Wood Burning Stoves

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Wood Stoves and Wood Burners

Homemade wood stoves can be as simple as setting up a windscreen and burning the wood inside it (pot set on stakes or rocks).  More complex versions are elevated off the ground to protect your fire and ground, incorporate integrated pot stands and sometimes even have electric fans.

There are several commercial and many more homemade wood stoves out on the trail and the advantages are obvious.

Advantages include:

• generally weigh a bit more than other stoves but since you don't have to carry fuel this system may be lighter than other systems for long trips

• able to melt enormous amounts of snow without carrying huge amounts of fuel

• cheap to make, free fuel

• potential for unlimited hot water and even water purification

• smoke may get rid or decrease the amount of bugs in your campsite

• use as a heater to warm up cold bones on chilly evenings and brisk mornings

• produce less overall pollution than other fuels (no drilling, refining, transporting, etc)

• renewable energy source

• a wood fire is magical

Disadvantages include:

• weight, bulk

• blackening of pots and everything your pot and stove touches in your pack

• everything you hike with will smell like smoke

• need to hunt for fuel at the end of the day or during your trek

• dependence on availability of dry burnable wood

• slow cook time

• need to fiddle with the fire

• knowledge of fire building required

• potential to start forest fire in dry windy areas

• may be banned in your hike area

Why is using a stove better than just starting a fire on bare earth?  Wood stoves generally reflect a great deal of the heat back into the fire and keep it hot.  It is easier to set a pot on a wood burning stove than it is to balance it over an open fire. You will need a fraction of the wood to cook up a meal in a stove compared to an open fire.  Wood stoves also generally protect the fire and fuel from wet and/or cold earth.  They may also be allowed where campfire aren't and can be environmentally friendly in that they don't use up as much of the forest for fuel, produce as much smoke as a campfire and if purposefully built, will not even burn the ground they are on (leave no trace). 

Zip Stoves/Turbo Stoves

10oz Sierra Titanium Stove

ZZ manufacturing makes the well know Sierra Zip Ztove which is a self contained wood stove with a battery operated fan to keep the fire going.  It weights over a pound (10 ounces for titanium version) plus the weight of the battery (AA or D cell).  There are a number of ways to improve and/or lighten the steel version of the stove (see Links).  Fancy folks can add a solar cell to recharge batteries and help power the fan during the day.

5.4oz Stove (including pot stand)

Homemade versions of this stove can be made from various sized tin cans, pots or sheet metal (such as aluminum flashing) and an electric fan (computer fans work well) with a power source.  Air output to the stove can be controlled by adding variable resistors to your electrical circuit or by just moving an unattached fan further away from the stove opening.

Jerry Pepera's Zip Stove

Building  your stove so that it is off the ground and placing the fan centered underneath it provides more equal distribution of forced air and protects the ground.

Made from 12oz Chicken and 26oz Decaf cans

Alternately, placing the fan on the side of the stove enables you to build a less complex stove without a bottom which should be easier to build, harder to break, and lighter.

Similar stoves include:

MAGH Smoke Burnger Stove

Making Your own pulsed air wood stove

Kettle/Chimney/Volcano Stoves

Chimney water heaters have been around for a long time.  The Russians have their Samovar and the Irish, Brits and Aussies all have similar kettle designs.  These incorporate a chimney that shoots up the middle of the kettle and out the top.  The kettle is set on a fire plate/bowl and when the fire gets going, hot air rises up the chimney and out the top of the kettle, - forcing fresh air to be drawn into air inlet opening at the bottom of the fire pit, feeding the fire and keeping the flames hot.  These are generally made of brass, tin or aluminum and depending on how they are sealed (welded/brazed, riveted, rolled, epoxied, good/bad quality, etc), determines if and how much they will leak.

19.2oz Kelly Kettle

Homemade versions of the chimney kettle can be difficult to make requiring a nontoxic high temperature sealer (is JB weld non-toxic when heated in drinking water?) and/or the equipment and know-how to weld/braze your material.  Aluminum flashing works as does fitting together large aluminum cans for the outer wall with smaller ones for the chimney.  Brass is nice, but can be heavy.

Collapsible Wood Stoves

Disassembled Fire-Spout 100

Collapsible wood burning stoves allow you to easily dismantle, flatten and pack away what would otherwise be a very bulky setup.

18oz Stainless Fire-Spout-Mini and 32oz Galvanized Fire-Spout 100

O.C.Outdoor's Fire-Spout is one of the few truly collapsible commercial wood burning stoves on the market.

520g Magic Stove

The Swiss Magic Stove is also a nice little stainless setup.  Collapses to 4.5" x 5.9" x  0.4".

