 BioLite
CookStove
BioLite's smokeless flame, renewable energy stove.
Andrew Buskov
Initial Report: September 11, 2016
Field Report: December 22,
2016
Long Term Report: February 2, 2017
Tester
Biographical
Information:
| Name: |
Andrew Buskov |
| Age: |
41
|
| Gender: |
Male |
| Height: |
5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) |
| Weight: |
217 lbs (98 kg)
|
| Email: |
Rescue(at)Corridor9(dot)net |
| City, State Zip |
Madisonville, Kentucky
USA |
Backpacking
Background:
I’ve
been backpacking for nearly 30 years, and have slowly developed my
ideal style. I’ve gotten my pack weight down to roughly 20 - 25 lbs
(9.1 - 11.3 kg) before water, and am whittling it down every hike. Day
hiking is nice, but getting out over multiple nights is really what I
enjoy. I like to take my time and view the scenery as opposed to hiking
hard. I also like being comfortable and insist on an air mattress. I
usually tent or hammock, but stay in shelters when needed.
Product
Information:
| Item: |
CookStove
|
| Manufacturer: |
BioLite Inc.
|
| Website |
http://www.bioliteenergy.com/
|
| Year of Manufacture: |
2016 |
| MSRP: |
$79.95 USD
|
| Listed Weight: |
1.6 lb (0.73 kg)
|
| Actual Weight: |
1.52 lb (0.69 kg)
|
| Color: |
Gunmetal
|
Product
Overview:
The BioLite CookStove is designed with efficiency, and freedom from
fossil fuels in mind. The core of the CookStove is a 30 hour
rechargeable fan system that injects clean air into the fuel chamber. A
total of four fan speeds allows the user to control the power and rate
of cooking from a rapid boil to a slow simmer. The lowest setting also
allows the user to have a small campfire feel without the need for a
pit or a large amount of firewood.
Product
Impressions:
 When I opened the
box the CookStove arrived in, I found the item undamaged in a
cardboard box. The box was designed in such a way to allow the product
to be seen, yet be very well protected from damage in transit. Wrapping
the outside of the package is a colorful information slip that
describes
the product, battery type, cook time, package size, weight, and boil
time. Also shown is a diagram explaining that on a single charge,
the stove should outlast 20 gas canisters. Additional accessories and
pictures of such are also shown on the wrap. As mentioned, on the
bottom of the box is the individual device's serial number, the UPC,
information about BioLite's mailing address as well as the website
address. There was one additional line that always bothers me, and I
tend to purchase products without it if at all possible; "Made in
China".
Upon removing the item from the box I performed a small inventory check
of all items included. There is a standard BioLite warranty
registration card explaining the process of registration and noting
that the serial number on the bottom of the box must be used during
this process. The card states that BioLite has a 1-year limited
warranty, and that terms & conditions can be found on their
website. An additional informational card details other BioLite
products as well as explaining the need for a cleaner burning / power
generating stove, especially in energy impoverished countries. The
third pamphlet is an instructional manual with pictographs and detailed
instructions about how to operate the CookStove. Also included is a
small plastic bag containing five firestarter sticks. These appear to
be a pressed cardboard material of some sort.
 The
stove itself is comprised of two main parts. There is an aluminum burn
chamber for the wood with multiple air openings on the inside of the
chamber,
and an aluminum mesh on the outside. It appears as if the mesh layer is
designed to cool rather quickly by providing a large surface to mass
ratio. The top of the stove is a single cupped piece with three "arms"
to support a pot or pan. These arms have no ridges or knurls on them so
I'm very curious to see how well a pot stays on top of the stove
without sliding off. The bottom of the stove has three folding legs,
two of which are the same size while one is slightly longer. The longer
leg also acts as a locking mechanism for the fan device. On the "back"
of the stove is a portal for the fan air to blow into the device. There
is also bar near the top for the fan to hook on.
The fan motor unit
is a colorful shade of aquamarine and orange. On the front of the unit
is the BioLite logo as well as two rows containing four LEDs each.
