Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

[Moss]

Got myself a little project to beat cabin fever. Bought a China made cheap wooden stove off Ebay for $51.00 shipped. I watched a few review videos on Youtube about the product so I knew I was buying a product that would require some tinkering and improvement. I would not toss this into a tent or shelter right now without some testing outdoors for sure.

I got it in the mail today and put it together quickly before work to make sure it was all there, no directions, no photos, just figure it out. All the stove pipe caps are nice and tight, over all I would give the product a B+ out of the box. I'm going to use this post as project log of types with my stove so others can check it out. It weighs around 35 pounds and all the parts fit inside the stove for transport.

Plans:

1) Have a couple long hot fires outdoors, the factory paint will peel and let off fumes, then strip it and repaint.
2) Adjust legs stove has slight wobble.
3) New stronger springs on air flow regulators so they stay open/closed.
4) Adjust door latch so it shuts more securely.
5) Finer screen for cap.
6) Possibly replace grate inside grill if low quality.
7) Modify stove pipe length to get better airflow.

Stock photo from auction, will share more photos later today. :cool:

[Mike]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

That's neat. Is it a tent stove? What size is it?

[James.]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

[Bigdog57]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

Looks just like a unit that The Sportsman's Guide sells, though you likely paid less. I have thought of something like that too, for my S&B home.

[Moss]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

That's neat. Is it a tent stove? What size is it?

The auction page reads. "If used indoors, stove must be properly vented and installed." People on YouTube claim to have used it in tents and cabin successfully. One user claims to have 1000+ hours of burn time in his modified unit. I included a photo next to a 5 gallon bucket for a size comparison.

I started a fire in stove with a handful of Stump Chunks and chunks of pallet, no problems getting it started at all, air flow was great. No sparks came out the chimney and very little smoke. I kept the fire going for about 2 hours, 15 minutes in paint started peeling off the stove body and first chimney section. The body of the stove was actually smoking, giving off a foul smell. Check out the photos.

I was able to snuff out the fire by closing the air flow regulators. Going to put on a fresh coat of paint on the whole unit and modify some of the hardware.





The toxic smoke can be seen coming off the stove and check out the amount of heat the unit put out melting all the ice around it.:cool:

[Irate Mormon]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

$51 shipped - sounds like a good experiment. I don't have a tent with a stove port, but it would be nice for long-term encampment.

[Mike]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

That stove would be too big and too hot for most "Hot Tents"

I would keep my eyes open for some of the big old canvas family size wall tents from the 1960s and 1970s. I am talking about the tents with the large diameter aluminum poles. You see them once in awhile at flee marrieds or on Craigslist. Sears sold some very large canvas wall tents back in the day

You can find them on eBay

Cut out a section for the stovepipe and add your own fire loath section. OR you can buy a premade section just for that purpose

[Moss]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

Found a couple new problems with the stove. On the bottom in the back there is a slide trap door, I think it's there for easy ash removal, but it's easy for hot coals to fall to the floor. I think I'm just going use a couple self taping screws and secure it shut for safety. The grate inside the stove to keep the wood off the bottom is welded in making clean outs a pain, I just disassembled the stove and shook it out over a barrel. I can deal with it for now, but eventually it will be replaced with a new grate.

@Mike I will keep a look out, a buddy of mine was talking about a 6 man surplus military tent. Would definitely be a setup that could be left up for weeks, not a weekend setup. I plan to take it car camping this summer and have fun cooking on it and heating water. :cool:

[MacGyver]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

Instead of screwing the door closed, why not drill a hole just behind the slide, tap it, and put a thumbscrew in? That keeps the slide from opening but still lets you use the door for it's intended purpose.

[Moss]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

Instead of screwing the door closed, why not drill a hole just behind the slide, tap it, and put a thumbscrew in? That keeps the slide from opening but still lets you use the door for it's intended purpose.

Good thinking MacGyver, wish I read that 30 mins ago would have been a nice touch. I just screwed it shut, I took another look at it, looks like it's for more airflow, not a clean out.

Picked up some high temperature paint and sanded the smoke stack sections down and most of the body of the stove. I painted the stove pipe sections today, will finish the body of the stove tomorrow. Might paint the bottom 6" inches the legs orange so they are more visible at night, stove is a major trip hazard.:cool:

[Mike]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

I hate to say it, but it is starting to sound like one of those deals where you might have been better off paying extra for something better.

[James.]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

The first thing i noticed about it was how wide the legs looked. Painting them brite orange should help.

[Moss]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

I hate to say it, but it is starting to sound like one of those deals where you might have been better off paying extra for something better.

I consider myself a tinkerer, so a project like this is great for me. Others have outfitted these with diffrent chimmney stacks, water heaters, brass handles, new hinges, custom leg stands, different cooking surfaces. I don't even really need a stove. I have a total of $60 into the project at this point and have had fun tinkering with it in my spare time, I bought it more as a project than appliance I guess you could say. It will probably end up getting used to burn up small scraps while I process wood in my yard and a few car camping trips. I suppose in a real diaster situation I could use it to cook on if I ran out of other options.

I hate to say it, but it is starting to sound like one of those deals where you might have been better off paying extra for something better.

It does have a really wide stance, but I think it's due to the height of the smoke stack, I have a sketch of a frame I would build if I was going to put this in a permanent setting, basically a box frame, with heat reflector on the underside, that could easily be bolted or staked down. :cool:

[Irate Mormon]

Re: Ebay Military Style Camp Stove.

Have fun with it and do keep us in the loop. I love to tinker myself.