Tester Information
Name: Duane
Lawrence
Email:
duanesgear (at) yahoo (dot) com
Location:
Sparwood, British Columbia Canada
Gender: Male
Age: 43
years
Height:
5 ft 9 in (
1.5 m)
Weight:
160 lbs
(73 kg)
I have been an avid outdoor enthusiast for over 25 years. I enjoy
a variety of outdoor activities including mountaineering, day hikes, multi-day
backpacking trips, river and ocean kayaking, back country skiing, snowshoeing,
mountain biking and rock climbing. I have climbed throughout British Columbia,
the United States and when opportunity presents itself in Europe and India. I
carry a wide variety of gear depending on the type and length of trip. I
am a search and rescue team member in the Southern Canadian Rockies and am part
of the swift water, rope rescue and avalanche technical teams and ground search
team.
Initial Report September
11, 2016
Product Info
MSRP $99.95
USD Product
BioLite
CookStove
Manufactures
Web Site www.BioLiteenergy.com
Weight 1.6 lbs (725
g)
Measured
Weight 25.7 oz (728 g)
Boil
Time 4.5
minutes for 1 liter
(33.8 fl oz) Dimensions 8.25 x 4.5 inch
(21.01 x 11.43 cm) Unpacked
7.75
x 4.5 inch (19.70 x 11.43 cm) Packed
Battery
Charge Time 1.7 hours
Burn
Times
Turbo –
10 hours
Boil
– 20 hours
Simmer
– 25 hours
Campfire
– 30 hours
Fuel
Biomass
(Sticks, Twigs, Pellets)
Warranty
1-year limited
General Information
The BioLite web site has a lot of details regarding the use and operation of all
their products. For the BioLite CookStove, the
site indicates that biomass (also known as wood) fueled stoves create a
smokeless, clean burning and intensity-adjustable heat that can boil water in 4.5
minutes. The stove can accommodate pine cones,
sticks and twigs, the manufacture notes that they need to be dry. I’ll make sure to test out how the stove
works on damp and wet biomass as dry wood is not always available. Heat intensity is managed through a USB
rechargeable battery pack that operates a fan system. It has four settings Campfire, Simmer, Boil
and Turbo. The battery life is indicated
at 30, 25, 20, and 10 hours with L.E.D. lights that indicate
charge level.
The
web site indicates that the stove can be operated in windy conditions and in
light rain although they do not recommend using it in heavy rain due to the
electronics. They also note that the
stove should be positioned in such a way in windy conditions that the flame
blows downwind of the battery pack. For
cleaning they recommend the use of a nylon brush as needed or just a damp
cloth. The fuel chamber can also be
washed in a dishwasher.
When
starting the stove the website recommends keeping the stove away from
overhanging branches, dry brush or other ignitable items. Starting the fire requires the use of
kindling and some form of fire-starter, then working up to larger pieces of fuel
as when starting a regular campfire. Available
fuel should then be placed in the fuel chamber, loosely packed, without
blocking the air jets with additional fuel being added as needed. When finished, it is recommended that the
user let the fire burn down to cold ash then dispose of the ashes in a small
hole and dousing them in water prior to burying the ash.
The website states that any metal cookware
can be used provided it is no more than 10 in (25.4 cm) in diameter and less
than 8 lbs (3.63 kg). The manufacturer has a number of accessories listed on their web site that can be
used with the BioLite CookStove including a KettlePot, Portable Grill, Pellets
and Stick snapper.
First Impressions
On
first inspection the stove looks pretty good.
It is robust, utilizing a combination of rivets and spot welding. The battery pack is very simple to
attach and the whole system looks straightforward to operate. I am not sure if the exterior waffle guard is
for air flow or is a heat guard or both. I will have to wait and see when I start
it up. The three folding leg base looks
really good for stability, extending out for a 20.6 cm (8.1 in) spread and it keeps the
unit elevated and off the ground which should make it nice and easy to
stabilize when in use.
