Is there anyone out there that is working on designs for wood cook stoves? Designs that can be built in a home workshop that is equipped with metal working capability is desired. Multi-fuel would be desired,ie. wood, paper products, old tires,etc. Designed with a cook top, oven, warmer and hot water. I would be interested in helping in such a project.

-- Cliff Ohlenburger (blendin@snowhill.com), August 29, 1999

Answers

NO I'm not doing what you asked. But look up info on the Pioneer Maid cookstove. It is avalable from Suppertime Stoves, RR 4, Aylmer Ontario, Canada I don't know their Zip code. This is a state of the art airtight wood cookstove. Firebrick lined firebox. All parts in contact with flue gasses and the stove top are made with stainless steel. Heat exchanger coil in firebox. Water reservoir. Giant oven, big enough for me to cook a 24 lb turkey. Holds a fire all night. One load of wood will hold the oven at 350 F long enough to bake bread. Best stove I've seen and used. In my opinion worth every penney of the price.

-- Nick (nikoda@pdqnet.com), August 30, 1999.

Sort of...we live in the Peples Republik of Kaliphornya (SoCal) (and have an indoor BenFranklin to use)...what I'm doing is welding up a slightly larger and heavier duty "hobo stove" (they're made out of large coffee cans)...my idea is to have a way to cook outside when its hot, and to have a small and efficient burner of wood or junk scrap...I'm using a 12" heavy wall pipe x 18" long, with 3/16" thick top & bottom plates each 16" in diam., a door cut in the side hanging on old door hinges, and smoke escape hole around the perimeter of the top(not a front where door is)...I intend to line the inside with refractory cement....I think it's going to work fine....PS I just saw a made-in-Commie-China light weight cast iron outdoor stove (no flue/chimney) at Cal Stores for $40...it looked pretty good for the price, and if I wasn't half done, I might overcome my gag-reaction to buying ChiCom stuff (krap)...

BTW: old Mother Earth News had an article about waste motor oil burning stove, and VITA (Volunteers in Technical Assistance) has some similar plans. VITA is a low tech / appropriate tech storehouse of info for use in "third world" countries - find 'em on the web. Good luck

-- Guy Winton (guyiii@home.com), August 30, 1999.

Nick, we got our Pioneer Maid last December and LOVE IT!!! Right now it is installed in our barn, till we can build the little house we've dreamed of building for years, when it will then be the centerpiece of our house. Bought it direct from manufacturer in Canada and saved a bundle, we do live just south of border so delivery was not a problem, we too did lots of research before buying. Thankfully, we ordered just before the RUSH hit!

Got ours in about 8 weeks, and when it came the company told us they had orders backlogged for the rest of 1999. So if we have to go to the barn to cook this winter, at least it will be a joy to do it on this beauty.

-- K Bungard (tbungard@iomet.com), August 30, 1999.

You've probably found this out by now, but Lehman's sells the Pioneer Maids in their catalog, too.

-- Kathleen Sanderson (stonycft@worldpath.net), April 13, 2000.