Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Black Friday, The Bigger Picture ??

Hmmm...this is interesting...but I'm a bit perplexed. Food for Thought. Comments ??

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Kijiji "Find" :)

I've long wanted some sort of camping "chuck-box" or portable kitchen thingy. I just got one on Kijiji for $20. It's pretty heavy and robust. The 3 covers flip out and transform into shelves, while the front side folds down to become a stove shelf. It should make a nice base-camp kitchen unit. The legs are removable. I thought it was a bit heavy but when I got it home I discovered some bonuses inside; a 3 burner propane stove, a propane lantern with a plastic case, an aluminum griddle, and 2 containers of propane. All for a measly 20 bucks !!
closed
shelves and stove

Saturday, November 20, 2010

The Woodstove Season Cometh...

Well I couldn't resist any longer. I had to get a wood fire going on this cold and damp Saturday. I had to take my old Vermont Castings Resolute out of service. It has a couple of cracks in the rear and left side refractories, and it's prone to over-firing. I took the opportunity to flirt with a little EPA approved number from Canadian Tire. It's made by Drolet, and the model is "PyroPak". It has some secondary combustion features, and claims to be 83% efficient. That's a number I'm highly suspicious of, but it was on sale for $100 off ($499). These EPA stoves claim to burn 25% less wood, we'll see :) So far, I'm pleased, except that the firebox is small, so I don't think it will last through the night. That means I'll be cutting much more kindling, or "splits" if you will. That's a trade-off I decided to live with, since most larger stoves produce too much heat. The large window in the door provides mucho ambiance, and the airwashing system actually works in keeping the glass clean...bonus !! See some actual views below...
 

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Remembrance Day 2010

Today, I whisper a prayer for anyone who has suffered because of war, especially the wounded, widows, and orphans. I pray for your continued strength to carry on day after day...
My Father fought in World War II, in the 59th Royal Newfoundland Artillery Regiment

Saturday, November 6, 2010

Oh Oh Oh O-O-h-h, Little China Stove

Apologies to David Bowie notwithstanding, I recently added an interesting multi-fuel camp stove to my collection. Normally, these remote fuel bottle stoves go for about $150 at reputable outdoor vultures stores. After reading lots on these Chinese knockoffs, I had to have one. Got it on Ebay for $29, but the total was closer to $60 by the time I had it in my grimy paws. First, a couple of photos:
The Box, Notice the spelling mistakes :)
Pump, Burner, Wrench, Fuel Bottle
Ready to roll
The orange fuel bottle will take white gas, car gas, kerosene, etc and will burn with varying degrees of success. The first drawback is the horrific blasting noise the thing makes. Look at this video to see/hear what I mean:

One of it's strong points is in the choice of fuel. If none of the liquid varieties suits your fancy, it easily attaches to most of those overpriced iso-butane canisters:
attached to $7 rip-off canister
I don't like the above canisters, but only because of their cost. The tightwad in me prefers the cheap "4 for $10 butane cans from Home Hardware". With an appropriate adapter they can be used, and are the choice if you don't want to mess with liquids. Adapter set-up below:
Cheaper option...
Close-up of adapter gizmo

Overall, I'm pleased with this little gem. With White Gas, it will boil a litre of water in under 3 minutes. It is also of a pretty simple design, and it comes with a wrench that can dismantle the burner, clean the nozzle/jet etc. Again, you get what you pay for (YMMV)...
Field Repair Wrench

IVECO...

 This beauty has been roaming around Central Newfoundland lately. I just grabbed some photos of it for fun...

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