“One from the vaults…” Frankenfurter

Today’s brew was made using a stove from my stove archives (2008) and is a real blast from the past. This stove is called the gram weenie!
This whole setup is about 110g if memory doesn’t fail me.
Yes that is an American Heineken tin as the pot, and chicken wire as the pot stand.
The stove has a wick inside, not sure what the stove is made from. I think the base from some small aerosol can if I was to hazard a guess.
I can’t remember who made the stove, but they are a genius.

Here is a video I did 17 years ago of the stove.

You are not going to be doing anything but boil water with this setup. Plus it’s not the most bombproof of setups. Well the burner might be. But the rest.

It’s a fun stove for the ultra light.

I started off this morning “processing” some kindling (bought from a garage ages ago) and chopping up a couple of small birch branches I’d picked up on previous walks. The tool I used for this today was my Swiss Army Ranger Grip 55 knife.

Either of the two Mora knives I have could have been used for the kindling, and I could have used my Silky Pocketboy to saw the birch. However the one knife I know that is always in the bag for sure is the Ranger Grip 55. The reason I went for it was the size, and the saw blade. So if it can’t be used to “process” wood or saw branches it’s no good. Yes it’s a back up, but it’s also potentially the main tool as well. This was a good test. It wasn’t lots. Just enough for a fire or two. The branches were cut into chunks that could be used with both Firebox stoves.

The “processing” of the wood was not just for another day. My second brew of the morning was going to be made with my new Firebox G2 5” stove. The stove arrived at the same time as the titanium box pot.

It’s my first time using it since it arrived just over a week ago (if my memory serves me right, it might be slightly longer). This stove will be my go to stove when camping with the car. Backpacking it’s the titanium Nano G2 everyday.

I used one of my home made fire starters to start the fire. You can see in the photo below how much of the kindling I used. Add a couple of bits of the birch and that’s all the wood used to get water boiling. That’s not a lot of wood at all.

The canteen cup is a BCB British Army one. The cups handles meant it had to sit high on the stove.

I have to say I do like the leather wallets Firebox do for their stoves. They add to the experience, almost a retro, old world vibe.

Obviously once the whole brew thing is over the main draw back of using a wood burning stove is the soot on whatever pot/canteen you are using. Well soot gets everywhere. So it’s best to wipe off as much soot as possible with a damp cloth/sponge once everything is cool. And that’s exactly what I did.

No doubt about it a fun way to start the day with.

On this overcast, damp morning it was the turn of the Speedster Stoves 30ml Spill Proof Meths/Alcohol Burner to be used with the Fire Maple Lotus Titanium Solid Fuel Stove to make the mornings brew.
It’s a great combo that works well.
I should point out in the UK that we cannot use the intended fuel with this stove. The Fire Dragon fuel is not a good combo with this stove with the slots in the base. So this makes a great light, compact base for something like this speedster stove.
The pot is a Trangia small mess tin, which not only holds the stove setup above but also the Trangia small mess tin insert cover, the Trangia multi disc for the small mess tin, a third party chopping board (not decided which I like the most yet), a small Nalgene bottle for fuel.
All this is stored in the Trangia roll top cover for the small mess tin.
I like this as a grab and go brew kit. Mind you it’s not the only one I have. I like options so I can choose on the day. I’m weird like that. I let my mood on the day choose what stove set up I use. Along with my intended use. Some setups are better for just boiling water, while others are more flexible on what they allow you to do.

I have to say I am enjoying this weeks morning projects of playing with the stoves. It’s good to keep the skills up to date.

It’s bin day so before I even contemplated having my first coffee I had to put out the bin bags for two houses. You’d be surprised how much rubbish an old lady with a cat generates.
However once that chore was over my thoughts turned to making the first caffeine hit of the day.
It was only going to be made one way this morning, using the new Fire Maple pour over kettle that arrived yesterday. The stove I used was also by Fire Maple, their Greenpeak 1. The pour over was the pajak flat v60 pour over.
Even with the Greenpeak not at full blast boiled the water very quickly thanks to those heat fins on the base.

The pour over kettle fits inside a G3 but you aren’t going to get the rice cooker in as well. If I recall the marketing material correctly the G3 should fit this and the cup/pot. Not sure about a stove fitting either. I can see possibly something like the BRS3000 fitting. But the Greenpeak 1? It’s going to be tight if it fits at all.

Obviously with the design being a detachable handle so it can be stored in the G3, the handle does have a bit of wobble or looseness. I’d also be concerned about the seals used and the wear and tear on them.

I have to say size wise this is perfect for the solo camper. The 350ml capacity also perfect for a single mug of java.

A nice addition to the options available for that caffeine fix outdoors.

“It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light, and winter in the shade.” — Charles Dickens (via my friend Jim)

I’m so grateful my friend Jim shared this quote from Dickens about the month of March this morning. It really does sum up the March we have just experienced beautifully.

This mornings brew was made using a Goshawk Swirling flame – OP-100. So called because in none windy conditions the flames swirl out of the jet holes.

The Keith titanium cup was millimetres from being wide enough to be supported by the HUIOP Portable Outdoor Ultralight Titanium Stove Stand /Windscreen. Or the stove stand was millimetres too wide to support the cup. Either way I ended up having to use an Alcohol Stove Cross Stand.

The stand didn’t offer great protection from the wind. But I think that was more to with the shape of the cup being kidney shaped and leaving gaps.

Obviously once the water was boiled I made a coffee in my Kupilka cup.

I will say I am fastly becoming a big fan of starting my meths burner, whether a Trangia or Goshawk with a ferro rod.