Corona Timekiller 3: Making a $100 cup of tea with a Rocket Stove

So for purposes of clarification,

My Wheelbarrow Thread

really should have been Corona Timekiller 1, which would would then make

Corona Timekiller: Hanging Ramps in my Garage

   Corona Timekiller 2

And so now I present Corona Timekiller 3: Making a $100 Cup of Tea with a Rocket Stove.

I learned about Rocket Stoves a few years ago (maybe here) and I have wanted one ever since. This kind of seemed like a good time to pull the trigger on one, so after a little comparison shopping, I placed an order on eBay.

eBay link to my new Rocket Stove

About a week later, and following some very good communication with the seller, a very nicely made, and well packaged rocket stove arrived at my doorstep.

They are designed to burn just about any kind of combustible waste that you can scrape together. So I gathered up some assorted sticks and slightly larger scraps of wood from around The Estate.

Getting it to light took a little more effort than I had expected, but I don't think that my wood was very dry. With some judicious selection of super dry dead sticks, a little cardboard and a few breaths of supplemental air, it cranked right up. I also put a couple of pieces of wood in the vertical chimney to get the draft moving in the right direction.

My goal for the day was to boil water and make tea. I was a little overly optimistic at the volume of water that it could boil quickly at first, but after dumping a little off, we achieved a rolling boil in a relatively short period of time, thereby proving the concept.

Once this thing is up and running, it will burn just about anything. Small dry sticks are easiest, but I also supplemented it with half a handful of wood pellets at one point. I even burned the wet tea bag when I was done, and there was no sign of it during cleanup. The key is to avoid building up a lot of ash at the bottom, which would restrict the flow of fresh air to the fire.

Combustion is very efficient. I am sure that I could improve heating efficiency by stacking blocks around the vertical chimney to minimize heat loss and keep it all aimed at the cooking surface.

I am happy with my purchase, and I am confident that I can boil water, heat a can of soup, or even cook a steak on a skillet with this thing.

And...it's kind of fun. Two Thumbs Up!

I will send you to coordinates of the island that I will be seeking refuge at once mended. Bring that with you. 

In reply to captdownshift :

I will welcome you upon arrival.

Corona virus time killer #4: Now that you have one, reverse engineer it and make one. 

wlkelley3 said:

Corona virus time killer #4: Now that you have one, reverse engineer it and make one. 

I've been doing that in my head for about three years, but I finally decided to just spend $100 and have one mailed to me.

Woody said: Getting it to light took a little more effort than I had expected

Firefighter unable to start fire, cites years of doing the opposite. News at eleven.

That's a nifty little device. I'd love to know how hot you can get it going- it might be decent for melting lead outside.

In reply to Brett_Murphy :

I see where you're going with that, you're also invited to the island

Brett_Murphy said:

Woody said: Getting it to light took a little more effort than I had expected

Firefighter unable to start fire, cites years of doing the opposite. News at eleven.

 

That's a nifty little device. I'd love to know how hot you can get it going- it might be decent for melting lead outside.

Data:

Cleanup:

Airflow was a little better when I threw a scrap metal cover over the feed port. Some stoves come with a similar hinged cover. 

So, for the dummies of the group (namely me) is this just a way to get a screaming hot stove? Does it have a specific purpose?

I'm thinking a stainless J bend in 3" would do the job with a slight mod to the J. Tack a couple flats to the bottom and we are in action. 

And here I just had delivered today 18 feet of 4" square 11 ga tubing.  Humm. 

Mndsm said:

So, for the dummies of the group (namely me) is this just a way to get a screaming hot stove? Does it have a specific purpose?

You can cook stuff using very little fuel. Sticks and twigs.

Dr. Hess said:

And here I just had delivered today 18 feet of 4" square 11 ga tubing.  Humm. 

It sounds like you’re in business. Or at the very least, you can build a really big rocket stove. 

When I was a kid I used to use the British army method of making hot drinks which was to fill a tuna can with sand and pour some lighter fuel over it. It will burn long enough to boil water or a can of soup.

@woody  what does it weigh?

Try running  birch bark in it. It ought to run extremely hot. Birch bark also has the very handy property  of lighting with a match while soaking wet.  At my cabin kerosene is called liquid birch bark

Am I child, or should that stove be painted red?

In reply to octavious :

I’m not near it right now, but I’m sure it’s less than ten pounds. 

A fireman fascinated by fire. Who'd have thunk it. 

I keep threatening to build one, but I have so much crap now it's not even funny. When the world ends I'm just going to have to get by with a regular fire.

In reply to Toyman01 :

I’m actually fascinated by warm meals. 

In reply to Woody :

The best of both worlds!

Wheres the cad file ?

but there are some other ones on Amazon for much less but not as heavy duty as that one !