Introduction
This post describes an improvement to my previous stick lifters so that the weight of a few pebbles (or a bag of, ice, water or a solid stick) in the bag can lift the fuel sticks to automatically.
The stove burns quite well without the stick lifter. However, the use of the lifter closes the gap above the sticks and encourages more air to enter under the sticks and into the charcoal bed that forms below them. This means that the charcoal burns more quickly, causes more wood gas to be made and improve the power of the stove.
With this method, the lever and the bag hang down about 150mm below the stove bottom. Consequently, it is only applicable to a stove set up on wooden poles, on a large rock or a stick platform as described in Miniature Dome Stove. Of course, the ‘drop’ could be supplemented with a hole in the snow or a hole in the ground to provide the clearance.
This is an Instagram video of the manual stick lifter in action.
The new automatic fuel stick lifter
Since the last posting on the stick lifter I have improved the design of the lifter wire. I have added a fixed bearing keeper on the lever side and a removable bearing keeper on the other side. This keeps the bearing points in the correct position for proper function. It still allows the removal of the wire for backpacking.
I have added a temporary weight bag to the stick lifter lever arm. The drawstring of the pebble or rock bag is free to slide up and down the wire lifter lever. It moves down to the fulcrum when the lever is lifted and slips back down to the end of the lever for maximum lifting force when lowered to provide maximum to the fuel sticks.
Also, the crook at the end of the lever can be clipped to the fuel slide to keep the lifter down while refuelling. This frees up both hands for refuelling.
[Video of sight and sound of combustion improvement with lifted fuel sticks]
An ode to the triumph of an improved fuel stick lifter:
An engineering wonder I thought,
Twas better than one that was bought,
Just made from bent wire it still can inspire,
And it turned out much better than I sought.
If there is not enough ground clearance, there is always the manual fallback stick lifter shown below. “Not so inspirational, but it still has the same effect.”
Tim