Nimblewill Nomad's Wood Burning Stove with optional front

Nimblewill Nomad's "Little Dandy" is a collapsible stove that can be made form steel, titanium or thick aluminum sheet.  It can be heavy (11.5oz range) if you use heavy gauge steel (22GA) but flattens down nicely and is easily packable (although it will not fit in a small pot such as the Grease Pot unless you alter the dimensions).  Galvanized steel is never recommended as it releases heavy metals into the air when heated.  See the template page for templates.

If you are not up to making one of these yourself, Chris Randall will be happy to send you one from the UK for about US$25 plus shipping.  According to Chris, the Kelly Kettle fits right on to of the Nomad without modification.

Calculated weight estimates for Nimblewill Nomad's Wood Burning Stove

(including optional front)

Can/Tube Stoves

14.8 oz Trailstove

Simpler stove designs are basically ventilated steel cans or tubes. The US$20 Trailstove comes with a hose and tube for blowing.  There are a few commercial units made of steel or titanium - and homemade ones can generally be fabricated from cans, pots (such as light weight and expensive titanium pots), or metal sheet.  Aluminum flashing may work for a few fire-ups but will burn after you get it hot enough.  See our Potstand page for information and calculators that will help with design planning.

21.5oz Trekstov

More sophisticated versions have adjustable ventilation and are built sturdy (and heavy) for long term use.  The MAGH Twister Stove/ in fact is a double walled vortex stove which uses centrifugal decomposition to mix smoke with air for a more complete burn.

Trimmed 26oz Coffee Can (3.5oz)

Simple homemade versions can be made from trimmed down tin cans with bottom ventilation (a church key or unibit works well for this).  These wood burners may also double and pot stands for alcohol and/or solid fuel stoves.

Unibit - ideal for making or enlarging holes in thin metal

A slightly lighter, rustproof and much more expensive stove may be fabricated from a titanium pot.

WoodGas Stoves

Image modified from:

A Wood-Gas Stove for Developing Countries
T. B. Reed and Ronal Larson

If wood is heated up and gasified, it has the potential of burning more completely, efficiently and with little or no smoke and heavy pollutants.  These stoves tend to be a bit more complex than a tin can with holes punched in it and therefore tend to weigh a bit more, but may make up for extra weigh if you are packing in wood pellets or where fuel is more scarce.  For more information on wood gasification, check out Wood-Gas Stoves for Developing Countries  and Testing and Modeling the Wood Gas Turbo Stove.

The picture above depicts a stove made from coffee cans and is more or less self-explanatory except for the "Gas Wick."  The gas wick is a smaller diameter can suspended by wires inside the larger coffee can with its closed bottom up.  The wick become very hot and draws gas and air up along its sides, and prevents air from going down the chimney.

It is also important to note that fuel is ignited from the top down for the gasification process to work.

Caveats

First - If you would like to use wood as a fuel you will need to be able to start a fire.  The most important aspect of this is fire starting skill.  Learn to start a fire.  Here are some basic techniques-

• Use small dry twigs or shavings to start and add bigger stuff on top

• Pack everything tight, add liquid fuel and light

• A fan, tube to blow through, or sleeping pad to wave back and forth may be necessary to get the fire red and hot

Second - You will need a flame or spark, preferably waterproof or in a waterproof container

• Lighters

• Matches

• Magnesium and flint

• Steel wool and 9V battery

• Battery with wire or aluminum plate to heat up tinder or make a spark

• Sparker - sparklite or other doodad

• Magnifying glass to concentrate sunlight - can be made form ice or condom filled with water

• Parabolic mirror - see Fire from a Can of Coke and a Chocolate Bar  Part II

• Wood Friction -

  • Fire Saw (rubbing two sticks together)
  • Fire Drill (Fire Bow Drill, Hand Drill, Fire Thong, Pump Drill, Fire Spindle, etc.)
  • Fire Plough

• Fire Piston - a good DIY project if you are looking for one

• Chemical - potassium permanganate and glycerine or antifreeze or sugar

Third - You may need tinder and/or a fire starter, especially if you are likely to have wet or damp wood. 

• Vaseline soaked cotton (real cotton) balls in film canister

• Bottle of liquid fuel such as kerosene or alcohol

• Knife to make wood shavings and/or "fuzz sticks" (stick with curls carved on the sides)

• Candles (melt wax on kindling)

• Folded up wax paper

• Cardboard, paper or cotton soaked in wax

• Lint from dryer

• Fuel tabs

• Commercial fire starter sticks

• Fire starter paste

• Dry pine needles, leaves, grass, bark, small twigs, etc.

• Finished pages from novel/guide book

• Char cloth in waterproof container or bag

• Soap coated steel wool

• Frayed rope (not treated with fire retardant and made from plant fibers)

• First Aid/Hygiene kit items - cotton dressings, Vaseline impregnated dressings, toiled paper, Q-tips, tampons, etc.

