What Alan said pretty much. The one I had with the stove had a faulty soldered joint. Seller replaced it without quibble or requiring its return. The replacement has performed faultlessly. I’ve used the stove/grill/power pack a lot and perhaps thanks to the small current drain of the fan and in spite of only deploying the solar panels when I’ve used the stove I’ve not had to charge it externally. Point to note, I was in touch with the UK ebay seller recently - earlier in the year I’d bought a second set for larger catering situations (just before Covid, so they’ve not happened yet!) - and he said that the manufacturer was intending to bring out a better grill design, some time early next year at best guess.
The agony of waiting one more year... Perhaps, somehow, I might need two? Do you think he sells the grill separately?
I've just ordered one, it'll make an interesting comparison to my Woodgas Campstove XL and Biolite (the basic non generator version).
I expect so if asked. Fires up less hesitantly than the Biolite I’ve found, but the grill attachment is more fiddly to set up than the Biolite’s. The issue is that if the stove’s lit before fitting the grill it’s scorched finger time to connect the two. The grill has to be attached beforehand therefore, but it obscures the firebox to some extect, not an issue to stoke the fire when underway, but during start-up it’s best to remove the trivet (easily clips and unclips) to get better access to the fuel charge to tend the fire during its early stages.
I got a response and what will be improved is a thicker wire gauge for the stainless steel grill, which seems like a proper improvement. The grill wire looks a bit (pre) bend on your original photo's and my experience with my stainless steel smoker, the thicker, the better. Can't wait to try it out on my next camping trip or a balcony winter bonfire session.
Right. The existing one slumps only as far as the corrugated heat distributor directly below, so it’s not a problem. Is the grill available separately as you asked?
I asked for a separate stove without the solar panel and battery bank. That's possible. And he sells the grill separately too. Awesome guy. 100% going to buy that stove. Also, while wasting time on Aliexpress trying to hunt down that elusive Nomado stove, I found this one. The OE-Tex seems to be better made, what do you think?
It appears to be, yes. The gauge of stainless steel is greater by the look of it - very robust I’ve found - and the pivot joints of pot rests and feet appear to be more substantial on the OE-Tex.
@Don Octavio I've not actually done a recorded discharge/charge cycle with the pack but as a price point with other solar chargers the stove comes free.
I must say I've been very impressed with the build quality. and performance especially now my variable speed units have arrived, a big improvement over the two speed control.
Just wondered if you guys are still using the stove, grill, solar power? Would you still recommend buying one? Cheers barneey
O.T. John . After these pictures, I am hungry. I only have a can of sardines in the fridge...and, fortunately, some beer.
Does that 1.3 kg include the powerpack? Does it include the solar charger? (By the way: Wonderful photos and discussion. Interesting device.)
@Schnuppiepup the powerpack is incorporated in the flip-out solar panels assembly, but no, that’s not included in that figure.
Nice thread John. I missed it previously. My Biolite runs great at low also. I use higher to get it going. I would suspect that the fan would be damaged by the fire, your test says "not so". Interesting.
@snwcmpr I’ve had the stove for three years Ken and have used it regularly. A year into ownership I had the same concern you had, though the fan had showed no sign of complaint, but more of that in a moment. As I demonstrated, the lower part of the stove remains cool enough to touch during firing and that’s good news for the fan. Much like with the Biolite, the stove’s instructions advocate running the fan during the stove’s post-burn cooling-down period, so there’s that proviso that the fan’s got to be running whenever the stove’s hot, the air it draws in keeping it from overheating. However, I wanted to incorporate an additional factor of safety and cut a heat-insulating gasket out of burner washer sheet material. I reckon that should extend the life of the lubricant in the shaft ball-bearing nearest the combustion chamber by shielding it from radiant heat, extending the life of the fan thereby. Unnecessary modification? Possibly.