On
the whole it appears to be a fairly straightforward design. The battery pack-fan combination mounts to
the side of the unit and forces air into the unit and flows through air holes
throughout the internal burn chamber. I
would have expected that there would have been more air holes towards the
bottom than the top in order to provide more air flow, but his is not the case.
One question that I have yet to find an answer to is how to empty ash
buildup that might enter through the air holes into the air flow chamber. It may not be an issue with the fan module,
maybe it just blows all the ash particles out, will have to wait and see.
The
fan is simple to operate with a single push button that allows the operator to
change the fan speed from 1 – 4. The
system uses LED lights as indicators of fan speed levels as well as charge
level. I liked that fact that I could
hit the button once and it would show what level of charge was remaining
in the battery pack without the whole system turning on. It might not be an
issue, but having the button on the bottom front of the battery pack means I have
to hold onto the unit to be able to depress the button. Turning it off requires the button to be held down
for a couple of seconds, which requires two hands. Just pushing on the button will push the stove over. This may not be an
issue if the heat guard
keeps the outside of the stove cool but if it doesn't then it might pose a risk for burnt fingers. I also wanted to note that although the unit comes with an USB cable it does not come
with a wall plug. Glad I had one, otherwise I
would only be able to charge the battery off my computer.
Not a big issue really.
All
in all the BioLite stove looks well constructed and simple to use. I am very interested to see how it actually
works in the field and if it puts out enough even heat to cook with. Although the unit is heavy, technically no
fuel needs to be packed in, so it balances out a little.
Field Report December 4, 2016 I
thought it best to start out the test period by doing some at home
testing to see what I would be dealing with. My initial testing
was all about seeing what the stove could do, how hard it was to get it
going and how long it would take to boil water utilizing a variety of
fuels. The first thing I learned was what not to do when trying
to light the stove. Never try to light the stove from bottom up.
I started, logically I thought, by putting a couple of twigs in the
bottom of the stove adding the lit fire starter, turning the fan on
medium and then adding more fuel. Not sure what I did wrong on
the first attempt but what I experienced was anything but a smokeless
stove. My neighbor actually came over thinking I had a fire on
the back porch. The stove was billowing out so much smoke I
couldn't see the fence line through the smoke. Very impressive if
i was trying to get rescued using a smoke signal. Anyway after a
number of trials and errors I found that the best way to light the stove
was to fill the chamber to about two-thirds the way up then add the
fire starter and turn the fan on full. Putting something over the
top to keep the heat inside the chamber made a significant difference
in start up time which was about 1.5 minutes to 3 minutes depending on
how dry the fuel was. There is a very
good reason why the instructions indicate not to use wet fuels.
Wet fuels generate just as much smoke as smothering the fire.
The stove will go smokeless when using wet fuel although
it took about 15 minutes before there was enough internal heat
generated to dry out the fuel and move it from smoke machine to
smokeless wood fired stove. Also, there was only about 5 minutes
left of burn time before I had to add more fuel. Overall, don't
use wet fuel unless there is no other choice. Just not worth the
hassle.
Back
to the testing with dry fuel. Once I
figured out that wet fuel was not a viable option, that starting the
stove two-thirds full, to cover the chamber, and to be very careful not
to smother the fire when refueling I was able to actually start
using the stove. Here is what I discovered. When using
natural wood
(branches) the total burn time, light up to embers, was about 40
minutes. Of
that time about 30 minutes was useful heat. Each time I refueled
I lost a significant amount of heat as the new fuel needed to be
heated to its ignition and clean burning point before the
temperature returned to a nice hot burn. When I was using small
fuel from trees, less then 1 cm (.4 in) in diameter, a full chamber was not
enough to boil 1 l of cold water and it smoked for about 10
minutes
before going smokeless. The total burn time with small fuels was
less than 20 minutes. When using greater than 3 cm (1.2 in)
diameter fuel
I was able to boil 1 l of cold water before needing to
add
additional fuel and did not experience smoke once it was lit. Total
burn
time was about 40 minutes, boil time for 1 l of water was 9
minutes 30 seconds from lighting the stove. I did try and boil a
second pot of
water with the larger diameter fuels but was only able to get it to a
point where it was uncomfortable to put my fingers in it, fairly hot
but not boiling.
