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#149546 - 09/19/08 12:14 AM Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review
NIM Offline
Member

Registered: 02/12/03
Posts: 128
I just bought a bushbuddy from http://bushbuddy.ca/index1.html
(I'm not connected with the site and I am nothing but a happy customer.)

What I bought:

I chose the heavier (and more rugged) stove. Heavier of course being relative at 1.5 ounces heavier. It weighs 6.5 ounces (that is what the website claims). My cooking scale puts it at about 175 grams (a bit lighter even full of ash from my last tea). My scale may not be totally accurate.

Why I bought it:

I wanted a stove that was light enough for my BOB, used wood, burned that wood without leaving smoke and that was very efficient.

I had been looking at downdraft gasifiers but all of the ones that didn't use batteries were batch loaded and very large. Online reviews stated they were finicky.

Rocket stoves looked promising but they weren't enough of an improvement and I couldn't find one that was small enough.
Oh, and I'm a gadget freak and a bit of a pyro....yes, life is a complex tapestry.

Enough babbling -on to the preliminary review:


It arrived in a wood box and was light enough I opened it with some doubt as to whether there was a stove inside. I promptly went out back with a cup of water and set about looking for something to burn. I grabbed a few tiny dry twigs, a strip of birch bark and set about making the fire.

It lite with surprising ease (I didn't make a windbreak) and had a boiling cup of tea in UNDER 5 minutes!!!! I double checked my watch as I was thinking 12 minutes would be good. It burned pretty much without smoke and was incredibly efficient looking (the double walled vents really fed oxygen to it well). It was very easy to feed (even with the tea on) and burned incredibly hot.

After removing the tea I had a chance to look down into the fire chamber and was surprised to see brilliant glowing coals. I let the wood burn itself out and watched the glowing coals for a few minutes. Seeing some wet pine cones and needles on my deck I tossed a handful in. I was hoping to make a plum of smoke and smother it.

I was surprised when the cones and needles almost instantly boiled off the water and burst into flames. I spent the next 20 minutes tossing in pine cones and damp leaves. I could get it too smoke it I really stuffed it full, but evidentially it would burst into full flame.

As it was getting late I let the fire burn out and was delighted to find that the coals continued to glow red hot for 5-8 minutes more. Once the last coal had gone out I touched the side of the stove (at the bottom) and was pleased to note that it was cool enough to touch. I then slid the stove off of the piece of paper I set it on and discovered it didn't even brown it! Everything was totally consumed to white ash (including the pine cones and deck debris).

Every night (with few exceptions) I've repeated similar experiments. I still want to do more testing to see if it earns BOB status, but I'm totally pleased with the stove. There is no way I could have a campfire every night on my back deck without it! It is so calming and peaceful. The efficiency of the stove is what really gets me. One twig can have a cup of water (900ml) burning in less than five minutes.

I'll play with it some more and try to give my final review -yes, it will be shorter smile

Happy adventures,

NIM

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#149548 - 09/19/08 12:35 AM Re: Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review [Re: NIM]
Nishnabotna Offline
Icon of Sin
Addict

Registered: 12/31/07
Posts: 512
Loc: Nebraska
Very similar to the Littlebug, which I got a year ago. I quickly found out I don't know how to make a fire. :p
What's nice, though, is that the Littlebug can come apart and be packed flat if needed. I ended up fitting it around my sleeping pad and it carried nicely there.


Edited by Nishnabotna (09/19/08 12:37 AM)

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#149551 - 09/19/08 01:09 AM Re: Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review [Re: Nishnabotna]
BobS Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 02/08/08
Posts: 924
Loc: Toledo Ohio
I made a stainless Steel gasifier (sp?) and love it.
Taking it camping this weekend and plan on doing a lot of cooking on it rather then my Svea.







Wood camp stoves make a lot of sense from the fuel point. In a disaster situation there will always be debris to burn. And just walking around the yard I can find enough twigs to cook several meals. In a BOB not having to pack a lot of fuel leaves more room for other things.

Even a hobo stove made out of a tin can works well.

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#149552 - 09/19/08 01:35 AM Re: Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review [Re: BobS]
Nishnabotna Offline
Icon of Sin
Addict

Registered: 12/31/07
Posts: 512
Loc: Nebraska
Is that thing jet powered?

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#149554 - 09/19/08 01:51 AM Re: Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review [Re: Nishnabotna]
BobS Offline
Old Hand

Registered: 02/08/08
Posts: 924
Loc: Toledo Ohio
It runs on wood and 1.5 to 3-volts from 2 batteries. It really puts out the heat with the fan on high. what is amazing is how little wood it takes to cook with it.
_________________________



You can run, but you'll only die tired.


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#149559 - 09/19/08 03:47 AM Re: Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review [Re: BobS]
Todd W Offline
Product Tester
Pooh-Bah

Registered: 11/14/04
Posts: 1928
Loc: Mountains of CA
WOWZER!

That thing looks like a jet.
_________________________
Self Sufficient Home - Our journey to self sufficiency.

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#149636 - 09/19/08 11:20 PM Re: Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review [Re: Todd W]
dougwalkabout Offline
Crazy Canuck
Carpal Tunnel

Registered: 02/03/07
Posts: 3219
Loc: Alberta, Canada
These look great. I'd like to make my own. Can you guys give me some detail on the inner liner of the BushBuddy and and the "BobS FlameJet Custom?" Are there air holes below the grate as well as above?

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#149664 - 09/20/08 04:03 AM Re: Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review [Re: dougwalkabout]
leemann Offline
Soylent Green
Addict

Registered: 02/08/04
Posts: 623
Loc: At the soylent green plant.
What we need is a link to some plans.

Lee
_________________________
It's the year 2022...People are still the same
They'll do anything to get what they need.
And they need Soylent Green.
http://datacore.sciflicks.com/soylent_green/sounds/soylent_green_people.wav
RIP OBG

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#149665 - 09/20/08 04:22 AM Re: Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review [Re: leemann]
Susan Offline
Geezer

Registered: 01/21/04
Posts: 5163
Loc: W. WA
http://www.bushbuddy.ca/order.html

Ninety-five dollars?????

Back to the Pepsi can stove....

Sue

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#149666 - 09/20/08 05:05 AM Re: Bushbuddy (Wood burning stove) Review [Re: Susan]
Yuccahead Offline
Member

Registered: 07/24/08
Posts: 199
Loc: W. Texas
I agree, $95 seems more than a bit steep considering what you get -- a fancy hobo stove.
_________________________
-- David.

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