Finally burning in the Big Mama

[Bkrgi]

Winter in these parts has been well fall like as temps sit around the freeze mark save for a couple of days when it struggles to reach -10c....But... now we are...maybe?? getting some winter like cold this week (-28c lows) so today pulled out my new Seekoutside Big Mama stove(which has been sitting here since Nov) to burn it in and get a initial performance feel with temps at -5 to -8c.
Will say this stove will crank some heat if you stuff the wood to it making -40 feel comfy in my initial thought.
Suppose to be -28c Tuesday night so will see how it really performs for wood consumption, burn times, and overall warmth within a 6x12' cotton drop cloth tent on a mix of popular and birch wood.

DSC02527 by richardktm300, on Flickr

DSC02528 by richardktm300, on Flickr

DSC02526 by richardktm300, on Flickr

[Coldfeet]

That's cool looking..have fun...enjoy..

[markomrko]

I ordered the Big Mama this month! Just shipped form SO yesterday. Hahah dude are we the same person? Would appreciate any tips.

[Undersky]

Bkrgi, that is a big volume stove! Especially for a Ti stove. Maybe 2300 cubic inches of burn chamber volume?
I guess it is bigger volume than a 4-dog Ti, and smaller than a big GWH box stove.
You'll definitely be able to get it pushing heat big-time!
Is it made of thicker guage titanium than its smaller siblings?

[Bkrgi]

Bkrgi, that is a big volume stove! Especially for a Ti stove. Maybe 2300 cubic inches of burn chamber volume?
I guess it is bigger volume than a 4-dog Ti, and smaller than a big GWH box stove.
You'll definitely be able to get it pushing heat big-time!
Is it made of thicker guage titanium than its smaller siblings?

By my finger gauge test I would say same material used as with their entire line. Stuff some good hardwood into it and it will create serious heat and it does have the baffle. Also the internal ribs seem to really stop the warping that is inherent on the smaller stoves.

"I ordered the Big Mama this month! Just shipped form SO yesterday. Hahah dude are we the same person? Would appreciate any tips."

Marko I would say just use it as instructed and enjoy the big warmth even post up your thoughts...would like to hear what you think as well.

[Undersky]

Thanks for checking Ti thickness, Bkrgi.
Glad to hear that they've added top stiffeners and a baffle.
Could have used that Big Mama heat here last Saturday evening; -39 C ! Brrrr.

[markomrko]

Well, the stove arrived this week. I like it. Some thoughts:

Fabrication:

1. I like the size. it's about as tall as the Knico. Shorter and wider. I like the size better than the KniCo.
2. The titanium is thin. I don't know if that's gonna be an issue. and they did reinforce the sides and top. But it sure is thin...
3. The damper fit into the stove hole is... fine. The hole in the stove is just a cut-out. there's no cuff. So the fit is... ok
4. The pipe cap seems like it's gonna fall off. there's about 1" of insertion of pipe. does not inspire confidence.
5. it's a collapsible stove, so obviously there are gaps and such, but they don't seem to be a problem
6. Folding the titanium sheet into a pipe was a pain in the rear the first time.

Burning the stove:

1. the stove is not massive by any means. The thumb-size wood worked really really well. up to wrist size.
2. the stove got hot. really really hot. 35c at standing height in the tent.
3. although there are minor gaps etc, there was no smoke coming out.
4. baffle worked well, but when I opened the door some smoke would come out

overall I'm a big fan. I think the dimensions are just right. I would definitely not want a smaller stove. Baffle, damper both work very well
For the legs, I'm gonna take a 1" wide aluminum brace (home depot sells 1"x48"). This will make it more stable, but I don't think it's gonna be a huge issue

my biggest concern is that strong winds are gonna blow off the stove cap, or maybe even the pipe. we'll see I guess

working really well so far. enjoy the pics. I was supposed not be in Algonquin this last week, but... lockdown... ugh. maybe March.




Cheers
M

[Bkrgi]

I see you got the 'new' dampner deisgn with your stove. I really like the ability to open close the spark arrestor for cold starts with pine/sappy wood. The carbon that comes off these woods in deep cold starts is amazing and will plug a arrestor quick....been there....no issue back East with hard woods.

You got a real good glow on the stove...that is awesome.

[chimpac]

A spark arrester is not needed if you use a baffle in your stove. A baffle that directs flame to the cook top then down a bit to the chimney port. You can tell how good your baffle is, by how much hotter your cook top is than your chimney. A baffle never gets plugged and stops hot sparks from coming out the chimney.

[Bjorkman]

Hi guys, new to WCS. I also bought the big mama stove last year. I was very excited about the baffle. I agree It seems to be the same material as it’s smaller siblings. Burning wood more efficiently is great. It is a little finicky to get the baffle in. Thanks for the great material!

[Bjorkman]

Hi Markomrko,
Thanks for the great pics and the review. I have the same stove. My thoughts on worrying about it blowing off the stove are as follows. When using the seek outside teepees The set up is very solid and I’ve been in extremely windy conditions. But that’s using a Teepe where there’s two good connections one at the damper on the stove and one at the top of the teepe also at the highest point near the center. I have seen post where people use hose clamps at the damper to hold the rolled up pipe on to the stove more securely. That is definitely how I would use it in my new snowtrekker if I wanted a lighter weight alternative to my kni co.
Please let me know what you have found and thanks!

[Bjorkman]

I just dropped my daughter off at school and while driving I remembered seeing another post. I have seen where people using seek outside stoves etc have attached small carabiners and lightweight line like zing it to the snow/rain cap at the topography the rolled pipe. I have never used this set up but they did mention to make sure that you do not tension these lines too tightly as you do not want to bend over that rolled stove pipe. Also the rolled stove pipe should be jimmied over the top of the damper/ spark arrestor piece and that is where the hose clamp would go.