My next test was with pellets.
BioLite actually sells packages of pellets but I just went down
to the local hardware store and picked some generic pellets up. The pellets are
listed as having a moisture content of less than 6% which makes a huge
difference in heat output and burn time. With pellets I was able
to boil three, 1 l pots of water. The first in under 5 minutes,
second in 5 minutes 45 seconds and the last in 10 minutes, although I
would not call it a rolling boil. The total burn time with
pellets was about 40 minutes as well although the heat generated was
so much higher and more effective than non-processed wood. I
should note that all of the above tests were completed on the highest
fan setting. It is good to
note that it is very easy to smother the fire when using pellets, when
using unprocessed wood it is much harder to do, but I can attest to the
fact that it can be done if one is careful. There is no way to not know when the
stove has been smothered as it smokes copiously and there is not much to
do about it other than empty it out and start over.
Out
in the field was much less controlled but still gave me good results.
I had three nights to use the stove cooking dinners and
breakfasts. I thought about warm lunches but opted out due to the
length of the start up time and burn time of the stove, it just
seemed like way too much effort. I spent a single overnight
in Waterton National Park in Alberta for my first night. The hike
was about 16.5 km (10.25 mi) return up to an elevation of 1795 m (5889
ft) with temperatures around 4 C (39 F) to 10 C (50 F). My
second trip include two nights in Kananaskis, Southern Canadian
Rockies, with about 25 km (15.5 mi) of hiking at an elevation of 2250 m
(7382) and at a temperature of about -2 C (28 F) to 8 C (46 F) during
the day. There was lots of wind when I was cooking as well as
rain, sleet and a little snow, so lots of good testing conditions.
On
the first overnight I used whatever I could find (fuel) to cook dinner,
freeze-dried food packs were on the menu, so essentially boiling water.
I ended up finding some nice dry branches in the forest under
story to use. The branches ranged from less than 1 cm (.4 in) to
3 cm (1.2 in) and I had to cut them to less than 4 in (10 cm) in length
as the burn chamber is only 5.5 in (14 cm) deep. I found that if
I made them larger I could not put the pot on top of the stove without
the pot hitting the fuel. Also when there is already fuel
inside the chamber it's hard to get longer pieces in the stove when they
are needed. During this first, in the field test, I found the
stove fairly easy to use. A little bit of a pain to cut up all
the twigs and sticks to size. The smaller the pieces the easier
it is the break them up to the right size the larger they get the
harder this is. I actually
used a field saw to cut the larger ones up in some instances. Not sure
if this is a bonus or not but cutting wood warmed me up so maybe.
The actual amount of fuel needed is not that much, a good double
handful was just fine for cooking. I did a bunch extra as I
wanted to test out the campfire mode, which incidentally provided a
nice ambiance but little heat. All the heat from the stove is
directed straight upwards and does not radiate out at all which limits
its warming ability.
When
I got the stove going, using a full pot of water to cap the stove to
foster increased initial temperatures, everything went fairly well.
There was a fair amount of smoke in the beginning prior to the
stove reaching its critical temperature to burn clean and then it went
smokeless. This is likely due to the amount of moisture in
the fuel than anything else. I really only used the high
fan setting to keep the heat going and I had no issue boiling
water for tea and dinner although I did have to top up the fuel chamber
a couple of times. Wind was not an issue for the most part
although in the beginning when it was smoking it swirled around as any
typical fire would and I had to move a bunch of times to keep out of
the smoke. The other item of note was to do with sparks.
Burning wood generates sparks. Not a big deal although I
had to pay particular attention to the stove as I did not want to melt
holes into my down jacket.
