The other night it finally got cold enough to go out in the tipi and test the new ammo can stove I bought a few weeks ago. If you haven’t read about it yet I reviewed it here and Calamity Jane talked about it here.
Honestly, I had my doubts about how hot it would get, but I’m happy to report that this little stove can really crank out the heat. The tipi does not have a liner and all I was able to do was close the smoke hole most of the way leaving it open just enough for the stove pipe to go through.
There were still a few gaps around the bottom and the wind was blowing at least 25 mph making it very drafty inside and I didn’t think it would really get hot enough to make a difference under those circumstances.
The first time I did it as per instructions and used hard wood for the fire. I used birch bark to get it going and kept the pieces of hardwood small – about kindling size or a little bigger. I fired it up and sat back to examine my knife while it heated up. (See my cold steel bushman knife post.)
A few nights later my dad and I slept in the tipi and this time there was no wind. I hadn’t cleaned the stove from the prior use because I wanted to put it to the test; to see if it would work under less than ideal conditions. It fired right up and worked like a champ. I used fir to start the fire and ran it that way for about fifteen minutes before switching back to hard wood. Once again it ran beautifully. This time I cranked it up and let it run hot for a few hours. Some of the paint peeled off, which I expected. It doesn’t affect the performance of the stove and I don’t expect my camping gear to be beautiful – just serviceable.
The only beef I had with the stove was the small door handle broke when I used a piece of wood to open it and close it.The bottom line is that this stove works as advertised and I look forward to taking it out on a cold weather camping trip next winter.
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The thought that evolved as I saw this little stove is that the thinking is individualistic in the sense that during these times there should be no lone wolf’s, we should all try to be part of a group during a time like this, as an old guy maybe hunkering down isn’t your mindset but running is not an option in the sense of hitting the wood’s with a BOB, tho this stove is a nice addition for anyone who is on their own or is going to show up at a place to camp out in a corner of the field or such, Just an ole guy thought. “C”
My initial thought when I saw this was ” Wow ! thats cool , somebody’s been thinking ! ” what I got out of it more than anything was good old fashion American ingenuity , something that has almost been bred out of us in modern times . They took an existing common item as a base , that has been only used for it obvious storage for decades , and turning it into a practical , very portable item that is completely different . This is the kind of thinking that won WW2 . It also fills a gap that has been missing . Before this , all we had to choose from was either the junky pocket folding stoves for backpackers ( honestly , cant you just build a campfire ? those things are worthless ) or jump ahead to the larger stoves that are not portable for one person to carry easily . ” Lone wolf ” ? , yes and no , it is very appealing for those that are on their own because its portable and substantial , but because of this it could also be used in a group situation . Think of how the military works , the military is all about the group and not the individual , but if you look at how the equipment is designed , its made ( more often than not ) for one person to carry . Even though its made for the group , one person is designated to carry it for the group . I know a lot of deep woods backpackes that do things this way , each member of the group is designated to carry an element of the camp . Thats the cool thing about this thing , it can be used either way .
I agree T.R.
Each individual carries their own kit, but can also carry an extra piece of equipment that can be assembled for the greater good of the whole unit. Such as a bigger stove that breaks down in pieces that everybody can use.
Weapons systems like mortars (the 60 mm anyway) are designed to be carried by a small group. One guy carries the tube, another guy gets the baseplate, the third gets the bipod, etc. in addition to their own personal weapon. There are many systems like this in the service.
My initial thought is, will you have to pack the concrete blocks with you on your camping trip? Can it stand on a dirt floor or do you need something to stand it on in a camping setting?
I had it standing in the dirt first and it was fine, but wanted to get it up a little higher to feed it easier.
Has anybody tried to do real cooking on it ? And what differences does soft or hard wood make ? For what it is , you can burn anything in it , coal would be an interesting test .
The only thing I did was heat water on it for coffee when we woke up. I used a standard canteen cup (uncovered) about half full and it heated the water up in less than 10 minutes. I didn’t try and cook on it, although I’m sure you could if you had a small frying pan.
Be neat to hear a field test of cooking times , somebody has probably tried it out by now . I wonder if you welded a couple of small 14g steel plates to the sides where the cooking area would be , if that would make the thinner cooking surface above , hotter ? either way , its a cool little stove and I can see many spontaneous uses for it . Kind of like a telescopic fishing pole , its there if you want it , but small enough to be out of your way when you dont .
Man, I must not have prepped that door for paint! They will loose some paint but I have never lost any on the door or the outside for that matter. I will be testing some high temp paint with a higher rating soon and we are useing hickory handles now with larger screws. I am planning on sending out the new hickory handles to any one that would like to change out.
Thanks for the input,
Tim
Hi Tim – I would be interested in one of those hickory handles. Thanks.
I wonder if stove black would work in place of paint ?
TR, touche’, a very wise essay there, and group’s do share so that is the wise side, my thinking stayed inear in thinking one guy is going to tote this plus other gear when the essential weight can be used for other purposes, and Jarhead is correct too I see it often where a squad while distribute the weight, again my thinking was along the lone wolf scenario, maybe not a wise choice but I’m not running, time to stand and the line was drawn in the sand for me….
we are both correct , same thing seen in a different way .
Thanks for the update, Jarhead. I’ve had my eye on these since CJ mentioned them in one of her posts.
Joe