Earlier this year while I attended the Utah Prepare Conference and Expo, put on by the Utah State University Extension programs. While there, I had to look at many new developments in new preparedness products. One thing that particularly drew my attention was the Survivor Rocket Stove made by Silverfire. Now I have encounter Silverfore’s product in the past and have found them to be excellent. Here is a review I did of The SilverFire Scout Biomass Stove is very Efficient
Todd Albi the owner of Silverfire has several different cooking and heating products on the market. I have not had the chance to test them all, but I bought one of the Survivor Rocket stoves and have spent some time playing with it.
The stove is stainless steel and well made. It measures about 12.5 tall by 9.5 wide without the tray for inserting the kindling. It is fairly heavy, which I consider to be good. It can hold an 8-quart Dutch oven or a large frying pan without wobbling
There is a bit of a learning curve, when you first start using it. But once you get used to it, the stove will put out a constant heat with attention every 5-10 minutes. When you first light it, start the fire with very dry small wood and shredded paper or a fire starter.
I learned you have to use the proper sized wood for the job at hand. If you want to boil water fast, start with some small sticks then increase in size. If you want to simmer, let the big pieces turn to coals then add small sticks as needed to keep the heat up.
If you overload the combustion chamber it will choke off the air flow and generate smoke. So feed the stove slow and steady. Use dry material; it will burn just about any type of biomass, sticks, pine cones, dry grass or brush. There will only be a small amount of white ash left over, and you just have to turn the stove over and it falls out.
I am very pleased with my decision to get a Survivor Rocket Stove. It works much better than the ones I have had in the past. I recommend it, with one condition, you have to use it to learn how it functions best, prior to really needing it.
Howard
When I was a kid we used to make “hobo” stoves out of old coffee or paint cans. This was decades before the Rocket Stoves. But use the same principles. Twigs and small wood are all we needed to cook up any good camp meal. You could actually cook hamburgers or bacon and eggs rite on top of the can if you had a new can to make your stove out of. They also were easy to control the heat.
I am sure you remember them. Maybe you could show your readers how to make one. Knowing how to make their own in an emergency would be a good thing to know….plus…it doesn’t cost anything to make one.
There are lots of articles and YouTube videos on how to make a Hobo Stove, but this 1984 article from Mother Earth News most resembles the ones we made as Scouts when I was a kid.
https://www.motherearthnews.com/diy/how-to-make-hobo-stove-zmaz84zloeck.aspx
If one needs to consistently feed at least 8 (and maybe 14 ) people, do you recommend a different stove or just purchase two? What price range should we expect to see?
thanks.