Rocket stove recommendations?

Barb LeeContributor - November 7, 2022

I am weakening to the temptation to buy a rocket stove.  Considering this one .  Can anyone offer advice?  My apologies if there are previous posts or articles on the site, I couldn’t find anything specific.

There’s just the two of us.  Small, twiggy fuel is almost limitless on our property but firewood, not so much.  I’d like something compact like this that can be stored away easily, and I’m not up for a DIY project.

As always, I appreciate wisdom shared!

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A 16 lb. stove recommended for backpacking?  What a farce!!

Try a canister stove burner head and 8oz canisters – much cheaper and more effective.  Even a simple campfire will work quite well, even with small wood fragments.  Experiment before it becomes crucial!!

 

I’m a fan of rocket stoves and have several… from the model you reference to one designed to cook for a large group.  I prefer having rocket stoves to any cooker that requires you to purchase and store specialty fuel.  Any specialty fuel can run out.  Hard to imagine running out of any fuel for a rocket stove.  I really like the one you reference but I do agree it is not for backpacking.

You say you aren’t up for a DIY project but do you realize you can make a nice, safe rocket stove just by stacking bricks properly.  I keep fire bricks in my barn just for this purpose, as they won’t crack after repeated fires.  Regular bricks can fail eventually and that could be bad.  You do need to split a brick in half, which allows for the double height opening.  Make it as tall as you want.  You don’t have to make a double height opening but I think it helps airflow.  Just stack the bricks somewhere out of the way and bring them out when you need the stove.  Only takes a couple of minutes to build the stove.  BTW, few people go thru the trouble of using fire bricks.

This video might help:

I also have this Helius in storage.  I like it because you don’t have to bend over to cook.

My big boy is a 60 liter Instove cooker, now out of business.

Here is the two in my prepper closet:

 

Thank you Redneck.  Since my question wasn’t about finding a backpacking stove, but rather another redundant means of cooking in case of emergency the bit of disinformation on the Amazon page was hardly a deterrent.

I am really glad you approve of this model.  That’s a deal maker for me.

The main reason I am looking at this type of stove and not a DIY, is because I’m likely to be able to use this stove on my Dutch oven table, which has a windscreen and is on the deck under a roof.  We are currently experiencing dreadful cold rain with some snow mixed in, and this is the condition we would normally find ourselves in when the power goes out.  Actually, with this stove, I could probably pull up a rubber mat on the barn’s earth floor and cook in there.  But the thought of having to cook outside at all in this Pacific Northwest weather just horrifies me!

 

Are you interested in one for home use, for use when evacuating, one for camping, or all the above? That might lead to a better recommendation.

 

I forewent the rocket stove and got a Winnerwell Nomad medium. We camp and we bring this with us in it’s carrying bag and we even hot tent with it in the winter.

I loooooooooooooove this stove. You can cook right on it, it has a water tank that boils water and then you can hang it on the side of the stove to keep warm. There is even a fast-fold baking box that sits right on top that I have baked in (hot fresh bread or cinnamon rolls while camping = mmmmm). But I’ve make lasagne in it as well.   

I just love this stove. I love it for base camp camping, I love that it can be used for a “bugging in” situation, as well. 
https://winnerwell.us/collections/nomad-series

 

Looks amazing!  Thanks!

 

I have two. One is a larger one that I picked up for free that someone who has a plasma cutter made as a project then just got tired of it taking up space. It’s about 4ft tall and sort of shaped like the Eifel tower.

Just before I found the big one I bought a smaller portable one from Amazon to throw in the truck for camping. It’s compact but heavy.

Camping Rocket Stove. It was quite a bit cheaper when I bought it a few years ago.

We have enough trees that cleaning up sticks is nearly a full time job so I don’t worry about running out of fuel for them.

 

I see some rocket stoves are in an L shape and yours is in a J shape. I can see the benefit of the J shape being that gravity somewhat pulls the wood in as it is burned so you aren’t constantly needing to feed it, but being able to feed it at your own pace with an L shape allows you to adjust the heat and fuel consumption. Do you like the J shape?

Also, does the handle get too hot from use that you have to let it cool down before you can move it? I like the impossible to break design. 

 

Yes, it certainly would.  I’ll enjoy experimenting with one to get the hang of it, then see if hubby can be convinced I need two!  LOL!