Technical Description

Fire was undoubtedly one of our earliest conquests of Nature. We do have evidence of hearths in caves dating back to almost a hundred thousand years ago among the Sinanthropus (Peking Man, more than 500,000 years old), as also in the dwellings of Neanderthal Man, although some have raised serious doubts about the former. Those who first mastered the technique of setting dry sticks on fire must no doubt have felt a sense of power. This sense of power has left us attached to it for centuries to come despite its negative connotations to the environment. As an article by the Guardian records, “burning wood releases more CO2 than gas, oil and even coal for the same amount of heat, so to make it climate neutral we need an increase in forests” (Fuller 2018, para 1). To add to it wood that doesn’t burn completely or properly leads to release of the poisonous Carbon Monoxide gas which can even lead to death in certain cases.

This is where Solo Stove comes in, a private equity firm that was started in 2010 by Jeffrey Jan based off Fort Worth, Dallas. This company brings in a revenue of 5.2 million dollars annually, and after their last round of funding on September 25 2019, they managed to raise 1 million dollars from big names like Bertram Capital Management (“Solo Stove” n.d.). They are an online based retail store so it actively uses 29 technologies for its website. These include Viewport Meta, I Phone / Mobile Compatible, and SSL by Default. In addition to the website, amazon and REI also sell their products. They design stoves or “portable fire pits” that are efficient and eco-friendly for backpacking, camping and outdoor fires (“Airstream” 2019, para 4). These patented designs create secondary combustion in each of their stoves for a nearly smokeless burn and an airflow system that is thoroughly unique.

To understand the working and the nuances of a solo stove, this technical description will be looking at Solo Stove Lite. Solo Stove Lite, is listed as one of the stoves and firepits for the outdoor category. It is the ideal place to begin as it is one of their earlier models and has a stable customer base. It also is one of their smaller or easily portable models. It is a lightweight cooking stove for one to two people and requires no fuel that must be carried. One can minimize their packs weight and their footprint with this ultra-efficient stove. It takes the shape of a cylinder and is 5.7 inches tall while 4.25 inches wide. This makes it easy to carry. It weighs 9 ounces or 0.6 pounds. This roughly translates 255 grams in the metric system. It is appropriate for 1-2 people.

Fig 1: Dimensions of the Solo Stove Lite measured against the scale of a human (Lite n.d.)

The three main parts of the Solo stove are the steel façade, the nichrome wire grate and the cooking ring. All their products are manufactured in China. Like all other Solo Stoves, Solo Stove Lite is made using 304 Stainless Steel which is the most common stainless steel. The steel contains both chromium and nickel metals as the main non-iron constituents. It is an austenitic stainless steel. It is less electrically and thermally conductive than carbon steel and is essentially non-magnetic. It has a higher corrosion resistance than regular steel and is widely used because of the ease in which it is formed into various shapes (“Iron Alloy” 2018). It is lined with circular holes on the bottom of its cylindrical body lined across its circumference. The secondary burn is created through the double-hulled burn chamber, so the first sub part of the façade is the secondary or interior wall. On the bottom of this secondary wall rests an ash pan which is made of stainless steel too. The Solo Stove also features a heat shield between the ash pan and the bottom of the stove. This heat shield protects the ground under the stove from scorching. Lastly the top of the stove is slightly modified to house the cooking ring which can be considered as a subpart, the interior wall ends lower than the exterior wall to create a space that houses the cooking ring.

Fig 2: Subparts of the Façade (“A Step-by-Step Guide to Firing Up Your Solo Stove” 2016)

Nichrome wire, which has a high melting point of 2552 degrees Fahrenheit, is used for the grate as a mesh to ensure that it could hold through any kind of heat and fire associated with wood burning.

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Fig 3: Nichrome Wire Grate (“Solo Stove Titan” n.d.)

