What lwt stove have you folks been happy with for your tipi?

http://www.edtsbackcountry.com
Tim

Handwerk,

I ordered an Ed T 16" cylinder stove awhile back. The next day I learned of the kifaru oval stoves, and had immediate buyer's remorse. When the Ed T stove arrived, I assembled it and thought it was a pain in the rear. My hunting trip ended up falling through this year, so I set the stove aside with plans to sell it.

A month ago I decided to give it a try, so I set up the SL-5 in the backyard and I found the stove much easier to put together the 2nd time around. I didn't even look at the instructions.

As soon as I lit a fire in it I was impressed. It drafted VERY well. Much better than i remember my kifaru para stove drafting. I was able to boil enough water to make a mountain house meal, although it took a while. You've really got to keep it ripping to boil water.

The tent warmed up pretty quickly, but temp that night was mid-upper 30's, so not a great test.

I'd still like to try one of Patrick's ovals, but I'll be hanging on to the Ed T.

For ease of set up this is worth a look
http://www.hillpeoplegear.com/Products/InDetail/ShepherdStove/tabid/937/Default.aspx

I've used the kifaru box stove for 15 years or more works good pita to set up.

Am watching this thread closely as I am in the market for a tipi stove.

With all respect for their light weight and creative designs, the various Ti backpack stoves seem complicated with a lot of parts to handle and lose with cold hands in snow.

have you looked at the ruta locura wifi stove at all?

I love the looks of the hills people stove

Thanks for the link. I hadn't seen that one. It is better but it still has 8 pieces, several of them small, and some which need to be kept straight and true for the thing to assemble well.

Not fair to ask the makers for their trade secrets but I wonder what thickness of titanium they use in the backpack stoves?

What's that chimney made of? For longer lengths, they charge $15/foot.
I wouldn't call the thickness a trade secret. The buyer has a right to know what he's getting for the money.

On the roll- up stoves, I use .005 titanium for the body & pipe.
With stainless, usually .004 on pipe.
I think those are pretty common thicknesses among stove builders.

I made a roll-up with EdT's help. I've only used it a few nights, but was relying on it to melt snow for water. I was surprised how hot the stove had to be for melting snow and/or boiling water. There is a pretty big loss of efficiency with the rolled top stove and flat bottom pots.

The new rage is flat tops with the ruta locura, kifaru oval and SO u-turn, HPG shepherd, etc. They are much more efficient for cooking and heating pots.

The roll stove excels at light weight and portability. You'll have to prioritize your needs to find the best stove for YOU. Lightest? Smallest? Best for cooking? Cheapest? etc etc. No stove is perfect at everything.

Most stoves are going to have lots of parts, unless you use a non-collapsing canister, as Evan did for this project. But you lose some portability. I thought EdT had a similar model to reduce the "fiddle factor" but not sure if he's marketing it.

http://www.hillpeoplegear.com/FreeResources/Makeawoodstove/tabid/880/Default.aspx

I've never seen a Ruta Locura but by the pics, it actually is a roll up but the cylinder is standing on end. That gives a flat stove top for better heat transfer. It does need some kind of tips on the legs, though, to keep it from sinking in soft ground. A simple T-nut with the prongs flattened out should do nicely.

Ed, thank you. I don't want to get into a stove building experiment, way behind the learning curve of pro stove builders who have moved past the common mistakes... but I'm such a tinkerer and modifier of gear that such a project is tempting!

I'm no expert in the field. But I've spent enough time in heated tents to have educated opinions on the matter...

The stoves that I'm most familiar with is EdT's, both the Kifaru box stoves and the new Ti cylinder stove. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. I like the cylinder stove, and it's efficiency the best and I've found that cooking on one isn't as hard as everyone says it it. But then Quinoa and grouse breast soup ain't rocket science. You do however need to remember that it is UL gear and should be treated as such. Which includes keeping your drunk friends away from it.

Cooking performance is a ways down my priority list, it never fails to amaze me how much less life sucks in a tent with a stove. The way a C stove drafts, and the damper system it runs, is light years better than anything else I've been around.

Quinoa? You eat that stuff

I hear hippies say that it's good food.

I was reading the Hill People web site about their stoves. It says that to use the damper, you have to use THEIR chimney. It then goes on to say that they DO NOT make chimneys. So, apparently you can't use their damper. Huh?

They also say their stove is stainless, not Ti, so it's twice the weight of other similar sized stoves.

I hope the Kifaru ovals are easier to set up than their video suggests. I'm not about to fiddle around with all those wires.

We have a new stove coming out that I think will do a very good job combining the elements that result in good usable performance, low fiddle factor and good longevity at a minimal weight. Stay tuned

What's your time frame on that one?

Interesting. Am tuned...

I've been pretty satisfied with the regular Kifarus that I've been using for 10 years. I'd like to get one of the new Ti versions and save a few pounds but alas one isn't in the cards at this time. Soon hopefully.

Been two months. Any update?

It was at the show .. the SXL sitting in the LBO

Well?

It is on our site SXL Titanium Stove

What is different or compelling ? Well, it uses lightweight sides (stove pipe weight) similar to a UTurn (discontinued) with standard stove material for the front/ top and bottom. It goes together very easily like a box and is pretty airtight like our box stoves. The lower profile makes it suitable for a LBO sized shelter, while the wider profile provides a large area to load wood similar to our XL stove. Since you can load larger wood, you can get a very even regulated burn. It also comes standard with an air intake control to further regulate the burn more than a damper alone.

Weight, the stove itself is less than 20 ounces. Burn and operation is similar to our XL stove, just a little less tall. IMO a great combo of burn control, easy assembly and weight. The one at the show had been burned hard, with a lot of water on it. With a strong fire, you can boil water in 5 minutes with a GSI kettle. Regulating the input and output and using larger wood, gives a capable burn of over an hour with coals lasting several hours.

The box style of lightweight sides, I prefer over a horizontal uturn style due to easy assembly and being more airtight around the top and bottom, since inconsistantcies in foil material are mitigated during construction. The seams also add strength and when coupled with the heavier material on the front make a stove that works very well. The only downside to the lighter material sides is mostly in potential damage when packed, which is easy to mitigate by sandwiching them between the top and bottom. I would not use large cast iron pans on it, but for use using standard backpacking gear, and heating water it works really really well .

At least that is my .02 and for me , it will be my go to stove for anything LBO to 8 man. For hard use in an 8 or 12 I will step up to an XL or XXL for basecamps. ]

Kevin

Ah! Gotcha.

I have owned two stoves from Ti Goat and Ruta Locura. I have been very pleased with their quality of construction and their innovative ideas, as well as their customer service.