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Step 11Light stove
To get pellets lit in an easy manner use a "combustible" fluid. About a shot glass full.
Pellet stove gel, lamp oil, diesel fuel, JP-8 jet fuel, and some alcohols work great.
Don't use gasoline, Coleman white gas or other volatile starters unless you know what you are doing. This stove collects the vapors and will blow the top off in your face possibly.
We are talking mini fireball mushroom cloud.
I add the fluid, let it soak about a minute, then toss a lit ball of toilet paper into the top.
You can use a barbecue lighter or mini torch directly on the fluid if you like.
Wait another minute or so then switch fan on.
As always, use caution. Don't be stupid. If you blow your eyebrows off it's not my problem.
With the blower going this stove is not affected by wind really. There is enough heat to probably deep fry a turkey. I'm not joking. This stove will boil LARGE pots of water. Might even be able to melt some metals.
Have fun!
Please discuss and comment. I will constantly refine this instructable.
If you want to collaborate locally, please message me:
koffeekommando at gmail.com
One of my goals is to see these stoves in use everywhere they are needed. Build a few for the homeless near you, no matter where in the world you live. Build some for Haiti. Keep one of these and a jumper pack in your car in case you get stranded. It will save your life.
Show others how to make these. It's important. They are very efficient. No need to chop down trees wholesale to keep warm or cook anymore!
For more information about biomass stoves:
http://www.bioenergylists.org/
http://www.vrac.iastate.edu/ethos/files/ethos2009/Manufacturing/BioliteEthos.pdf
Pellet stove gel, lamp oil, diesel fuel, JP-8 jet fuel, and some alcohols work great.
Don't use gasoline, Coleman white gas or other volatile starters unless you know what you are doing. This stove collects the vapors and will blow the top off in your face possibly.
We are talking mini fireball mushroom cloud.
I add the fluid, let it soak about a minute, then toss a lit ball of toilet paper into the top.
You can use a barbecue lighter or mini torch directly on the fluid if you like.
Wait another minute or so then switch fan on.
As always, use caution. Don't be stupid. If you blow your eyebrows off it's not my problem.
With the blower going this stove is not affected by wind really. There is enough heat to probably deep fry a turkey. I'm not joking. This stove will boil LARGE pots of water. Might even be able to melt some metals.
Have fun!
Please discuss and comment. I will constantly refine this instructable.
If you want to collaborate locally, please message me:
koffeekommando at gmail.com
One of my goals is to see these stoves in use everywhere they are needed. Build a few for the homeless near you, no matter where in the world you live. Build some for Haiti. Keep one of these and a jumper pack in your car in case you get stranded. It will save your life.
Show others how to make these. It's important. They are very efficient. No need to chop down trees wholesale to keep warm or cook anymore!
For more information about biomass stoves:
http://www.bioenergylists.org/
http://www.vrac.iastate.edu/ethos/files/ethos2009/Manufacturing/BioliteEthos.pdf
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Experiment away though!
If you come up with something that works, I'll add it to the Instructable with credit.
I bend the top holes in order to have a nice swirling flame; I think it helps mixing the wood gas and the hot air and concentrates the flame in the center. It melted my aluminum pot stand right away!
Once started, it boils 2 cups of water in less than 3 minutes.
Now we just have to make a simple shroud for the fan to keep rain off.
Use metal wall studs from Home Depot to do ducts and boxes etc.
One stud can make tons of experimental ducts.
Cut with a good pair of tin snips. WalMart has yellow/black handled Stanley brand for cheap. They have serrated edges that helps the blades grab the metal.
I do like your aluminum box tubing as the duct.
What exact size is it?
Can you take a pic of the fan label up close?
And the air duct exit on the fan....
I can't take picture right now (forgot the stove at camp for the winter), but the duct is made with 1" square aluminium tubing (1/16 thick). For now, it's just tape to the fan with electrical tape. I'll glue them together with something more tough and durable, maybe some Sugru. I insert the duct in a 1" x 1" hole on the side of stove. The fan and the duct can be stored in the burning pot when not in use.
Speaking of Sugru, I think I'll put some spot of this stuff on the side of the stove, so I can manipulate it when hot, without a separate handle. Tried it on my pot handle, and it works great as a heatproof coating.
I might also try to make the connection between the air duct and the stove really air tight with this stuff. But it's not really necessary.
I've been working on one of those, and I thought I'd share my thoughts.
The stoves : After a few tries, I settled for this: a 23 oz coffee can (6,5’’h x 5’’d) and a one liter can for the inside. You can go smaller than this (ex : with a quart paint can for the outside and a 20 oz can inside), but for what I know it doesn't contain enough wood to be really practical. The 23 oz coffe can is small enough to carry it in a backpack. The only problem is the rust: Any suggestion for a good paint for the outside?
I’ve try a wood gas stove without a fan (a homemade bushbuddy), but got too much smoke for the taste of my girlfriend. Maybe the air intakes were’nt big enough.
Anyway, I will try a 5V computer fan (50mm x 15mm). I didn’t try it yet, but the numbers seems right. For the same size and current, the blower type (see the picture) seems to outputs way more airflow than the blade type. Moreover, the airflow seems to be easier to harness. Since it's only 5v, you can power the stove in the field with a battery pack (4 rechargables AA= 4,8V), that should give you a few hours of autonomy. I’ve tried a 12v fan, but the 9v batterie didn’t last an hour. The 12 v seems the right choice around the house or the car, but on the trail, I’d rather carry fuel than a 12 volt battery! According to the specs, the 5v does’nt blow a lot less than the 12v. Anyway, I might upgrade to a 5v 70mm x 30mm. After all, my goal is not to melt metal with this thing, just boil some water on the trail.
Also, if you install a USB male Jack to the fan, you'll be able to plug the stove in almost any USB outlet! Including the MightyMinty Boost(see the instructable by Honus)! Heck, with a good sunlight, you might even try to power the fan directly from a solar panel! You only need 5V x 0,15A =0,75W! (Am I right?) There’s a lot of cheap and small panel out there that will do the job. Anyway, this is all theory. Anyone has experimented with a 5V fan? Any suggestions?
The other problem is the connection between the blower and the stove. I want to save some weight, and more important, time and trouble. A good way to join the blower to the stove would be a 3'' silicone coupler; that is readily available and can withstand up to 500F. All you have to do is glue the tube to the blower, and insert the tube in a close-fitting hole at the base of the outside can, and take it out once your done. This way, the blower will be isolate from the heat. One would be able to store the blower and the battery pack inside the stove for transport. Any thoughts on the tubing or duct? I know some people built duct from scratch..
Hope I’ll be able to try this soon!
Start here....
Maybe because the briquet have already been "gasified", kinda like the char cloth...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kb5tWYn4-cA
And look into the different designs out there. Read some of the research papers.
anny way its a pretty sweet build probly usefull if you go camping were there are fire bans making it almost impossable to get caught (no smoke)
Regarding adding the combustible fluid, do you think pouring it into the main vessel would mean some of it would drip down and ignite the pellets in the middle?
I've read elsewhere a small amount of pellets should be soaked separately then added to the top, so the burn pattern is strictly top-down.