Biolite Camp Stove

in my previous thread biolite coming 2012

Well after a very long wait it finally arrived

I must apologise for a hastily put together review , forgot to do the traditional unboxing vid ( lol )




in the box you get 1 x biolite campstove
1 x usb lead ( female to female )
5 x firelighters
1 stuff sack
1 x instruction manual




the stove base has 3 fold out legs on the bottom which neatly stow away when not in use saving space




the power pack/fan which runs off power generated from a heat source slides neatly into to stove cylinder and the bottom leg cleverly clips it into place and securely holds it to the stove.





NOTE >>>>> biolite state you must charge the power pack unit before you use the campstove this is just to give it its first full charge, they also state you wont have to do this again if you use it frequently but if its left for 6mths or more you may need to recharge it, this only takes 2 hrs via usb port.

to use - simply depress the power button once for low fan speed - simmering foods - 3kw
and depress the power button twice for high speed - fast cooking - 5kw

so after charging and putting the stove outside i hacked up some old bits of wood from my shed and gave it a whirl




they claim it reduces smoke emissions and i can happily say yes it does , but at start up you get the usual amount of smoke until you turn on the power on this enables the fan on low and air circulates around the inner chamber adding oxygen adding flame and believe me instantly reduced the smoke . when the thermoelectric generator detects heat it starts to generate electric and you no when its ready to charge items as the orange led under the power button turns green.




I got a pan filled it with 1 litre of water ( cold from tap ) and started the quick test









as for charging , i connected my nokia lumia up and well it charged it i left it connected for 30 mins and it gave me half battery which is consistent to being plugged into mains !!!!!














to say the least i was very very impressed just under 6mins for a rolling boil on full heat i did need to add more wood but it done the job very well. upon cooldown the biolite camp stove turns itself into low fan to aid the cooling process of the thermogenerator and the unit .

i was amazed to see how long it kept generating heat from a few bits of wood which i would say it can very easily simmer for frying foods. All that was left was a few small bits of charcole and dust .
to clean took seconds and to pack away the same simply folf the legs and store the powerpack into the inside of the stove.
make sure the flames are not blown in the direction of the powerpack as this would damage the unit.


pros -

power when you need it
less smoke
very light 3lbs
easy to carry
very easy to light - use cotton wool
no need to carry fuel ( i would carry a few starter items though just incase )
compact

cons -
the only gripe i have is its slightly unstable on 3 legs so you will need to have a flat or stable surface to cook on but that just me being safety concious

all in all one hell of an invention and a brilliant piece of kit.

uk buyers take note ............ $50 postage £27 import tax ('') total cost £129 take away import tax and postage and its well worth the investment
us buyers not sure of postage or taxes


sorry for the back garden review but the weather here is crap rain rain rain ( which reminds me dont use this stove in the rain it is not waterproof and will break ) if i have missed any details i apologise.

if you like camping and like stoves and like me carrying fuel is an issue ie. children pets and just dnt like carrying fossil fuels then this is the one for you.

hope this review helps many thanks pt


PS any questions or more pics requested ill do my best to get them on asap....... its xbox time lol

So, you can only cook something in a pot or frying pan? I guess a secondary "open" fire could be used for larger game or whatever then.

reply to post by Juggernog


mainly for pans and frying but i guess you could use it that way as the flames do come out quite high not for deer though lol

reply to post by periloustimes


All in all, it looks pretty cool, I like it. To bad I havent camped since I was a teen lol.

Thanks for the review!
I wish this was around a few months ago when I bought a compact Coleman propane stove.... it's compact until you start packing the bulky (& expensive) cylinders to run it

I'm sure this will find its way onto eBay soon enough, & hopefully that will reduce the postage & import costs (horrendous aren't they?!)

Definitely on my list of kit to get.

Thanks for sharing S+F

I have a small solar charger that was only about 40 USD for my cell phones e reader etc. It will charge anything that uses a usb hub. I think it's a SOLIO??

Thanks for bringing this to my attention.

I'll have to wait for cheaper import and shipping cost to get one for when I go fishing.

Is this same method used on an industrial scale anywhere ?

reply to post by periloustimes


Always nice to see some first hand product reviews and demos on ATS. It's certainly an interesting concept. Please post a follow up down the road regarding how this stove continues to perform for you!

The fact that its a wood burner is certainly a plus!
Thanks!!

I have been wanting one of these!

Question: Will it charge an iphone v4 or iTouch v4?

Bought a hand crank flashlight that will not and was sorely disappointed...

Also how about a comparison to the Solo Stove?

reply to post by abeverage


hi there, got my mates iPhone 4 tested and yes it charges

reply to post by SUICIDEHK45


yeah I have a freeloader system for solar but if the sun ain't out it takes a long time to charge it, so I thought this is a good idea heat, power , food and with fire when your out there lifts ya spirit

reply to post by periloustimes


So fire and technology don't seem like good bed fellows although it does look unique I am worried about wires or the unit catching fire or melting???

