Just like the Fire Starters we built in the previous posts on this series, once this stove is fully ignited it can withstand a pretty good wind.  In order to cook with this stove we need to build a grill for it that we can place our container on.  In this case, I’m using a large fruit can with several holes punched in it.  In comparison to other stoves, this one doesn’t quite shine or stand out – but for simple, cheap, reusable materials – this one is a star!

To build it, follow these instructions:

1. Get a tuna or other shallow can with the bottom in it but without a lid
2. Cut a piece of cardboard into strips just less than the height of the tuna can
3. Roll the strips and insert them into the tuna can until it is completely full with cardboard
4. Melt paraffin wax in a double boiler and then pour the wax over the tuna can, filling it as full as you can
5. Allow the wax to settle and top it off again – do this until there is no more settling
6. Once the stove has set up you can ignite it.

To build the grill, do the following:

1. Using a can that doesn’t have a top and will easily fit over the tuna can, punch several holes in the sides of the can on the top and on the bottom
2. Place the can over the lit stove and place your dish on top of it.

That’s pretty much it, this one is very simple and very effective.

This video demonstrates everything you need to do to build this project:

Attention, preppers! We’ve been given the opportunity to organize a group buy on the Volcano II Stove I wrote a review about a couple days ago. Now is your chance to get one for a great price.

To make things easy, we’re going to focus on offering only one of their products: The Volcano II Stove with propane attachment. This kit sells for $150 on the website; with the group buy, you’ll be able to grab one for just $108 (before tax)!

For details, see the review post so you know what you’ll be getting. If you would like to participate in this group buy, please leave a comment on this post indicating how many you would like to buy. Please note that local pickup in Utah County will be required for this price (either Lehi or Orem; details will be provided at a later time). Additionally, you may have the stove shipped to you by including $20 for each stove in the price of your order. Local pickup is strongly encouraged!

Please feel free to spread the word and share the details of this group buy with your friends, family, church members, or anybody else you may think interested. We need at least 20 people to commit to buy a stove in order to secure the price. Once we have that commitment, I will send an email to the commenters with payment instructions, and we will then affix a deadline to the group buy (most likely one week after we hit the 20 mark) in order to move things along.

Feel free to ask any questions you may have in the comments below.

The main reason I wanted to add this to my supplies is its versatility—Volcano stoves can use charcoal, wood, or propane (with the adapter). I found this setup very desirable, since while my fuel may be diversified, this single stove can handle almost everything I throw at it. It’s made to accommodate dutch ovens, or you can lay down the included grill on top and use a normal pan, pot, or cook your things directly on it. And cleanup is as simple as turning the stove over and dumping the remnants out (unless you’re using propane, of course).

Another great feature of the Volcano is its unique heat chamber that channels the heat upwards towards your food, instead of wasting fuel by expelling heat out the sides and bottom. This also means that the area surrounding the stove is cooler than conventional stoves, allowing you to cook with the stove on a variety of surfaces that you normally might not use for putting your stove on.

Below are the pictures of my grand unveiling when I opened and first used the stove.

The box it comes in:

Opening the box:

The oven comes in a sturdy bag for easy transportation. The stove weighs 22 pounds and is about 16″ x 16″ x 4″ when closed (13″ high when open).

This is what the kit looks like when the bag is first opened:

Here are the contents of the kit fully unwrapped. From top left, clockwise: heat deflector plate, grills, stove, propane adapter, propane hose (this hooks to the 20 lb. tanks; you can buy an adapter for the 1 lb. tanks for ~$40), 2 tools for the propane assembly, manual.

Opening and closing the stove is brain-dead easy and some pretty cool engineering. By simply pulling up on the handle, the entire stove pops open, the legs unfold, and you’re set. To close the stove you lift up from the bottom, the stove folds in on itself, and the legs retract. Very cool. I opened and closed it a few times just to marvel at its elegant simplicity. :)

The propane assembly simply sits inside the stove as you see below:

Here is the stove hooked up to a propane tank, ready for use:

The propane hose comes with its own valve, so I had to open the fuel on the tank itself, and then on the hose. In addition, the stove has adjustable vents to control the amount of oxygen in the stove; this is more for using wood/charcoal and controlling how much oxygen is getting to your embers.

Mmmm, fire……

I’m very pleased with this stove so far and look forward to using it in the future. And yes, I would have been just as happy with it had I paid retail price. :)