£35 and a fortnight to ship from China, Amazon purchase. I've fancied a Biolite but the cost of one was daunting. I saw an unused Markill version on ebay but remembered Terry (Trojandog) had one, featured HERE so asked him how it served in the longer term - the fan packed up and he binned it. Packs up compactly. The powerhouse, a battery-powered centrifugal fan with a two-speed setting. A fair blast of air through the stainless steel pierced firebox base. Many of the posters of Youtube videos of this stove - and there are quite a few - overlook the rather vital detail of the air control shutter and keep it shut during the firing. Clearly, little or no air blast gets through to the firebox if the shutter's not opened. The combination of shutter and fan speed offer a wide range of control. Cover in place over the shutter. Collapsible fire box and pot rests. Pot rests swing out for larger pots. Everything packs away. The box and instructions. I'll be firing it up and featuring the results next opportunity I get - lots of heavy rain here for the past 48 hours. John
Hi John. It looks much better made than the Markill. On the Markill, the fan and electronics were cheap and flimsy, plus they were directly below the fire pot. In use, the bottom unit housing the fan, electrics and battery, could only be touched wearing gloves. Looking forward to your assessment of this gizmo. Terry
With less vigour, Ken, as some of those U-tube posters had it performing by having the air intake flap closed. Just performs as a naturally-aspirated fire box. Taking along a couple of spare AA batteries wouldn't be too much of a problem, but I'll grant it gets away from the 'back to basics' aspect of burning found materials. John
@snwcmpr It may well be ... all will be revealed when I fire this sucker up ... I know that's not how you speak Ken, it's received Americana from watching a couple of series of Bosch on Amazon Prime. John
Incredible detailed photo layout of every detail of the stoves. Post like this sure gives a real insight on a stove to decide if its for you or not as well as the ins and outs. Not my cup of tea but I if it landed in my lap it would be fun to play with.
looks well made but i think the alloy parts look a bit brittle perhaps it is time for a brass revival - stove makers please note
Once again .. Great Thanks John for another comprehensive/concise stove report. This thread and its extensions are, alone, worth the price of CCS full membership. The last pic of glowing embers is in a class of its own...quality above the already high benchmark you obviously set yourself. Quality. I'm very intrigued by this stove ... so much so I hit the BIN button and await the posty. The detail of the silicone seal/heat isolator and flip bottom and catch looks to be well thought out and neatly executed. Looking overall to be a well thought out package. 6000 btu? with a 24kg load capacity..... that's serious overengineering. I've played with force air fed wood/charcoal stoves .... now realising the 'key' is a heat resistant 'fluid bed'.. as used in old/modern industrial boilers. A great post ,,, thanks for the dedication /time required. To my mind, a seriously interesting stove. Thanks for bringing it to my attention and it costing me ££s.. and an impatient long wait. Bloody stoves ,, b'strd pooters .. who'd 'av 'em ? Kindest regards, Nick
@brassnipplekey Thanks Nick. I've PT'd you about meeting up for a test firing to tide you over while you're waiting to take delivery of yours. John
Oooooh . Temptation . ho hum = cant resist . Yes . I'll bring a kellykettle thingy .. see if they work in com bination . sounds like a plan . Nick.
I have got two fan assisted woodgas stoves The smaller one is the Woodgas LE Heat Output - high power: 10,000 BTU/hour (3 KW) Heat Output - low power: 5,000 BTU/hour (1.5 KW) Burn Time: 10-12 Minutes for single charge of twigs Burn Time: 40-50 minutes for single charge of sawdust pellets (burn times vary greatly depending on fuel used but stove can operate continuously by carefully adding fuel every couple minutes) Fuel Consumption - high power (dry): 1.7 lbs/hour (0.8 Kg/hour) Fuel Consumption - low power (dry): 0.9 lbs/hour (0.4 Kg/hour) Total Height: 6.5" (16.5 cm) Total Diameter: 5" (12.7 cm) Fire Pot Height: 4" (10.1cm) Fire Pot Diameter: 4" (10.1cm) Total Weight: 1 lb 10 oz (740g) Power Usage: ~150mA at 3V (high power) Power Usage: ~140mA at 3V (low power) Batteries (not included): 2-AA Battery Life (Alkaline): 10-11 hours Here is a video I shot a few years back
The development of the wood(gas) "camp"stoves have also/often been initated by needs in third-world countries. Open woodfires are still being used for cooking, and is a highly ineficcient use of a scarced supply of wood.Healthissues are also a concern, so are emmission into the invironment. Even those passive draught stoves offers a huge improvment in fuel efficiency and so adresses the issues above. These fan-assisted stoves further improves combustion and efficiency,and reduces polition both with regards to the households health and the environment. A way to power the fan is typically adressed with solar powered chargers. Stoves should be made avaliable at a low-profit policy in order to make them avaliable for these communities. Programs to support local manufacturing and trade should be encourraged. http://c8.alamy.com/comp/AG3P8M/bas...uring-bitterly-cold-winter-weather-AG3P8M.jpg
I've slow cooked baby back pork ribs covered in mustard and pork rub on a bed of sliced red onions and yellow peppers, with a splash of beer, in a Dutch oven, on this stove, with about 18 pressed barbeque briquettes as the only fuel, with minimal effort. Just check on it every 15 minutes minutes, and maybe add 2 briquettes every 30 minutes. Initially I started extra charcoal in the stove to place on top of the oven, and this had to be done a second time around an hour in.
