[b0w_bender]

here is the latest project. I wanted a wall tent stove but I just wasn't interested in spending $400.00 to have one. Making your own stove is one of those projects where you can actually save some money as well as have fun. This is a 20 Gallon pressure tank which is on the larger side for a wall tent. 12 or 15 is probably big enough for most tents. The first stove I made was from a Propane tank but using an air tank significantly reduces the risk of an explosion. The one thing to look out for in air tanks is that they often get condensation in the tank which can cause rust to form so real old tanks that are nearly rusted through may not be a good choice for making a stove. As many of you know I don't have a welder nor do I have a place to put one so I tend to make do without welding. In this case the ring where the stove pipe attaches will need to be welded but other than that it is weld free project. The tank cost me about $30 bucks from Craigslist. In my area I would regularly see folks selling broken air compressors for cheap. The legs and handles were made mostly out of scrap pieces of steel I had laying around but I think I spent another $25.00 on stainless steel bolts. I found the nested stove pipe on ebay some guy was dumping military pipe for next to nothing. I think I paid less than $25.00 for that to. Ironically I bought a section of stainless steel stove pipe that goes on the stove so it would be less likely to corrode than the standard steel and that was $30.00 so I have around $120.00 total in it. I still need to get a cap for the top but you can get those for under $10.00. You'll notice that the air compressor had wheels and steel feet in the front. Most folks cut that stuff off but since they were already there and welded on I figured I would just bolt the legs to them. I'm also going to leave the bench where the compressor was bolted on. It'll make a good shelf to sit my tea kettle and when packing the stove up it is a convenient handle. I'll be posting up a bunch of pictures that I took as I was building the unit.

Here are the before and after pictures.

 

[b0w_bender]

The first step in the build process was to start to cut the door. In order to mark the square on the front I cut out a piece of cardboard and bent it to match the contour of the rounded front. I then used a 4" HF grinder to cut the part where the hinge would go. I then ground off any jink coating on an old door hinge and used my vice and a hammer to bend it up to match the contour of the tank. Before I finished cutting out the door I figured it would be easier to drill the holes and I actually tapped 2 of the holes so I could bolt the hinge in place as I finished the drill pattern. I then cut the rest of the door out and finished bolting on the hinge. I then made a latch from a piece of L angle and bolted that on. A semi flat piece of bar stock serves at the door half of the latching system. For the handle on the latch I took a piece of wire ( I think the wire came out of an old suitcase) It had a lot of spring to it. I wrapped that around a piece of round stock which was a bit of a challenge because it really didn't want to bend. walla hinged and latched door.

 

[b0w_bender]

Next step I need a draft hole in the door to allow air in while starting the fire. Just like with the propane tank stove that I built I decided to duplicate the same detail as the door but with a latch that had multiple grooves in it so that the draft door could be set to partially open. Behind the Draft Opening I bolted a piece of scrap that came from the propane tank stove build. This serves to keep sparks from flying out of the front of the stove when the draft is open. Now I didn't want the crack around the perimeter of the stove door to be wide open so I cut 1" pieces of flat stock bent them to shape and bolted them to the inside to the opening. It is hardly air tight but far better than if I hadn't done it and it makes the door a lot sturdier. I had another piece of scrap steel laying under my bench and I ent that up into a semicircle and bolted that under the door to catch sparks falling onto the ground when the door is open.

 

[b0w_bender]

Lastly I cut a hole in the top for the stove for the pipe and bent a piece of the 1" flat stock that was long enough that when formed in to a circle it would fit just inside the stove pipe and it fits snugly in the hole I cut out of the top of the stove. this ring will need to be welded to complete the stove. I also bolted on the legs which were made out of 1" L angle. The top bolt uses a wing nut to secure it and the bottom bolt just sits inside a hole I drilled into the existing brackets. This allows me to loosen the wing nut and then fold the legs up against the tank for a more compact shipping profile. Lastly I knew I needed a stove pipe damper so I grabbed the part that I cut out of the top and it conveniently fit right inside the pipe. I bolted it to a piece of threaded rod and added an aluminum perforated handle. I then drilled a few holes in it to allow some air movement and that solved that problem. I still need to weld that stove pipe ring in but other than that I'm almost ready for a test fire to burn off the paint.

 

[b0w_bender]

A word of caution for those making their own stove, Avoid any metal that has a zinc coating or galvanized. As the zinc\galvanizing burns off the gas it emits is toxic and it will make you real sick and can actually cause brain damage. If you have galvanized pipe make sure you burn it off in an open are like outside sort of open. After I get the firs fire built in it the paint would just flake off and I'll be able to sand it up and apply some stove blackening. Once that is done I do a YouTube video so you can see the full Monty! (not my full Monty but the stoves full Monty)

 

[medicsnoke]

Solid work....looks like a fun project t too

 

[TargetShooter2]

youve done a good job , just goes to show you dont need a shop full of tools
the the basic's drill , grinder, hammers etc.. nuts&bolts

TS2

 

[unclejdof3]

nice work bow bender is there anything you can't build

 

[b0w_bender]

nice work bow bender is there anything you can't build

Yes actually, I'm pretty much a dufuss when it comes to electronics but even then if you keep it simple enough I have enough self delusion to give it a try

just goes to show you dont need a shop full of tools
the the basic's drill , grinder, hammers etc.. nuts&bolts
TS2

I agree, this is how I approach most of these endeavors. Sure it would be better to have all this welded but does it have to be in order for it to function? The answer is actually no it will work if I bolt it together. If I want to weld it up later I still can but I didn't let the fact that I was missing the optimal tools get in the way of creating a functional piece.

Buy the way thanks for the feedback and the kind words it's all appreciated.

 

[b0w_bender]

OK thanks to my good friend "G" and his harbor freight stick welder we got the stove pipe ring welded to the top. I'm not going to show you the welding job. It is anything but pretty. We ground off a lot of the first attempt and tried again and the second time was remarkably better but still not anything anyone would want to copy.

Now all I need is an end to this eternal drought so I can start a fire in it and blister the paint off, so I can sand it clean and paint it with stove black.

I doubt I'll even be able to use it this year in Washington State there are no fires allowed right now, it's like a freaking tinderbox out there!

 

[redyak3]

Wow, very cool!!! Love these kind of projects. Nice job as usual.

 

[C Svach]

Great idea!

 

[b0w_bender]

Oooh it is fixin to finally rain here in the pacific north west. I might actually be able to do my first fire in this dude this weekend and then be able to do the blackening.

 

[OhWell]

As normal I am impressed by one of your projects. On this one there are two ideas I was particularly impressed with. I really like the tray below the door to catch any ashes and I really like the vent system you used. Those showed great forethought.

 

[b0w_bender]

Since it was raining I was able to do my first fire and get all the paint to peal off. After a thorough sanding and some sunny weather I started the paint. Who knew you could buy high temperature paint in multiple colors. I wasn't sure how much paint I was going to need. I had some black left over so rather than make it all black I bought the sand and the green and gave it a camo job. This is a hybrid camo pattern, somewhere between WWII and ASAT. Either way, I'm pretty sure I'll still be able to find it in the tent.