I just won this Mint, unused Gerry Infra-red stove on eBay. Unlike the stove/infrared heater combo, the stove did not come with the little arm that held the burner at an angle. The burner only sits in the upright position for cooking. I tested the stove on a warm (85 degrees F) day with 20 mph winds. It boiled a liter of water in 12 minutes. The stove is windproof and with no flame, it would be an ideal stove to use under a tarp or in a tent vestibule in inclement weather. Based on significant research conducted by Backpacker Magazine in the '70's, I suspect that the Gerry doesn't produce nearly as much Carbon Monoxide (CO) as other stoves. The Backpacker tests showed that on any brand of liquid fuel or gas vapor stove, where the burner flame impinged on the pot, the greater the concentration of CO. When the testers fabricated longer pot supports, thus increasing the distance between flame and pot, they found marked decreases in the production of CO. As the infra-red stove produces no flame and supports the cook pot high above the heating element, this may produce very low amounts of CO. Of course I don't know this and do not have the equipment to test the hypothesis. The distance and no flame may also contribute to the long boiling times as well.
Interesting that it took twelve minutes. Twelve minutes is a long time for a gas stove to boil a liter of water. Many gas stoves will boil water in one-third the time. I took my Gerry Infrared out last night. I had no trouble getting a boil but it was a very weak boil. When I took the lid off the pot, the boil noticeably receded in terms of its roiling. I guess it's a good simmering stove. Here's the boil after I took the lid off the kettle. Pretty disappointing. HJ
Other than timing to boil as a comparison of "efficiency" between stoves, what difference does it make? I boil water several times per day to make individual cups of coffee, but then I let the water cool down because the coffee 'spurts say to use water for coffee at somewhere around 190 degrees F. I also have an idea that no one is going to put boiling temperature food in their mouth. I'm not talking about gourmet campstove cooking. What do you think? Best, Bob
Bob, Actually, I couldn't agree with you more. In fact, see this blog post of mine on boil times.. However, in the case of the Gerry Infrared, I can barely get it to boil in ideal conditions. Barely. I'm not so much worried about the boil time as I am about the reliability. If I can barely get the stove to boil water under ideal conditions, what happens under inclement conditions out in the bush? I need a stove that I can count on. Again, I'm not so much looking at a twelve minute boil time as a bad thing in and of itself but rather I'm looking at the twelve minute boil time as an indication that the Gerry infrared stove is a really weak stove. Look again at that photo. See how few bubbles there are? That's it. That's the stove at full power after an extended time. The stove was never able to get a stronger roil going than what you see there. Now compare this to a boil in the same pot one week earlier on a Hank Roberts stove: Now that's what I call a boil! I hope I'm wrong, but I'm beginning to think that the Gerry infrared is more of a interesting curiosity than it is a stove. HJ
The Gerry stove looks like one to sell, but not to buy, so that must be why its no longer around. I do understand reliable and also timely for lack of a better word. Bob
I think the boil times are a lot like comparing 0-60mph for cars. It's something you don't practically use everyday, (unless you're driving a certain Subaru Impreza on loan) but it's nice to know the capacity is there, and the actual power comes in use in other instances, like safe overtaking other cars. In stoves this translates to: 1. Boiling water to make it potable 2. Getting hot water in a stiff wind Getting that Gerry to sterilize water in a stiff wind I guess is a bit like trying to overtake an 18-wheeler in a Reliant Robin
I got an infrared stove made by Gerry a week ago for an estate sale. The guy showed me how to unpack it but now I don't know how to put it back together. The part of the leg that let the stove lie sideways cannot be attached correctly onto this stove. Any pictures from any of you is appreciated. I have all the pieces of the stove and the original box but no owner's manual. I tried searching google images for all images dealing with "Gerry infrared stove" and the closest I have come to any picture is the one posted on this page.
Hi, Surewin, You needed to spend a little time looking around, right here at CCS! You were SOOOO close, but did not go far enough to find this link, which is only a few pages past where you already were!! https://classiccampstoves.com/threads/20595 Scroll down the thread that Presscall posted, and you will find the photo that you seek. Good luck, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc P.S. Just about ALL information that you need for almost any stove is here at CCS. You just have to look for it a bit, and it WILL be found! 8)
I've been doing some testing of my own and have concluded that it all depends. Assuming a small backpacking stove and a liter of water, it is more efficient to run it all out when using a large diameter pot. There is plenty of surface area to absorb the heat. Run it on low and the large surface area will dissipate much of the heat. Same stove, same liter of water, but with a small diameter pot and it's more efficient to throttle back. There is only so much surface area to absorb the heat. Run it on high and the excess heat will lost out the side. Of more interest to me is a stove's power or BTU/hr. rating. More power means more versatility provided the stove has good flame control. It gives you the flexibility to simmer rice or heat a large pot to melt snow or boil crawfish. If you're just heating a couple of cups of water to re-hydrate a freeze dried backpacking meal, then an alcohol beer can stove is fine. So like I said, it all depends. If you're ultralight backpacking take the beer can and if you're car camping and cooking for a crowd take the beast of BTUs. P.S. - That reminds me, having a cold can of beer is good in most all circumstances.
I don’t understand why it is infrared. Any infrared appliance I have ever heard of is electric powered.
The actual radiated heat from any stove etc is infra red radiation. Often called infra red light but light refers to visible radiation. In appliances it refers to glowing red heat elements rather than flame
