# Anyone Familiar With The Instove Cooker?



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

I have several rocket stoves, from homemade using stacked fire bricks to commercial ones, such as the Ecozoom Versa. I have been studying up on these larger ones developed mainly for 3rd world countries. Instove has had their 60 liter & 100 liter models, designed for feeding large groups but has recently come out with a 20 liter version (5.3 gallons)... which seems to me would be perfect for preppers. These are all stainless & come with the pot, which you can choose aluminum or stainless.

The efficencies of these stoves really impress me. I like the fact, as a prepper that if operated properly, it produces almost no smoke. With addition of some extra vent pipe, where you duct the emissions outside, they can be operated indoors. They are insulated and are safe to touch and are designed to work with All-American pressure cookers/canners too. The design takes the heat/smoke back down around the side of the pot prior to exiting thru the duct. That heats up the sides of the pot as well as the bottom. The largest model has the option of pasteurizing drinking water. Some folks have made an option for it to generate electricity.

Anyone here used one?

InStove | Multi-use Institutional Rocket Stoves


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

The technology is proven and works as we who own Rocket Stoves can attest.

However at $1000 for the big stove, I could hire a team of 3r World Cooks and have them cook for me for a long time! :vs_no_no_no:


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Slippy said:


> The technology is proven and works as we who own Rocket Stoves can attest.
> 
> However at $1000 for the big stove, I could hire a team of 3r World Cooks and have them cook for me for a long time! :vs_no_no_no:


My understanding is that was designed for a rather large community. That is why I'm interested in the smallest unit but even then it is expensive. That being said, I can see the value of such a large cooker if you are part of a prepper group, where you would have to feed lots of folks & could spread out the cost between multiple families.


----------



## Annie (Dec 5, 2015)

Looks like you could make moonshine in that thing.


----------



## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

I am not familiar with it. I think you could use cinder blocks and some fire bricks to build yourself an outdoor cooker that would be more useful . Just get a Couple pots/ kettles to go on it. Soap making, cooking, open water bath canning of high acid foods, boiling water for clothes washing, rendering fat, scolding a hog, processing chickens. Build a collector/ condenser to go with that pot and make liquor .


----------



## bigwheel (Sep 22, 2014)

Looks very cool thanks.


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

RJAMES said:


> I am not familiar with it. I think you could use cinder blocks and some fire bricks to build yourself an outdoor cooker that would be more useful . Just get a Couple pots/ kettles to go on it. Soap making, cooking, open water bath canning of high acid foods, boiling water for clothes washing, rendering fat, scolding a hog, processing chickens. Build a collector/ condenser to go with that pot and make liquor .


Yep, I have the fire bricks & screens to make a rockets stove, as well as 3 different commercially made ones. This one seems much better than any I have, or have ever seen. As I said originally, the ability to cook indoor on a rocket stove could be rather useful I think.

You can purchase a water purification system that operates on these. Firevolt uses these units as the heat source for their electric generator.


----------



## Medic33 (Mar 29, 2015)

so ah, uhm, like how portable is it?
i'll keep my biolite thanks for the thoughtfulness.
BioLite CampStove | Burn Wood, Cook Meals, Charge Gear


----------



## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Here ya go.

How to Build a Rocket Stove: 7 Plans


----------



## Tennessee (Feb 1, 2014)

I think the design is too limiting for prepping. Look as if it would work great for boiling water in a pot but frying something in a skillet not so much. The flam is too far away. I have the silver fire hunter and the survivor both stoves work great but each have their advantages.


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Medic33 said:


> so ah, uhm, like how portable is it?


Not the least bit portable, but in my situation, I don't need it to be. Of course this cooker is not for someone who lives in the city & has to bug out & stay mobile. It is more for folks, like me, who live the rural life and live where they will survive the crisis... or not. I'm too old to keep running. My farm is my Alamo.

The problem I will face is maybe feeding a group of 20+ folks. A simple rocket stove, which I have several, is limited in how much food it can cook. This stove is designed to feed a community, well at least the largest is. The smaller size seems just right for the group I need to feed.


