how's the biolite going?
i just read the wintertrekking article on the hot tent stoves, there's some pretty good info in there.
Since I originally started this thread, I've been doing tons of research, built a few of the samples I've found from the ammo cans and one out of a large stock pot like the gents over at
hill people gear show.
All have their pluses and minuses, since this is a TLC forum, I figured alot of you use your rigs for getting to where you want to go in the outdoors. I started designing a stove that has what I think are a pretty good balance of features.
cook surface needed to be big enough for two frying pans and a coffee pot.
Strong enough to support cast iron, but not too heavy as to be cumbersome
variable cook top height, 36" for normal use and 24" for seated use
adjustable air flow from bottom
elevated fuel source - keeping the wood off the bottom of the stove
good heat radiation to warm an enclosed area or those around the stove if outside
water heater for cooking and cleaning
dryer rack for wet items
stove pipe dampner to fine tune burning
large door with a good seal for loading of fuel
everything should fit inside the stove body for transport
while that's a pretty long list of requirements I think it's a darn good start on what an ideal expedition wood stove would need. After coming up with the list, I started making concept drawings, after talking with one of my friends who happens to be a top notch car fabricator, we decided that a full size model needed to be made, now I've never worked with foam board but i figured ah, it should be easy.

yeah, not really, so after buying a bunch of random tools that yes I can justify and say I did need them, well at least to myself, as well as the board material and the suggested glues I got to work.
tick tock
40 hours of work later, after finding that foam board doesn't cut easily, wipes out razor blades in less that 24 inches, beveling edges to ensure fit creates MASSIVE amounts of foam dust, and the suggested glue is worthless, after making jigs and allowing it to set for 36 hours, then just saying whatever i'll go with blue painters tape I find that I'm only halfway through the construction.
At this point, I may just finish it so I can have a full size model for other mods, but if i had to do it again, I would have made the model out of thin gauge aluminum, i'd have had it done in about 8 hours.
The next step for this stove is to finish up some details for the fabrication blueprints, then have a few pieces cut and bent at the fab shop, I don't have a brake big enough to do the main body pieces then we'll get it all put together.
As I don't have a deadline on this, well at least not until the SHOT show and Outdoor Retailer show in January, I have a bit of time. I have a few optional accessories for it, that I'm going to wait on mentioning until the stove prototype is built.
Besides the list of requirements I have above, any suggestions from you guys?
oh and yes, I will post some pics as soon as the first pieces come back from the fab shop.