USB fire blower

A ~125g USB fire blower is described. It can run small wood-fired backpacking and survival stoves and even makes damp or wet wood burn well. It can provide may hours of cooking time from a single 18650 rechargeable battery. It can easily start campfires & BBQs, run charcoal furnaces and burn out tree stumps.

Background to the USB fire blower

For years I was searching for the lightest wood stoves for alpine walking and skiing backpacking where abundant heat was always welcome when the action was over when we camp amongst snow gums for shelter. Unfortunately, wet, cold and sometimes frozen fuel sticks are usually encountered and they were difficult to burn in natural draft stoves twig stove article. I found that a small steady jet of air could make such stodgy fuel burn well.

‘Dragon-fire’ breakthrough

A tiny fan from a discarded laptop enabled me to establish a tongue of ‘dragon fire’ in a small bundle of damp bush sticks that would otherwise support only a stodgy, smokey small fire with little useful heat.

USB fire blower design

I make a welded manifold of thin stainless steel foil which is fitted to the laptop blower fan. The manifold then attaches to a removable air tube and extensions. The manifold also has a cradle to hold a 18650 lithium-ion battery in a USB charge/discharge power pack.

A custom two-pin cable to USB-A type plug can connect the fan to most USB power sources. Alternative power supplies of approximately 5V DC can also be used, but alternative plug fittings will be required.

USB fire blower packing and assembly

The blower is designed to be quick to assemble but modular so that all parts can easily fit inside something as small as a large coffee mug.

Fire blower uses

Campfire starting. This blower can quickly start campfires under difficult conditions. Even damp or wet wood can be effectively burnt because of the heating power produced by the forced airflow.
A video of fire starting can be viewed at the following link.
USB fire blower

Stump burning. The blower can burn out tree stumps and run charcoal furnaces and turbocharge ultralight backpacking and camping stoves.

Turbocharging little cooking stoves. The blower can convert a hole in the ground or rocks, assorted tin cans and stainless steel kitchenware into powerful blower stoves.

An example of a backpacking stove that provides mastery of combustion of bush sticks is shown in the photos below. The blower makes it able to conveniently burn long damp fuel sticks. This stove and many others that use the same USB fire blower are described in detail in Blower Stoves.

A large roll-up titanium two pot backpacking blower stove including a wing wall support for a second pot. It all rolls up to fit inside two nesting large (~1L) pots and only weighs about 600g including the two pots. This stove is provided with a little LED cooking light. There is ample heat for simultaneous rapid boiling of water for hot drinks, soups etc while simmering dinner. It also dries the incoming fuel sticks in preparation for their easy combustion and provides heat to keep the cook warm. It is suitable for 2-4 people or more if cooking communal meals.

A blower with an elbow. The elbow fitting can be used to set the blower unit away from heat and flame or to change the direction of the airflow, for example, to direct air downwards into a ‘hole in the ground stove’.

A blower with on/off switch. A simple on/off switch allows the blower to be quickly and easily turned on and off when required to control the heat output of the fire. This can greatly increase the amount of cooking that can be achieved with a battery. This is very valuable on extended backpacking walks or ski trips. For more details see Blower pulsing.

Tim