Biolite Stove & phone charger

[greybeard23]

This might be interesting to those living in limited space vehicles.&nbsp; Burns twigs, pinecones etc.&nbsp; Plus, the heat creates electricity to charge phones and such from a USB connection.<br>They have now come out with an option of a grill. https://www.bioliteenergy.com/

 

[bk2valve]

I like them. They are the leading edge of some very cool stuff, especially for the developing world...<br>Bri

 

[Cold Brian]

I have owned one for a few months, and I love it! It takes a little practice to keep it running nice and hot and charging your phone, but by the second or third time I had it down. Not too difficult, or maybe it was just me.<br><br>They just came out with a grill attachment as well, which I hope to get soon.<br><br>http://silodrome.com/biolite-portable-grill/

 

[ParadiseParrot]

What is the inside lined with? Will it last?

 

[Cold Brian]

The inside is all steel. The power module and fan (the orange part that slides into the burn chamber) is mostly copper, insulation and plastic, besides the electronics within, from what I can tell. The fan has a low and high setting and keeps the fire burning very well once you get it going. I think most of my problem in the beginning was not using dry enough wood.<br><br>I can't say how durable it is because I haven't had mine long. Seems well made and works fine after a few months.<br><br>The pics below are: one shot looking into it from above and one with the power module detached.

 

[greybeard23]

It is good to hear that someone on here already has one.&nbsp; I thought it would be nice to have to save on using propane for all my cooking, and to have it be able to charge my phone or other small gear would be real nice.<br>I had been looking at similar stoves but none had a fan or a charger.

 

[Cold Brian]

It doesn't use much wood either. I got into the habit of picking up a nice dry stick several feet long every time I walk the dog. I just break it up by hand into a bunch of roughly 6" or so sections and throw it into a 5 gallon bucket when I get back. This way I have plenty of dry fuel on hand at times like now when there is snow covering everything.

 

[rokguy]

<EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Struth, well blow me, </SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">&nbsp;I've never seen anything like this. That is cooooool (well hot actually) thanks for the link.</SPAN></STRONG></EM><BR><EM><STRONG><SPAN style="COLOR: #888888">Geoff</SPAN></STRONG></EM>

 

[Elf]

It also runs on wood pellets. A $5 bag from Lowes/Home Depot/Tractor Supply&nbsp;is about the size of a large bag of dog food and is good for a backup fuel source in wet weather. <br><br>Cotton balls smeared with a little Vaseline&nbsp;are a good firestarter, as is dryer lint.<br><br>Was just on the biolite website - as of Feb. 15th, they are now available at REI. Looks like free shipping from the REI&nbsp;website and the grill is available there, too.

 

[offroad]

is there a version that will burn alcohol for days when wood fires are banned? &nbsp;you know like 30% of the high summertime?

 

[bee]

I was looking on youtube to get see how it worked. &nbsp;A guy tried using a sterno can on a riser to lift it up higher. &nbsp;It didn't work, didn't get hot enough to charge.

 

[HoboBerg]

Thanks for sharing! Thats an awesome concept

 

[Cold Brian]

I ordered the grill attachment. I got 10 bucks off for taking a survey. They have a serious backlog and won't ship til mid April. Hopefully by May I will have a review for you guys.