This is hands-down the most practical review of the Biolite Campstove on RUclips, by a guy who seems genuiely nice and down to earth. Made me sad to read that he passed two years ago, RIP.
Yes sir he will be missed, we had the privilege of backpacking with him on many adventures, he's who suggested that I get one , still packing with mine today ,best thing I ever bought
@@MegaWoodswalker anytime brother I've been following you or channel for a while and it's by far one of the best outdoor channels there is hopefully one day my channel could be close to yours
Awesome review! A couple things to add.. The top of the camp stove is designed to perfectly seat the biolite kettle. You're not gonna cook a steak in the kettle but its good for one pot meals like rice n beans or ramen. If you're not going to use pellets, you gotta make sure you have a good sized pile of processed bio mass to feed into the stove cause it burns hot and fast. Lastly, if the camp stove battery is fully charged and you're going to fire it up, you may as well plug a device in to charge. Even if its just to top of your phone that's at 81%. The camp stove is going to generate usable electricity so use it! I'll top off my power banks, headlamp etc.. Ciao!
Recently bought one of these and have been impressed with it. It was definitely worth the price. I already felt satisfied with it's performance, but your video going into such in-depth details regarding the charging speed in a worse case scenario makes me feel even more satisfied with it. You really went above and beyond man and I really appreciate that, especially in today's world. Cheers.
I don't remember how i found your site,but glad I did very helpful. I am preparing for a long m-bike ride from New Zealand back to the UK. and your reviews are helping decide what comes with me. Keep them coming.
That is a really cool little stove. I can't believe he fit all that stuff in that tiny pack. Steak and food, wood pellets, stove. Wow. I suppose you can use the stove alone, without the fan thing, or do you have to use the fan battery power too?
After a brief time of searching, you are the only one who went in depth with testing and laying down the Pros and cons of these units. You should have more subs compared to the other reveiwers who just do a open box, light a fire then thats it
I got one for Christmas, couple years back and only used it couple times but each time I have, I am impressed with the proformance and Versatility... also a good tip which would work great with pellets, get one of those gel stoves for food servers and use that stuff as a starter
Have the same unit- use pellets as often as possible- burns more than 45 min. on a single load (cooking hot) really like it, almost as much as your videos.
You know what I absolutely LOVE about this video? That you PAUSE. Most YTubers seem to think they have to edit out every breath they take, so their videos just one-continuous-stream-of-consciousness-non-stop! It's so beautiful and calming that you talk at a normal speed and take a breath!
I have one of these and yes, they overheat. I had one that failed on me, so I opened it up and found that the plastic fanwheel blades folded over. That is, they melted and the air blew them flat. I got a whole new unit under warranty from BioLite and the new one came with a burn chamber and a light. All I had to do was send the original unit back to them.
Great stove. So your saying that if you have just a little power left in stove battery, when you run it , it can self charge ? Thanks enjoyed the video.
What an awesome review. The only thing I'm still wondering is how long it takes to stop over heating? It cant continually charge for more than 30 mins or what? Thanks.
Finally a proper review. Hated mine and sold it. Way too much feeding the fire, slow to charge, heavy, and near useless in colder weather. Went back to a regular ole spare charger.
No offence.. But what did you expect from a stove/warmer this size? If its 20 degrees out. This isnt gonna make you feel like your a warm 80. Feeding the fire to much? Of course your gonna feed the fire regularly. Its a small cylinder for embers. But I respect your opinion about this..
I live in Florida. I keep this stove at home to use if the power goes out after a hurricane. (Like Michael that hit this past week) I also have the grill attachment which is big enough to grill for two people. The kettle is good for home use,too, or for car camping. It could charge my phone enough to send texts in an emergency, or charge a handheld ham radio if cell towers are gone. Also provide a little light to cook by. Hope it never comes to that, but meanwhile, this is a really well designed unit. It is the camping version of a larger stove stove designed for rural villages in India and Africa. So my purchase helps fund those projects. I like that.
Thank you for doing the only proper review of this stove! I feel like it's not worth the weight. I'm a bikepacker, I have a solo stove and a battery bank that holds I believe 3 full cell charges, and I believe my setup would weigh less and certainly take up less space. I suppose the main reason they didn't use a bigger battery is not just weight, but a larger battery would lend the appearance of feeling that it takes too long to charge. In the end it means it doesn't bank a lot of power and needs to be done slowly to prevent over heating. The idea is good though, it just needs improvement.
Really good review. It made sense to demonstrate it the way you did. I purchased the bundle kit with French press. Still worried about whether I should use it a lot.
