Item being reviewed: StoveTec Two Door Wood/Charcoal Rocket Stove
Description of item:
StoveWithRack.jpg (6.75 KB. 170x250 - viewed 1230 times.)
From the manufacturer:
The Two-Door Rocket Stove can burn both wood and charcoal. It saves a lot of both!
Wood fuels are fed into the big door. The small lower door controls the flow of air into the fire which lowers emissions. When burning charcoal, the big door is closed, and the rate of burn is also controlled by opening and closing the lower door.
Adding adjustable doors to a Rocket stove allows for control of the air that enters the fire to speed up or slow down the rate of combustion. More air is needed to start a cold fire and to create a hot fire initially. Once the fire is going, the bottom door is partially closed. Limiting the air increases heat transfer to the pot and reduces harmful emissions.
The GreenFire Two-Door Rocket stove efficiently uses charcoal to cook food. Carbon monoxide is reduced when it is burned up in the enclosed space above the fire. Frequently, enough charcoal is made when burning wood so that simmering can be done using only the made charcoal. After boiling food, the big door is closed and air from the lower door keeps the made charcoal burning. The interior grate and dual doors make the GreenFire Two-Door Rocket stove slightly more expensive than the one door stove.
Dimensions: Dimensions (W x H x L) 14’’ x 14” x 14”
Weight: 22 lbs.
Upper Door: W 4-3/4”, H 2-3/8”
Lower Door: W 2-3/8”, H 1 1/8”
Features:
• Insulative, abrasion-resistant combustion chamber
• Grate to hold both wood and charcoal
• Two doors with sliding covers
• Cast iron stove top
• Stick support
• Adjustable galvanized steel pot skirt
• Painted sheet metal body
• Wooden and painted steel handle
Description of review tests: I purchased the two-door model from Jeff for testing. (StoveTec also makes two models of the one-door stove as well. Prices are $37 and $35 depending on size.) I’m glad Jeff had bought the two-door model. I had better control of the fuel source in the upper door, while I was able to control the air intake – and thus the heat output – with the smaller bottom door.
One nice feature of these stoves is that they come with carrying handles, allowing for ease of carrying.
I ran two tests with this rocket stove: one with wood as the fuel source, and one with charcoal briquettes.
Wood-only test:
I began by inserting a wad of newspaper in the lower door, which places the igniting material under the chimney’s grate. I inserted about 8 or 10 dry twigs, about 8 inches in length, in the 4-inch chimney, along with a handful of pine needles. With the lower door and the upper door wide open, I lighted the newspaper/pine needle material through the lower door, and combustion was nearly instantaneous! In fact, as the materials ignited, the rush of intake air produced a sound like, well, a rocket taking off – a ‘whoosh’ sound. The twigs quickly ignited. At first, there was a fair amount of smoke pouring out of the chimney, but within a few minutes had died down.
An exterior aluminum rack (see picture) fits against the outside of the stove, which supports larger kindling and small log-sized wood pieces horizontally off the ground. The wood is then pushed horizontally into the larger door as it burns. I noticed that a layer of coals – from the twigs, as well as one three inch diameter by 10 inch long apple wood log that I was pushing through the larger door – formed within about 10 minutes or less, and I was ready to cook. The heat output was amazing, given the relatively small amount of fuel that was placed inside!
I placed a thick, two-quart sauce pan full of cold water on top of the grate which surrounds the chimney. This top grate is heavy cast iron, and has three ridges that keep the pan about an inch above the chimney, allowing for airflow below and up alongside the pan. The stove comes with an adjustable skirt – a collar about 4 inches high that wraps around the pan (but not right against it). The gap between the skirt and the pan, roughly ¼ inch, allows heated air to flow up and around the pan. Thus, the pan is heated from the bottom and around its sides. The water came to a boil in about 6 minutes – uncovered. The skirt is probably nice if cooking in wintertime, since it preserves more heat, but is not necessary in summer.
Heat output was very efficient, and I had to close the lower door to regulate the temperature and to preserve fuel.
Note: applewood burns a lot hotter than pine, so you may have to use more pine sticks depending on your expected cooking time.
The coals lasted for a good hour, plenty of time for heating several pots of food and coffee.
Overall, I was very impressed with the stove’s efficiency. With just a few sticks of wood, I could have heated a pot of stew or chili very quickly.
Charcoal-only test:To use charcoal in this stove, you must insert the supplied brick cutout in the upper door, and close the upper door completely. Important: if you don’t do this, you risk warping the external metal of the stove!
For this test, I inserted about 8 match-light charcoal briquettes in the chimney. The briquettes ashed over in about 8 minutes, and the stove was ready for cooking. This time, heat output seemed to be even greater than with the wood, and after another 10 minutes I closed the lower door to within about a half inch to control air intake and thus heat output. The pan of cold water was boiling in about 6 or 7 minutes.
The charcoal coals easily lasted 2+ hours, and was easily stoked with another couple of coals.
I liked the fact that this stove can burn different types of natural materials. You don’t have to worry about gas, Coleman fuel, or propane, which can get expensive if used frequently. Moreover, I have run out of propane while backpacking in the Sawtooths, and wished I had a small version of this natural fuel stove as a primary or a backup! (At 22 pounds, however, it’s obviously too heavy to carry while hiking.)
Lastly, I noted that, while the stove can produce incredible heat, the external metal body does not get nearly as hot. It’s too hot to touch to be sure, but not hot enough that it could start a fire with dry forest materials nearby.
Pros: Inexpensive, convenient because of its ability to burn multiple types of natural fuels, and incredibly efficient. Good ability to regulate airflow and temperature.
Cons: the small doors are thin pieces of metal that slide completely out. They could bend easily, and could be lost or stepped on if not careful. Also, make sure to keep an eye on the stove at all times when using wood sticks in the upper door, because a few tiny coals did pop out occasionally! Make sure that there are no combustible materials near either of the doors. (Wetting the ground around the stove’s doors would be prudent.)
Best Uses: A good stove for fishing/hunting trips, tailgating, and leisurely Sunday morning breakfasts on the back patio! Good for 2-3 people on camping trips.
Duration Used: Two nights, roughly two hours each night.
Where purchased: Purchased from Jeff for testing and eval. However, any of the three models can be purchased from StoveTec at
http://www.stovetec.net/home/index.phpCost: $40 for the two-door model, shipping is $14.78 (least expensive: FedEx - Ground Home Delivery Domestic) to Treasure Valley area.
Rating: I gave it a 5 out of 5, for overall efficiency, convenience, and price.
Other: To obtain a user’s manual, visit
http://www.stovetec.net/mambo/images/2%20Door%20operation%20manual.pdfFor other information and videos, visit
http://www.stovetec.net/us/index.php?option=com_ixxocart&Itemid=&
and http://stovetec.net/mambo/content/view/39/54/.