There is also a gray power button between the two rows of LEDs. The
left side of LEDs is a battery indicator. The documentation states that
the bottom LED indicates approximately 10% life left in the battery
pack. The right side row of LEDs indicates fan speed. The documentation
indicates that the top LED is for fast boil, the second is for slow
boil, the third is for simmer, and the last LED is for campfire mode.
One additional piece of information indicated in the documentation is
the auto-shutdown feature. This feature activates after the device has
been in continuous use for an hour. The LEDs on the power indicator
side start flashing for two minutes. Should the CookStove still be in
operation, the user simply needs to press the power button once and the
device will continue to function in its current capacity. However, if
the power button is not pressed the device will power down. This is
intended to prevent accidental discharge should the unit be activated
accidentally inside a pack or left on unintentionally.
In order to power the motor on, the user must press the power button
twice. The reasoning behind this is two-fold; to display the remaining
power available to the user as well as protect the unit from
accidentally turning on should it get knocked around inside a pack. As
mentioned, a single press of the power button will display an
approximation of remaining power available in the battery pack. Should
the power button not be pressed again, the pack LEDs will cease again
after roughly five seconds. Pressing the power button twice will start
the motor on its lowest setting. Additional presses of the power button
will cycle the fan speed from lowest to highest in cyclical fashion.
The base of the motor, as well as the back, contains a latching point
to allow the fuel chamber to hold the motor onto itself. Also on the
back of the motor is a hard rubber material in the shape of a
rectangle. This rubber material is designed to provide a seal around
the airflow entrance on the exterior of the fuel chamber. I can only
hope that the rubber material is some form of high temperature
silicone that will resist melting during use. I'll be sure to document
any melting that occurs during the testing period.
Other than the lack of knurled surfaces on the pot arms, I cannot see
any obvious problem areas with the design of the stove. All of the
rivet points are nice and tight, the bottom screw appears to have a
lock washer on it, and the CookStove does not rattle at all when shaken
vigorously. I am definitely looking forward to testing this CookStove
during the upcoming hiking season. Stay tuned in the next few months
for the Field Report phase of my test series.
Field Report: December 22,
2016
 Testing
Locations & Conditions:
During the testing period I was able to get two overnight trips in that
I cooked on. The first
of these trips was in the area of the Pennyrile National Forrest. This
forest is in western Kentucky and is an open, backcountry area for
camping, backpacking, and hiking. Elevation for this area is roughly
450 - 650 ft (135 - 200 m) with rolling terrain that has a lot of
valleys, cliffs, and ridges. Temperatures in the area for both trips
were around 60 F (24 C) during the day and down to 35 F (10 C) at night.
The second trip was an overnight in the
White City Wildlife Reserve, also located in western Kentucky. This
area is mainly comprised of natural gas pipeline connections. The
area is open to hunting, camping, fishing, and backpacking. Elevation
that we stayed at was roughly 530 ft (160 m). There was lots of
precipitation as it was raining steadily both days. This brought a very
different dynamic to cooking with wood when it is all soaked and wet.
Performance:
 Cooking
on the BioLite CookStove was definitely a different experience than
I've had before. While I have experience using alternative fuel stoves,
soda can alcohol, Esbit, kerosene... this was my first time cooking on
a wood stove. Finding fuel in the locations I camped certainly wasn't
difficult. However, finding dry fuel was. The rain was pouring down
steadily on both occasions causing significant issues when lighting the
stove. Initially I tried to light the stove using just the sticks,
twigs, and leaves I found on the ground. This worked rather well during
the first outing as I was able to find a dry patch of leaves to get
some nice flames and dry out the twigs. Once the twigs were dry and
were able to stay lit I was able to load a bit heavier wood. However, I
noticed that it wasn't until I had a good base of ash that the stove
really shined.
During the second outing I had a much harder time trying to light the
stove. Due the fact that it rained almost constantly for three
days, all the fuel that I could find was rather soaked. It was
impossible to light any of the twigs that I found and I had to resort
to using one of the included firestarter sticks. Even though the
firestarter stick was dry, lighting the stick was exceptionally
difficult. I had to hold the lighter next to the stick for nearly a
minute just to get it to support flame when I removed the lighter. This
was after multiple failed attempts to get the stick to light. For
whatever reason, it seems the stick just doesn't want to support
combustion alone. Finally I was able to get the stick to light by
shoving it inside the CookStove while it was laying on its side. Drying
enough sticks and twigs to cook on though was a chore. Even with the
fan on max, I had to stick in small twigs, let them dry, catch fire,
the load more small twigs. The whole process took me roughly 15 minutes
before I was able to cook due to the dampness of the wood.
