Sierra Zip Stove

A

A.C

Joined
Feb 3, 2001
Messages
45
hey folks
well ive been a member for a while but not many posts to date.
Ide like to talk about the sierra zip stove i have had for about a yr and half.
first of im not very comfertable taking fuel canisters into wild and prestene places. so i looked around and bought the sierra zip stove. its great. it also has a little bbq that comes along with it.
it works of two AA batteries and has a little fan that blows hot air through the vents to heat up the meal. all you need is a good ol staff that you pic up along the way and that should be plenty to last you through lunch and dinner. you can also use zip sticks you find along your way or the best i found to date was acorns. boy do those burn hot!.
the bbq is great. i once used it on chicken and it did a phenominal job, not to mention the fish with Dried herbs and a slice of Lemon with garlic powder.
the stove burns at about 180000btu, comes with a little kettle and lid that converts into a frying pan thingy. i use my old messkit on it that works just fine. The stove does call the Kettle Black in this little tale. the good thing is the blackened bottom distributes heat evenly once it nice and black.
So there you have it, i dont have to contend with bulky fuel lines, Propane stoves, gas stoves, gas, or having to figure out how to hook up all those line thingys and then pump my way to a hot meal.
Its simple, i take my stove, stuff it in my backpack, and when im ready for some chow, take it out, break a piece of my staff i found along the way and theres dinner. the bbq is always a gread addition if you want. i bout it cause i love the sierras, and the sequias at this end.
Heres a link which may help all figure out the goodys about this little gadget.

Http://www.zzstove.com

Hope this helps those with burning questions on a good stove.
A.C.
Bakersfield, Ca.
 
Thanks, A.C.! I like the battery operated blower and the contained fire. I wonder if this stove could be used in camp grounds where camp fires are not allowed. Seens to me it would not be considered a camp fire. Neat stove, I like it.
 
yes this stove could be used in " no open fire campgrounds" ive used it here in the Kern and it worked great. the new titanium one looks pretty dang neat.
 
A friend brought one of these packing one time and I initially thought it was too "gimmicky". However, after seeing it work, I changed my mind. Not a bad performer.

DPD.
 
A.C.,

Thanks for the info on the Sierra Stove. I hadn't bumped into that one before. Forced draft with natural (scavenged) fuel looks interesting and appealing. The weight of fuel bottles for a longer pack trip adds up quickly. The titanium unit's low weight especially caught my eye.

If I may, I've got a few questions on the unit.

In the website picture of the titanium unit the rheostat (speed adjust slider) looks like it is attached to the unit by just a piece of wire. This makes we wonder about durability of the attachment due to wear/flex where the wire enters the unit or slider housing. Have you experienced any problems (physically or electrically) with the speed control?

Does the Sierra Stove work if the batteries are dead? Does the configuration of the stove have enough natural draft through it to allow its use as a mini-firepit-on-legs?

Also, you mention a BBQ capability for it. How is that set up? Did you use the optional Windshield & Grill that sits on top of the combustion chamber for your BBQ'ing? Or do the standard parts of the kit allow BBQ'ing to be done?

Thx again,
Greg
 
That is a neat stove, there is a typo in your post though AC, it's 18,000 BTU not 180,000. That one '0' makes a lot of difference.
 
Me too, A.C., I have a question or two. Actually, the zip stove has been on my mind every since your post. I believe you mentioned acorns as the best fuel to date you have used in the stove, that they burn real hot. I can imagine that,especially with the blower adding oxygen to them. Might sound like a simple question, but how do you get the acorns burning: Do you place them on top of a small pile of tender, light and turn-on the fan at low speed, etc? Is there a way to feed the fire once the meal is underway, thus keeping fuel burning for the meal. I could emagine on the one hand letting the acorns/fuel burn down to embers and then using the blower to fan the coals. Perhaps like lots of us here, I know from experience that it does not take much fire to cook a simple meal and the zip stove seems to be an excellent alternative to liquid fuel. Have you ever used your zip in clod weather or very hight winds?

After reading your post again, I'm hungry now thinking about the fish and chicken meals you fixed. Got to go eat.
 
FF thanks for posting.
well todate i have had no probs with the unit. the swtitch is a two speed switch connected via a cable to the unit. it uses two all batteries housed in a unit the size of a match box. whats great is that the whole fan assembly as well as the battery back and all fit into the burner chamber after the unit has cooled and then it can be put into its own kettle. when you want to put the batteries in the small little match box size holder just slide the cover off the holder like you would a match box to reveal the fire sticks in it and close it back up. The Fan blows air through channeled vents into the hot embers which force the air and target it towards your mess kit. one side not i might add is that your stove does call the kettle black hehe.
THis is the way it works. first you put some tinder at the bottom, light the tinder, add some small twigs, then some bigger twigs. after that you could add a few big size acors. ive added two and it was worked quiet well. after the flame is going, turn the fan on to low and then at your own will and choosing you could turn it on to high. whats good about this stove that i found is that i dont have to worry how much fuel i have left or how many meals i have to cook before i run out of gas. as im cooking i keep adding zip sticks, twigs, or branches cut and sawed upto 3 inches thick. after all is done, i pour out the ashes, water them thouroughly, and them leave without a trace.
The BBQ feature is Awsome! it sits right on top of your stove so picture a circle with a line drawn through the center from the top and the bottom, and side ways. from left to right, north to south. so that when you look at the heat below it looks like youre cooking over an open flame. all the juices and the spices fall into the sparkling orange embers. whats also awsome is that the bbq level can be adjusted by moving the grill up and down to either keep food warm or cook it up pronto. chicken and fish cooks well in a relatively short amount of time. The grill folds up into the windshill and locks into place nicely. using foil can also help.
Ide like to address RokJoks question about using this in cold weather. I did use this in cold weather. it was about the low teens to mid or high 20s. it worked like a charm. THis stove is pretty hardy in that nothing can break down and it wont slow you down. in cold weather simply put the kindling, tinder and fuel that you find along the way such a walking staff and thats that. take an extra battery with you as one battery will last you about a week or so.
JJ, Jeanie is the ladie i spoke to. you will speak to her too if you either call or email. she is one of a kind. she over night delivered the stove for me because i was in a hurry and expedited the process. The best person ive spoken to ever.
Im sorry i wrote too much. i got carried away. hehe.
A.C, Bakersfield, Ca.
 
oops i forgot to add RokJok. yes it does and can work without batts, but you wont get the convection hot air thing going. i tried it without bats and it worked just fine on a recent outing. its only one AA bat
 
A.C.,

Many thanks, sir, for the more comprehensive info on the Sierra Stove. My interest in getting one has increased with the extra input. :)

Yours,
Greg
 
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