EcoZoom Versa Rocket Stove, Wood-Burning, 14.25 lbs, Portable

My wife and I live in a hurricane zone and have been affected by bruiser storms like Rita, Ike, Harvey. So we usually do something every year to increase our readiness. This year we added this stove.So I break it out of the box and decided to try to cook with it. An hour and a half later I got a fire going. I felt I should donate my camping gear and tear up my Eagle Scout card. Needless to say I was doing something way wrong. I was overloading the combustion chamber keeping air from flowing through it.Two days later I decided try again. This time I figured I need to go smaller, so I bought a bag of pecan wood to use as secondary kindling. I took one piece of pecan wood and used a hatchet to cut it into small pieces about the size of my pinky. I put a cotton ball with petroleum jelly on it into the chamber and carefully put my pecan wood pieces on top of the cotton ball (about 6). I lit the cotton ball and less than 5 minutes later I had fire. I placed 2 pieces of lump charcoal on it and now had a cooking fire. I took a medium skillet and made bacon and eggs for the family in about the same time it would take on the range (once the fire is lit). So as an effective stove replacement, so far it passes the test.Some observations:When you build a fire, think very small campire, not charcoal chimney. The only fire you will produce packing this thing full and lighting it are the flames of hatred that scorch your soul and nothing else.After the initial lighting, there is no smoke produced that I could see.There was no soot on the bottom of my stainless steel skillet.I only used 4 pieces of charcoal to cook breakfast and still had plenty of heat left over.The stove seemed to produce a steady, stable heat. It was like cooking on a range.I didn't have to tend the fire to often. I only had to add two pieces of charcoal.The sides got hot, but not enough to burn you.The handles make it easy to move. It is also light enough to not be cumbersome but heavy enough to be stable. It is too heavy to backpack with unless you have a mule with you.Cleanup is easy once it cools down. I honestly think it is better to let the fire burn out then empty it rather than close the doors and let it smother. It just seems just slow the burn when you do that, making you wait longer until you can clean it.I am sure if you got creative, you could use a fire steel to light it, but it would a little more complicated.Overall this is a great and efficient camping stove that should be part of your emergency preparedness kit. Also if you do a lot of camping, this stove would be ideal as it pretty much is an outdoor hot plate.There is something about cooking outside that is very peaceful. Definitely worth it.

I used this stove twice to test it. Both test performed the same (Test 2. note the temp was 80 and it took 17 min. to boil the water). The ambient air temperature was 94 F humidity was about 8% I used the branches from a silver maple tree that had fallen on to my lawn. They were about half an inch in diameter. I broke them with my hands into six inch long pieces and put 6 of them in the stove trough the side opening. I then found some dead redwood tree leafs that had fallen and put a hand full of then down the top of the stove. I struck a wooden match and put it down the top hole to light the fire, I had to do this twice to get it started. All the fuel was very dry and old. The fuel started burning and and I placed a 15 Lt. Cabalas Dutch oven on top of the stove, it was filled with 10 to 13 liters of water. The water was brought to fast fast boil in 15 minutes. I had to add three hand full's of twigs during the test. It burns hot and fast. The best part is that it uses the twigs that fall from the trees that I have to remove before I mow the lawn, now I can save them in my wood shed and use them for the stove if needed. I hope this explains the stove it is worth the price and a practical stove for home use. It is not a back packing stove, but would work fine for car camping. The stove is heavy and well made. I have it stored in a safe dry place in case, I need it. review Oct 2012

I knew the dimensions before I bought it but man is this small. It's small but mighty! I fed it and it simmered a quart of water in 5 mins! It was a boil by 11 mins!!! I used a 15" iron skillet with a lid. It is well built and a bit heavy to lug around for hiking (you need iron pan to cook as well). It is so low to the ground it was annoying to feed so I was placed it on a 1.5 inch thick 12 x 12 slate ($10 at local landscape supplier) base on top of my cast aluminum patio table. I boiled water for an hour and the temp of the outside of the stove was about 220 F max. The stone was around 110 F. I felt the table under where it was located and it was only warm. It takes a descent amount of attention to keep optimal. If you like to play with fire and cook this is a great product!

Absolutely amazing!Without question I recommend this product. I bought one. Loved it so much I bought another.I'm a chef. 25 years in a professional kitchen. I'm finding a need to downsize my life and move me more towards simplicity and nature. I bought these for me, but as an banquet chef I'm already thinking about ways to incorporate these into live cooking demos and action stations for guests.- they are what they say they are.-the efficiency is astounding.-heat/preheat rapidly.-heat, sear, and boil rapidly with little fuel.-I've used yard waste, wood and charcoal and found them all quite capable. Charcoal though was the hardest. You just have to play around a bit. But once fully ignited, it works great.-it's astounding how so little fuel can work so efficiently. Other than charcoal, the fuels I use light really quickly. I was thinking of making a small charcoal chimney out of a can to get the coals really going before adding them to the stove. But it probably just takes practice.-it takes some practice to get the feed rate right and you learn to control the damper door to keep air at the right levels. But it's wonderful and it connects you to the actual process.It's like the difference between driving an automatic or a manual transmission. You actually have to be aware and participate. But it's awesome and sexy and relaxing.-I bought the pot skirts later, and they are absolutely worth it. They change in the forced heat intensity is amazing and turns dying embers into a hot spot warm enough to continue cooking.There is this PBS cooking show: New Scandinavian cooking. Where the guy takes his portable kitchen out to the most astoundingly beautiful places and cooks on site... I see how a person could do that with these. I look forward to the places I'm going to take them. I'm so excited at the prospect of finding spots here in Colorado like that and cooking under the open skies.Buy it! You won't be disappointed!Prepper!Chef!Outdoorsman/outdoorswoman!Or just backyard BBQ.They are worth every penny and it's nice to know I have a way to cook and boil water in an emergency.