Thanks my man I the information. Every test that you performed. Was every question I I had on my mind. I believe in your results. I'm planning a hike on the Appalachian Trail coming from Maryland to the end of Virginia. And I didn't want to have to worry about charging my gear. As much as finding somewhere to get food thank you have a blessed day. Starting my hike in September first. I was worried about the wait. And I'm going for it,, with the ballet studio 2 I've only used it four times. I'm having a couple of cookouts before then yes I have the grill option
Truth be told IMHO you're better off packing a 10,000 mAh or larger powerbank for the AT. It's what everyone does and there are charging spots often not that far off trail. I actually found one right on the trail down the road a bit in a little shack selling sodas and snacks. Get a 2A charger and USB adapter to suck down all the juice you can. The Biolite is fun but for on the move activities in which weight is an issue the powerbank is the way to go. It's standard on the AT as everyone uses them. I often pack that and a UL Ti folding stove with alky backup. Fast portable USB 18650 chargers are also nice and UL. I have packed 4X18650 batteries, 2A charger and a 1A charger powerbank combo. Also very UL.. Thanks for watching!
Great in-depth review. Unfortunately, wife got me one for Xmas and didn't come with the "bacon" option LOL. I wouldn't have gotten one myself of thee myself. Mostly because of weight and time needed to be effective. Where did you get your screen for the top?
It’s called a Bushcraft grill. I am camping right now but will provide a link once back. My phone keeps messing up the copy and paste. The campstove 2 is a good fun stove but yea. Way too heavy for longer range back packing. Still it’s really fun. Thanks for watching.
Hi I just bought my stove. looking forward to testing it out. Charging it as i type thanks for the Tip. Can you or is it difficult to remove the battery from the fire once its reached capacity. So that it doesn't over heat? and can you use smoking chips or anything that has some kind of fueling agent? Thanks for the info.
I just got one as I Christmas present. I was amazed at how fast the bacon started to sizzle. If you recall, hours long did it take to hear up the steak? Or how many times did you add pellets to the chamber? Amazing video! It was over before I knew it. It feels much shorter then 23 minutes.
You're lucky to get one as a gift! One charging of pellets was enough. It almost instantly starts to cook anything because of the heat output. It took minutes to cook a streak rather than hours. Runs very well on foraged wood as well. When using pellets my advice is to avoid adding more until the burn is done. What occasionally happens is the new pellets snuff out the fire. This doesn't seem to be an issue with foraged wood which is less tightly packed. Runs a long time on one charge of pellets. Seemed around 30 minutes. Thanks for watching!
@@MegaWoodswalker man! That is amazing! I'm very excited to use it. I just ordered the pitcher/kettle enclosure. Thank you, this video was amazing. And thank you for the fast reply!
So far the stove hasn't melted etc. I think that's the purpose of the overheating function as betting the 18650 battery shouldn't get above 212F and by design the stove must have a heat differential so the blower assembly gets warmer.. For extended burn applications like a small scout fire I prefer my Biolite Cookstove if going with a blower type stove. Weather seems to play a factor as well. Thanks for watching!
Great video. Although I will make one small correction for everyone. Worst Case Scenario (All batteries are dead): You will want to leave your phone Off while you are charging it. I understand that you had the phone on for demonstration purposes, though to everyone watching, it is unnecessary to have the phone on & it will charge faster if you turn it off.
Amazing. Thanks to your video I have now learned that V2 has a power bank inside of it. I've seen so many vids on v2 and no one mentioned it or I didn't listen or notice. I have the V1 Biolite campstove. I purchased my own battery bank to plug into it that has the capability to take a charge from the campstove while also having something plugged into the bank at the same time. Very few battery banks, when I purchased it, will take a charge & charge a device at the same time. Happy to see the Biolite V2 caught on too because it is a total requirement for the Biolite to be more effective. Now it's built in! I must get me one of these V2 soon. I may consider giving away my V1.
I’m assuming it would function and charge if the fan wasn’t drawing power as well. I wanna like it but still not sure. I do run with rechargeable lights but I have a solar panel I use to charge some small power banks that work well. However in the case I don’t want a big reflective panel on my back... it could be useful
Yes that's the sound of the fan. Here is another video of me using the stove (not the subject of the review but used). ruclips.net/video/vSge0_nHsgY/видео.html . I think my Biolite Cookstove has a nicer sounding fan but the campstove 2 isn't so bad unless the fan is in overheat mode then it's just too much. Thanks for watching!
Great video! You are getting so Pro with the cuts to the other footage and the sweet dissolves between shots - made the cooking segments better than ever. Thanks also for including the hike-out segment with the crazy weather! Those are always such amazing moments and I never get footage or pictures during the squalls since they are so sudden.
I was also curious. The reviews I seen on YT really didn't go into the gear item in terms of actual output from the fire not just the internal battery so bought one to find out myself. Thanks for watching!
Bought one of these, but I believe it's an older model with just one port and just the round button to turn the fan on and two settings a low and a high. Found no bag or light with my purchase today at Bass Pro. I believe someone took, a 5 finger discount ! Anyways , decided to keep it because of YOUR GREAT REVIEW...Also subscribed to see what else you throughly test in the future.
