Sunday 16 November 2008

Honey Stove with Driftwood

Using the Honey Stove from BackPackingLight.co.uk with driftwood provided by Aberdeen beach.

I didn’t have a spare hand to take a video of the assembly process, but I’m definitely getting quicker. Being 11 days after Guy Fawkes night, there were still enough rocket stems to burn without starting on the ‘real’ driftwood. Timber is a limited resource too, so I wasn’t keen to waste it.

Being a cautious soul, I lightly kicked over any material that I was going to pick up. Just in case of ‘sharps’.

I decided not to edit out the trouble that I had with the fire-starting matches at the beginning of the clip. I feel that these things need saying too. It took around 10 minutes to get brew made. I hadn’t finished drinking it when the unit was cool enough to enable me to rake the ashes out and dismantle it.

Unused wood was left on the beach and I used the plastic bag to store the soot-coated Alpkit Mytimug titanium mug. The makings was held in the GSI nesting cup/bowl that I got from Sarah/”Freezer-Bag Cooking”, and I used the outer bowl as a cup. Fresh water was held in my oval Sigg bottle. Lighter was a 3-jet gas lighter that I got from my youngest brother earlier in the year.

9 comments:

Dawn said...

Lol at your attempts with the matches, a disposable lighter may have been easier. However, as a fire starter, try a little cotton wool with petrolium jelly (vaseline). It makes an excellent fire starter. Pine cones too are excellent. Collect a few, allow them to dry and then carry them when you are going to use the stove. They make excellent tinder. Dawn.

AktoMan said...

"Carry pine cones with you"???? I live in Aberdeen City, not SquirrelNutKinland. ;-)

I like the idea of the cotton wool, does it need to be carried in airtight container?

I was looking at Bob's tinder paper earlier. I like something that will create fire from a flint & steel.

Londonbackpacker said...

Cotton wool goes up really easy with a flint & steel; I was playing about with it yesterday :-)

Dawn said...

Any small container will do, something like an film container. If you carry a small amount of vaseline seperately you can then add a little to your tinder. That way your cotton wool can be carried in a small plastic bag. The little bags from the bank for coins are ideal. Matches can be carried in them too. Dawn. If you look in some of the outdoor shops they sell maya dust, or maya sticks. These are high in resin and make good fire starters. Pine knots are a good alternative, ditto pine resin. No pine trees in Aberdeen? A good enough reason to collect a few on your next Cairngorm trip. Dawn.

Anonymous said...

I can't wait to get my Honey stove in a week or two. I own a Sheltland Sheepdog so my fire starting plan is just to pull a few lumps of her undercoat fur off as she is for every losing it anyway.

AktoMan said...

Ouch - I can't condone cruelty to animals at all. I wonder - if you brushed out her coat, then rolled it into cord, soaked it in salt-peter ... just don't tell the butcher what you want the chemicals for - would it work as a slow-match firelighter?

I too ordered one of the 2009 model. Donating my 2008 version to a very nice couple who also blog. I could do with a weekend out, but it's the end of the block, so lots of paperwork to wrap up, and new subjects to prep for.

AktoMan said...

Just arrived from BPL.co.uk
"You will be pleased to know that your order has been successfully processed and has proceeded to packing for despatch."

Shiney.

AktoMan said...

I think that means that Bob's passed it to Rose to neatly pack it. Men just can't pack parcels properly. Not since you usually can't use nails or a staple gun!

AktoMan said...

"Has been packed and is shipped to..."
Rose has done the packing.