The cooking ring is also made of 304 stainless steel, it is detachable and can be stored by inverting it on the stove. The cooking ring is lined with equally sized circular holes on the circumference of its bottom half. When the Solo Stove’s cooking ring is in the upright position, it provides a stable 3-point pot support. When the cooking ring is not in use, it is neatly stored upside down in the top of the stove. The entire cooking ring can be packed into the stove body for compact storage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fig 4: Cooking Pan and Façade (“A Step-by-Step Guide to Firing Up Your Solo Stove” 2016)

Solo Stove Lite is made by using a one-piece construction process. This manufacturing process allows them to use state-of-the-art precision presses to form and shape solid pieces of high-grade stainless steel. The outer shell of the Solo Stove Lite is one entire piece of stainless steel with no seams or welds. The inner firebox and floating ashpan is also made using one-piece construction. This eliminates the need for excessive welding and increases the overall strength and lifespan of your stove.

Designed with a double-wall construction, the Solo Stove Lite wood-burning backpacking stove is a natural convection, inverted downgas gasifer stove.Rising hot air, and the absence of oxygen created by the combustion process, pulls air through the bottom vent holes. This air movement fuels the fire at its base while also providing a boost of preheated air through the vent holes at the top of the burn chamber. The ashpan catches  loose ash and prevents it from clogging and

Fig 5: Working of Solo Stove Lite (Brown 2018)

vital airflow. The ash pan also acts as a heat shield and prevents your stove from scorching the ground beneath it. As one user observes and is surprised by the extent to which it holds true, “when cooking on damp grass, I noticed the based of the stove dried it out but never damaged it” (“Solo Stove Lite Review” 2019) The Nichrome Grate allows oxygen to be fed directly to embers from below. Secondary burning is brought about through the vent holes near the top of the burn chamber which allows preheated oxygen to fuel the flame resulting in a more complete combustion and a hotter fire with less smoke. This helps to burn biofuel faster and hotter while allowing spent ash to fall out of the process. The cooking ring has an angled lip which focuses the heat towards the center of the pot, minimizing heat loss to maximize efficiency. The cooking ring also acts as a windscreen while still allowing oxygen to fuel the flame.  This is how the Lite works. With this, you’ll get a hotter fire with less smoke!

Users record these observations in their review “In terms of impact, using it to cook a meal creates only a small amount of ash, which is easily dispersed or covered up… Then, there’s the material waste saving from a plastic bottle of denatured alcohol, or a gas canister…but it’s certainly a lot friendlier to the earth than extracting oil and storing it in a gas station” (“Solo Stove Lite Review” 2019). The company’s CEO Jeffrey Jan claims that testimonials and customers reviews have continued to pushed their company to the forefront in the business and true to that extent the reviews for this product are nothing short of fantastic (“Solo Stove” n.d).

This holds true even in comparison to its competitors, its chief competitors are Greenway Smart Stove and Bio Lite Inc. Greenway Smart Stove is based off Maharashtra, India so their focus remains in the Asia- Pacific region unlike Solo Stoves focus which is the region of the Euro- America. Bio Lite is a company based of in New York City so it targets a similar market as Smart Stove but unlike Solo Stove it has a diverse products and technologies to do with camping and the outdoors. Even in the case of competition, Solo Stoves one of a kind secondary burning system sets it apart from its counterparts. In the case of competitors, Solo Stove also uses its testimonials and reviews as an upper hand, as this review records, “These [Solo Stove Lite] stove specs are fine, but my first thoughts were about its performance in the field. More importantly, how would it perform against my current go to stove…a cupful of water was my standard amount. I measured the time it took for steam to visibly appear from the little vent hole in the pot’s lid. The results were quite stunning. The Solo Stove only took 4 minutes and 45 seconds to boil the water, while my current can stove took a whopping 10 minutes and 11 seconds.”

