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Vancouver, BC
Canada
74 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 2:03 PM
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I just received my BioLite camp stove (http://biolitestove.com/campstove/) in the mail yesterday.
This is a wood-burning camping stove that has a built-in fan + USB charger. Yes, that's right. USB charger! It uses a device which takes the heat of the burning wood and turns it into electricity to run the fan and the charger.
I've only just had a chance to unbox it and try it out briefly in my yard, so this is just a preliminary report. I'll write up something a bit more substantial after my first trip.
So, first impressions:
The hardware:
- fit and finish is high quality. Much higher than I expected, given the "startup" nature of the company.
- yes, it's a bit bulky and heavy. 4lbs 2lbs or so. Compare to my camp stove with the big fuel bottle? Pretty close. It's no PocketRocket, but I've never used the canisters so I won't know the difference. :)
- fan/generator are in a plastic little bubble you attach to the side. Why plastic? Not sure, we'll see how this pans out in the long run. Feels solid, though.
The burninating:
- took some cedar shakes i had lying around and just split them into a bunch of .5"x1"x6" strips. Chucked a bunch into the device and threw in a lit firestarter stick (they supply some, but it's basically the Coghlan-style sticks).
- when the wood caught, turned the fan on low, things started to take off pretty quickly from there.
- put in some more wood and turned the fan to high.
- put a pot of about 1 to 1.5L on top. Looked a bit like a blast furnace with fire coming out on all sides. :)
- about 7 minutes later I had a pot of boiling water... however it did involve adding extra wood fairly regularly as I was trying to keep it at maximum scorchiness. It's still pretty hot even when it's burned down a bit.
The cleanup:
- I let the stove burn itself out and turned the fan down to low when the flames died. I left it on its own for awhile at this point, the fan automatically turns itself off when the stove is cool enough.
- All that was left was some very fine ash, hardly anything at all.
- the bottom of the pot was pretty sooty, the inside of the stove not as much. Edges of the stove by the pot were a bit sooty as was the copper heat exchanger.
Final notes:
- they recommend hardwoods for burning as you they burn longer and cleaner. Cedar was probably the worst choice for testing, as I imagine it's pretty cool burning overall. And it burned up super quickly. I could probably have also put in bigger pieces when the stove was at full burn.
- i'm curious how it will work in the woods with the somewhat damp fir and pine that I'm likely to encounter. I am also curious if it will be necessary to bring a small amount of dry fuel to get this thing started enough to put in damp wood (it burns like crazy when the fan is on high so I have no doubt it can handle it at that point).
Final final notes:
- UPS is the worst shipping company in the world. The stove cost around $130, but the UPS guys charged _$40_ to broker it across the border. Absolutely criminal.
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Edited by - grisha on 06/08/2012 11:24 PM
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ALBANY, OR
USA
588 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 3:42 PM
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I seem to remember a trick from ages ago that helped to get the soot off of pans after cooking over a wood fire flame. You smeared the bottom with dish soap. Sooty pans was always a side-effect of wood fire flame cooking. I can't remember a time when it wasn't but maybe I'm just getting old.
Where do you plan on using this stove? I'm curious because of all the restrictions against wood fires and wood collection. |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7095 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 3:46 PM
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| Interesting test results, not only do hardwoods burn longer and cleaner, but hotter as well. Cedar does burn quickly. |
Edited by - AcesHigh on 06/08/2012 3:47 PM |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
1009 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 3:55 PM
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| Palmer, why dont you ask the company that as they seem to advertise using it in parks on their website...im sure its fine but I thought it was funny that they chose those park locations for advertising. |
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salt spring island, bc
Canada
179 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 3:56 PM
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quote:
yes, it's a bit bulky and heavy. 4lbs or so.
Gasp — cool concept, but I'd be unlikely to carry it any further than my backyard. |
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Vancouver
35 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 4:03 PM
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Very cool stove, altho the whole messianic quality regarding the business venture in africa is a little distressing.
In a hiking in finland interview (http://www.hikinginfinland.com/2009/11/interview-fritz-handel-from-bushbuddy.html) with 'local boy' fritz handel, he mentioned a future version of the bushbuddy stove with a thermoelectric generator for these same capabilities, running a fan and charging batteries. if he did it, i'm certain it would come in well under the 4 pounds of this thing. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
74 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 4:07 PM
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Actually, my bad, it's only 2lbs... the shipping weight was 4.
2lbs is around the same as a litre of fuel (certainly a litre of fuel in the bottle), so for a 5-7 day hike it would be on par with what I would carry normally.
As for were I will take it, that's a good question. We'll see how the summer plays out, and the characteristics of the stove. If it's going to be sparky, that may limit the places I can take it when it's dry out.
I don't feel too bad about collecting a few twigs and sticks for running it. Over the long term that's less damage than the petroleum used to run my regular camp stove. It uses fairly little wood and it would only be running for the 7 or 8 minutes I need to boil water (and perhaps a bit longer to cook). While I may not be following the letter of the law, I believe I'm following the intent. I won't be building a fire to sit around and make smores, I probably wouldn't even use as much kindling as I would need to construct such a fire.
Of course, for alpine areas I would have to bring a camp stove or carry wood that I had gathered on the way. I'm not about to desecrate some poor krummholz for the sake of my hot tea. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
77 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 4:25 PM
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| I think this is a neat idea - especially if it burns hotter than my coffee can. I'd be all over this if they remove the gimmicky USB thing, simpler the better.. I guess the only thing would be if you were camping in wet conditions... I'd be leaning towards my whisperlite... |
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ALBANY, OR
USA
588 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 7:12 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by J Mace
Palmer, why dont you ask the company that as they seem to advertise using it in parks on their website...im sure its fine but I thought it was funny that they chose those park locations for advertising.
