Powerful to Cook - Homemade Wood Stove for Camp M-Stove Project Part-1

wood stove, camp stove

I built a wood stove that's small but powerful for cooking. All materials except air inlet are made of stainless steel. The main combustion chamber is austenitic 304 stainless steel, which has a little higher strength than carbon steel and has excellent corrosion resistance and heat resistance.

However, due to the nature of the stove combustion chamber, which is mainly used in the range of 400 °C to 900 °C, intergranular corrosion may occur during repeated and prolonged use. Therefore, if possible, it would be much better to use 321 austenitic stainless steel, but there is no choice as 304 material is readily available around our lives.

The stove firebox was made of stainless steel food container. A baffle plate was installed at the junction of the upper and lower chambers. (This plate was originally used as a lid for the container.) This serves to move the heat from the deep to the top of the combustion chamber, and to circulate it through the front vent. Thanks to this structure, the heat is concentrated on the top plate to help cook.

The materials used in the upper and lower combustion chambers are both 0.55 mm thick. This is generally relatively thin compared to the thickness of the stove we can find on the market. In addition, due to the nature of 304 austenitic stainless steel, the coefficient of thermal expansion is high, resulting in local distortion during heating and cooling. However, when the entire stove reaches a certain temperature, no further distortion occurs. This is what I learned when I first used a homemade stove.

The stove on the left is a self-made stove No. 1, which is twice the volume of the stove No. 2.

When oak firewood is used as fuel, as carbonization proceeds, smoke is reduced significantly and the fire is stabilized. When the stove door is opened, air is supplied to the maximum to reach maximum fire power. When the fire door is closed, the round door of the air inlet can be turned and adjusted to maintain the minimum fire power.

※ Material used

1. Upper body: Stainless steel food container 1/3 size, 2 inches high / 176x325x65mm

2. Lower body(fire box): Stainless steel food container 1/3 size, 6 inches high / 176x325x150mm

3. Baffle plate: Stainless steel food container 1/3 size, lid / 176x325mm

5. Fire box door: Rectangular stainless steel cooking tray / 195x105x15mm

4. Stovepipe flange assembly: D50 stainless steel hood cap and L50xD60 stovepipe 6. Air inlet control: Air mixer for gas range

8. Stove base plate: Rectangular stainless steel cooking tray / 375x230x10mm

7. Side Heat sink cover: Rectangular stainless steel cooking tray / 195x105x15mm 9. Stovepipe: MESETA Stainless Steel Stovepipe / D60xL320mm

10. Glass window: CAMTORY Stove Glass&Frame Set 195x119mm(frame size)

11. Ceramic rope: Smato ceramic rope 10mmx25m

12. Inorganic adhesive(heat-resistance): TK-CERAMIC P-24E 150G
13. Others: M8 stainless steel stud bolts, flange nuts, eye nuts, butterfly nuts, washers, M4 stainless steel bolts & nuts, odds and ends of stainless steel sheet

※ Disclaimer: Using a stove in a confined space can be very dangerous. When using a stove, be sure to ventilate properly and be prepared for fire or other safety accidents. I am not responsible for any loss or injury caused by carelessness.