• Shaved magnesium

• gunpowder from bullet

• small piece of plastic explosive

Fourth - Unless you are packing in wood and packing out ash, wood stoves are not entirely "leave no trace."  Beware of uppity and/or extremist hikers and rangers who might frown on you burning up their wilderness.  That and you might just be part of a real eco problem - depending on where you decide to use a wood stove.

Wood Properties

Beyond wood, many other biofuels may be burned.  You can use agricultural waste, paper products, dried humanimal waste, coal, charcoal, manufactured fire logs, last year's fruitcake, etc.

Alder:  Poor heat output and short lasting.  A low quality firewood.  Produces nice charcoal that burn steady and is useful for homemade gunpowder.

Apple:  Great fuel that bums slow and steady when dry, with little flame, sparking or spitting. It has a pleasing scent.  It is easier to cut green.  Great for cooking.

Ash:  Considered one of the burning wood with steady flame and good heat output.  It will bum when green, but not as well as when dry.  Easily to saw and split.

Beech:  Similar to ash, but only burns fair when green. If it has a fault, it may shoot embers out a long ways.  It is easy to chop.

Birch:  This has good heat output but burns quickly. The smell is also pleasant.  It will burn unseasoned.  Can cause gum deposits in chimney if used a lot.  Rolled up pitch from bark makes a good firestarter and can be peeled from trees without damaging them.

Blackthorn: Burns slowly, with lots of heat and little smoke.

Cedar:  This is a great wood that puts out a lot of lasting of heat.  It produces a small flame, a nice scent, and lots of crackle and pop.  Great splitting wood.  Best when dry but small pieces can be burned unseasoned.  Good for cooking.

Cherry:  A slow burning wood with good heat output.  Has a nice sent. Should be seasoned well.  Slow to start.

Chestnut:  A mediocre fuel that produces a small flame and weak heat output.  It also shoots out ambers.

Douglas Fir:  A poor fuel that produces little flame or heat.

Elder:   A mediocre fuel that burns quickly without much heat output and tends to have thick acrid smoke.  The Hag Goddess is know to reside in the Elder tree and burning it invites death.  Probably best avoided.

Elm:  A variable fuel (Dutch elm disease) with a high water content (140%) that may smoke violently and should be dried for two years for best results.  You may need faster burning wood to get elm going.  A large log set on the fire before bed will burn till morn.  Splitting can be difficult and should be done early on.

Eucalyptus:  A fast burning wood with a pleasant smell and no spitting.  It is full of sap and oils when fresh and can start a chimney fire if burned unseasoned.  The stringy wood fiber may be hard to split and one option is to slice it into rings and allow to season and self split.  The gum from the tree produces a fresh medicinal smell on burned which may not be the best for cooking with.

Hawthorn:  Good firewood. Burns hot and slow.

Hazel:  An excellent fast burning fuel but tends to burn up a bit faster than most other hard woods.  Allow to season.

Holly:  A good firewood that will burn when green, but best if dried a year.  It is fast burning with a bright flame but little heat.

Hornbeam:  Burns almost as good as beech with a hot slow burning fire.

Horse Chestnut:  A low quality firewood with a good flame and heating power but spits a lot.

Laburnum:  Completely poisonous tree with acrid smoke that taints food and is best never used.

Larch:  Crackly, scented, and fairly good for heat.  It needs to be seasoned well and forms an oily soot in chimneys. 

Laurel:  Produces a brilliant flame.

Lime:  A poor quality fuel with dull flame.  Good for carving

Maple:  A good firewood.

Oak:  Oak has a sparse flame and the smoke is acrid if not seasoned for two years.  Dry old oak is excellent for heat, burning slowly and steadily until whole log collapses into cigar-like ash.

Pear:  Burns with good heat, good scent and no spitting.  Needs to be seasoned well.

Pine:  Bums with a splendid flame, but apt to spit. Needs to be seasoned well and is another oily soot in chimney wood.  Smells great and its resinous wood makes great kindling.

Plane:  Burns pleasantly, but is apt to throw sparks if very dry.

Plum:  Wood provides good heat with a nice aromatic sent.

Poplar:  A terrible fuel that doesn't burn well and produces a black choking smoke even when seasoned.

Rowan:  A good firewood that burns hot and slow.

Rhododendron:  Old thick and tough stems burn well. 

Robinia (Acacia):  Burns slowly, with good heat, but with acrid smoke. 

Spruce:  A poor firewood that burns too quickly and with too many sparks.

Sycamore:  Burns with a good flame, with moderate heat. Useless green.