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Tennessee said:


> I think the design is too limiting for prepping. Look as if it would work great for boiling water in a pot but frying something in a skillet not so much. The flam is too far away.


Limited? I don't think so. What are the primary foods stored by preppers? How about beans & rice? Both of which would work perfectly in this stove. For frying, I'd use the other rocket stoves. I have two Ecozoom Versa stoves, which look similar to your Survivor. I also have a Helius, which is rather sturdy & I like because it is raised off the ground.


----------



## Slippy (Nov 14, 2013)

******* said:


> Limited? I don't think so. What are the primary foods stored by preppers? How about beans & rice? Both of which would work perfectly in this stove. For frying, I'd use the other rocket stoves. I have two Ecozoom Versa stoves, which look similar to your Survivor. I also have a Helius, which is rather sturdy & I like because it is raised off the ground.


Very nice. The stove looks extremely sturdy and well built. How does it cook?


----------



## Tennessee (Feb 1, 2014)

******* said:


> Limited? I don't think so. What are the primary foods stored by preppers? How about beans & rice? Both of which would work perfectly in this stove. For frying, I'd use the other rocket stoves. I have two Ecozoom Versa stoves, which look similar to your Survivor. I also have a Helius, which is rather sturdy & I like because it is raised off the ground.


Jeez *******!! What in the hell is your point? I didn't say that rocket stoves designs were limited just the one you pictured first. Now you are showing me another picture of a rocket stove and saying not so fast.

But if I had to choose from the two stoves you pictured it would be the second one for the reason stated in my first comment.


----------



## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Portability needs? Here is another thumbs up for the Silverfire.


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Tennessee said:


> Jeez *******!! What in the hell is your point? I didn't say that rocket stoves designs were limited just the one you pictured first. Now you are showing me another picture of a rocket stove and saying not so fast.
> 
> But if I had to choose from the two stoves you pictured it would be the second one for the reason stated in my first comment.


My point is there are all sorts of preppers and we have all sorts of needs. Some will travel... some will build a community where they live. Some will feed just themselves... some will feed many. You state the Instove is too limited for prepping because the heat is too far away from the pot, but in my experience as a lifelong cook and someone who pressure cans, that is exactly what is needed in most cooking. IMO, during a crisis there will not be a lot of skillet frying going on. Yes some, but the vast amount of my stores will be used for slow cooked pots of beans & soups. Even when we cook the fish from the lakes/ponds or the game from the woods, a lot of that will go in soups & stews. For that style of cooking, the last thing you want is high heat with the flames licking the pot. Same for pressure canning the meat & goods from the garden. The Instove is designed to work with the All-American canner and that requires a way of better controlling & stabilizing the temp. My style of prepping is not based upon portability but is based upon building a small community. For that reason, I have ordered an Instove. The whole design concept around the Instove is to feed groups of people & do so economically. Just seems the things important to me are not as important to you, and that is to be expected as we all have different circumstances.

People have to realize you can only bug out so long. There has to be an endgame and that will involve community.


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Slippy said:


> Very nice. The stove looks extremely sturdy and well built. How does it cook?


Just got it recently & have yet to use it. Thing is built like a tank so not good for those needing portability. Here is a review:


----------



## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

******* said:


> People have to realize you can only bug out so long. There has to be an endgame and that will involve community.


Geez ... I keep on telling everybody here ... if you are going to bug out, you better have a secure place to get to and a safe path.(A Watchman shakes his head knowing some folks think having a BOB equates to survival)


----------



## Tennessee (Feb 1, 2014)

******* said:


> My point is there are all sorts of preppers and we have all sorts of needs. Some will travel... some will build a community where they live. Some will feed just themselves... some will feed many. You state the Instove is too limited for prepping because the heat is too far away from the pot, but in my experience as a lifelong cook and someone who pressure cans, that is exactly what is needed in most cooking. IMO, during a crisis there will not be a lot of skillet frying going on. Yes some, but the vast amount of my stores will be used for slow cooked pots of beans & soups. Even when we cook the fish from the lakes/ponds or the game from the woods, a lot of that will go in soups & stews. For that style of cooking, the last thing you want is high heat with the flames licking the pot. Same for pressure canning the meat & goods from the garden. The Instove is designed to work with the All-American canner and that requires a way of better controlling & stabilizing the temp. My style of prepping is not based upon portability but is based upon building a small community. For that reason, I have ordered an Instove. The whole design concept around the Instove is to feed groups of people & do so economically. Just seems the things important to me are not as important to you, and that is to be expected as we all have different circumstances.
> 
> People have to realize you can only bug out so long. There has to be an endgame and that will involve community.





