ION Stove

Hi Sam
That is the standard US set up . However here Downunder the correct use is like this :

Franco

Franco,

Thanks for the clarification. There for a bit, I thought it was just me.

See ya

Can someone tell me how tall the stove is without the stand; BPL lists it as 1.5" with the stand; I won't be using that stand. Also does the one that BPL sells have mesh over the filler like Franco's does? I'd be peeved if my filler came out all over the inside of my pack. Also, What is the filler?

The stove is 20mm high (3/4")
From memory the Ion did not come with any filler. I have only used it for some experiments as I was using gas at the time, then switched to the White Box and now to the TiTri Caldera Cone system.
What you see inside mine is a piece of fiberglass that I added during my experiments . The one inside the BPL version looks like the Pink Bat (roof insulation) type.
My comment about the US version was meant to be a joke. …
Franco

thanks, anyone have any info on total burn time for 0.5oz of fuel?

I plan to use this under a shortened caldera cone for the trappers mug. Right now I'm using a tea light and can just edge out two cups of water boiled separately; one for food rehydration and one for tea. If I could do 1.5 cups then 1 cup or even 1.5 cups I'd be pretty happy.

I thought I saw something somewhere where somebody was getting like 16 minute burn times?

Jason
I will have time this week end to do some tests with the Ion and the Caldera Cone set up. I did do some a few months ago but I cannot recall now what happened. The Ion is the slowest and maybe most efficient ( fuel wise) stove I have tried (apart from my own tea light versions) , so it will likely suit you. I now just boil water and add it to the dry ingredients in a separate container (used to store some of the food, 700ml about 2.5 oz) but I did some tests bringing the pot to a boil and then simmering using a tea candle ( not the tea light stove…). Works well like that. Not sure about this, but I have had in mind for some time that the longer boil time of the Ion ( around 12-15 min for 500ml with the standard windscreen set up) helps with re-hydrating your food and the low heat should prevent scorching. I have switched to the "dutch oven" method because for some meals my 550ml pot is not big enough for my meal . Also like the idea of not having to wash the pot so that I can boil the water for my meal and then immediately add some more water to boil for a hot drink.
Franco

> Also like the idea of not having to wash the pot so that I can boil the water for my meal and then immediately add some more water to boil for a hot drink.
Yeah, but coffee (or cocoa) with overtones of onion soup … ugh.

Cheers

Using the ion stove with a basic windscreen and modest wind I get around something like 16 minutes (might be a bit less, or a bit more). The important detail is that it takes 12 minutes for my .9L Evernew pot with 16oz (.5L) of water to start boiling. Pots with a smaller diameter bottom take longer.

–Mark

I can boil 1 cup of water with my trapper mug and caldera cone with a tea light in about 5 min and then do it again before it runs out; I can't see that the boil time of the ion would be any slower? does it put out less heat than a tea light? I can accomplish what I want with a tea light but I have to be really fast about pouring the water out into my meal then refilling the mug with water over the stove. The second fill never comes to a boil but still gets hot enough to make the tea. I'm looking to bring it to a boil and hopefully give myself a little extra time to pour into my meal then refill the mug with new water.

Anybody know how much that TiPod weighs all by itself? I didn't see it listed in the BPL specs.

Thanks

The Ion stand is about 1/4 oz ( between 5 and 10 g on my scale)
I did several boils using the Ion and the TiTri Caldera Cone /550ml pot.
First, to get what I estimated to be close to the right distance, I put the Ion on top of the Stand, see picture.

The avarage of that was 12 min to boil and 5 min boil # after that (4 boils)
Then I remouved the fiberglass, it took over 22 min to come to a boil but it kept the boil for over 6 min ( that reminded me why I put the wick inside…)
Then I moved the stove 1 cm closer to the pot , from 3 cm ( just over 1") to 2 cm , the start to boil was about the same but the boil was reduced to about 4 min.
Next I will fiddle a liotle with the stove to pot distan but the great news ( to me…..) is that I could have a cone that is almost 2" shorter ( by having the Ion on the ground over a very thin insulating layer*, no stand needed) that is about 1/3 of the standard height, so I could save more than 1/3rd of it's weight .
Temporary assestment :
The naked Ion is the most efficient if you don't mind waiting . 1/2 oz of fuel and almost 30 min total burn time
The original version boils the fastest and still delivers around 4 min of boil time
The Ion with fiberglass and CC combo is right inbetween the two but with the "potentially" shorter cone sounds interesting

# roaring boil, not bubbles…
* to avoid the heat sink effect. The Ion takes some time to warm up..
Air temperature 20 c, water temperature about 17 c
All tests 500 ml water, 1/2 oz 95% ethanol
Note that the Ion is shorter than the Firefly and seems to perform at a shorter pot to stove distance, hence the (possibly) 2" shorter cone
Franco

Franco, thanks, that's just what I'm looking for. 30 min boil on 0.5 oz is rockin for what I need and should allow me to knock another inch maybe a tad more off my caldera cone for my trapper mug (it's already cut short by one inch) the egg ring at the top should bump me up a bit; I might buy another cone and cut it to the same height as the mug and see how that works with a couple egg rings on the mug to adjust the height; this could give me a trapper mug sized cookset with a rockin windscreen/stand (cone).

The Ion stove, egg ring cone stopper and the mini Caldera Cone is what I had in mind. I like the cone not only for the fact that it traps the heat but mostly because of the stability and that I don’t have to worry about wind. I think that the best solution would be a low heat output and squatter version of the White Box stove. That would cut down the size of the cone even further or eliminate the egg ring. BTW the egg ring could eliminate the need for pot handles or potholders…
And to think that they are spending billions of dollars on the particle accelerator when we are onto something that could revolutionise backcountry cooking.
Franco

The photos have been corrected and the weight of each individual part updated as well:

Weights:
Stove: .265 oz. (7.51 g)
Pot stand: .27 oz. (7.65 g)
Windscreen: .44 oz. (12.47 g)

Roger
"Yeah, but coffee (or cocoa) with overtones of onion soup … ugh."
I am not that fussy with my food but garlic flavoured tea is also not to my taste. If I have soup at lunchtime than I do it in the mug and wash afterwards ( i use dirt to wash my mug) .
At dinner , I only boil water with it and re-hydrate my meal in a separate "microwave safe" 700ml Decor container used to store some of my food bits .

Jason
Yes good point for most single meals that is enough. We were discussing 500ml because that is the "standard" used for stove testing, however I will start to test with 250-300ml since I usually cook for myself only.

Franco