I checked the websites for Yosemite NP and Glacier. Looks like the stove would be okay as long as camp was kept within established "fire ring" areas and you stayed below tree line. If you hauled your fuel while above treeline and found established camps with fire rings I can't see how a ranger could say much about it, even during "no campfire" periods, because the stove is not a campfire and any ash is contained within the ring.
The smell of wood smoke and the ash are the two things that might be problematic, particularly during prime time of the hiking season or if there is a fire alert. It would be interesting to find out their ruling, much in the same way as bear canisters were evaluated. Then there is the issue of inside a park, or outside in a National Forest. Hopefully, things are a bit more friendly for you in Canada. |
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North Vancouver, BC
Canada
1603 Posts |
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canine loving, machete-toting bushwhacking lake seeker, Indiana Jones hat-wearing off-road 4x4 guru
Surrey Hole, BC
Canada
6773 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 9:06 PM
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| Real field tests are appreciated, maybe its a fail, maybe not. |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7095 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 9:12 PM
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| 4Lbs has already made the failure category for me, but that's just me. Car camping it may be okay. Whisperlite all the way. |
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canine loving, machete-toting bushwhacking lake seeker, Indiana Jones hat-wearing off-road 4x4 guru
Surrey Hole, BC
Canada
6773 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 10:02 PM
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| Chris, its 2 pounds or less, put the other beer down and re read hehe. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
74 Posts |
Posted - 06/08/2012 : 11:25 PM
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Sorry-- I only just now edited the original post with the proper weight. Hopefully that will save some confusion!
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Edited by - grisha on 06/08/2012 11:26 PM |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7095 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2012 : 04:39 AM
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Very funny Boris 
My 25lbs Slesse day pack would be 2 lbs heavier, dunno if I could handle that either |
Edited by - AcesHigh on 06/09/2012 04:41 AM |
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Finally stopping that crazy suffering that is ice, climbing to concentrate on great ski tours!
3503 Posts |
Posted - 06/09/2012 : 06:41 AM
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| These fan-driven micro wood stoves make a lot of sense to me for very long trips. I'm not sure how much extra weight/bulk the USB charger adds, but it's kind of a cool idea. I usually bring my iPhone now, and use the camera, but have no way to charge it. I have a feeling that the stove generates more than enough power for the fan, so that is a nice way to take advantage of that. |
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Mission, British Columbia
1 Posts |
Posted - 06/10/2012 : 3:36 PM
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Grisha and anyone else near the border,
Re: "- UPS is the worst shipping company in the world. The stove cost around $130, but the UPS guys charged _$40_ to broker it across the border. Absolutely criminal."
If you don't want to feed the coffers of those robber barons check out:
http://www.packageexpress.com/
The stove cost me a short walk across the border and less than $3.00 in fees. It has saved me tons of money.
Jody |
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opinionated-stove huggin'-fleece wearin'-arse burnin' hill virgin
Here
Canada
4642 Posts |
Posted - 06/10/2012 : 10:21 PM
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Sorry about the thread hijack (I still don't think that stove is a practical device)....
I concur that UPS sucks. I have had nothing but problems with them and their false delivery notifications. I have been home on almost every single UPS delivery attempt but all I ever get is little stickers on my door saying that I wasn't there. Then I have to go through hell to get the package and I usually end up going to the UPS warehouse at the airport to pick the item up. I don't get how they have time to leave little stickers but no time to actually ring my bell and actually deliver the item. |
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Hope, BC
Canada
7095 Posts |
Posted - 06/10/2012 : 10:48 PM
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| LOL @ HikerBoy, 10 years ago same thing happened to me. I was 10ft from the door all day because they wouldn't provide a time, waiting for a laptop screen to arrive, they came, left a sticker, and ran! Quietly. They didn't ring the bell, it's almost like they tiptoed. I wonder if they get a bonus fee for doing that or something. I was so pissed and had to drive to their warehouse the next day. |
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Vancouver, BC
Canada
439 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2012 : 05:51 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by grisha
- UPS is the worst shipping company in the world. The stove cost around $130, but the UPS guys charged _$40_ to broker it across the border. Absolutely criminal.
Get yourself a PO box across the border. No crazy fees. |
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1448 Posts |
Posted - 06/11/2012 : 4:57 PM
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thanks for the update grisha
Some comments have been made that the power output is effected by the outside temperature. No idea what the company says the rated amp output is or if it really matters if your only charging a i-device etc.
As per UPS, well at least it was only a small item but yes 30% brokerage/taxes on a 130 item is pretty steep. Wait till you ship a 1000.00 item across the border and ups wants 300 dollars and it was a warranty repair.
Bottom line UPS and Fedex are company's you NEVER have something shipped from the USA to Canada. At least UPS trys to screw you right at the door, Fedex gives you our package then mails you a bill 1-2 weeks later asking for the 40.00 They do give you a break on brokerage if you have something sent overnight or 1-2 day express.
Only method to have something sent to canada is USPS... or have your package sent to postage place in Blaine, point Roberts or summas.
quote:
Originally posted by grisha
Final final notes:
- UPS is the worst shipping company in the world. The stove cost around $130, but the UPS guys charged _$40_ to broker it across the border. Absolutely criminal.
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BioLite: first impressions
