...more goodies for the gear cupboard...
I received another new piece of kit just after Christmas and it is a real beauty. Karen and I were talking about alcohol stoves one evening and about a week later she presented me with a wood/alcohol stove she purchased from AliExpress. It was the Lixada wood and alcohol stove system.
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| My Lixada wood/alcohol system |
The Lixada company is based in China and they produce commercial cooking equipment and outdoor gear both for their own brand and others. They make a range of cookers, stoves and outdoor dining equipment in a variety of materials.
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| Brass alloy cooker from Lixada |
Their products are readily available on AliExpress, Amazon, Trade Me and from their online store. I have never seen any of their products in stores here but that is not uncommon with these smaller niche producers.
While Trangia are the most respected producers of this kind of stove there are a multitude of smaller cottage companies producing good outdoor cooking equipment. Quality is often comparable to Trangia without paying for the name/brand on your gear.
Lixada fit right into this category...
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| Cooker can be sealed with a cap |
I thought we could have a look at my stove and see what the build quality and features are...
The Lixada wood/alcohol stove:
The stove comes as a complete package but the individual components can be purchased separately if required. This kit consists of a stainless steel wood stove which also doubles as a stand for the Trangia style alcohol stove.
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| Lixada system: part one is the alcohol stove |
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| Lixada system: part two is the wood stove/stand |
The wood stove is of the folding type and can be folded down into a square approximately 12 cms by 10 cms. There is an outer frame and two shelves which fit inside the frame to act as grate and alcohol stove holder. There is an attached pin which fits through a hinge to hold the whole stove together.
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| Lixada wood stove with shelves inserted |
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| Detail of the Lixada wood stove |
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| Lixada alcohol stove fits in the top shelf |
The alcohol stove is the classic Trangia style with a brass alloy burner with a cap and simmer ring. The burner can be filled with de-natured alcohol, Methylated Spirits or alcohol gel to preference. Once lit the simmer ring allows you to regulated the size of flame and hence the heat.
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| The shelves can be detached from the main stand |
There is a separate shelf that is designed to hold the alcohol burner unit at the right height to heat a pot, frying pan or cup. The whole kit weighs in at 340gms empty which is a decent weight compared to some cannister stoves or pressurised gas stoves.
There is a Titanium version of this stove system which would take that weight down below 200 gm's but of course it is more expensive.
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| Lixada wood stove with alcohol stove inserted |
Both items fold down into small packages and both have a supplied carry bag to protect your gear from soot you might get on the outside of the cooker. You could easily carry the stove in its two bags but I am exploring an alternate carry method...probably a separate 1-2 liter canvas or nylon bag which would hold the stove, cooker and a small bottle of fuel.
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| Both Lixada items have a carry bag |
The stove can also act as a smaller twig/stick burner with a separate shelf to build your fire on. These type of burners are light as they require no fuel to be carried or separate burners. You just find small, dry sticks and twigs when you stop for the day and light a small fire with them.
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| Lixada stove configured for wood |
Obviously the disadvantage of this is you must find dry wood which would sometimes be quite tricky in our damp Beech forests. You also need to maintain the fire just like you would a wood burner in a hut...you cannot just leave this and walk away.
I am not a great fan of wood stoves but I will be using this function in the future.
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| You can leave the top shelf inserted using wood |
The alcohol stove comes in three pieces...the main cooker body, a cap and a simmer ring. All are in the same brass alloy and they screw or clip together to form one compact package.
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| Lixada alcohol stove components |
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| There is a simmer ring for the Lixada stove |
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| Lixada stove...cap off and simmer ring attached |
The alcohol stove can accept a number of different fuels including de-natured alcohol, Methylated Spirits and alcohol gel. Meth's is readily available but the gel and de-natured alcohol will only be available from specialist stores in the larger centers. I will primarily use Meth's in my stove.
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| Methylated Spirits is the main fuel for the stove |
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| One liter of Meth's is about $3.50 NZD |
I was using my old NZ Army cups canteen when I was filming this vlog (it was the only thing I could find) but it is not the ideal pot to use with this stove. It is a bit too high and narrow so the flames tend to curl up the sides. A large diameter and low pot/pan would work best...
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| My US pattern cups canteen on the stove |
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| A round pot/pan would fit the Lixada stove better |
This cup is old...I got it from the NZ Army back in 1987 and I have used it since. Versions of this cup have been in use from the late 1940's right up to the present day and I think it shows the soundness of the original design that it is still useful. This particular pattern is from the Vietnam War era (mine has a manufacturing date on it of 1972).
