Testing my WoodGas Campstove grill
Last week I tested out my WoodGas Camp Stove LE on my porch. Using the pot-stand insert lifters (a couple of crossed steel plates that go on top of the stove), I placed the grill from my toaster oven on top of it and cooked a cheddarwurst. It cooked, but it got badly burned. It was too close to the fire.
So I got it in my head to make a grill for the thing. I procured some galvanized wire mesh (of an indeterminable material – I got it from Lowes; it’s likely steel), cut it maybe 6” by 10”, and bent it so it would stand on the stove and elevate what was placed on it.
I cooked a couple more cheddarwurst last night using this makeshift grill. It worked out pretty well, but I noticed that the stove wasn’t putting out fire from the top (as a gasifier should). I added some more fuel, and a little while later a veritable conflagration erupted under the cheddarwurst. It had been cooking slowly before that, but it got serious at that point.
The grill was perhaps 3” above the flames, and with enough fuel (a proper amount; initially I just put in a little because I wasn’t going to be cooking all that long) it was not high enough. I could remedy this by reducing the cooking area in favor of producing height, or simply cut myself a larger piece. I think the latter will do.
When I didn’t put enough wood chips in (I’d purchased some flavored wood chips that you put in charcoal grills and just burned those):
- gasification didn’t occur properly
- the fire died out and smoke was the result
- it didn’t burn as long
Part of the reason I didn’t put a lot of chips in was because I was concerned with the airflow in the chamber. The woodchips themselves are small, and putting them in there didn’t leave a whole lot of air. I hear that wood pellets work very well though, and this is not so different from that (pellets would leave even less air, I imagine, since they’re smaller and shaped like rabbit food). Next time I’ll put more wood in to get a more consistent gasification (and to see the result on the trail, as I’ll likely fill it like that).
The galvanized steel was surprisingly not super hot when it was being cooked on (I was able to grab the sides). I’m thinking now that perhaps a pair of “wings” on this device would be useful – you could use them to keep a section of the grill out of the flame and pick it up by them, or you could bend them up and use them as a rotisserie of sorts (useful for veggies on skewers). The grill itself will wrap around the woodstove when it’s in storage.
For tinder I used a cotton ball with a dash of liquid paraffin wax on it. This proved to instantly (and furiously) ignite. I’m not sure about the burn time. I’ll need to do some comparative tests for that.
I also have some fire gel I’d purchased with the stove (8oz of it!) and subsequently put 3oz into a small, stout plastic bottle with a squeeze lid. I’m thinking of squirting a little bit on some of the wood and seeing how that does.
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Ceramic tile "heat shield" or "flame tamer"
Here’s another idea how to prevent burning:
Construct a circular “flame tamer” that will fit inside of the stove (so perhaps 4” diameter). This could be made of stainless steel, aluminum, or ceramics. Cut some holes in it to allow some of the flame through, and put it on the crossguard plates. Cook above it with your grill.
Alternately, you could create a square grid from plates held together with wire. Just lay this on top; the gaps created by the wire will allow some of the flame through.
Even, perhaps, the bottom of a can of some kind can be used. Though that seems kind of flimsy.
Alternate idea
Here’s an alternate idea for the campstove grill:
By creating an interior circle, the grill can be stored inside of the stove. Just lift it up, spread the 3 wings to stand on the sides of the stove, and you’re in business.
This will require me to cut the mesh to the proper dimensions (for the wings), as well as attach the top grill portion (which should require some tine bending to make the top adhere to the support). To store, just put all the other stuff inside the stove first, then put in the grill (will the wings cause problems here with their tiered bend?). The height on this design is essentially fixed: too low, and you can’t fit the rest of your stuff in the grill (like the cross plates – though I suppose those could go outside in the stuff sack). But if it’s too high, it could suffer damage inside of the pack. I think ideally it should be flush with the rim. Sizing should take into account the extra diameter required by the tines that will be used to adhere the grill surface to the grill support!
The size could conceivably be doubled by creating a second, smaller support that stands on the first, should 4” not be high enough to prevent the grill from burning meat.
An alternate solution to this problem would be to create some kind of fire plate that moderates the flame, and sits on top of the crossbar plates (like you’d find on a gas grill).