This is my first stove post, so I hope this is done right. Anyway, here's my Sierra solid fuel stove. I think I got it in the late 1990's. It was long ago, so I'm not even sure if I got it from ZZ corp or second hand. Anyway, it was a bundle including larger battery pack and grill. (Both are still unused.) The stove has been pretty heavily used. It's been a while now, but I used it a lot for some years. I was a little careless and managed to burn the motor, but it is a standard toy motor so it was pretty easy to replace. Overall, it gives a slight home made impression. That is both good an bad I guess. The pot set is pretty neat. A snug fit for the stove. This addition (grate?) makes it easier to add more fuel. It is very unlike me to save boxes, but I'm glad I saved this. There was also a small nylon bag to pack the things in. (Of course, also scorched.) I'll try to get some flame shots tomorrow.
I like it. I had one (stove only) a few years back I bought at a junk store. It rolled around my desk for a couple years and got sold again. Love the pot set.
As promised, some flame shots. I had planned to shoot before daylight was gone, but I had some technical problems. Somehow, I had managed to grab two, not just one, dead batteries. What are the odds? The troubleshooting included using a multimeter and some disassembly, and forced running on 10.8 V screwdriver batteries. It was almost completely dark before I thought of testing the batteries. Not ideal for photography. Because of this, I mix some flash shots and some non flash shots (pretty blurry). The time between flash and no flash is just seconds, but the difference is huge. The stove lit and has been running for a few minutes. Shot using the flash. The same shot without flash: It's just a week before Christmas, so no coffee today. Glögg is the hot beverage we like in Sweden this season. It was heated to plasma-like temperatures in seconds. The "smoke" in this shot is alcohol vapour: Because it is only Thursday, I decided not to drink the alcohol. It is boiling off quickly. I like to burn stuff, so let's not waste the alcohol completely: The alcohol is actually burning in both of the last two shots, but the flash made the alcohol flames invisible.
One of the things I like most about CCS is learning about the customs in other lands and cultures. Though they may differ markedly from our own, no doubt they have their own historical reasons for being.
Beautiful! That's certainly a different take on an alcohol burner... Reminds me I need to grow my own modest collection of wood burning stoves, which only includes one kettle at the moment (similar to the kelly kettle) that I'm not very enamoured with...
I should mention that this was a destructive way to heat glögg. Normally, it is heated very carefully. It is frowned upon to heat it beyond 78 degrees C. Boiling glögg can render comments like "Why are you ruining the glögg?", and generous spiking to "compensate the loss". Also, most kitchens in Sweden don't have gas stoves. The absence of open flame makes heating any alcoholic beverage safer. A lid is also very handy when heating glögg.
Indeed. Sweden was a nation of heavy drinkers a few hundred years ago. This changed in the late 19'th and early 20'th century, much thanks to the sobriety movements (Nykterhetsrörelsen). I'm no historian, but I believe it is the reason why we mostly only drink on weekends. There are exceptions to this "rule". Glögg drinking before Christmas is actually one of the socially accepted exceptions. Keep in mind that customs are constantly changing and differ wildly within Sweden too. For instance, I believe the weekend-only approach might be more dominating in rural Sweden. I'm sure many Swedes would object to any of my statements. Me too. It is difficult, or impossible, to summarize customs and cultures in a few words. Take it for what it is. A tiny peeping hole into the mind of one single Swede. It's not an average Swede either. I'm interested in camping stoves.
Thanks for the great pictures of stove in use, always nice to use a stove that has some past personal history. Your pictures should help with what went on that night, thinking you added more after the burn off. I have a early edition with battery built into base. If you what a longer burn try breaking a charcoal briquette up and place on top at start up. Stay safe Daryl sunny SoCal
@Sven O Very interesting, Sven. Though I meant it as a bit of a quiet joke.... We of course also have a history of temperance movements. And there are many who only drink on the weekends, but it's interesting to hear of that as an established practice in some places or regions of countries. It sounds like a salutary custom, in fact. Here it's sort of an informal humorous concept that the weekend starts on Thursday.... Ed
That's a very impressive cookset. I'm big fan (sorry) of powered woodgas burners. The nearest I own is the Woodgas Campstove XL. I would dearly like to find the truly enormous version of this stove that a friends father used to bring to an annual Edale camp. It was big enough to cook food in a large pan for eight of us at a time.