So do you need to run the fan for the fire.... or can you run the fire without the fan ....it seems like using the battery to power the fan defeats the purpose of charging the battery When you have a fire going exactly how many VOLTS and how many milliamps goes into the battery for charging ....that is .....what is the actual true output that would be available for charging a phone
The fan turns on and for good reason. The stove produces enough power to both charge and keep itself going. The fan is needed and beneficial to the process aka making a hotter fire and to create the temperature differential aka how the TEG works. Look at 11:38 for your answers.Volts times Amps = Watts. I am running two instruments to show this. At this point in the video the stored energy in the battery from start up is run down. I am recording actual output from the stove. I don't know how much additionally is being used by the fan etc etc. The hypothetical max of the TEG is 3 watts. However to avoid overheating the battery I can not run it at max during summer. The red P is showing 1.66 watts being outputted to the phone. This leaves a hypothetical 1.32 watts being used by the stove's electronics. I have no way to know for sure how much power the stove is using but can be sure the total isn't going to be more than 3 watts. At this point in the video the clear blue instrument is reading 26 minutes of activity. The output is 4.7 volts at .35 amps which is 1.645 watts. This is very near 1.66 watts being shown by the x-dragon USB detector and is within rounding the same (each must round the numbers up or down and there are at a minimum 4 number). The clear blue instrument is showing 211 mAh which was actually transferred into the phone within 26 minutes. However there is a small amount of time in which the stove charges the battery at startup and will then allow for charging external devices. This is why the initial rate of charge was much higher. The 18650 battery within the stove was acting like a powerbank until the levels dropped and the input from the fire was properly shown. It's a long complex answer for sure.
It’s a balance. I need the fan for proper combustion and to heat the probe for the TEG. Also the fan is helping with the differential aka what makes it produce electricity unless mistaken. However too hot and the system shuts down to protect the lithium ion battery. Without the fan the system wouldn’t work. But running it too fast during hot weather also shuts it down. That’s my best assessment. Thanks for watching!
Make sure you have a ton of time on your hands if you want to charge something. Easily takes 2-3 hours to charge their headlamp. And like 3 to charge a phone. 3-4 to charge battery bank on stove if empty. Claims bank will give you 50% charge if it loaded but it true. Had it camping this fall and got like 25% charge maybe.
Great review but I feel you miss an important point... The fan is there to supercharge the fire for when you need to charge your phone... More heat = more power output. Try again with empty BioLite and set fan to full. You will see a big improvement. The "fire" bar shows you if you can improve performance by using the fan as well. The manual clearly states that " The Fire Strength Indicator directly correlates to the amount of power being produced. The more lights lit, the more power is being created." In your video we can see that only half the lights are lit and you run fan at minimum. You thus get much lower charge from the USB when internal battery is flat.
The Campstove 2 has multiple balls to juggle. A hotter fire will produce a larger heat differential however the stove must also protect the internal lithium 18650 from overheating. You're considering only the first aspect. I intentionally try to run the stove at no more than 70% "fire" bars at peak burn during summer. At 11:44 you will see the bars are at 70% and creeping up. Watch a bit more to see why this was too much for those conditions. It's right there in the video. The manual doesn't take field conditions into account which are variable. This was posted during the warmest part of summer. The testing was done during summer. The problem with running the fan too fast in summer is the stove being prone to overheating as shown in the video and more so with wood pellets because of the constant burn rate. The measured output is spot on to what I would expect even at the slower fan rate/measured heat output. They claim 3w from the TEG in pure optimal conditions and the output being measured into the phone is around 1.5w once the excess energy is expended from the battery during startup. However the stove is also operating the fan and other electronics at the same time so the electrical energy output is actual greater than just what's measured going into the phone. If the stove over heats the fan will kick on to high and the lights flash. The TEG (heat differential generator) shuts down. This cooling shut down process which take some time will expend the energy saved during the burn. The result is a net loss of energy This happened to me several times before I disregarded the manual when burning pellets and/or use in hot weather. I used pellets for all the testing to get a consistent result during each test. I really should do video of running the stove with foraged wood as that's a bit different. Thanks for watching!
@@MegaWoodswalker I never saud to run it at full blast. I said it can have a greater heat input. TEC's are also very interesting in that load cools the hot side. That is, higher load on tec will transfer more heat to cold side. I did not design this perticular unit and would have used seperate fans if I had as what you describe is common when not being able to control cooling seperate from heatflux.
@@MegaWoodswalker By the way, the internal 18650 would not overheat. It is protected by heatshield as well as charge protection circuitry. It is also large enough to be able to handle the entire power production from the TEC regardless of heat level. What will need protection however is the hot side of the TEC. These are quite sensitive and even the high temp units will usually not handle over 200c. The lack of seperate fans in this unit is most likely it's biggest shortcoming as it means it cannot try and protect it's TEC without stoking the fire.
@@MegaWoodswalker One more thing: You say this is when it "overheats" at 12:00 approx but the manual does not say that. It's actually kind of hard to assume what they want you to do in that situation as you can still hear fan running at max. In theory they should draw as much power out of the TEC as possible at this point to avoid burning out the TEC (cooking the hot side) as stopping drawing power will essentially make the TEC into an insulator and trap the heat on the hot side. Since they cannot adjust the ammount of protrusion into the fire by the heat-probe and they seem to be running the fan at full tilt, they are essentially stoking the fire, and not drawing power. They may have shorted the TEC on purpose though, to create a cooling effect. They are not claiming "no power" being generated but I can see why they would cut off external load if shorting TEC.