Once I was able to start cooking, I found the experience enjoyable,
though smelly. Dry wood doesn't tend to give off as much smoke, or
off-gas, as much as wet wood does. As such, there was smoke pouring out
of the stove. This smoke lingered around the stove at times, thus being
drawn back into the fan. While I understand that smoke is simply
unburned fuel, the idea of drawing wet sticky smoke back into the fan
does raise questions about cleaning the unit. I tried as best as I
could to gently was the unit with a wet cloth, but as to the effect of
smoke on rotating fan bearings or bushings this is something I'll
definitely keep my eye on.
The stove holds charge very well and even with the three times I've
cooked on it, I'm still showing max charge as per the LED indicators. I
have found that dependent on the wood, especially when using in wet
conditions, having the fan on its fastest speed doesn't always lead to
better burning. Multiple times I've had to turn the fan down a notch or
two so that I could build a better ash base before cooking. This wasn't
too much of an issue though as I generally don't tend to rush when I'm
cooking.
So far I'm pleased with the function of the BioLite CookStove. I
haven't found anything that really bothers me. It cools off quickly
enough for storage, runs rather quiet even on full speed, and packs
nicely. If I had to pick anything that I would change, I would like to
see a smaller design. It does tend to take up a bit more room in my
pack than I would like, especially for a single-function item. however,
this isn't a deal breaker for me. Check back in roughly two months for the Long Term Report.
Long Term Report: February 2, 2017
Testing Locations:
During
the testing period I was only able to get an additional overnight,
again in the area of the Pennyrile National Forrest. Information for
this region is listed above. Due to the exceptionally mild winter we've
been having, temperatures in the area again hovered around 60 F (16 C)
during the day and down to 35 F (2 C) at night.
Summary:
I
was very skeptical of the BioLite stove when I first looked at its
design and structure. I wasn't sure how having a fan on a canister
would be that much more effective than blowing on the fire with a steel
straw or just pursed lips. However, after trying the stove out for a
period of months, I'm convinced that having a mechanical fan to
constantly act as a bellows really does improve the function of the
stove overall. In addition, having the ability to adjust the speed of
the fan, and therefore the temperature and height of the flame, allowed
me to cook my food slowly and simmer more than I usually do with a gas
canister stove.
One
of the factors that I didn't originally consider when using the stove
was the choice of kindling. After a few times firing up the stove, I
noticed that my food tended to take on the taste of a wood-fired grill.
This made for some very interesting food combination, when I could find
the proper wood. When I was cooking hotdogs and meats, the cedar and
hickory woods provided a delicate yet powerful woodsy taste to my food.
However, I found birch provided more of a sweet yet bitter taste. None
of these aromas were in any way displeasing while I was eating. It must
also be stated that I very likely could have had a stronger scent due
to inhaling the burning vapors during cooking.
In
all, the BioLite CookStove has stood up to the abuse I've put it
through. The inside is permanently black, but there is no rust anywhere
on the stove itself. There are a few more dings and scrapes on the
power module, but nothing that degrades the ability of function of the
CookStove. In short, it still works as perfectly as the day I received
it.
One
thing that I would change on the stove is the addition of a
thermocouple device so that the stove's internal battery can be charged
simply by lighting a fire. This would essentially negate the need for a
USB charging station except in occurrences where the user wanted to
start a trip on a fully charged battery. That being said, I do consider
this to be a worthy addition to my backpacking arsenal.
Pros:
Compactable
Energy efficient
Burns renewable natural resources
Easy to control flame
Cons:
Relies on USB charging ability
Can be difficult to light in rainy conditions
No pot gripping fingers
I'd like to thank BioLite Inc. and
BackpackGearTest.org for allowing me to participate in this testing
series.
Read more reviews of BioLite gear
Read more gear reviews by Andrew Buskov
|