In the morning I tried out the
pellets. Although I found them harder to light they, again,
generated allot more heat. After making coffee I turned the stove
fan down to low, added a diffusion plate, and cooked oatmeal. This is
the regular stuff not the instant, it takes about 10 - 12 minutes on
low heat to cook. Although the low setting did lower the
temperature it did not create a simmer until the fire burnt down to
embers. Although the fan helps adjust the total temperature of
the stove it is
a crude regulator and heat is influenced more by the amount of fuel
placed in the burn chamber than anything else. I did remember to
weigh the pellets I brought up with me before and after the trip and am
able to confirm that half a kilo of pellets is able to boil enough
water for 3 large cups of coffee and oatmeal for two. I wasn't
sure what I was going to find for fuel so I actually brought 2.5 kg
(5.5 lbs) of pellets, only using .5 kg (1.1 lbs), apparently a lot more
than I actually needed.
My
next two-night trip showed very similar results. Wild fuel when
dry is good but I had to continually refuel the stove for cooking
and when I used pellets it generated much more heat and for a
longer period of time. During this second trip it was a
little cooler and slightly higher up and neither had any notable impact
on the stove's performance. It was very windy
on these nights, rainy and sleeting out. The rain and sleet
really had no notable effect either but the wind was aggravating.
Lighting the stove when it was windy was a
challenge although once lit everything seemed to go just fine.
Cooking over this stove was like cooking over a camp
fire. It does burn clean, no smoke, but not right off the get go.
Using pellets eliminates any potential for sparks but when using
sticks and twigs there is no way to cook under a tarp without risking
melting little holes in the tarp. The fan does add or subtract
heat but not enough to change from a simmer to a boil to a simmer.
Heat is more easily regulated by the amount of fuel added to the
stove. There is also a lot of planning that needs to be done when
using the BioLite stove including determining fuel amount, preparing
enough
fuel and working from boiling to simmer. A lot more thinking than
I am used to when cooking. The last item to note is that although
the stove can burn 'clean' meaning no smoke, it did generate lots and
lots of carbon build up on the bottom of my pots. This on the
surface is not a big deal but I found that I not only had to scrub the
inside of the pot but also the outside. If I placed the used pot in my
pack without cleaning the outside I would have coated everything in
soot. I actually brought a plastic bag to place the pots in
afterwards which was, in hindsight, a very good idea. The single charge
on the battery is still going strong. After about 5 hours on high and 3
hours on low I still have three out of four LED lights showing.
For battery life it is doing very well.
Even though
there are a number of challenges with using the BioLite I actually
enjoyed using it. It is very cool to be able to use dead branches
for cooking and not, technically, having to bring fuel. It's
getting really snowy out which will make the next couple of months of
testing challenging but I am still looking forward to continuing this
test.
Long Term Report March 25, 2017
It's been a long winter but, I was able to bring the BioLite CookStove out for a
few more nights to see how the stove performed in snowy conditions. I was
only able to get out for three additional nights due to some extremely cold weather. My winter travels
included a backcountry ski trip for a single night with temperatures in the
range of -5 c (23 f) at an elevation of approximately 1600 m (5249 ft) and lots and lots of
snow. The next two nights were a snowshoeing hike with temperatures also
around the -5 c (23 f) range but with a little more elevation around 2100 m (6890 ft).
I ended up using pellets for both of these trips as there was no dry material
around that I could use with the stove. I had already
experienced what happens when
I used wet fuel and felt there was no need to
create a billowing tower of smoke, so pellets it was. The good
thing
about bringing pellets was that they burn hot and are relatively easy
to start.
I used both a Zip solid fuel fire starter block and Woods fire
starter
sticks to get the stove going and found that the Zip fire blocks were
by far the
easier way to go as they produce a hotter flame and do not smother as
easily as the Woods. Each time I would fill the burn chamber up
about 2/3 of
the way, put the fire starter in, turning the fan to high and then add more
pellets very slowly ensuring not to smother the flames. I did use this
same technique with branches and twigs which I have to admit are much easier
to light compared to the pellets as long as they are dry. I believe it is
due to a substantially increased amount of air flow through the burn chamber.
With pellets, because they are really small they pack down a lot and
reduce air flow which makes it harder to get going. The benefit with the
pellets over other natural biomass is that I got a much hotter and longer burn,
not needing to reload the stove for at least 30 minutes when on high.
