Cook and charge phone at same time
 

New from REI, a stove that burns wood chips, twigs and charges electronics. I've used this type of stove in a larger size, it's awesome, but hadn't thought of using it for bike touring. Depending on where you are touring it's a great idea, I can see advantages here, they also suggest burning wood pellets.

http://www.rei.com/product/846334/bi...1&RRID=1325173

I spotted that a couple weeks ago when researching a solar tent a friend of mine posted elsewhere. The tent is too big and heavy for dragging around on a cycle tour though. There's also a pot that has a USB connection for recharging electronics when it heats water. Charge a phone and GPS at the same time!

I have had one for the better part of a year. They work well for high heat output things like cooking for a group of 8, etc. but it is hard to simmer with. Ideal for single stove for larger group. or for an extended trip where you would have to carry a quart or more of fuel between restock opportunities. Do not bring wood pellets as that defeats the whole idea; this is a stove you carry no fuel for and just grab a handful of twigs for when toy stop for the evening. It weighs about 2 pounds, and takes 3 - 4 minutes to get it fired up enough to cook on (not instant on, but not too long to heat op either). You also have to add fuel every 5 minutes or so, so you do not just put 3 quarts on to boil and walk away, you have to keep feeding it. If just two people for a 2 - 3 day trip then conventional stoves are lighter and more convenient. If you are in a larger group or are going into a remote area for more than a week then this is a pretty good option to consider. The charger does work fairly well, but remember you have to keep feeding small twigs in every 5 minutes to keep the charger charging... It also makes a nice but very small camp fire after cooking is done and it has very little smoke output...

I just finished a 2 week tour using this stove. I was very happy with it with these caveats.

1. Have more than enough fuel ready when you start the fire. That means broken into pieces that will fit into the stove.

2. Have your food all prepped and ready to cook. As already mentioned, there is no knob to control the heat, you have to constantly monitor the heat.

3. Keep your phone as far away from the stove (and food) as possible.

4. When using the stove in damp conditions like the Pacific NW, always bring along a small supply of dry paper and kindling. Always.

I'm guessing that you won't be cooking long enough to get and real charging benefit out of this stove. The specs say 20 minutes of cooking gets 60 minutes of talk time and you can bet that is optimal conditions. If you want to spend the extra money on this stove for it's alternate fuel capabilities then that is fine but I would not be investing to keep your cell phone charged. You would be better with a dynohub or solar panel.

wow. another "solution" looking for a problem!

i don't know about you guys, but i look forward to heading into the wilderness on
my bicycle....without iphone, ipad, ipod, ithing, iwhatever. i like to get away from
it all, not carry it all with me.

i can see the advantage of having a cell phone for emergencies....assuming you're in
an area with cell phone coverage.....but why would you need a stove-charger?
surely your cell phone battery will last a week. with a spare you've got two weeks
to find an outlet to recharge.

what are you doing talking on the phone so much that you need to recharge enough
to need something like this?

You need to remember that everyone tours for a different reason. What fits for you might not fit for others.

Some of us are navigating with a iPhone and using the GPS a lot the battery barely lasts a day. That said, I think a dyno hub is a more practical option than this stove.

I use my phone more as a mp3 player then a phone. Have 10 gbs of music on it! Gonna get a dyno hub for sure. This looks cool though! Might have to buy it so I can watch movies while I cook!

The description specifies:
I'm not big on talking on the phone myself but do use rechargable battery packs to run lights. Even a dyno I'd use to recharge battery packs rather than power lights directly. Options are nice. Electricity is easily available in many areas but not everywhere.

It was developed as an alternative technology for remote villages, using larger family-sized units. The camping stoves are really a money making venture to recoup some of the investment.
Could be useful for extended basecamp type trips to remote areas.

That is a great idea. This invention, making electricity from heat, is great. Think of all the waste heat that could be put to work. Home heaters, exhaust pipes, etc,

Here is a little device that runs on AA batteries. I talked to a guy who says it will charge his phone 3 to 4 times.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=323630

These devices have been around for a while now. They just don't produce enough electricity to incorporate them in any large scale. There are more efficient ways to leverage wasted energy. In automobiles, kinetic energy for example

The same was thought of solar panels at one time.

I would be interested in finding out how much drag the dyno hub creates and when coupled with the weight of the stove and fuel it might not be the best use of effort and money. As far as solAr solutions go, I've yet to see anything that appeals to me.

I found it pretty easy to charge my iPhone ~15% in about a half hour. In the am I only make coffee but then boil water for cleaning so it's not a problem. In the evening it's easy to get more than a15% charge.

Obviously, one has to use a product in order to have an informed opinion on it...

Must all touring be in the wilderness? I obviously missed the memo.

I've tried those before, they don't really charge well, not unless you leave a modern smart phone turned off and let it charge up slowly. The best it does is to hold a certain battery level.
Poor choice for those who use phones as GPS, but then phone GPS typically use data, and that's probably not a great idea if any carrier charges roaming for going out of the area (don't know if that applies anymore)

Not to get too off the subject but I toured with a guy who had this: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

It was awesome. He charged six of our phones to 90-100% before he had to recharge the battery.

The guy I talked to said it worked, however it might have been another brand. I will ask him again, next time I see him. If it works, it would be extremely handy.

Here's a Youtube video of a guy making his own using a 9 volt battery. He says at the end of the video that it takes and hour and 15 minutes to charge his phone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nuo3bOrqn5I

This is why I abandon the touring forums for long stretches. There are simply to many opinions based on the limits of personal experience and or expectations. If there was a one size fits all bicycle touring package that people had been using for years with joy and success it would be so simple. But its not.
Personally I would love to try this out, and if I ever see myself doing a trip that justifies it would give it a go. There are some backpacking trails in the pacific northwest that are on my bucket list, and this would be great, as solar would not work that well there.

Or one of these: http://www.fasttech.com/product/1283...pack-for-18650

I have a few of the one-battery version ML102, and they work fine for keeping my mp3 player, mini Action Cam (Midland XTC 200), and USB rechargable blinkies charged on a tour. The camera and player can even work while charging. They are also a great Li-Ion battery charger.

Of course...these are first world problems. Take a look at this guy and his story: http://edition.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/af...lawi.wind.boy/

There's cell towers and cell phones in Africa, but his area had no power to charge the phones.

Maybe someone can come up with a portable carbon-fiber/titanium windmill that spins your dyna-hub all night. Or windmill blades that snap to your spokes, so your dyna-hub wheel itself is the windmill...

If you do use it in the PNW, I would highly recommend always carrying some dry paper and kindling. I used an old nylon Thermarest stuff sack and there were a couple of mornings when it took awhile to get the fire going. Once you have the kindling started and turn on the fan, even damp wood will start to burn.

I get burned out too reading all the holier than thou posts but in the end, there's a lot of good info here. I only wish there was an ignore button so tha t I could minimize the "my way or the highway" types.

Was? I still think that, at least with regard to touring.

That's a great little device.

I was reading a review of the Energizer and it said that using lithium batteries will provide 8 hours of charge time while alkaline only provides 30 minutes. BTW, the Energizer includes lithium batteries.

Ha ha. How about bladed crabon spokes that automatically adjust their angle to utilize the wind to push your bike along?