4" Cookstove

[matt walker]

I think the dimensions look good Manny. It's going to be a bear to get in there and clean it out. I might be inclined to add in a front access that you can brick up or something. I dunno, adds complexity, but.....

[pa_friendly_guy]

I don't know Manny, I am not the expert here, maybe I am missing something, but I built that portable 4" cook top unit which is much shorter than what you are talking about and it works fine. You are making a cook top, a burner on the stove, not a BBQ or an Oven, so the heating needs are different. If you use the cast iron top like Matt suggests I am guessing that the 4" would give you a hot spot right over the flame with cooler temps as you move out the metal. So you want to cook on hi keep it over the flame, if you want to cook on medium move it out from the flame a little, etc, etc. Now the problem of a heating stove instead of a cooking stove, because I see the difference in the 2 types of stoves and the different requirements of each. You may not have an ideal heating stove here, it may smoke more, it may have problems with draft or getting it started, but I see no reason why it won't cook. It may not be ideal for both however, I say, lets go out and make some mistakes, and have some great learning experiences, lets see if this works or not. What's the worst that can happen??? Well, the worst that can happen is you burn the house down, lets not do THAT, but other than burning the house down what's the worst that can happen?

[mannytheseacow]

Yep, I agree, Guy. What's the worst that can happen? I need to play with these things more. With my other stove, that's my heat, so it's kind of important that it works. But for this I've got some alternative sources to cook on, it's more of a luxury item or a novelty (a very useful one!).

I'm with you in thinking that it might serve its purpose. I've cooked some good meals over an empty tuna fish can with a splash of wood alcohol in it. Just baking a pizza in my conventional oven will raise the temp in my upstairs by 3 - 5 degrees. Even if this project doesn't completely floor me, I'll only be in it $50 and walk away with some very good learning.

Now if whoever ordered this weather would issue a rebate I might get to work casting sooner than later. The big holdup is that I think I know where there is an old cast iron cooktop from an abandoned farmstead out in the woods a good hike from my house, but it's buried under a couple feet of snow.

[mannytheseacow]

Well Guy, I took your advice and picked up a Vogel cabin stove, though I think with different intentions. I found this beauty on craigslist for $50:


My thought is to take the top off to use that for the surface of the cookstove and build the surround as previously planned. This has an interesting feature, that the stove top includes the collar for the exit flue. The dimensions are perfect for what I was planning, and that extended top might just capture one last bit of heat before leaving the unit. We'll see. I just couldn't pass this up. I can't get a camp chef griddle for $50 and this has the added option of removing the burners for some direct contact. And if it doesn't work, I've seen these stoves listed on craigslist for $250...

[pa_friendly_guy]

That is Great Manny, truly a win, win. I am glad you found a bargain on Craigs List. Like you said, if it does not work the way you think it will you can always sell it and maybe make a small profit. That's one thing I learned in Business, you will never go broke selling things at a profit. Keep us posted with your progress and tell us how every thing works out.

PS You might be able to incorporate the door into your burn chamber. It won't let you see the flames the way Matts unit does with the glass, but it might let you bake bread or rolls next to the fire the way his does. Just a thought. It might be too big for the size of your burn chamber, but if you can make it work it solves the problem of clean out for you.

[matt walker]

Wow, cool man! That is an ideal top for your design, what a score.

[mannytheseacow]

I’ve been holding off on doing any more work on this cookstove due to the persistent winter. It’s still 0* or below every day, but let’s face it- it’s not getting any warmer yet, and there’s no use sitting around so I suppose I might just as well get moving even if I can’t cob or cast. Not to mention, there has only been a couple of new builds on here over the winter, so I hope this brightens everyone’s day.

Step 1: You gotta relax and have a homebrew.



Step 2: Put some more wood on the fire. It’s snowing merrily outside, good day to relax with some homebrew… got some pork cassoulet simmering away there on top of the barrel.



So here’s my Craigslist score of the week, free bedframe:



I’ve been looking for some angle iron for the stove frame, so take what I can use and scrap the rest. Ended up with some nice 1 ½” pieces.



Cut some 45*’s in it on one piece for a base.



Then bent it around to make the bottom frame.



Bolted a cross bar to the back and the bottom should hold some cement board nicely.



Put it in place and fabbed up the bottom and surround.



Adding some extra angle iron to the corners to support the weight of the top.



A second bracket was added towards the back. I figured 4x the CSA for a half-assed second bell idea. I’m going to fasten a second sheet of cement board to it with a flue hole/plenum at the bottom once I put some insulation across the bottom of the whole thing, before the core is cast. The 4x CSA worked out perfectly with the 6” exit flue. I calculated the needed area of a circular segment (not including the math here but I’d be happy to share it with anyone if interested) to maintain that 4” CSA at the exit at the top of the stove.



Set the top in place…. Should work nicely.



Put the core mold in for a mock-up. Looking real good.



I have to say, and I hope I’m not jinxing myself, but so many things have just sort of come together on this thing so far. It’s kind of creepy. It’s like the parts I’ve been able to scrounge up were all made with this final purpose in mind. It just fits there so well.
Planning to cob it all up once the core is cast in there to make it look nice and add some mass.
I can just barely reach to the back of the burn tunnel inside the mold with my scrawny chicken arms so it should be even easier once the form burns away. Can’t wait to move farther on this thing, but here it sits for now.

[matt walker]

Holy crap, that is freaking awesome Manny! I just dragged a bedframe down to the shop with the same idea in mind. Different layout, but same construction concept. Fantastic work man, that cook top is insanely perfect. Can't wait to see this thing come together.

[mannytheseacow]

I'm curious to see what you're scheming up, too, Matt.

I've been on the fence here between the 4" and 6". I've tried all sorts of drawings and I just don't think a 6" will fit. The 4" is actually 4" square, so it's more like a 4 1/2" round... but still a big difference from a 6. I keep looking at the feed and thinking about what tiny sticks will have to go in there. It's driving me crazy not being able to build! I just want to try this thing out!

[mannytheseacow]

I've been following the build and updates on this cooker over at Donkeys for a long time:

It's really got me wondering, why am I so worried about dimensions? Does it really make that much difference? Even if I run a 6" core with a slightly shorter riser, it's still got to work better than these things, doesn't it? And these little clay cores seem to be working just fine?