I believe it utilizes multiple thermocouples to generate the electricity. Haven’t researched this particular unit but have worked with industrialized thermoelectric generators in the past.
I have one of the original Biolite camp stoves and I csn tell you for sure that the outside mash doesn't get too hot for bare hands even after a 2 hour high temp burn.
@@MegaWoodswalker I bought the 8 watt charger some years ago. Had done some online research for a reliable and durable solar charger, and compared to the latest (then) and older models. Goal Zero failed in comparison tests from the competition, but theirs did do 12V where most others did not. Almost went with Gomadic except I did not like their connections, and their EOF cycles seemed rather short. At the time SunTactics was debuting their models and took me over a year before buying one. No regrets. American made, 5 year warranty after registering, can upgrade during the warranty. I wanted the 12 watt but the 8 was watt more affordable, and got a Veteran's discount as well. Customer Service is impeccable and I never once received a 'canned' reply. Always been one-on-one and I was even writing to Dean Sala before & after purchase. Suntactics put their panels through torture tests after I acquired mine. And they also found better panels that boost efficiency. The 4 watt has both Manual & Automatic modes. Automatic good for Apple products and batteries. Manual best for non-cloudy days. Have been charging many a phone even through the windshield, even while driving. Works great, still have & use it. Here's their corporate panel introduction: ruclips.net/video/5bbU5mf3Qd8/видео.html
Have also charged in overcast and cloudy days; through a windshield with car facing away from the sun; in the dead of winter through windshield; outdoors; dust conditions; on a recumbent trike; and more. When the green LEDs light up on the ports, they are good to go!
It can charge via USB or wood fire. The 4 hours is wood fire however you should initially charge the battery first via USB. The reason being the stove holds some power in reserve so the battery doesn't totally drain to say 2.9 volts. It needs power to auto start the fan. It charges and discharges the same as a 1A 5V powerbank when operating via USB so is faster than 4 hours. You can charge it the first time via fire but will initially take longer to a full charge.
Thanks for reviewing this! I had asked if you would do so some months ago, great to see you do it. I notice you dont seem to use it much in your subsequent vids; is it not that great for hiking?
If wanting to use a forced air stove more often I pack the Biolite Cooktove as it's lighter. However the prepper in me does like the power generation and self charging of this stove. I am working on a review of the Biolite campstove I purchased in July.
www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-USB-Digital-Power-Meter-Tester-Multimeter-Current-and-Voltage-Monitor/222433076741?hash=item33ca0b6605:g:rBgAAOSwaiBb6Sj6 and www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-USB-Charger-Voltage-Detector-Current-Meter-Capacity-Tester-Power-For-KEWEISI/173574206826?hash=item2869d4356a:g:VCMAAOSwe~BbuGWa
About the same as a 1A 5V powerbank. It pulls the power from the battery first but then slows down as it must use energy from the fire. Thanks for watching!
This is hands-down the most practical review of the Biolite Campstove on RUclips, by a guy who seems genuiely nice and down to earth. Made me sad to read that he passed two years ago, RIP.
Yes sir he will be missed, we had the privilege of backpacking with him on many adventures, he's who suggested that I get one , still packing with mine today ,best thing I ever bought
This is definitely the best review of this stove I have ever seen thank you
Thanks for the positive comment!
@@MegaWoodswalker anytime brother I've been following you or channel for a while and it's by far one of the best outdoor channels there is hopefully one day my channel could be close to yours
@@MegaWoodswalker Fantastic review. When stove overheats and flashes does it self restart or do you have to correct it yourself when it cools?
I agree to never disagree!!! Awsome review....
I really miss this guy, excellent down to earth reviews, no BS, went outside the box, was pretty funny too. RIP MW.
He passed?
Of all the reviews I have watched about this device, You were the only one that gave me the information I was looking for. thank you
Awesome review!
A couple things to add..
The top of the camp stove is designed to perfectly seat the biolite kettle. You're not gonna cook a steak in the kettle but its good for one pot meals like rice n beans or ramen.
If you're not going to use pellets, you gotta make sure you have a good sized pile of processed bio mass to feed into the stove cause it burns hot and fast.
Lastly, if the camp stove battery is fully charged and you're going to fire it up, you may as well plug a device in to charge. Even if its just to top of your phone that's at 81%. The camp stove is going to generate usable electricity so use it! I'll top off my power banks, headlamp etc..
Ciao!
Which pellets are you using there are different ones on the website for bio lite, thanks!
Recently bought one of these and have been impressed with it. It was definitely worth the price. I already felt satisfied with it's performance, but your video going into such in-depth details regarding the charging speed in a worse case scenario makes me feel even more satisfied with it. You really went above and beyond man and I really appreciate that, especially in today's world. Cheers.
He died
@@petercampbell1287 Damn. RIP then.
Kk**99
You really took the effort to go all the way in your testing! GREAT JOB!!
Thanks for watching!
FANTASTIC video! I've watched many Biolite 2 vids and none have been as helpful as yours!