I go camping by myself on a regular basis and while I love a nice campfire, I never wanted to go through the trouble of making one just for myself.I looked into getting a small propane fire tower for ambiance and purchased two. One didn't work at all and the second broke and spewed propane all over the place. So much for that!Got this little stove and it is awesome! Fire is easy to start and easy to control. I can use small cut up logs or just sticks I find around the cabin. I use it with caution and care on the front porch. I can boil water for oatmeal and dishes on the stove top. When I'm done, I close up the doors and let the ashes smolder, contained and safe.This little stove has definitely enhanced my camping experiences this year and I definitely recommend it!

Charcoal Matchlight review:On you-tube everyone has reviewed this with only wood. I thought I'd try it out with charcoal. I've not cooked with charcoal since a teen so it was a new experience overall. I bought the King---brand matchlight. I staggered 4 coals and two on top in the top chamber on top of the charcoal grate which I set at angle to the wood grate for a criss-cross effect. I tried to light the bricks with a lighter but they wouldn't catch. Tried with wooden matches and discovered problem seemed to be the minimal wind blowing in the opening so turned away from wind -- and a few more matches and it lit. Thought they'd be easier to light with that name. The coals fire up for about 10 minutes (per bag) and if you put pot on stove before that dies down it gets covered with soot. I took another reviewers advice and put drop of liquid soap and spread around on bottom of pans and it helped with cleanup. After coals were set tried to cook scrambled eggs on top without windscreen -- extremely slow -- added windscreen and still slow. It took nearly 30 minutes to get cooked to safe level. I think you need to put in a lot more charcoal than I anticipated with this "efficient" stove. I then added more briquets via the top throat and immediately put on a pot of water and eggs to make hardboiled eggs. It didn't even think about boiling. Had to dig out a propane/butane camp stove and use that to bring to a boil -- tried to then transfer to the Zoom to "simmer" -- no luck there either. It was a pretty full pot of a dozen eggs. I don't doubt this can be done but I suspect you must fill up the bottom and the throat of the stove AND have on the windscreen to get decent heat transfer to the pot. It was a breezy day as well so that definitely helps draw the heat away. I put a windscreen around my campstove or it probably wouldn't have boiled on there either. End result of first try was complete failure with charcoal. The stove "ran well" and the outside did not get exceptionally hot, the build quality seems good -- I really like the doors and the newly-encased firebrick. I cooked with the top door completly closed and the bottom open all the way. The stove stayed hot on the inside for many hours after done so don't expect to pick it up and move after a stop at a park unless you plan for dealing with the hot ashes/coals and the unit still being hot....Perhaps a metal ash can would allow it to be transported in that AFTER disposing of the ashes elsewhere. And by the way I still HATE that the picture was of a WHITE one and what I received is a Medium GRAY (ugh)...so, final word of wisdom, fill 'er up with charcoal if you want real heat!First impressions:Product shipped VERY quickly for something not fulfilled by Amazon. It was EXTREMELY well packed and other reviews stating this helped me choose this vendor over the other (I have not myself experienced the other vendor, so perhaps they've got that straightened out). The box is kept in the middle of the shipping box by neatly shaped cardboard inserts -- which you can later use as biofuel (unlike a foam insert! -- well-considered!). Fed-Ex did an excellent job and the outer box was not badly beaten up like my most recent UPS deliveries and most usps deliveries. The box had two crossed heavy-duty shipping straps around the stoves box to help you lift it from the shipping container -- and you need that help as it is hefty. I cut the shipping straps after easily removing from the shipping box and opened the box. Stove fits in tightly. But here I got into a little trouble. I saw they had slipped a paper-wrapped grate down the throat of the stove and thought I could get it out before removing the stove from the box. I reached in and a "razor-sharp" piece of the internal flashing cut me like a wicked metal paper-cut on the back of the finger just above the nail. Now normally one won't reach down the throat like that -- and you can NOT remove the grate that way -- but I've seen many suggesting stuffing paper/bio-bits down that way to heat up the throat and wanted to warn of this issue. The other reason is I notice the steel pot-skirt/support/windscreen has these same sharp edges where you size it. They really should sand these just to take the cutting edge off. It's right in a spot that you'd think people wouldn't handle but is really a typical paper-cut (in this case steel-edge cut!) location -- as you'll likely drift your fingers across while sizing and tightening the pot-skirt.Ok, now this is NOT a big deal to many guys but I think ladies will understand. The photo appeared to me to be of a WHITE stove, and as these come in colors from the other vendor, I THOUGHT I would get a white stove. Instead I received this quite medium shade of gray that I really do NOT like. Yes, I know with soot it'll get smudged up and it's probably more practical, but I LIKE WHITE and it appears this paint should clean-up well. I like white because it looks nice and it also shows more easily where you need to clean it so you don't get stuff all over your vehicle or yourself when carrying. No, I'm not going to demand/ask the vendor send me another as I'm sure the shipping for this weight is high -- but I wanted to be sure others know what they're getting. Dear ZOOM, please tell us the color, give us a choice, OR tell us we get the color you have on hand.Oh, and on the Ceramic firebrick on the top door issue I saw many reviews about. It seems the manufacturer listened to all the complaints -- or the vendors did -- at any rate it's now encased in a steel shell and no longer disintegrates all over the stove in shipping. I've not attempted to open that shell -- so I don't know if it's possible or if it experienced any shipping stress.LONG first impression but I thought it might help some folks who, like myself, were torn between the two vendors carrying what looks like an identical product. I paid $5 more for the Zoom version BECAUSE of the reviews about the other vendors SHIPPING/Packaging and CUSTOMER SERVICE issues. Now -- if they get that straightened out I suspect their customers will be kind enough to let us know. I followed the reviews for these on Zoom despite not being sure about the firebrick being encased and am VERY PLEASED I did! Stove itself is solidly built --hinges could be a little better but are probably ok. I'll update and probably chop down this initial as I get to use the stove and put it through it's paces with wood/bio and charcoal.

