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[at-l] Pt 2 Zipstove

Firestaters..I use 3 or 4 cottonballs with maybe 20 30 drops of wax
from leftover holiday tapers.  then wrap them in a 6x6 square ofwax
paper....in the fashion of salt water taffy...the little tails are
easy to light.  Super light and compact .  I just tear a little strip of
the wax paper off and use that to light the starter.  Usually, around
Feb, when I'm bored to tears, I spend an evening dipping tiny sticks
2/3 in wax and then wrapping cotton balls around them but to be honest
that's just for something to do.  The taffy balls work just as well.
Light with the motor off,  swicth to low until you get good flame...
about 30 secs and then full blast. For long cooking meals, once you have
a base of coals..switch it off to simmer.  I only burned stuff once,
this spring when i got to supper late and then got distracted by the
comet...burned chili...ooops.  I forgot to turn it off.

In damp weather, I always use the end of one fire to dry tinder to start
the next fire.  Just lay themn across the zip and then keep them dry and
you'll have no trouble with your next meal.  Soft wood burns fast,
evergreen burns sooty,  you really can smell applewood and nut wood
and it does great things for grilled trout.
Your pots will turn black.  I've heard that coating them with
dishwashing stuff will let the soot just wipe off, but I've never tried
it.  I just wipe of the outside with a wet wipe.  I used to scour it
after every trip until I learned that a good coat of carbon makes
the pot heat quicker and also doesn't rub off on stuff as badly as
a fresh coat of soot does. The pot and pan set that they sell for the
zip is surprisingly light and very tough.  Mine has one tiny dent after 
years.  And the zip fits into it exactly..great use of space.
The handle on the pot should be like the one on the lid though.

No matter how carefully you check the wind, the smoke will blow in your
face<<<G>>>which is fabulous in bug season!  The left over charcoal,
both maunfactured and natural, from other peoples fires works great if
it's dry...long slow heat or a blast furnace if you load it up. But you
need some wood to get it going.  I love being able to cook with other
peoples left overs. I guess that's it.

Except that this last weekend we aborted a dayhike because of sooo many
people on the trail.  We retreated to a back corner of the picnic area
and tried to cook some burgers.  We had so called "easy light' charcoal
and a tiny grill.  It took forever to try and get the coals lit.  Boy
did I wish I had my zip.  That little fan is great for lighting stubborn
fires.  After dinner, just dump your coals in the fire ring,
add a little tinder, point the fan and poof...instant cheer!

Another lister asked more about using charcoal. 

Actually unless you have something that requires really long cooking,
I don't think it's necessary.  You'd still need to start a wood fire
to start the charcoal, unless you use a liquid starter and that's
just the type of stuff I like to avoid (don't ask...loong story).
And packing briquettes goes counter to my no fuel rule.  I do use
the left overs when I find them, especially when it's cold and I'm 
using it for heat, since there's almost no smoke.  I don't know if you 
could overfill it to the point of damage.  I don't want to try that
experiment.<G>

Guess that's it. any more ???...e-me			Kahley
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