Using the BioLite in winter was not overly difficult, not that I expected it to
be, even though I ended up using pellets for everything. This is where
there is a little bit of a down side. I ended up using a lot more pellets
over the course of a single night, filling the burn chamber 3 or 4 times
depending on how much snow I needed to melt for water. Compared to summer
usage where water was already in its liquid state having to melt snow increased the volume of
pellets I needed to bring from .5 kg (17.6 oz) to 1.5 kg (53 oz) for a single overnight.
With the stove weighing in at 728
g (25.7 oz) it meant
I was
carrying 3.75 kg (8.25 lb) for a two night trip. The stove and
fuel ended up
weighing more than my four season tent which I can honestly say I was
not that
happy about. The increase in fuel usage I found was in line with
any
winter activity I have done so there was no surprise there and the
stove
performed very well. I was actually very pleased with the
footings of the
stove. I was able to place the stove with a full 2 l (.53 gal)
pot on top of a packed
patch of snow and heat did not melt the snow around the stove
resulting in it neither tipping over nor melting into the snow.
The stove chamber is
well insulated so that all the heat is kept in the chamber and directed
upward
to maximize heat for cooking, a fact that I really appreciated
when
cooking on a snow pack. Because the stove is a single piece
and well
insulated from the heat it generates I was able to pick it up and move
if
needed. I was also very impressed with the longevity of the
battery pack.
After sitting unused for a couple of months the battery indicated
that it
was still at a 3/4 charge. After using it for several hours over
the
course of three more nights of melting snow on a high setting, cooking
my
evening and morning meals, I was only able to run it down to a 1/4
charge.
Although I did not calculate the actual burn time over the
entire test period I can confirm that I would have no concerns
whatsoever
about using this stove during a long trip where it was my only stove.
The
battery life was very impressive.
The BioLite CookStove is a solid stove that
performed
very well. Provided I have continual easy access to dry fuel
I
would have no qualms about using this stove on a week long backpacking
trip and foraging for fuel. If on the other hand it was
wet out and I had to bring my own fuel I would not elect to use the
BioLite.
This is only due to the significant amount of additional weight
that I
would need to pack around. The only other down side to this
stove
was that it left all my pots covered in soot. Each night I would
have to
clean them off which was messy and not enjoyable. I ended up
bringing
a plastic bag to put the pots in prior to loading them in my pack as I
did not
want the rest of my gear getting covered in soot. The stove is
not very
shinny on the inside anymore and the top of the battery pack is
yellowing due
to the heat that the stove can produce but aside from that it is in
excellent
condition with no noticeable construction issues.
Summary
The BioLite CookStove performed very well but there are challenges with this stove.
It is limited to dry fuel which can limit its usability during inclement
weather. The mess it leaves on my pots is a definite down side.
Smothering the flames is a definite possibility which just means I had to
be extra conscientious when using the stove. The residual ash was not much
of an issue just something that needed to be dealt with. Burn time was
good, more so with pellets than natural fuels. Stove stability was
excellent as was the battery life for the fan. Once I got the technique
down I did not have many issues with getting the stove going although it did
take a good 5 minutes or so to get it up and running. Overall a good solid
stove which I would recommend to anyone that would rather use natural fuels
than liquid fuels. The BioLite CookStove is also a fun stove to use as I
have always liked having a camp fire at camp. Thank you to BioLite and
BackBackpackGearTest.org for the opportunity to test
the BioLite CookStove.
Pros
- Do not need to bring fuel
- Nice to use as a campfire
- Fan battery life is
excellent
- Emergency smoke singles
- Stable design in snow or on
solid ground
Cons
- Poor regulation of heat
- Have to bring fuel if it
is wet out
- Sparks when using natural
fuel
- Smokes on start up
- Soot on the bottom of my
pots
- Generates a lot of smoke if
smothered
Read more reviews of BioLite gear
Read more gear reviews by Duane Lawrence
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