******* said:


> Just got it recently & have yet to use it. Thing is built like a tank so not good for those needing portability. Here is a review:


Even though I have several rocket stoves I would not advise anyone to go out and buy a rocket stove design for a specific task. When I buy items for prepping I try to find items that can do multiple tasks. They may not be the best at one task but they do a multiple tasks well.

As for you Instove design I still fill that the stove was design for boiling water using the pot it came with. In a survival or SHTF event you may lose or damage the pot that fits your stove. Now what are you going to do? Try to boiling water in the Instove when the pot is too big to fit into the stove.

If you're only boiling water and making soup when the SHTF then you didn't prep well either. I expect to be doing a lot of frying. Not to mention making pancakes. Try to do that in a pot.

I would suggest that you go out and use the stoves you purchased before you start telling folks how good they are. You might find out built like a tank is not good enough to make it a good stove or boiling water is not the only use.

Every time I go camping I use my rocket stove to cook something. After a while you start to see the advantages and disadvantages of each stove.


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

Tennessee said:


> Even though I have several rocket stoves I would not advise anyone to go out and buy a rocket stove design for a specific task. When I buy items for prepping I try to find items that can do multiple tasks. They may not be the best at one task but they do a multiple tasks well.


Sorry, but that makes no sense. You only have one, multi-purpose firearm, or do you have maybe a shotgun, pistols, and multiple rifles? Yes, if I was on the run, I might only carry one weapon... but not at my Alamo. Same with cooking. I'll have an earthen oven, grills & multiple rocket stoves. I do not have to worry about traveling light or ensuring each tool I have can serve multiple uses. Some will be very task specific. No different than having a shotgun to hunt game birds. Sure it can serve multiple purposes, but it would not be my first choice for property defense.

But speaking of specific tasks, food preservation will be critical for survival. One important method for me will be canning. I've never tried pressure canning on an outdoor stove but do think this unit could possibly be the best method out there. It is designed for that task. And yes, keeping the fire away from the pot should be critical to keep the temperature even.



Tennessee said:


> As for you Instove design I still fill that the stove was design for boiling water using the pot it came with. In a survival or SHTF event you may lose or damage the pot that fits your stove. Now what are you going to do? Try to boiling water in the Instove when the pot is too big to fit into the stove.


 It will fit a whole range of pot sizes, however they need to be of a given size, such as my canner, for the skirt that increases efficiency to seal. I currently have several gumbo pots that will fit it just fine. Don't think I've ever lost a pot before.



Tennessee said:


> If you're only boiling water and making soup when the SHTF then you didn't prep well either. I expect to be doing a lot of frying. Not to mention making pancakes. Try to do that in a pot.


I think if you take the time to read my posts, you might see that I never said I'd only be boiling water or making soup. While reading you might also note I stated I have plenty of other stoves for cooking pancakes or frying. I'll turn it around & ask you to try making a big pot of beans in a fry pan.

You know, I think I prep pretty well... much more than most. I don't measure my stores in pounds of food, but in thousands of pounds. And yes, my single greatest store is wheat, so I plan on eating lots of pancakes & breads. But I think I'm not the norm. I doubt many folks would state their primary store is wheat. I think if you asked, you'd find most primarily store beans & rice. I don't think most preppers store primarily food that will be fried... much less store the fats to fry it. IMO, soups & stews get every last drop of nutrients from the ingredients, including the bones & organs. I still think the primary food for most preppers will not be fried food and if it is, that person didn't prep very well. If you were to read other threads here, most folks store things like beans & rice... not bacon & chicken.



