ChainsawGrandpa
01-12-2010, 12:36 PM
Woodstove
Light (general and task)
Here?s a review of a few products that I have; ?on, and off again?, field tested during my five years of ?Dang, it?s cold I wish I wasn?t here? building experience.
Product #1
Wood-gas stove
Right up front I have to say this product hasn?t been field tested. I have read, studied, and 1 ? years later, bought, and then tested this stove just yesterday.
This is the mid-sized ?XL? wood-gas stove from woodgascampstove.com. Yesterday, a friend and I loaded this stove with sticks of Western Red Cedar, and a Vasaline impregnated cotton ball. Over the course of about 12 minutes, the stove was reloaded three times, (fruitwood, oak, or wood pellets give a burn in excess of thirty minutes without reloading) and boiled a #10 can of water on a dark, cold January Winter day. The stove runs on 2 ? AA batteries, and will run for 7 hours on the high fan setting.
According to manufacturers stated charge-cycle duration, the life span of these batteries 15 minutes per use, one use/day, @ 7 hours per use per charging cycle x 500 charging cycles over the life time of the batteries = about 55 years. My guess is the batteries will corrode or turn to dust long before they reach the end of their useful charge life.
Impression:
Lightly built (designed to be backpacked) but I doubt this all stainless steel unit will burn through. It is a quality, and expensive product. The stove can be found online for as little
as $72, and at that price, may, or may not come with the travel bag. The idea behind this stove is free fuel, portability, and ability to extend the reserves of your white gas, or propane.
As soon at the stove arrived, I did a quick study on how it was made, and how it works. I immediately redesigned the stove. The new design has a long burn cycle, high heat output (180,000 ? 250,000? BTU/hr.), and when mated to an outside heat sink it can heat an average-sized house. The new design uses gas siphon nozzles, gas jet nozzles, and a low-pressure venturi. The stove can be made from a propane cylinder, (I DO NOT recommend cutting, or torching a sealed gas cylinder) and a freon cylinder. The new design stove could be built for about $15 - $25, but I digress. This small stove is more than adequate for drying food, or clothes (you?ll need a heat-sink chamber), boiling water, or cooking food.
The stove can also be ordered with a solar battery charger, but at $22 I would recommend
a better charger. FWIW, all solar battery chargers are bad, so don?t spend too much money. Here?s the charger I use:
http://www.ccrane.com/more-categories/batteries-chargers/solar-powered-battery-charger.aspx
This charger isn?t a very good product, but sadly, it is the best I?ve found.
Would I recommend this stove? YES! It?s just another tool in your box. Since two is one, and one is none, this would be a great addition to the solar oven, the white gas stove, and the Coleman propane water heater. It?s just another viable option you can turn to when camping, building in a remote location, or for ?when the lights go out?.
WeatherReady light.
The manufacturer intended this to be a ?when the light go out? type of light. I put 4 ?D-cell alkaline batteries in the light 2 ? years ago. After 2 ? years of camping and construction use I now need to replace the batteries. It comes with a high, low, and night light setting. This has been the light I turn to for illuminating my 810 feet of living area. I liked this light so much that I bought them as gifts (at $19.95 you can be sincere, and happy too), and bought four more for myself. Just one light will do an excellent job of illuminating 400 square feet. I have field tested a light with a ring of LED?s that looks like a UFO (works well in your tent, is light for travel, but mostly down-lights, and the batteries just don?t last too long), the WeatherReady tabletop emergency light, and a whole bunch of other battery powered lights. The only light I can recommend is the WeatherReady shown in the photos. It?s heads & shoulders above anything else out there. Bright, long battery life, low-price, and durable.
Edit. : E-mail for link
G'pa
Light (general and task)
Here?s a review of a few products that I have; ?on, and off again?, field tested during my five years of ?Dang, it?s cold I wish I wasn?t here? building experience.
Product #1
Wood-gas stove
Right up front I have to say this product hasn?t been field tested. I have read, studied, and 1 ? years later, bought, and then tested this stove just yesterday.
This is the mid-sized ?XL? wood-gas stove from woodgascampstove.com. Yesterday, a friend and I loaded this stove with sticks of Western Red Cedar, and a Vasaline impregnated cotton ball. Over the course of about 12 minutes, the stove was reloaded three times, (fruitwood, oak, or wood pellets give a burn in excess of thirty minutes without reloading) and boiled a #10 can of water on a dark, cold January Winter day. The stove runs on 2 ? AA batteries, and will run for 7 hours on the high fan setting.
According to manufacturers stated charge-cycle duration, the life span of these batteries 15 minutes per use, one use/day, @ 7 hours per use per charging cycle x 500 charging cycles over the life time of the batteries = about 55 years. My guess is the batteries will corrode or turn to dust long before they reach the end of their useful charge life.
Impression:
Lightly built (designed to be backpacked) but I doubt this all stainless steel unit will burn through. It is a quality, and expensive product. The stove can be found online for as little
as $72, and at that price, may, or may not come with the travel bag. The idea behind this stove is free fuel, portability, and ability to extend the reserves of your white gas, or propane.
As soon at the stove arrived, I did a quick study on how it was made, and how it works. I immediately redesigned the stove. The new design has a long burn cycle, high heat output (180,000 ? 250,000? BTU/hr.), and when mated to an outside heat sink it can heat an average-sized house. The new design uses gas siphon nozzles, gas jet nozzles, and a low-pressure venturi. The stove can be made from a propane cylinder, (I DO NOT recommend cutting, or torching a sealed gas cylinder) and a freon cylinder. The new design stove could be built for about $15 - $25, but I digress. This small stove is more than adequate for drying food, or clothes (you?ll need a heat-sink chamber), boiling water, or cooking food.
The stove can also be ordered with a solar battery charger, but at $22 I would recommend
a better charger. FWIW, all solar battery chargers are bad, so don?t spend too much money. Here?s the charger I use:
http://www.ccrane.com/more-categories/batteries-chargers/solar-powered-battery-charger.aspx
This charger isn?t a very good product, but sadly, it is the best I?ve found.
Would I recommend this stove? YES! It?s just another tool in your box. Since two is one, and one is none, this would be a great addition to the solar oven, the white gas stove, and the Coleman propane water heater. It?s just another viable option you can turn to when camping, building in a remote location, or for ?when the lights go out?.
WeatherReady light.
The manufacturer intended this to be a ?when the light go out? type of light. I put 4 ?D-cell alkaline batteries in the light 2 ? years ago. After 2 ? years of camping and construction use I now need to replace the batteries. It comes with a high, low, and night light setting. This has been the light I turn to for illuminating my 810 feet of living area. I liked this light so much that I bought them as gifts (at $19.95 you can be sincere, and happy too), and bought four more for myself. Just one light will do an excellent job of illuminating 400 square feet. I have field tested a light with a ring of LED?s that looks like a UFO (works well in your tent, is light for travel, but mostly down-lights, and the batteries just don?t last too long), the WeatherReady tabletop emergency light, and a whole bunch of other battery powered lights. The only light I can recommend is the WeatherReady shown in the photos. It?s heads & shoulders above anything else out there. Bright, long battery life, low-price, and durable.
Edit. : E-mail for link
G'pa