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9K views 13 replies 12 participants last post by  PSYOP Soldier 
#1 ·
Well to start off I thank you for any responses you have. My question is why are rocket stoves such a big thing. Other type cooking devices seem so much simpler and easier, for example the soda can alcohol stove. Rocket stoves seem impractical. For one what I have seen is they need a lot off attendance when using it, like people have to constantly add wood to it where as (I m going to use the alcohol stove as comparison) an alcohol stove you can light and walk away for ten minutes and come back and it's still cooking. For two you need to have a decent knowledge of starting a fire, I've seen so many people struggle with lighting them so if you have little experience then with the rocket stove your screwed whereas with the alcohol stove it will light right up. For three the rocket stove is not very portable, it's not like something you could just easily pick up and travel with whereas the alcohol stove could (not to practical) fit in your pocket. For four lets say it just rained, now all the wood is wet and now you can't light the stove, whereas with the alcohol stove the alcohol won't get wet.

I'm not trying to convert people from rocket stove to alcohol i was just using it as an example and it of course has its own flaws. I will give the rocket stove that it has fast cooking but that's about the best thing I see. Any other pros you can give me.

So I am wondering what your opinions are on the problems I listed or any other pros or cons on the subject.
 
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#2 ·
Each serves a purpose. The alcohol stove is nice when the wood is wet or you just don't want to bother with a fire. The rocket stove ( I have the Solo, which gassifies) burns fuel efficiently, so it's convenient. My little Solo stove fits right inside my pots, and the alcohol stove fits right inside of the solo, so it doesn't take much space and doesn't weigh much. With the wood stove you should have no shortage of fuel because you can use any scraps. You will have to carry fuel for the alcohol stove and hope that you don't run out. :) In the end, neither is really necessary, just convenient. A person can always just build a small fire or maybe a Dakota fire-pit if you don't want it to be seen or worry about sparks.

p.s.
Building a fire is pretty basic and something everyone should know how to do, especially if we're talking 'survival'.
 
#8 ·
you'd be surprised at the amount of "survival" people that can't create fire
Long story short (trust me...), a few years ago the daughter and I were hiking the AT, it was dark by the time we arrived at a fire pit, just about a mile short of the parking lot (trail access).

Now, I had been out of the military a few years, and after being a GRUNT for 16 years I figured it had it all ironed out... I was an EXPERT OUTDOORSMAN!


NOT.

I collected what I thought was good fire wood and commenced to build a fire, determined to both warm, and impress my daughter! After burning through two Esbit fuel tabs and getting nothing... I concluded I was a scab.

That started my quest to be a fire guru, I can NOW start a fire in the wind and rain with a cotton ball and spark rod. Even better, some fat wood and a mag bar with shavings!

Yeah, been there dont that, embarrassed to admit it.... At least I recognized one of my weaknesses and did something about it.

NOW the daughter is a junior guru at starting fires too...

EB
 
#4 ·
If things were "ugly" you may not want smoke giving away your position... in that case either the alcohol stove or the rocket stove are better options than just an open fire... at night, less flame is seen with either than a conventional fire pit also...

if you're just "camping", the fire pit is fine, & a Dutch oven cooks pretty nice on an open fire, with the coals :)
 
#5 ·
For me, it's about options....

Being able to have various means/methods for heating/cooking is paramount, depending upon the situation, one is better than the other...

urban/suburban setting:
1. 16-20 brick rocket stove, burns most anything...
2. one of my many multi fuel gas stoves
3. volcano grill

rural/camping/patrolling/etc..
1. small coleman multi fuel
2. volcano grill
3. emberlit rocket
4. Dakota fire hole-quite effective in the Uwharrie for a 7 day survival exercise...
5. stainless steel gi canteen stove & cup with fuel tabs-used quite often as grunt..

cookpots/pans depend on situation, from gi canteen to cast iron..

again, having the ability to make/use various kinds of cooking options greatly increases ones chances...
 
#9 ·
Rocket stoves extract almost all the burnable fuel from the wood, and the exhaust gasses therefore aren't smoky if the stove is built right. They also burn really hot. Rocket mass stoves are great for heating homes because you can burn them for 4 or 5 hours and have 24 hours of heat.

That said, two tin cans stuck inside a can of sand isn't really a rocket stove, and most of the videos people make on rocket stoves are these mini stoves that don't work properly.

A "proper" rocket stove is a "J" shape and the wood will feed itself as it burns. It also has a chimney about 2x longer than most of the improvised stoves I see. This is what gives the stove its efficiency and low smoke - the hot gasses in the long, insulated chimney combust the flammable gasses in the smoke, making hot, clean exhaust.

Here's a good page to explain what a rocket mass stove is all about: http://www.richsoil.com/rocket-stove-mass-heater.jsp

A rocket stove (as opposed to a rocket mass stove) uses these principles to make a hot, efficient stove, but most of the small ones people make just don't work well. The fuel opening is too big, the chimney is too short, and the insulation is usually sand which is a great absorber of heat, making the stove even less efficient.

However when one is made correctly they're awesome!
 
#12 ·
I like the pocket cooker. It folds flat, has a carrying case which can go on your belt (but it doesn’t ride well) or you can stow it in your pack. I boiled water in 4 minutes using pine cones and twigs. Next day, I cooked bacon and eggs on it. For the breakfast cooking, I did not spend much extra time feeding the stove. When the flame would die down a bit, I would just put a few twigs into the feeding hole. Easy. When the fire burns out, the stove has run so efficiently, that you just turn the stove over and dump out the ashes.
http://backwoodsmercantile.com/Detailed/Shop_Backwoods/Cooking/Pocket_Cooker_90.html
 
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