Rocket stove.

[danucrom]

A rocket stove is great if you want to get high tempratures for cooking/boiling water etc. They use very little wood and are cheap and easy to make (in my experience most of the stuff needed to make one can be obtained for free).


Here is a good demo I found on youtube.

http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=eqUsUMlyIeQ

[stickwhistler]

Here is a better video with instructions.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=797446823830833401

I built one from an old gas cylinder in about 1 hour.
(Make sure it's empty if you use one :eek: !!!)
I used baked bean tins for the tubes and bend,
and used vermiculite instead of ashes ( I didn't have any ashes!),
and it really does work.

Use twigs - no tools required, except hands and feet, to collect fuel.

[them]

Vavrek scares me a bit.. took a while to work out why..

http://www.thefilmchair.com/images/charlie.jpg

I love practical solutions like the Rocket Stove & Solar Cooker.

I don't think I'm going to get much done today.. other than building a Rocket Stove that is :)

Links to sites mentioned by Charlie in his Stove video

http://www.aprovecho.org/web-content/media/ashden.htm

http://www.aprovecho.net/

http://www.solarcookers.org/basics/how.html

And Ray Mears too, because I like him.

http://www.raymears.com/

[danielg]

I have Irish storm kettle from www.green-shopping.co.uk, they go wild once they get going!
They work better than that youtube example as the water is stored at the edge of the flame.
http://www.eydonkettle.com/stormkettle.html

[stickwhistler]

The Irish storm kettle, or ghillie kettle, aka kelly kettles are brilliant for
boiling water on little fuel - mine (1.5 litre) will nearly boil a cup of water on
a sheet of newspaper.

The problem is that they only boil water - you can't really cook on
them - narrow top.

Nothing better for boiling water though.
A handful of dry leaves or a few twigs is all they need.

[on the road]

top idea this.

going to make one of these units tomorrow out of a paint tin and bean cans :)

[steevo]

Hey thanks guys this is the best idea yet. I am gonna make one of these things, or buy one, or both :)

[steevo]

Alot of theose Kelly Kettles seem to be made of alluminium :confused: I thought that alluminium was toxic ? I need advice on this one. Anyway, I will look out for a stainless steel one.

Looks like I will have to make my own rocket stove though cos not sure if anywhere sells them.

[steevo]

I have a stainless steel flask (to keep drinks hot) and I wonder if I could change it somehow to turn it into a Kelly Kettle.

Here is a good website showing how a Ghillie Kettle works (http://www.danishflydesign.dk/Sider/Ghillie%20kedel/Ghillie-Engelsk.htm)

[steevo]

I have been looking on YouTube last night and most of today to find out how to make rocket stoves (and other stuff). Anyway, I found an excellent webpage which shows exactly how one works. It's a great webpage so check it out cos it has details of other stoves and other ways to cook, for example solar reflectors :-
The brilliant Rocket Stove was developed by Dr. Larry Winiarski and the Aprovecho Research Center.

This excellent design is a combination of a number of design principles:

·Insulation around the fire keeps the fire burning hot (above 600°C or 1100°F), which is more efficient.
·Insulation around the chimney increases the draft, which provides a constant supply of air.
·Low mass materials are used, so that the heat produced is absorbed by the food cooking instead of the stove.
·Wood burns at the tip, and wood is shoved into the fire, controlling the burn rate and reducing smoke.
·The air/fuel mixture is controlled, since too much air will only cool the fire.
·A skirt around the pot maximizes heat contact and transfer into the food.
·Cooking occurs directly on top of the chimney for efficient heat transfer. This is possible because the stove burns at high temperatures and is nearly smokeless.

The Rocket stove design is a very versatile design which can be improvised with a variety of different materials.

The heart of the stove is an elbow-shaped, insulated combustion chamber. The fuel, in the form of sticks or narrow pieces of wood (or even tightly rolled-up paper, if that’s all you have), is fed into the fire on the shelf, as shown. The air enters into the fire underneath the shelf. Because the combustion chamber is insulated, the fire can get very hot, and burn very efficiently.
http://www.inthewake.org/images/rocket2.gif
To build a rocket stove, you will need a larger housing container, such as a coffee can. Make a hole to put the fuel in through.

For the elbow-shaped chamber you can use stove-pipe, scrap metal, or a pair of cans put one into the other. An improvised can chamber will last for about 3 months. Plastering the inside with castable firebrick will improve the lifespan. A taller chimney will be more smokeless. However, a shorter chimney will let the flame touch the bottom of the pot, and transfer heat more efficiently to the food.

