Ryan’s Favorites: BushBuddy

I can’t echo Paul’s sentiments enough: please please please! Yes, it’s not “Leave No Trace,” but for very wild places, this type of highly efficient, portable, and packable stove could be just the ticket. (There’s a good chance that I’ll be living in Mongolia and trekking around the area all next year, and camping fuel is… not so available.) Ryan, how can we get our hands on a lighter version of the BushBuddy similar to the one you used?

Paul – I purchased one of the ultra light Bushbuddy stoves from Fritz about six weeks ago. You may want to contact him directly, he made several of them at the time I bought mine. He may still have some in stock. The stove is great, actual weight is exactly 5oz and the measurements are 3.75in high and 4.25in diameter. It burns very well, it’s a very efficient stove. I’ve pretty much just used gas and alcohol stoves while camping for years, so I had to relearn some of the long lost fire building skills, but it’s been worth it. It’s not a cheap stove, but it’s everything I wanted in a wood burner.
Ron

Ron,
I’m right on it. Thanks!

Thank you for the information, Ron. I just sent Fritz an email.

What? No further info like web address, cost? DOH!

Gene – You’re right, I could have done better on the info. The cost was $115 Canadian, which was about a hundred US dollars at the time. The email for Fritz is traveller@bushbuddy.ca . You can also check out his stove on his website http://bushbuddy.ca/ . The stove he has on the website is heavier, but the ultra light one is basically the same two piece configuration.
Good luck….Ron

Snowpeak makes a folding coffee dripper which seems to me could be used as a UL wood stove. Compared to the Bushbuddy, it has a similar internal volume, wide legs for stability, 4.5 oz in weight, folds to .6″ high, about 6″wide, and costs $20 on ebay.

The double wall design of the Bushbuddy is no doubt superior, but to experiment with wood fire cooking I think Ill get one of these. I can put a metal screen on top to hold my pots or mugs. Oh, and I suppose it could be dual-used to make coffee.

I will buy one, try it out, and report back; maybe the ventilation is insufficient or there will be some other problem..

Let us know how it works … but from the foto it doesn’t look like it’ll breath

“Let us know how it works … but from the foto it doesn’t look like it’ll breath”

Yeah, but that can be easily remedied with some well placed drilled holes..

Brett… I can’t believe I’ve looked at Snowpeak’s website countless times and never noticed how similar the coffee drip is in design to their grills. That is a GREAT catch… if you’re worried about embers you might even slide a SP Ti Plate underneath…

Well, I looked at the Snowpeak coffee drip; and yes Joshua, it is almost identical to the larger folding fireplaces. But it was just too small. Like the size of a large coffee filter (of course..). So I bought a Uniflame “Nature Stove” for about $35. Its 10oz. Tested it today and it works fine with charchol. The entire base is a screen, so it breathes great. I plan to cut off the handles to save an ounce.

Has anyone checked this out yet?
http://www.littlbug.com/index.htm

9.5 oz. and disassembles to pack flat. Looks cool.

Looking at these simple designs, I’m starting to think a large metal coffee can with some holes punched around the bottom would work great at no cost. Has someone tried that?

EDIT: never mind; someone has, and it does work. I’m always too quick to buy something instead of trying to make first it instead.:(
http://zenstoves.net/Wood.htm

A rough approximation of the double-walled bushbuddy can be built rather simply with recycled cans. These can weigh in at around 5oz. Check out:

http://www.kandpprogressive.com/Woodgas.htm

Also, the stoves discussion list at:

http://listserv.repp.org/pipermail/stoves_listserv.repp.org/

has a tremendous amount to offer those interested in wood-fired cooking.

ALW

I’ve looked at the Little Bug too and was intrigued. It’s a little heavier than I wanted. More importantly there doesn’t appear to be a bottom so you still have charred ground, which at best is harsh on the terrain. I think a bottom is available (they show the stove hanging from a tree) but does it add to the weight? I like how it breaks down and can be place against a rolled up sleep pad for practically zero pack volume. If you buy one let us know how it performs for you.

The coffee can stove is a mere container without the benefit of the gassifier-effect of a double wall unit.

I’ll give my impression of the BushBuddy after I’ve had a chance to play with it.

Paul

Andy,
Nice find. I’m going to have to play with this one too.
Paul

1.2 ounce Wood Stove:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/1669/index.html

3 ounce Wood Stove:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/mb_post_form.html?po=edit&note_id=11661&forum_thread_id=1671

v330/gardenville/Wood%20Stoves/CWS12.jpg”>
1.5 ounce Wood Stove: (What happened to Ryan Faulkner?)

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/1838/index.html

Wood/Xtreme Stove – Multi-Fuel: Flat Fold Stove – 3.51 ounces for wood alone

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/xdpy/forum_thread/3262/index.html

1. Wood Stove Multi-Fuel

4. Wood Stove Multi-Fuel – Xtreme / PowerMax Mode – 6.51 ounces

Andrew
The double walled stove picture looks neat. Any more detail on which cans were used, how they were fit together, and where the holes were punched on the inside walls? Also, is there a support for a pot that’s been developed specifically for this pot? I didn’t see any of this sort of info on the link you posted.
thanks
Gerry Magnes

1. Get 2 empty cans that fit inside each other with 1/2″+ gap. I can’t say which–perhaps a 25oz tomato and a 16oz soup can.

2. Trace an outline of the smaller can on the bottom of the larger, then remove this circle–cutting slightly inside the line.

3. punch holes: around the top of the side of the now partially bottomless larger can; around the top of the side of the smaller can. Experiment with hole size and number.

4. either pepper the bottom of the small can with 1/8″ holes, or replace it with hardware wire–wire works better.

5. Fit the two together, so that the top of the smaller can is just sticking out through the whole you cut in the bottome of the larger can. If you cut the hole properly, you should get a reasonably tight fit. A perfect seal is not necessary. If you want to get fancy you can use high-temp epoxy or flue tape.

6. For the best burn, fill it up with chunky biomass, and light from the top with alcohol gel, or some other starter that won’t get in the way of air flow.

7. For a pot stand, try mimicking that of this wood stove, or use your creativity.

http://www.woodgascampstove.com

For more info, see:

http://www.repp.org/discussiongroups/resources/stoves/Anderson/GasifierLAMNET.pdf

ALW

Did a similar thing a while back, but the gap was too small for it too work. Gotta bang out a new one…

For anyone interested here’s a PDF that describes step-by-step how to make a double walled downdraft gasifier stove out of cans. The end product looks a bit heavy, But I’m sure with a little tinkering a lot of weight could be shaved off.

http://bioenergylists.org/stovesdoc/midge/THE_COMPLETE_MIDGE.pdf