Thanks!
Yep, the best review of the biolite stove on RUclips. Answered all the questioned I had. Great job 👍
What a great review. This is how it's supposed to be done people.
Thanks for watching!
Great job!! As many others have said, by far the best review I've seen for this product. Still on the fence about buying it.
I don't remember how i found your site,but glad I did very helpful. I am preparing for a long m-bike ride from New Zealand back to the UK. and your reviews are helping decide what comes with me. Keep them coming.
That sounds fun and thanks for watching!
The thing you’re talking about is a Peltier junction. Temperature differential on either sides generates the electricity.
I just watch biolite's video on it. I wonder how good the third version of the stove will be?!!!!
Thanks for the Great review
Most informative i've seen about the campstove 2
Answered all my questions 😊👍
Top test. Suitable for people who need real information.
Thanks for watching!
Awesome, love seeing how fast it can charge. That’s exactly what I wanted to know!
What a really thorough review. I really appreciate your videos!
Thanks for watching!
Great review and really in depth. This was really informative! Keep it up.
Thanks for watching the review. I appreciate it!
That is a really cool little stove. I can't believe he fit all that stuff in that tiny pack. Steak and food, wood pellets, stove. Wow. I suppose you can use the stove alone, without the fan thing, or do you have to use the fan battery power too?
After a brief time of searching, you are the only one who went in depth with testing and laying down the Pros and cons of these units.
You should have more subs compared to the other reveiwers who just do a open box, light a fire then thats it
Best review of this product so far!!!
Thanks for watching!
It’s the best review on Biolite. Especially the charger 👍🏻
I got one for Christmas, couple years back and only used it couple times but each time I have, I am impressed with the proformance and Versatility... also a good tip which would work great with pellets, get one of those gel stoves for food servers and use that stuff as a starter
Have the same unit- use pellets as often as possible- burns more than 45 min. on a single load (cooking hot) really like it, almost as much as your videos.
Yea the pellets are really nice. No smoke and very long burn. Thanks for watching!
Just Purchased Mine. Fantastic review, makes me excited to use it!
It's an amazing thing isn't it 😊
Excellent information on the Bio stove. 👍 The mini grill will always be a part of my mess kit. ⚡️⛈
Thanks for watching!
This is the Best Review of the Biolite 2+ I have seen because you Test it with the Right Tools !
If you leave the pan on top its suppose to hold more heat around the probe to get better power for the burn, or so a biolight rep told me anyway 🤷♂️
Sounds reasonable and thanks for watching!
You know what I absolutely LOVE about this video? That you PAUSE. Most YTubers seem to think they have to edit out every breath they take, so their videos just one-continuous-stream-of-consciousness-non-stop! It's so beautiful and calming that you talk at a normal speed and take a breath!
LEGIT REVIEW, I'm very happy you're a tech savvy Nature walker :D!
I'm looking for the perfect camping stove. and this may be it!
Thanks for watching!
Another awesome review walker. I'm glad you made it through the storm.
Thanks for watching!
I have one of these and yes, they overheat. I had one that failed on me, so I opened it up and found that the plastic fanwheel blades folded over. That is, they melted and the air blew them flat. I got a whole new unit under warranty from BioLite and the new one came with a burn chamber and a light. All I had to do was send the original unit back to them.
Best review for this stove so far
Great stove. So your saying that if you have just a little power left in stove battery, when you run it , it can self charge ? Thanks enjoyed the video.
Nice review. Not many people take the time to be a thorough. Just bought one of these. We'll have to see how she works.
It's a fun stove which actually works. Charge it via USB first for best results. Thanks for watching!
What an awesome review. The only thing I'm still wondering is how long it takes to stop over heating? It cant continually charge for more than 30 mins or what? Thanks.
Finally a proper review. Hated mine and sold it. Way too much feeding the fire, slow to charge, heavy, and near useless in colder weather. Went back to a regular ole spare charger.
Thanks for watching!
No offence.. But what did you expect from a stove/warmer this size? If its 20 degrees out. This isnt gonna make you feel like your a warm 80. Feeding the fire to much? Of course your gonna feed the fire regularly. Its a small cylinder for embers. But I respect your opinion about this..
I live in Florida. I keep this stove at home to use if the power goes out after a hurricane. (Like Michael that hit this past week) I also have the grill attachment which is big enough to grill for two people. The kettle is good for home use,too, or for car camping. It could charge my phone enough to send texts in an emergency, or charge a handheld ham radio if cell towers are gone. Also provide a little light to cook by. Hope it never comes to that, but meanwhile, this is a really well designed unit. It is the camping version of a larger stove stove designed for rural villages in India and Africa. So my purchase helps fund those projects. I like that.
I spend time in SW Florida. Nice but the bugs can be really extreme. Thanks for watching!
Now will it overheat with a pot/pan/kettle on top?
This is the review I needed. Thank you.