I bought this as a backup means of cooking in case of long term power outages. (Just another means, honestly). I live on a large wooded lot, so lots of fuel available.I walked around the yard and picked up a bunch of sticks that had fallen from our trees, to use for fuel. After I got a fire started, I placed a 10” cast iron pan on it, with some water in it, and it only took a few minutes to heat the water up to a boil - I was very impressed. Hardly any wood was used. I plan to fry some sausage and eggs in it soon, just for fun.I did have to tend to the fire to keep it at a steady temp, but I was impressed by how little fuel it took to run the stove.The only negative that I can find is that it is heavy. That doesn’t bother me, given my purpose for it, but it is not something I would consider for backpacking.

Cast iron lovely. I will be purchasing another

De x ele té construcción y calidad. Resistente y muy efectiva en el consumo de material combustible. Ideal para su uso en caso de emergencia. No es tan portátil, es una estufa para tenerse en una cabaña o traerla en el vehículo.

Fonctionne très bien avec très peu de combustible. Très satisfait du produit.

Excellent, works well and we'll be using it again this winter.

I havd used DIY rocket stove before. Really like the idea using kindling as fuel. This commercial rocket stove is very easy to start the fire and using only a small amount of wood or use charcoal. Good for backyard cooking or camping. Built soild, outer body is not too hot when burning, it is actually ok to touch. Burn very efficiently. With some practice almost like using gas stove.

Wer kommt auf den Gedanken, sich so ein Teil zu kaufen ? Gedacht, und auch zumeist gebraucht, für Regionen der Welt ohne Gas und Strom und, da dort nur wenig Holz oder holziges Feuermaterial zur Verfügung steht, ausgerichtet auf einen möglichst geringen Verbrauch. Daher liegt der Hauptmarkt wohl in Afrika. Ich lebe in Bayern, grille gerne, habe also keine Schwierigkeiten mit offenem Feuer und lebe auf dem Land. Meine Erkenntnis nach zwei massiven Hochwassern in den letzten Jahren, die für einen länger dauernden Stromausfall sorgten, waren, ich brauch ein Notstromaggregat um Pumpen in Betrieb zu halten, und eine Kochstelle. Punkt eins war schnell abgehakt und bei Punkt zwei kam ich auf dieses Gerät, das ausgezeichnet arbeitet, Holz und Holzkohle unproblematisch verarbeitet, den Brand durch die Luftklappe gut reulieren lässt, und auch, zugegeben ein wenig Spielzeug ist. Ich habe bisher nur Hartholz verwendet, das in nicht zu großen Teilen eingeführt werden sollte, also spalten mit Beil oder entsprechendem Messer,ein guß- oder-schmiede-eisernes Teil ( Pfanne oder Topf ) aufgesetzt, und man hat eine Kochstelle, die nur wenig vom Wind oder Nieselregen beeinträchtigt wird, und durch den Abbrand in einem geschlossenen Behälter auch praktisch keine Gefahr für einen Flächenbrand im Gelände verursacht. Ich mag das Teil ,beim Abend auf der Terasse oder beim Fischen, auch beim draus'd kocha ( heute outdoor cooking ), es braucht Erfahrung bezüglich der Brennstoffe, aber das kommt mit der Zeit.