Place the elbow joint inside of the larger container. You may need to place a brick or other material underneath to help keep the placement. Then fill the space between the elbow and the housing with fireproof insulation. This insulation could include wood ash, vermiculite, perlite, pumice rock, dead coral or air-trapping layers of aluminum foil.

You will need to make a shelf for the fuel wood to put in the elbow joint. You can pound a can flat, and cut it to fit.

You may want to make a wire grill to place on top of the housing, to rest the pot on.

Adding a metal skirt will also help the heat transfer tremendously, because it will force the hot gases to rub against more of the pot, as shown. The skirt should be about 1 cm from the pot.

Starting a Rocket stove is a little bit different from starting an open fire. Try putting your tinder on the shelf, igniting it, and then pushing the fuel in.

Source : http://www.inthewake.org/b1cooking.html

[steevo]

Thanks danucrom for bringing the rocket stove to our attention. I love it and have wanted this info for ages. :)

Here is a better video with instructions.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=797446823830833401

I built one from an old gas cylinder in about 1 hour.
(Make sure it's empty if you use one :eek: !!!)
I used baked bean tins for the tubes and bend,
and used vermiculite instead of ashes ( I didn't have any ashes!),
and it really does work.

Use twigs - no tools required, except hands and feet, to collect fuel.

Thanks stickwhister that is a great video and I am gonna make one of them stoves very soon.

[on the road]

Made one today out of a 6" paint tin and some empty tins

set it up in the back -it was blowing a fucking hooligan and raining too

got the water rather hot then fucked it off cos i was getting wet lol

i love my rocket stove :)

[steevo]

Made one today out of a 6" paint tin and some empty tins

set it up in the back -it was blowing a fucking hooligan and raining too

got the water rather hot then fucked it off cos i was getting wet lol

i love my rocket stove :)

Great stuff on the road!
When I make mine I will post some pics on here. I may take me a while though cos I need to find a big tin and buy some tubes cos I wanna do a good job of it, but I will probably make a cock up lol but it's good practice for the future :D
I eventually want to make one with a tube coming out for the excess smoke to exit, although I am aware that those stoves are only for outdoor purposes.

[danucrom]

Great stuff on the road!
When I make mine I will post some pics on here. I may take me a while though cos I need to find a big tin and buy some tubes cos I wanna do a good job of it, but I will probably make a cock up lol but it's good practice for the future :D
I eventually want to make one with a tube coming out for the excess smoke to exit, although I am aware that those stoves are only for outdoor purposes.

I have found that the best tin to use is a 20L veg oil container, try asking for one at a cafe or a restraunt.. Garages also use large cans for motor oil/gear oil etc

Here are a couple of pictures to give you an idea:

http://www.vihenthi.com.au/veg_oil.JPG

http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~hoshinosekiyu/1330.jpg

[lookfar]

I've just found this thread from a google search on rocket stoves & thought it needed bumping as it has some excellent info:)

[glacidtek]

I have found that the best tin to use is a 20L veg oil container, try asking for one at a cafe or a restraunt.. Garages also use large cans for motor oil/gear oil etc

Here are a couple of pictures to give you an idea:

http://www.vihenthi.com.au/veg_oil.JPG

http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~hoshinosekiyu/1330.jpg

quoted to see the pics.

a freiend introduced me to the rocket stove a while ago but I had forgotten. Thanks for the reminder.

[apollo_gnomon]

quoted to see the pics.
. . . and yet I still can't see 'em. Grumph.

Here are the url's in friendly, blue clickable form.

http://www.vihenthi.com.au/veg_oil.JPG (http://www.vihenthi.com.au/veg_oil.JPG)
http://www.vihenthi.com.au/veg_oil.JPG


http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~hoshinosekiyu/1330.jpg (http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~hoshinosekiyu/1330.jpg)
http://www.eonet.ne.jp/~hoshinosekiyu/1330.jpg[/QUOTE]

[motleyhoo]

I really like the diy idea of putting together a small rocket or catfood can stove as a backup. I also have my eye on a Trangia 27-5 for a main stove because it comes with everything you need and runs on denatured alcohol which is plentiful and easy to carry, and it comes with a simmer diffuser.

http://www.andrewskurka.com/advice/technique/fancyfeaststove.php

http://www.amazon.com/Trangia-27-5-Ultralight-Stove/dp/B001H3R7RI

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