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| US cups canteen...over 40 years old now! |
The Lixada wood stove is of a folding design and the frame is held together by a pin that fits into an open hinge on one corner. It has a length of wire attached so it can be secured to the frame. If you ever lost the pin it would be easy enough to fashion a new one from some wire.
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| Preparing to disassembly the Lixada stove |
Here is the Lixada wood stove disassembled into its various parts...there is the main frame, a pin and two shelves. You remove the pin and then fold down the main frame into a flat shape using the hinges on each of the corners. The components then fit in the nylon pouch provided with the kit.
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| Individual components of the Lixada wood stove |
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| ...this pin holds the wood stove together... |
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| Shelf for burning wood on the Lixada stove |
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| Folded up Lixada stove ready for storage |
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| All the necessary elements of the Lixada system |
This is a decent looking stove and I decided I would find an opportunity to use it as soon as possible.
Using the Lixada alcohol stove:
There was a fire ban at Kaituna Reserve where I was taking these photos so I could not trial the stove there. It has been hot here in Canterbury and all of the grass and under growth is super dry. I don't fancy the moniker of "man who burnt down 600 year old forest' attached to my name...
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| There was a fire ban at Kaituna Reserve |
Instead I drove over Gebbies Pass on the way home and stopped at the Allandale Reserve near Governors Bay. There was no fire ban here so I sat at one of the picnic tables and fired up the stove.
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| Allandale Reserve in Lyttelton Harbor |
I was only using Methylated Spirits this time but I will take the stove out soon and try it burning sticks and twigs to see how it works.
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| Kit needed to use the Lixada stove system |
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| Boiling water on the Lixada stove...alcohol stove being used |
I filled my cups canteen and set about boiling some water to hydrate a Cup Noodle I had in my bag of gears. I would probably use this stove for heating water so boiling a litre and then making some noodles seemed like a good trial.
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| Alcohol stove lit and heating my noodle water |
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| ...Alcohol stoves have a slow boil time... |
These stoves are not the most efficient means of heating food or water. In all it took nearly 7 minutes for the stove to heat up a liter of water in my old cups canteen. If I was using a wider more shallow pan it would heat quicker but you would still be looking at 5-7 minutes to boil.
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| Water starts to boil in the Lixada stove |
Eventually the water reached a boil and I used the supplied simmer ring to douse the stove. There is a useful handle on the ring to make it easy to place it over a flame. You need to wait for the stove to cool before screwing the cap back on as it gets really hot. If you do it too soon you will melt or perish the rubber O ring on the cap which makes it leak proof.
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| Flame doused using the simmer ring |
These Fantasic Noodles need about 5-10 minutes to fully hydrate so cover them back up with the lid and leave them till they are ready.
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| Water added to my noodles from the cups canteen |
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| Once cool the alcohol stove can be removed |
This photo shows how the pin holds the whole unit together...it has a large coil of wire on the end to make it harder to loose. If you ever lost the pin it would be easy enough to fashion a new one from a length of heavy grade wire.
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| Note: Pin holding the stove together |
After use the wood stove folds down into the nylon pouch supplied with the kit and it is a compact item to put into your pack. I will be buying a new bag for this stove so that I am able to carry the wood stove and the alcohol cooker in the same bag.
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| Lixada stove folded and ready for storage |
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| Detail of the top of Lixada alcohol stove |
Fantastic Noodle time....I like these noodles but they are nowhere as good as a genuine English Pot Noodle. You can sometimes buy Pot Noodle from supermarkets here in Kiwiland but I haven't seen any for a while now...Tomato and Beef are my favorite. There are also some cheap off brand local versions available as well as good quality Japanese and Asian noodles here in New Zealand.
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| Bon apetit folks...! |
This is the sum of all the items you need to use this stove...the stoves, alcohol and wood. I am in the market for a small resealable bottle to carry my Meth's in and I will be looking for one that holds about 500 mls of fuel. That would be enough for 5-6 boils...
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| Final look at the Lixada stove system |
This is a decent stove system and I will taking it out on a few excursions going forward. It is probably best suited for camping trips when I have time to spare for the slow heating times. I will be sure to showcase it the first time I take it out for an actual trip.
YouTube: A look at the Lixada Stove System
Lixada alcohol stove in use