Tennessee said:


> I would suggest that you go out and use the stoves you purchased before you start telling folks how good they are. You might find out built like a tank is not good enough to make it a good stove or boiling water is not the only use.


Once again, I think you need to read my posts. As far as I know, I've never reviewed any stoves here and have never stated how good they are. I have listed some product I have and mention their selling points. I also have listed their possible weaknesses for some, such as the weight of the Helius.

If you note, I started this thread not to review the product but to introduce something interesting & to ask if anyone had any experience with it. With that in mind, I'm curious why you are trying so hard to be a pain in the ass.


----------



## A Watchman (Sep 14, 2015)

Now simmer down a spell boys ... you know everyone has their own way of doing things, after all there is more than one way to skin a squirrel huh?

Now Tennessee, we all know that you plan on shooting folks with all your guns if they come a knockin'

I suspect ol' ******* just plans on feeding them to death.

Either way, same result huh? :laughhard: Ok remember to simmer down now, A Watchman is just a funnin' with ya!


----------



## Tennessee (Feb 1, 2014)

******* said:


> But speaking of specific tasks, food preservation will be critical for survival. One important method for me will be canning. I've never tried pressure canning on an outdoor stove but do think this unit could possibly be the best method out there. It is designed for that task. And yes, keeping the fire away from the pot should be critical to keep the temperature even.


There is more to using rocket stove then you might think. Just because a stove looks good on paper doesn't mean that in real life it going to work well. Like I said go out and use your rocket stoves and then report back. But the way the Instove was design it looks as if it was design for boiling water in an exclusive pot size. But I have said this before and it still hasn't satisfied you.



******* said:


> It will fit a whole range of pot sizes, however they need to be of a given size, such as my canner, for the skirt that increases efficiency to seal. I currently have several gumbo pots that will fit it just fine. Don't think I've ever lost a pot before.


Exactly my point you have to have a pot that the stove was designed for to seal around the skirt for this stove to work correctly.



******* said:


> I think if you take the time to read my posts, you might see that I never said I'd only be boiling water or making soup. While reading you might also note I stated I have plenty of other stoves for cooking pancakes or frying. I'll turn it around & ask you to try making a big pot of beans in a fry pan.


No the stoves I have will work just fine using a pot or a pan. So I don't have to try boiling beans in a fry pan.



******* said:


> You know, I think I prep pretty well... much more than most. I don't measure my stores in pounds of food, but in thousands of pounds. And yes, my single greatest store is wheat, so I plan on eating lots of pancakes & breads. But I think I'm not the norm. I doubt many folks would state their primary store is wheat. I think if you asked, you'd find most primarily store beans & rice. I don't think most preppers store primarily food that will be fried... much less store the fats to fry it. IMO, soups & stews get every last drop of nutrients from the ingredients, including the bones & organs. I still think the primary food for most preppers will not be fried food and if it is, that person didn't prep very well. If you were to read other threads here, most folks store things like beans & rice... not bacon & chicken.


I guess I'm not like most preppers you talk about because I know how to render fat from domestic or wild animals. So frying it's not going to be a big deal for me. And no I didn't prep only for frying. But then again my stoves will do both tasks well.



******* said:


> Once again, I think you need to read my posts. As far as I know, I've never reviewed any stoves here and have never stated how good they are. I have listed some product I have and mention their selling points. I also have listed their possible weaknesses for some, such as the weight of the Helius.


You and I will have to disagree on the definition of review. Because for me when you were tell someone what you think of an item for me that is a review.



******* said:


> If you note, I started this thread not to review the product but to introduce something interesting & to ask if anyone had any experience with it. With that in mind, I'm curious why you are trying so hard to be a pain in the ass.


And I gave you my opinion on the stove you introduced and you didn't like what I had to say so here we are. When you said " built like a tank" that's a review IMO. If disagreeing with you causes you pain in the ass so be it.

If we ever go camping in Mississippi maybe you can come over and we can cook on our stoves and have a few beers. I tend to be a little more agreeable after I've had a few beers and a full belly. But I have to warn you I can make eating crow taste good.