One other thing will it hold a cast iron pan?

reply to post by periloustimes


Great review.
For that price however, I would opt for a DIY one...but that's just me.

reply to post by periloustimes


nice review perilous. i'm sure three good sized tent pegs will secure that beaut to terra wobbly!
my current cooking equipment consists of two trangia sets with stainless steel pans/utensils (25 years strong) and the only parts i needed to replace were the screw caps for the burner due to overtightening and heat. a back-up bluebox compact coleman in case the meths is too much of a temptation lol!

regards fakedirt.

Pretty darn cool...certainly goes on my Xmas wishlist....

periloustimes
in my previous thread biolite coming 2012

Well after a very long wait it finally arrived

I must apologise for a hastily put together review , forgot to do the traditional unboxing vid ( lol )

in the box you get 1 x biolite campstove
1 x usb lead ( female to female )
5 x firelighters
1 stuff sack
1 x instruction manual

the stove base has 3 fold out legs on the bottom which neatly stow away when not in use saving space

the power pack/fan which runs off power generated from a heat source slides neatly into to stove cylinder and the bottom leg cleverly clips it into place and securely holds it to the stove.

NOTE >>>>> biolite state you must charge the power pack unit before you use the campstove this is just to give it its first full charge, they also state you wont have to do this again if you use it frequently but if its left for 6mths or more you may need to recharge it, this only takes 2 hrs via usb port.

to use - simply depress the power button once for low fan speed - simmering foods - 3kw
and depress the power button twice for high speed - fast cooking - 5kw

so after charging and putting the stove outside i hacked up some old bits of wood from my shed and gave it a whirl

they claim it reduces smoke emissions and i can happily say yes it does , but at start up you get the usual amount of smoke until you turn on the power on this enables the fan on low and air circulates around the inner chamber adding oxygen adding flame and believe me instantly reduced the smoke . when the thermoelectric generator detects heat it starts to generate electric and you no when its ready to charge items as the orange led under the power button turns green.

I got a pan filled it with 1 litre of water ( cold from tap ) and started the quick test

as for charging , i connected my nokia lumia up and well it charged it i left it connected for 30 mins and it gave me half battery which is consistent to being plugged into mains !!!!!

to say the least i was very very impressed just under 6mins for a rolling boil on full heat i did need to add more wood but it done the job very well. upon cooldown the biolite camp stove turns itself into low fan to aid the cooling process of the thermogenerator and the unit .

i was amazed to see how long it kept generating heat from a few bits of wood which i would say it can very easily simmer for frying foods. All that was left was a few small bits of charcole and dust .
to clean took seconds and to pack away the same simply folf the legs and store the powerpack into the inside of the stove.
make sure the flames are not blown in the direction of the powerpack as this would damage the unit.


pros -

power when you need it
less smoke
very light 3lbs
easy to carry
very easy to light - use cotton wool
no need to carry fuel ( i would carry a few starter items though just incase )
compact

cons -
the only gripe i have is its slightly unstable on 3 legs so you will need to have a flat or stable surface to cook on but that just me being safety concious

all in all one hell of an invention and a brilliant piece of kit.

uk buyers take note ............ $50 postage £27 import tax ('

') total cost £129 take away import tax and postage and its well worth the investment
us buyers not sure of postage or taxes


sorry for the back garden review but the weather here is crap rain rain rain ( which reminds me dont use this stove in the rain it is not waterproof and will break ) if i have missed any details i apologise.

if you like camping and like stoves and like me carrying fuel is an issue ie. children pets and just dnt like carrying fossil fuels then this is the one for you.

hope this review helps many thanks pt


PS any questions or more pics requested ill do my best to get them on asap....... its xbox time lol

So its been a year and a half since I last posted on the biolite. Needless to say I've used it several times . here is a quick update

Pros
Charges well ( very hungry wood eating machine to keep it charging you need heat and lots of it ) pine wood is brilliant , silver birch takes a while to burn good heat , twigs and cones are good too but as I said its very hungry
Cooks fantastic .
Is not unstable
Cleans very easy
I also have the add on of the grill which is brilliant burgers are done perfect

Cons
None really , the concerns about toppling over forget it
It gets mucky easy but easy cleaned
Doesn't melt with big flames ( pine gives a mega hot flame )
I've used by his in rain snow and high winds . my only gripe was the wood I used it was soaked still managed to get a flame but a bugger to keep going. Still cooked dinner

All in all a brilliant survival/camping tool

NEWS JUST IN .....

if you GOTO biolites website there is something special coming soon .... I'm guessing the homestove which is huge . As I'm hitting the big 40 this year hopefully the hints I've dropped hahaha I may get it . if I do expect a review ...
I don't no when its out but as soon as I get the email I'll let you guys know...

Thanks again for your time . fingers crossed this planet of ours will allow some good weather to get us out there .....
Take care

P.T