home made hobo stove

[mentalnurse]

following some threads on here i thought i would have a go at making my own. i got a s/s utensils holder from woolworths and a s/s coffee jar with a lid.i replaced the metal handle for a wooden one on the billy can for the heat. for the stove i drilled out 4 holes in the base and placed in long bolts for the legs. the top i cut in 4 nicks to fit the bars that fit in side for storeage when not in use. the whole thing sits in side each other and it weighs 2.2lbs in total packed a way.i timed a pint of water from cold to a full boil in 6 mins.i did not put a handle on the the billy can so that it fits in the stove for storage and a thick pair of gloves (stored in the billy can) are fine to lift it off when it is hot.

thanks for looking.carl.

 

[Shambling Shaman]

Nice, Have made something similar as I'm trying steer away from gas.
I use a maxpedition roley poly to colect bits of wood on my walks (collecting fuel as you go) And now when I stop I have more of a break as it takes more time. with the jet boil I was walking within 5/7 min.

Nice Post

 

[Singeblister]

Nice work Carl , I have one of those in my workshop its been kicking around the floor for about 2 yrs now I will get to mine one day

 

[Prophecy]

Looking good Carl. Why did you opt for the two bars along the top, rather than going with the flow and using bars through the holes? Just wondering...

Do the bolts raising the bottom off the ground makes a big improvement with circulation?

 

[Shewie]

Nicely done there Carl

My favourite at the moment is an Ikea cutlery drainer with a Morrisons medium sized stainless canister for the billy. They go together really well with a gap between them of only about 3mm.
Instead of using scewers or bars on top I`ve got a fan blade cover from a PC which clips on nicely and takes my billy just right.
I`ve also cut three squares out from round the bottom half to feed wood through once the billy is on.
To raise the whole lot up off the ground I just use 4 self tapping screws in the base just to lift it an inch, these are then unscrewed once it`s cooled down.

All great ideas none of which were mine and were all "borrowed" from others on here.


Rich

 

[UKHaiku]

Looks good.. I've done one of these and I'm curious how stable it is on uneven ground with 4 legs? I went with 3 legs which I felt might be better when not on a patio, though it's a little less stable on level ground...

 

[andywinkk]

Well done, It looks good and legs would push in the ground on uneven surfaces as long as it wernt to hard, they would stop it blowing over also

 

[Matt Weir]

Good stuff I haven't bothered with legs on mine, I figured I'd sit it on stones or rocks if needed which cuts down slightly on weight and volume.

 

[Cobweb]

I've got one of those ss cutlery thingys from woolies as well, it works a treat, I use metal tent pegs through the top holes to hold the billy and just rest it on a flat rock of stones if needed. very handy and pretty light weight.

I like the idea of a square to feed wood through I' might get the dremel out later ...

 

[Prophecy]

I like the idea of a square to feed wood through I' might get the dremel out later ...

That's how I did mine, and I used the cut off wheels which went through it real easy.

 

[spamel]

I was considering legs on mine, but now I'm not too sure. It is mainly the stability I'm worried about. My set up is pretty good though, and my metal mug that fits on the bottom of a nalgene bottle now has a spare sieve piece from an old smashed coffee cafetière, so I can pretty much do a lot of things, as my hobo holds a smaller 10 cm Zebra with a trangia solo pot stand inside and a trangia burner with a computer fan grill. A pretty decent cookset, IMO!

 

[spamel]

In fact, a decent drainer for a 10 cm billy that will all fit inside the 14 would make my set complete! Anyone know where to get the smaller drainer from?

 

[mentalnurse]

i have found that with the bars cut in to the top the billy stands well up on the top so i have room to feed wood in with out a side hole,the legs just happed to be that high due to the bolts i found in my shead as they let loads of air in and being so high no ground burn and it seems steady when the billy is on the top full of water,the metal fire pit lid it is stood on in the photos is domed and it even stood steady on that the ground would be even better.
i think like a lot of stuff on here everyone has there own take on an idea and they all work great and suit what we need it to do, thank you to all those that have posted on here and other threads were is have gained the skills to make stuff that i may need for my bushcrafting.
thanks carl

 

[Shewie]

In fact, a decent drainer for a 10 cm billy that will all fit inside the 14 would make my set complete! Anyone know where to get the smaller drainer from?

The Ikea drainer is 12cm Spam and my Morrisons billy is just over 11cm. Snug


Rich

 

[spamel]

I'll need to see, 12 seems slightly too big, but if it fits inside a bag inside the 14, then it would be OK. The bag would be needed for two obvious reasons: Stop annoying rattle and stop the transfer of wood ash from the small burner to the larger pot.

 

[RobertRogers]

I like it, serves as a good prototype.

 

[xenn]

i was in the states and our friend used the inside metal container of a top loading domestic washing machine as a stove. it was really pretty as the light came out the tiny drainage holes and ventilation was fine. Seems like a smart method of recycling!

 

[Jurjen Knoester]

Hello Carl,

I've read your post a few weeks ago, And at some point I found that same utensil holder at IKEA... Ofcourse I could not leave it alone, though my lovely wife grumbled a bit about me loosing myself again in this hobby...

The utensil holder was to tight a fit for my billican so I sawed the top off (its curved to the inside, and after that it was such a nice fit that I don't even have to put something in between them during transport as they don't rattle against each other.
They do however make an awfull screatching noise when you put them inside eachother
And ofcourse there is the usual tinkering to do, do I want the legs shorter, or shall I try to make them so they can be removed faster... etc, etc. Got a first boil time in about 7 minutes for half a liter (don't know what that is in pints). And experienced a bit of a show when a stiff wind came along, as the flames came out the side holes for about 3 centimeters...

:notworthy Anyway wanted to thank you for the great idea, :notworthy
This little stove is going to come with me next week for a trip in the woods. Here are some pics of how it turned out.

 

[Prophecy]

I'm just on the hunt for a lid to fit my biscuit tin and I'm all set. I got an Alpkit mug and it fits nicely in the stove on the top row of holes. Only thing is, the Alpkit mug doesn't fir inside the biscuit tin so I have to store it separately!

 

[mentalnurse]

just wanted to say no probs but i am by far the first person to use them to make the stove,i got the idea from here just like you. hope it serves you well. carl