----------



## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

If you are staying put and live in a cold weather area a wood stove that you can heat the home and cook on is a very good idea. even if you only ever use it as a backup for your conventional heat and nothing ever happens. Lehman's Hardware store carries several models but the Bakers Choice is the one I like. I have many neighbors that either have this one or ones very much like it. Plain ugly , heavy but they take big pieces of wood, stay hot a long time and will be in use with care in 200 years. 

Do I want to use it in the summer hell no. But I have spent time in homes with them and cooked on them and they are great for what they are. 

Plenty of wood in my area of the woods as long as you are healthy, got saws , axes and time you got winter heat and can cook. I do know families who push it onto a porch in the summer to use it to can with but it is a PITA to do so.


----------



## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

******* said:


> M IMO, during a crisis there will not be a lot of skillet frying going on. Yes some, but the vast amount of my stores will be used for slow cooked pots of beans & soups. Even when we cook the fish from the lakes/ponds or the game from the woods, a lot of that will go in soups & stews. For that style of cooking, the last thing you want is high heat with the flames licking the pot. Same for pressure canning the meat & goods from the garden. The Instove is designed to work with the All-American canner and that requires a way of better controlling & stabilizing the temp.
> 
> People have to realize you can only bug out so long. There has to be an endgame and that will involve community.


I think you are right about the types of cooking we need to be prepared to do. Availability of cooking oil in the displaced persons/ refugee situations I have helped with was nil. One pot stews , soups , broth make better use of all ingredients. If I am serving celery raw I am going trim a lot of the plant away leaving only the best parts. sew wash it off, chop it up and threw everything the white parts, leaves into the pot. A review of what people in WWII war zones like Stalingrad reveal that when food got scarce they went to a lot of soups/ broths to use what they had .

I also think you are right in that you eventually have to or would want to transition to a community style cooking/ food processing. In Central America when I visited small villages that lacked electricity/ refrigeration when they butchered a hog or a cow everyone in the surrounding area came and got meat. They said it was a system where you butcher and in a week or two I butcher so that we have fresh meat without it going bad. Even with your canning and having eaten well you still got a lot of beef to can if you butcher a cow. That is one hell of a lot of jars. My Amish neighbors butcher, cook and can a beef but they do it as a group or large extended family with 8 to 10 women working together to do it. Then splitting the jars among all of their families.


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

RJAMES said:


> I think you are right about the types of cooking we need to be prepared to do. Availability of cooking oil in the displaced persons/ refugee situations I have helped with was nil. One pot stews , soups , broth make better use of all ingredients. If I am serving celery raw I am going trim a lot of the plant away leaving only the best parts. sew wash it off, chop it up and threw everything the white parts, leaves into the pot. A review of what people in WWII war zones like Stalingrad reveal that when food got scarce they went to a lot of soups/ broths to use what they had .


While trying to go to sleep last night, I kept thinking about all the dishes I could make to feed a crowd. Besides the beans, rice, oats, etc. in storage, I was dreaming up recipes to use the goodies from the garden. My daddy was raised with the Cajuns, so tomatoes, okra, onions & peppers would be the base for a nice gumbo. Corn chowder sounds real good right now. Who doesn't love fresh green beans? In the spring, a big pot of greens, be it turnip, mustard, collard or kale would be mighty tasty. especially if could add some smoked meat. In the summer, would continue with the greens but use amaranth leaves & make a Jamaican callaloo. Down here, we love our yellow squash simmered with onions. Field peas simmered nice & slow would go good with some catfish from the pond. I could go on & on... but fell asleep.

As someone posted recently, there are all sorts of ways to die in a crisis, but not planning on starvation being one of them.


----------



## RJAMES (Dec 23, 2016)

If you look at a Gumbo that is a what you got to throw in the pot dish. We talk about recipes but I think it is more of a situation of we got duck in the gumbo today rather than a chicken because today we got a duck.


----------



## Redneck (Oct 6, 2016)

RJAMES said:


> If you look at a Gumbo that is a what you got to throw in the pot dish. We talk about recipes but I think it is more of a situation of we got duck in the gumbo today rather than a chicken because today we got a duck.


Yep, that is the nature of gumbo... use what is fresh & available. So true of much southern & creole cooking.


----------

