Wednesday, November 19, 2014

ya get what ya pay for...

Well...the little Chinese wood stove is officially a piece of crap - even worse than all YouTube reviews I watched.  It seemed like a good deal at $99 including shipping only because other retailers sell it for as much as $260 including shipping.  Although it functions correctly, the craftsmanship is embarrassingly pathetic and not worthy of TFL.  Been burning off the bad paint on it all day.  Going to go with my intuition of a DIY model along the lines of the suggestion of M. Silvius who was first to comment on my post about buying this stove.  Will clean up this one and offer it for sale locally for fifty bucks.  That's what I get for breaking the cardinal rule of Abe Connally who ultimately led me to this area..."Don't buy it if you can make it and don't make it if you can find it."  48,67,29,0,B

13 comments:

Margery Billd said...

Sorry about your loss.

John Wells said...

A learning experience is not a loss.

Rev.jimmyleebob said...

price of an education

Carlos said...

What kind of heat are you looking for? If you're looking for efficiency, rocket mass heaters seem the most efficient for the D-I-Yer. Cast iron/steel stoves surrounded some form of stone mass are close second.

Mike Silvius said...

I am sorry it was a let down. I have seen some of those stoves at Cabelas and they did not look half bad, but then they are probably a better quality build than the Chinese pig-in-a-poke version. They are meant for portable use in an Alaskan Wall Tent and thus they are fairly lightly build. I know you can improve on my rendition with the propane bottle. It was my first go at it. If I'd do it again I would go with four legs instead of three. It is a fun project. Thanks for the plug. All the best. Michael

Ricardo said...

No time spent learning is wasted. You'll benefit from it later.

Larry G said...

re: "rocket mass heater"

looks interesting but always thought exhaust had to go UP not sideways...

but a made-to-fit stove for smaller footprint rooms... of less than 200 square feet makes sense.

most standard stoves are going to run you out of there and take up more room than necessary because you WILL have to keep it away from the structure - and that's another reason to like a stove with brick or stones.

Perhaps some way to incorporate it into your kitchen counter with a cooktop...

keep us tuned in to your efforts!

nrephil said...

Before you go to the trouble of making one check out 4dog's site a good bang for the buck and you can size it for your needs.

HordeHey said...

rocket stove or rocket heater awesome way to go. far less wood burned and far more heat retained.

grinder said...

http://www.wintertrekking.com/community/index.php?topic=1706.0
made from 5 gal bucket.
I thought the purchased stove was too big for your small cabin. this would be about right (I think)

rondeb said...

I love the 40 gal propane bottle stove. I wish I had the ability to weld and make one. Perfect for a garage.

Stefano said...

Here is a more experimental rocket stove fireplace with thermo-siphion water tanks.
Modifying the design for your small space. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVpseNZI9vY&list=UUHVAng_sQGlfp6yf6tdBJNw&index=9&spfreload=10

designSTUDIO said...

Seems like with a bit of work with the wire feed welder that thing could be somewhat salvaged, no? Or is it just too damned thin-walled to mess with?