Slim Potatohead's Ammo Box Stove

[wasanah2]

This is the nicest stove I've ever seen.  It's got an oven in it, a griddle, a mica window to see the flames.  It has a water boiler.  AND it has a gravity fed hopper for wood pellets OR you can put 12" wood pieces and burn that way.  He has an A-liner and expects to use it inside there when he is able to test it.  (Too hot now.)  But for now he's using it to cook outside in places that don't allow campfires.

Here is the youtube.  It's not that long but WOW, the features on this stove:   

I like and trust Slim's work on youtube, but I wanted to ask you all what you thought of it.  One thing I thought of is if you have the viewer toward where you would sit, that would mean that the place you stoke the fire which is on the end of the box, would be on the side.   Also there are 3 holes in the door to let air in.  I've had little stoves before that I used in a wall tent that had no floor.  It was no big deal if an ember shot out of the hole and on the floor because it was just ground and we knew not to leave boots there just in case.

Could something be fashioned like a guard to keep a spark from coming out the holes but still allow adequate air flow?   He plans to give out the plans for it after it's been tested, but I want to make this thing this summer while I still have the tools at my aunt's place.  My late uncle had a lot of decent tools and she lets me use the shop whenever.  I could be wrong, but I think he cut off the bottom of an old toaster oven and used it for the oven.  If that's the case, he probably doesn't have any welds in that stove at all. 

For his griddle....does anyone know where you can buy flat stove plate?  Is that simply cast iron?  It's such a small piece.

 

[DannyB1954]

I built one that had a secondary burn and a tray to catch embers should they come out of the adjustable vent. For an oven you could just put a metal box on top of a regular stove. Heat rises and with a box you cold make it tall enough to bake something taller than a pizza. I am not monetized, so not looking to make money off of views.

 

[highdesertranger]

couple of points.

out west here if there is a burn ban that prohibits campfires then this stove would also be banned. so you really couldn't use it.

second you must burn this outdoors until 100% of the original paint is burned off. the paint on those ammo cans is highly toxic when burned.

the rubber seal on the can must be removed prior to burning or you are going to have a toxic mess on your hands.

maybe he will address those issues once he has plans. this is a reason why youtube is so dangerous. someone sees this builds one and puts it in their vehicle, fires it up and it's goodnight charley.

for the griddle any clean piece of iron or steel will work. it should be at least 3/8inch thick to resist wrapping. the smoother and flatter it is the better. highdesertranger

 

[wasanah2]

I built one that had a secondary burn and a tray to catch embers should they come out of the adjustable vent. For an oven you could just put a metal box on top of a regular stove. Heat rises and with a box you cold make it tall enough to bake something taller than a pizza.  I am not monetized, so not looking to make money off of views.

I really like your stove.  Your mica door is nicer than Potatohead's fixed window.  I wonder if he didn't leave room for the mica to expand and contract.  I saw you did that.  It looks like he just bolted it all to the stove, but he doesn't give a good look at the inside near the window.

Now you insulated the bottom of the can, so a lower oven isn't possible on this version.  I tend to think that Potatohead's oven really is more of a broiler.  It's probably good for the things he mentioned, but I doubt a cake would work out because it needs heat from all around.

I also REALLY like your baffle.  It moves the heat evenly through to the end which would make it ideal for cooking.  Potatohead's idea is good too, but I would think there are hotter parts of the stove than other parts.  Yours would be more even.

That's a great job and the door mechanism is first rate.  I love how it opens and the spring makes it nice and tight.

Great Job!

 

[wasanah2]

couple of points.
out west here if there is a burn ban that prohibits campfires then this stove would also be banned.  so you really couldn't use it.
second you must burn this outdoors until 100% of the original paint is burned off.  the paint on those ammo cans is highly toxic when burned.
the rubber seal on the can must be removed prior to burning or you are going to have a toxic mess on your hands.
maybe he will address those issues once he has plans.  this is a reason why youtube is so dangerous.  someone sees this builds one and puts it in their vehicle,  fires it up and it's goodnight charley.
for the griddle any clean piece of iron or steel will work.  it should be at least 3/8inch thick to resist wrapping.  the smoother and flatter it is the better.  highdesertranger

I agree about the paint.  I see he left that on, but I would have stripped that before starting.  He said he will address issues.  And I could see when he opened it that he had exchanged the rubber seal with fiberglass stove rope.  He used it also in his door and along his sideways baffle.  But this wasn't a how to video.  He was showing it to us and you are helping me reverse engineer it.

He doesn't want to give out the directions until it's done.  I like Danny's baffle better because it would be much more even in heat.

Yeah, you wouldn't catch me nomading in the west anyway.  I like a lot of water, campfires and weather in which you don't have to layer your clothes due to temp changes.  But Potatohead is a western nomad, so hopefully he has an alternative method to cook or keep warm when the burn bans are on.  Dang it sounds so depressing in the west.  Give me my unlimited water and blazing campfires at night, and I'm a happy camper.

As to the stove plate, thanks for the info.  I think a piece of steel will be easier to find.   You just don't see slabs of cast iron in such a small size around.

Thanks HDS

 

[wasanah2]

Slim made a big deal out of his titanium stove pipe.  What's the deal about that?  I have some old stove pipe from an old defunct wall tent stove that I kept.  It's in fine condition, so I figured I'd use what I have.  Is there a benefit for using the titanium or is that because he's going to cut a hole in his A-liner and it is better for safety reasons?

 

[DannyB1954]

I really like your stove. 

Great Job!

Thanks for the compliments. The window that I used is actually high temp stove glass. I bought it from a on line wood stove store. It was probably the most expensive thing in the stove. I actually built it for a member here. They stopped at my place on their way South.

 

[DannyB1954]

Slim made a big deal out of his titanium stove pipe.  What's the deal about that? 

Titanium is very light, strong and doesn't rust. Other than that, it is no better than the steel tubes that you can buy locally. The person that I built a stove for wanted to use automotive exhaust pipe, and it should work just fine. Pre-made tubing is available at any auto parts store, so things like 90 degree bends are easy to put in.