He died
Thank you for doing the only proper review of this stove! I feel like it's not worth the weight. I'm a bikepacker, I have a solo stove and a battery bank that holds I believe 3 full cell charges, and I believe my setup would weigh less and certainly take up less space. I suppose the main reason they didn't use a bigger battery is not just weight, but a larger battery would lend the appearance of feeling that it takes too long to charge. In the end it means it doesn't bank a lot of power and needs to be done slowly to prevent over heating. The idea is good though, it just needs improvement.
Such a comprehensive video, keep up the good work!
Just purchased this whole biolite kit and can’t wait to use it
For a second there I thought you ruined your bacon to plant stuff ratio....then the steak appeared. Ratio restored.
What is the rate at which power is produced? I noticed you drained the biolites battery aswell as the charge to get 240mah in 31 mins.
Really good review. It made sense to demonstrate it the way you did. I purchased the bundle kit with French press. Still worried about whether I should use it a lot.
Thanks for watching! I never got the bundle kit.
Thanks my man I the information. Every test that you performed. Was every question I I had on my mind. I believe in your results. I'm planning a hike on the Appalachian Trail coming from Maryland to the end of Virginia. And I didn't want to have to worry about charging my gear. As much as finding somewhere to get food thank you have a blessed day. Starting my hike in September first. I was worried about the wait. And I'm going for it,, with the ballet studio 2 I've only used it four times. I'm having a couple of cookouts before then yes I have the grill option
Truth be told IMHO you're better off packing a 10,000 mAh or larger powerbank for the AT. It's what everyone does and there are charging spots often not that far off trail. I actually found one right on the trail down the road a bit in a little shack selling sodas and snacks. Get a 2A charger and USB adapter to suck down all the juice you can. The Biolite is fun but for on the move activities in which weight is an issue the powerbank is the way to go. It's standard on the AT as everyone uses them. I often pack that and a UL Ti folding stove with alky backup. Fast portable USB 18650 chargers are also nice and UL. I have packed 4X18650 batteries, 2A charger and a 1A charger powerbank combo. Also very UL.. Thanks for watching!
Great in-depth review. Unfortunately, wife got me one for Xmas and didn't come with the "bacon" option LOL. I wouldn't have gotten one myself of thee myself. Mostly because of weight and time needed to be effective. Where did you get your screen for the top?
It’s called a Bushcraft grill. I am camping right now but will provide a link once back. My phone keeps messing up the copy and paste. The campstove 2 is a good fun stove but yea. Way too heavy for longer range back packing. Still it’s really fun. Thanks for watching.
Sorry for the delay. Here is the link www.expedition-research.com/bushcraft-grill/ and here is my review. ruclips.net/video/YjVsWYWPD0s/видео.html
Man 😢just keep heading back to these video's before we head back out to the trail . Miss our adventures brother
I got the Campstove 2 with grill. Works great. Keeps things simple when riding the motor bike (with no grill)
I never got the grill. It's on my to do list. Thanks for watching!
Great review, and that steak looked awesome. Watch out for that lightning.
Thanks for watching!
Still the best video of the biolite 2 I saw to date
Never bought one yet, might in the future
Does it self manage the overheating by regulating the fan or is it a bit temperamental?
Hi I just bought my stove. looking forward to testing it out. Charging it as i type thanks for the Tip. Can you or is it difficult to remove the battery from the fire once its reached capacity. So that it doesn't over heat? and can you use smoking chips or anything that has some kind of fueling agent? Thanks for the info.
Sadly he died
Kevin another great video review. thanks
Thanks for watching!
Top review! I brought that thing with me 1 time and after that I sold it immediately. That thing is way too big and heavy for long hikes.
Brilliant review just what I was after. I have now subscribed. Many thanks.
Thanks for the sub and watching!
I just got one as I Christmas present.
I was amazed at how fast the bacon started to sizzle.
If you recall, hours long did it take to hear up the steak? Or how many times did you add pellets to the chamber?
Amazing video! It was over before I knew it. It feels much shorter then 23 minutes.
You're lucky to get one as a gift! One charging of pellets was enough. It almost instantly starts to cook anything because of the heat output. It took minutes to cook a streak rather than hours. Runs very well on foraged wood as well. When using pellets my advice is to avoid adding more until the burn is done. What occasionally happens is the new pellets snuff out the fire. This doesn't seem to be an issue with foraged wood which is less tightly packed. Runs a long time on one charge of pellets. Seemed around 30 minutes. Thanks for watching!
@@MegaWoodswalker man! That is amazing!
I'm very excited to use it. I just ordered the pitcher/kettle enclosure.
Thank you, this video was amazing. And thank you for the fast reply!
You showed what happens when it overheats. Is overheating much of a problem or can it easily be avoided?
So far the stove hasn't melted etc. I think that's the purpose of the overheating function as betting the 18650 battery shouldn't get above 212F and by design the stove must have a heat differential so the blower assembly gets warmer.. For extended burn applications like a small scout fire I prefer my Biolite Cookstove if going with a blower type stove. Weather seems to play a factor as well. Thanks for watching!
@@MegaWoodswalker Could it work to apply some heat reflective tape or absorption tape of any kind around the battery?
