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Zip Stoves



> Has anybody tried a Zip Stove? I was wondering how they are.

I've been waiting forever for someone to ask this question!
I love my zip.
No petrol stink,no worry about which fuel,where to get fuel,
how to recycle empty containers, boarding airplanes with fuel,
or having fuel leak onto your new down bag.
No priming, fire paste , flareups or explosions.
Light weight and no_fuel_to _carry, although I'll admit to carrying an
ounce or two of dry tinder in case of dounpours and a chunk or three
of the charcoal from other peoples fires or a pinecone or two if I
think of it.
Very adjustable once you get the hang of it and I've rigged a little
grill so I can do trout or meat.
Compact...fits in my pot.
Cheap to buy and use.
Reliable...run mine for 100+hrs with no trouble yet ..need new battery
every five or six hours.
I've boiled almost a gallon of water on it....takes a while for that
much but for normal use it's pretty quick. Sorry never timed a quart
but coffee water is hot before I get mad and that's all that counts for
me.
Down side......you cannot cook in your tent.
Can't use it above tree line unless you bring some tree with you.
Could be more stable...I've modified it some.
Does make a noise on the high setting.
Does make your pots sooty.
I really like the fact that I can use for fuel the stuff left over from
other people's fires...charcoal is probably the best fuel once you get
it started. Pinecones work well too. But hickory or maple, or if you can
find it, apple twigs make some yummy smoke if your grilling. Kahley

Then someone asked

> i read about your zip stove, how does it work?  ive never heard of
> those.  how much does it cost?  how do you get it lit and what does it
> run on?

Zip stove consists of three parts.
One...match box sized metal box which holds the AA battery and the 
low_off_high switch connected by a foot long piece of wire to...

Two ...a metal box a little bit bigger than a deck of cards which 
holds an tiny electric motor and tiny fan.  This acts as the base 
of the unit and clips onto ....

Three...the burner chamber which is a double walled tub slightly 
smaller than a large margarine container.

Parts one and two fit into part three which fits into the pot.
To light you gather tiny twigs (dry is better but damp damp will work)
as well as larger stuff.  You'll learn quickly how much wood to have 
ready.  If you have any waxed or plain paper trash (NO PLASTIC) you
can use that too. Basically you build a tiny pyramid style camp fire
inside the burner and light it.  When it's started you turn the switch
to low for about 30 secs and then to high. Again experience will teach
you the timing.  Once the fire is going you can even use wet wood.  
The fan driven air will keep it going until it drys. as the wood burns
add more and bigger chunks of sticks.  As I said before the charcoal you 
find in fire rings works well.

One draw back is that for most meals you will have to add wood more than 
once.  If this sounds like to much bother for you a zip may not be your 
best choice.  I enjoy tending this mini mini campfire.

The stove $37.99. Pot $13.99. Total weight for the stoveand
pot (lid is a fry pan) is listed as 25 0z. I think they now offer a 
grill as well as a wind screen.  Available from Campmore's catalogue.

Quote from Campmore's catalogue.."Boils a quart of water in just 4 min"
(Probably right with dry wood.)  "Burns twigs, bark, pine cones, scrap 
wood or charcoal. Heats like a blacksmith"s forge. 1800 BTU/hr - all 
altitudes.  Easy heat control - adjustable draft."

http://www.gorp.com/zzstove/default.htm       Zip home page
http://www.campmore.com                       Campmore home page

I don't work for these folks ....I just love the stove.  Kahley

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