire Chatter ...... Stoves.

[oldsparkey]

I'll get the ball rolling by asking if anyone has ever used a Optimus Hiker Camp Stove since I can't remember of anyone saying they have.

The question is about Stoves used for cooking ....NOT Reheating Soup ( I guess reheating beans would be called cooking.) :roll: "O" Well use your own discretion on that or your comments about cooking.
For Kayak Jack an Oldyaker , Oz , Tx River Rat , Piper ,bearridge , bears buddy and a lots more reheating beans is the purest form of cooking.....man ,I'm in trouble now but it is a quiet day. :lol:

For solo paddling or camping I like the good old Zip Stove. All you need is some wood to make it go. ( Providing I don't use one of my homemade alcohol stoves for just reheating things )

Chuck.

 

[Deer Slayer]

Of all the stoves that I've used (MSR Whisperlites, MSR XKG, Primus Multifuel) the litttle Zip stove is my all around favorite....however, my suggestions to those good folks at Zip on how to improve this stove has been ignored :cry: which was to use a gyro, or a flywheel to run the fan..... :idea:

None the less, it always has an honored place in me drybag....

 

[oldsparkey]

Life is interesting to say the lease......

Today I learned something .... YEP , I learned something new and for the better.

http://www.wisementrading.com was a 10 year dealer for the Zip Stoves , today they have made a major step , no longer a dealer , the Owner.

Zip Stoves decided to retire so wisementrading has bought out Zip Stoves and is continuing there good reputation.

They are now located in Alabama , Land Line ... 888-891-8411 and the gentlemen I talked to ( a quite frank person who answers questions truthfully and a person that is a pleasure to talk with ) is Noah Wahl.

If you call Zip Stoves toll free land line at 800-594-9046 you will be redirected to wisementrading.com

By the way I told Noah about us and warned him that we are not quite right but do like good camping and paddling gear... He advised that one family member has the THIRD Grumman Canoe ( 15 footer) that was ever made , purchased from the factory when new by a family member who is paddling the heavenly waters at this time but they still have it in the family.... I will let him fill in the blanks if he signs on here.

Chuck.

 

[Kayak Jack]

I like twig stoves. I have two of them; one given to me by Bear's Buddy. He made it from a pattern, and it works well.

The other is a take apart stove, the LittlBug http://www.littlbug.com/stories.html It is made of stainless steel, comes apart to pack easily around an air mattress or sleeping pad. No fan, I fan it with my hat (Akubra hats are "fan the fire water the dog hats) or blow a bit on it.

I plan to get ambitious in a week or two, and drill a hole for a blowing tube.

 

[bearridge]

O Master of Flow Bizness,

The more I use the Zip, the more I like it. Been on the same AA battery fer 2-3 years. The fan makes it special. On high, I kin shape a horseshoe, on low I kin boil water quicker'n politican kin tell a lie. So far I jest use it fer coffee 'n heatin' up Mexican corn 'n clam chowder.

regards
bearridge

If you ain't got no money, ain't nobody calls you honey. Ellas Bates (Bo Diddley)

 

[Deer Slayer]

(Here's hoping that I don't ire the company's new owners...)

If ya be needing a windscreen for ye ole Zip, you'll find that a Turtle wax can will fit the stove like a glove. Remove the bottom, and cut a port in the side to feed the little beastie and ya'll be good to go... 8)

 

[rhutchinson]

Here is a link for a stove I found that is interesting, but I havent built it yet.
http://thru-hiker.com/projects/nimblewill_stove.php
It can be built out of just about anything you can scroung :wink:
Richard

 

[Kayak Jack]

Other campers have built this and like it. I've noticed that the height of a stove is more useful than the length or width. It needs to have height to develop a draw. Heat goes up, not sideways.

I have a little hand-held fan with folding prop blades. Runs on 2 AA batteries. I can cool me - or heat the fire with it. As Br'r Bear observes, with a fan you can bend horse shoes. A bloody blast furnace.

 

[BEARS BUDDY]

Why reheat beans? :shock:

 

[oldsparkey]

As some of you know ... I'm sort of a camping gear nut , don't believe me just ask my wife. She refers to my bedroom and workshop as a sporting goods store for paddling and camping. :lol:

Well... When I was on the phone with Noah Wahl at http://www.wisementrading.com I placed an order for the stainless steel pot and lid (frying pan) for the Zip Stove. They call it a kettle /lid.....(frying pan ). Cost was $16.00 plus $5.90 for shipping.