Great video. Although I will make one small correction for everyone. Worst Case Scenario (All batteries are dead): You will want to leave your phone Off while you are charging it. I understand that you had the phone on for demonstration purposes, though to everyone watching, it is unnecessary to have the phone on & it will charge faster if you turn it off.
Amazing. Thanks to your video I have now learned that V2 has a power bank inside of it. I've seen so many vids on v2 and no one mentioned it or I didn't listen or notice.
I have the V1 Biolite campstove. I purchased my own battery bank to plug into it that has the capability to take a charge from the campstove while also having something plugged into the bank at the same time. Very few battery banks, when I purchased it, will take a charge & charge a device at the same time. Happy to see the Biolite V2 caught on too because it is a total requirement for the Biolite to be more effective. Now it's built in! I must get me one of these V2 soon. I may consider giving away my V1.
i suppose if you use the biolite maybe three times a day for cooking while camping its gonna charge the battery almost full right?
I’m assuming it would function and charge if the fan wasn’t drawing power as well. I wanna like it but still not sure.
I do run with rechargeable lights but I have a solar panel I use to charge some small power banks that work well. However in the case I don’t want a big reflective panel on my back... it could be useful
During the burn segments there was a whistle. Does the stove whistle while burning or was that a recording issue?
Yes that's the sound of the fan. Here is another video of me using the stove (not the subject of the review but used). ruclips.net/video/vSge0_nHsgY/видео.html . I think my Biolite Cookstove has a nicer sounding fan but the campstove 2 isn't so bad unless the fan is in overheat mode then it's just too much. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the review, I hav the unit and never knew the light had a dimmer!
well done,i'm buying one
Good review enjoyed it.....sprinkle some alcohol over the wood pellets and within a minute you have a full burn.
Thanks for watching.
Good review. Thanks.
Was there much smoke blackening your pots?
Less with wood pellets but seemed more with foraged wood. Thanks for watching!
Only down side for me is the fan noise drives me nuts. Great review.
Awesome review! Really appreciate
Thanks for watching!
Great video! You are getting so Pro with the cuts to the other footage and the sweet dissolves between shots - made the cooking segments better than ever. Thanks also for including the hike-out segment with the crazy weather! Those are always such amazing moments and I never get footage or pictures during the squalls since they are so sudden.
Waterproof shell helps. Also having my survival kit as had the tarp and poncho. Thanks for watching!
Do you have to be super wary of heat damage to the power unit?
Your best bet on a power bank option is to carry a separate power bank and keep it charged from the biolite
Yes. I do the same with solar panels as well. Powerbanks almost never fail to take a charge. Thanks for watching!
Great review ! R.I.P. my friend.
What??
@@justinreynolds1298 This guy is no longer with us.
Thanks for this, was getting curious as to how these worked.
I was also curious. The reviews I seen on YT really didn't go into the gear item in terms of actual output from the fire not just the internal battery so bought one to find out myself. Thanks for watching!
Really good and indeed useful review. Thanks for sharing!
He died
If that's true I'm really sorry to hear that. Rest in Peace
@@JackComet7 It was a heart attack on 8th Jan 2020
Bought one of these, but I believe it's an older model with just one port and just the round button to turn the fan on and two settings a low and a high. Found no bag or light with my purchase today at Bass Pro. I believe someone took, a 5 finger discount ! Anyways , decided to keep it because of YOUR GREAT REVIEW...Also subscribed to see what else you throughly test in the future.
He's deceased ☹️
So do you need to run the fan for the fire.... or can you run the fire without the fan ....it seems like using the battery to power the fan defeats the purpose of charging the battery
When you have a fire going exactly how many VOLTS and how many milliamps goes into the battery for charging ....that is .....what is the actual true output that would be available for charging a phone
The fan turns on and for good reason. The stove produces enough power to both charge and keep itself going. The fan is needed and beneficial to the process aka making a hotter fire and to create the temperature differential aka how the TEG works. Look at 11:38 for your answers.Volts times Amps = Watts. I am running two instruments to show this. At this point in the video the stored energy in the battery from start up is run down. I am recording actual output from the stove. I don't know how much additionally is being used by the fan etc etc. The hypothetical max of the TEG is 3 watts. However to avoid overheating the battery I can not run it at max during summer. The red P is showing 1.66 watts being outputted to the phone. This leaves a hypothetical 1.32 watts being used by the stove's electronics. I have no way to know for sure how much power the stove is using but can be sure the total isn't going to be more than 3 watts. At this point in the video the clear blue instrument is reading 26 minutes of activity. The output is 4.7 volts at .35 amps which is 1.645 watts. This is very near 1.66 watts being shown by the x-dragon USB detector and is within rounding the same (each must round the numbers up or down and there are at a minimum 4 number). The clear blue instrument is showing 211 mAh which was actually transferred into the phone within 26 minutes. However there is a small amount of time in which the stove charges the battery at startup and will then allow for charging external devices. This is why the initial rate of charge was much higher. The 18650 battery within the stove was acting like a powerbank until the levels dropped and the input from the fire was properly shown. It's a long complex answer for sure.