Sweet Chestnut:  Burns when seasoned but tends to spits continuously and excessively.

Thorn:  One of the best firewood. Burns slowly, with great heat and little smoke.

Walnut:  Low to good value to burning.  It a nice aromatic scent.

Wellingtonia:  Poor for use as a firewood.

Willow:  A poor fire wood that must be dry to use.  Even when seasoned, it burns slowly, with little flame. Apt to spark.

Yew:  This burns slowly, with fierce heat. The scent is pleasant.  Another carving favorite.  Note that every part of this plant, except for the fruit contains poisonous taxines.  Death to livestock after ingestion of this plant is well documented and here are reported cases of suicides from ingestion of leaves.  Sawdust is dangerous if ingested or inhaled.  The Romans reported death after ingestion of wine stored in Yew vessels, yet Yew cups, bowls and plates are still very popular - not that this makes them any less poisonous.  Taxines are carried in smoke and the safety of using this wood for cooking or heat is questionable.

Rhymes

These hardwoods burn well and slowly,
Ash, beech, hawthorn oak and holly.
Softwoods flare up quick and fine,
Birch, fir, hazel, larch and pine.
Elm and willow you'll regret,
Chestnut green and sycamore wet

Beechwood fires are bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year.
Chestnut's only good, they say,
If for long 'tis laid away.
But Ash new or Ash old
Is fit for a queen with crown of gold.

Birch and fir logs bum too fast
Blaze up bright and do not last.
It is by the Irish said
Hawthom bakes the sweetest bread.
Elm wood bums like churchyard mould,
E ' en the very flames are cold.
But Ash green or Ash brown
Is fit for a queen with golden crown.

Poplar gives a bitter smoke,
Fills your eyes and makes you choke.
Apple wood will scent your room
With an incense like perfume.
Oaken logs. if dry and old.
Keep away the winter's cold.
But Ash wet or Ash dry
A king shall warm his slippers by.

Beechwood logs burn bright and clear,
If the wood is kept a year
Store your Beech for Christmas-tide,
With new-cut holly laid aside
Chestnut's only good, they say
If for years it's stored away
Birch and Fir wood burn too fast,
Blaze too bright, and do not last
Flames from larch will shoot up high,
And dangerously the sparks will fly....
But Ashwood green,
And Ashwood brown
Are fit for Queen with golden crown.

Oak logs will warm you well
That are old and dry
Logs of pine will sweetly smell
But the sparks will fly
Birch logs will burn too fast
Chestnut scarce at all sir
Hawthorn logs are good to last
That are cut well in the fall sir
Holly logs will burn like wax
You could burn them green
Elm logs burn like smouldering flax
With no flame to be seen
Beech logs for winter time
Yew logs as well sir
Green elder logs it is a crime
For any man to sell sir

Beechwood fires burn bright and clear
If the logs are kept a year
Store your beech for Christmastide
With new holly laid beside
Chestnuts only good they say
If for years tis stayed away
Birch and firwood burn too fast
Blaze too bright and do not last
Flames from larch will shoot up high
Dangerously the sparks will fly
But Ashwood green and Ashwood brown
Are fit for a Queen with a golden crown

Oaken logs, if dry and old
Keep away the winters cold
Poplar gives a bitter smoke
Fills your eyes and makes you choke
Elmwood burns like churchyard mould
Even the very flames burn cold
Hawthorn bakes the sweetest bread
So it is in Ireland said
Applewood will scent the room
Pears wood smells like a flower in bloom
But Ashwood wet and Ashwood dry
A King may warm his slippers by.

Pear logs and apple logs
They will scent your room
And cherry logs across the dogs
They smell like flowers of broom
But Ash logs smooth and grey
Buy them green or old, sir
And buy up all that come your way
They're worth their weight in gold sir

Logs to Burn, Logs to burn, Logs to burn,
Logs to save the coal a turn,
Here's a word to make you wise,
When you hear the woodman's cries.

Never heed his usual tale,
That he has good logs for sale,
But read these lines and really learn,
The proper kind of logs to burn.

Oak logs will warm you well,
If they're old and dry.
Larch logs of pine will smell,
But the sparks will fly.

Beech logs for Christmas time,
Yew logs heat well.
"Scotch" logs it is a crime,
For anyone to sell.

Birch logs will burn too fast,
Chestnut scarce at all.
Hawthorn logs are good to last,
If you cut them in the fall.

Holly logs will burn like wax,
You should burn them green,
Elm logs like smouldering flax,
No flame to be seen.

Pear logs and apple logs,
They will scent your room,
Cherry logs across the dogs,
Smell like flowers in bloom

But ash logs, all smooth and grey,
Burn them green or old;
Buy up all that come your way,
They're worth their weight in gold.

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