The above guide is the basics, but there are two methods this can be carried out in, Method 1 is the best and most fuel-efficient way to cook on your stove which is with a full load of fuel that is lit on top. To use this method, large sticks and twigs must be placed neatly on top of the nichrome wire grate up until the bottom of the top air vents. Then the fire is lit. Feed the fire with small to medium sized sticks and tinder until the fire is self-sustaining. Continue to feed the fire until it has spread across the full width of the stove and the main fuel load begins to burn from the top down. After the air in the wall of the stove heats up, airflow will improve and a secondary combustion will be visible near some or all of the secondary air vents. Start cooking. If your initial burn consumes your main fuel load and you find yourself still needed a flame to continue cooking, add in additional fuel through the opening in the cooking ring. Add finger sized twigs and other bio-fuel to maintain a flame. Method 2 can be achieved through lighting a small fire inside the stove and pile on small to medium sized twigs to stoke the fire. As the fire grows, add in larger sticks and twigs. Larger sticks and twigs will keep the fire burning longer and will decrease the amount of times you need to feed the fire. If too much fuel is added too late, especially with thick or damp sticks, there will be a lot of smoke and the fire may be snuffed. Experiment to find a suitable feed rate. With a little practice, the fire can be maintained for an extended period. This mode of operation, although often easier for beginners, will produce more smoke than Method 1 because the wood gas rises directly to combustion with the secondary air without the cleaning effect of passage through a hot layer of charcoal.This stove is extremely user friendly. The first step to use it is to remove the nested cooking ring and set it aside. The Lite operates on small twigs and sticks, or an alcohol burner, to fuel the fire, any firewood logs will burn but for optimum efficiency dry hardwoods are recommended. Hardwoods such as birch, maple, hickory and oak will burn longer than softwoods. It is also suggested that users use logs that are about 2-3” stack your logs tightly inside along with any kindling of your choice. Once the twigs are set, you can light the fire. The cooking ring can then be placed back on top of the fire pit with the angled edges pointing upward to place any cooking pot on top of it. Additional logs must be added as needed and once done using the fire pit should be let to burn out on its own.  After the fire pit has cooled down completely, place it in its carrying case and store in a cool, dry location.

Fig 6: Using Solo Stove Lite (“A Step-by-Step Guide to Firing Up Your Solo Stove” 2016)

This one of a kind stove $69.99 with free shipping and returns. In addition, it comes with a money-back guarantee and a lifetime warranty against defects. Their website is Norton and GoDaddy Secured, so the reliability is a given. If you are looking for an easy, lightweight, durable camping or survival stove, you simply cannot beat the Solo Stove. At the same time it is an eco-friendly and efficient alternative. There is a good reason why it is so popular. Fire has been one of our greatest feats in terms of technological advancements, with the increase in wildfires and occurences like the Fires of Amazon, it is more important now than ever to regulate and improve technology around fuel and fire, and the solo stove acts as a stepping stone in this direction.

References

Airstream. (2019, March 1). A-List: Solo Stove. Retrieved from https://www.airstream.com/blog/a-list-solo-stove/.

A step by step guide to firing up your Solo Stove. pdf. 2016. Retrieved from https://www.solostove.com/content/ss-instructions.pdf

Brown, R. (2018, May 20). Solo Stove Lite Review. Retrieved from https://rollingfox.com/solo-stove-lite-review.

Fuller, G. (2018, March 1). Pollutionwatch: wood burning is not climate friendly. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/01/pollutionwatch-wood-burning-is-not-climate-friendly.

Iron Alloy. (2018, October 18). Retrieved from https://www.makeitfrom.com/material-properties/AISI-304-S30400-Stainless-Steel.

Lite. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.solostove.com/solo-stove-lite/.

Solo Stove – Overview. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.crunchbase.com/organization/solo-stove.

Solo Stove Lite Review: twig powered cooking. (2019, July 16). Retrieved from https://bikepacking.com/gear/solo-stove-lite-review/.

Solo Stove Titan. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.readinessdeals.com/products/solo-stove-titan.