It arrived today and sure as heck , it is really nice and the stove slips right down in it with the lid resting on the top. Makes a nice combined , compact , cooking and eating outfit for the woods. The whole shebang fits in the stuff sack for the stove so it is easy to keep track of.

I haven't tried the pot or the pan but by being stainless it should be OK and last a long time , longer then I will have to worry about.

No..I havent set my stainless GI Mess Kit aside , that goes with me no matter what.

Looking forward to trying this new pot and pan out , might have to be here at the house unless November and the cooler weather gets here in a hurry , or a hurricane.

Chuck.

 

[Too Busy]

Sparkey
A buddy of mine carried the older version of the Optimus for 3 months backpacking around Europe. It never let him down.

Personally, I'm a big fan of ultra lightweight alcohol stoves. My favorite is a Pepsi can stove that weighs an ounce and will boil a pint of water in about 7 minutes. It does not simmer well though.

 

[oldsparkey]

Sparkey

Personally, I'm a big fan of ultra lightweight alcohol stoves. My favorite is a Pepsi can stove that weighs an ounce and will boil a pint of water in about 7 minutes. It does not simmer well though.

I have several of the Pepsi can stoves , mine are made from a 24 oz Budweiser can , more fun making them empty ones so you can make the stove. I have given quite a few of them to friends.

By the way they do work when just sitting inside the Zip Stove as an alternative cooking/heat source. Great thing is you don't have to worry about them tipping over when they are in there. Really safe for cooking inside a tent.

Just let the little sucker cool down before reaching in to pull it out of there. DON'T ASK. :lol:

Chuck.

 

[Manjimike]

Here is a link for a stove I found that is interesting, but I havent built it yet.
http://thru-hiker.com/projects/nimblewill_stove.php
It can be built out of just about anything you can scroung :wink:
Richard

I built mine with titanium sheet from Thru hiker but modified it a little -
http://my.opera.com/Manjimike/albums/show.dml?id=403662

I can use it the normal way up for woodchips or coke can stove, upside down for hexamine tablets or with no floor as an extra windscreen for my canister stove.

73 Mike

 

[Kayak Jack]

Aye god, Mikey - you're a thinking fellow. I admire that. The genius is hidden in the simplicity of it.

 

[Manjimike]

Thanks Jack,
I needed to be sure that I had a good meal at the end of a long day, so that is why I strayed from my normal maxim of trying to get each piece of equipment to do more than one function, and carried a back up to the canister stove. My Nimblewill only weighs 3oz.

73 Mike

 

[Kayak Jack]

Mike, every twig stove needs more holes for better air ventilation. You can shave another fraction of an ounce there. More importantly, the wood burns more smoke free.

Speaking of which, what, if anything, do you do about creosote on pan bottoms? I tend to ignore it and let the dishwasher worry about it when I get home. It takes off a few big flakes.

 

[bearridge]

Friend Jack,

We tend ta fill up with WalMart bags. I use one ta wrap each of my cook pots. When it comes time ta break camp. I jest shove the pot back in the bag. Back home I swap out a fresh bag ever now 'n then. I scrubbed a pot once. Dont plan on anymore of that. :wink:

I put liquid soap on the bottom of the pots, but it dont stop the soot.

regards
bearridge

Dragline: Why you got to go and say fifty eggs for? Why not thirty-five or thirty-nine?
Luke: I thought it was a nice round number.

 

[oldsparkey]

Friend Jack,

I put liquid soap on the bottom of the pots, but it dont stop the soot.

regards
bearridge
.

Oldyaker .. Where in the heck does Bear get the soot on his pots , better yet ... How does that happen. All I've ever seen is his plate going from camping stove to camping stove , no flame under it. :lol:

Bear is our official camp food taster , and one darn good one at that. Guess that is what makes it so much fun camping with him , not counting all the Boat Science being spread around the campfire later.

Karen must run his pots over a candle to check for leaks or bite marks when he gets home after a trip , that might explain the soot on them. :roll:

Sorry Bear , Ya is just to much fun to not pick on.

Chuck.

 

[bearridge]

Me'n Ole Rod Dangerfield......caint git no respect. :wink:

 

[Kayak Jack]

Thanks, Br'r Bear. You had some good info.