It’s a balance. I need the fan for proper combustion and to heat the probe for the TEG. Also the fan is helping with the differential aka what makes it produce electricity unless mistaken. However too hot and the system shuts down to protect the lithium ion battery. Without the fan the system wouldn’t work. But running it too fast during hot weather also shuts it down. That’s my best assessment. Thanks for watching!
Make sure you have a ton of time on your hands if you want to charge something. Easily takes 2-3 hours to charge their headlamp. And like 3 to charge a phone. 3-4 to charge battery bank on stove if empty. Claims bank will give you 50% charge if it loaded but it true. Had it camping this fall and got like 25% charge maybe.
What happens in case of rain? can it work to make food? Because camping and mountain = rain
Great review but I feel you miss an important point...
The fan is there to supercharge the fire for when you need to charge your phone...
More heat = more power output. Try again with empty BioLite and set fan to full. You will see a big improvement. The "fire" bar shows you if you can improve performance by using the fan as well.
The manual clearly states that " The Fire Strength
Indicator directly correlates to the amount of power being produced. The more lights lit, the more power is being created."
In your video we can see that only half the lights are lit and you run fan at minimum. You thus get much lower charge from the USB when internal battery is flat.
The Campstove 2 has multiple balls to juggle. A hotter fire will produce a larger heat differential however the stove must also protect the internal lithium 18650 from overheating. You're considering only the first aspect. I intentionally try to run the stove at no more than 70% "fire" bars at peak burn during summer. At 11:44 you will see the bars are at 70% and creeping up. Watch a bit more to see why this was too much for those conditions. It's right there in the video. The manual doesn't take field conditions into account which are variable. This was posted during the warmest part of summer. The testing was done during summer. The problem with running the fan too fast in summer is the stove being prone to overheating as shown in the video and more so with wood pellets because of the constant burn rate. The measured output is spot on to what I would expect even at the slower fan rate/measured heat output.
They claim 3w from the TEG in pure optimal conditions and the output being measured into the phone is around 1.5w once the excess energy is expended from the battery during startup. However the stove is also operating the fan and other electronics at the same time so the electrical energy output is actual greater than just what's measured going into the phone. If the stove over heats the fan will kick on to high and the lights flash. The TEG (heat differential generator) shuts down. This cooling shut down process which take some time will expend the energy saved during the burn. The result is a net loss of energy
This happened to me several times before I disregarded the manual when burning pellets and/or use in hot weather. I used pellets for all the testing to get a consistent result during each test. I really should do video of running the stove with foraged wood as that's a bit different. Thanks for watching!
That "extra" energy would just be dumped into the extra power consumed by the fan
@@MegaWoodswalker I never saud to run it at full blast. I said it can have a greater heat input. TEC's are also very interesting in that load cools the hot side. That is, higher load on tec will transfer more heat to cold side. I did not design this perticular unit and would have used seperate fans if I had as what you describe is common when not being able to control cooling seperate from heatflux.
@@MegaWoodswalker By the way, the internal 18650 would not overheat. It is protected by heatshield as well as charge protection circuitry.
It is also large enough to be able to handle the entire power production from the TEC regardless of heat level.
What will need protection however is the hot side of the TEC. These are quite sensitive and even the high temp units will usually not handle over 200c.
The lack of seperate fans in this unit is most likely it's biggest shortcoming as it means it cannot try and protect it's TEC without stoking the fire.
@@MegaWoodswalker One more thing: You say this is when it "overheats" at 12:00 approx but the manual does not say that.
It's actually kind of hard to assume what they want you to do in that situation as you can still hear fan running at max. In theory they should draw as much power out of the TEC as possible at this point to avoid burning out the TEC (cooking the hot side) as stopping drawing power will essentially make the TEC into an insulator and trap the heat on the hot side. Since they cannot adjust the ammount of protrusion into the fire by the heat-probe and they seem to be running the fan at full tilt, they are essentially stoking the fire, and not drawing power. They may have shorted the TEC on purpose though, to create a cooling effect. They are not claiming "no power" being generated but I can see why they would cut off external load if shorting TEC.
the power bank turns off when the LED light is dimmed down because the light is not using much current so the power bank shuts down to save power
another great video you are the man
Thanks for watching!
I believe it utilizes multiple thermocouples to generate the electricity.
Haven’t researched this particular unit but have worked with industrialized thermoelectric generators in the past.
I watched a video explaining the gen1 unit a while back. If memory serves, you're spot on.
Best review. Most technical
Can the unit charge itself using fire and USB port, when completely dead?
Good comprehensive review, thanks.
Thanks for watching!
I have quick question how many power consumption this usb multimeter..... Put directly to the stow
Excellent review thank you!
He died
I have one of the original Biolite camp stoves and I csn tell you for sure that the outside mash doesn't get too hot for bare hands even after a 2 hour high temp burn.
I liked the copper probe better than the aluminum of the newer one. Almost bought an original just for fun! Thanks for the info and watching!
Would suggest a SunTactics Solar Panel to charge your phone from sunlight a lot faster. Have an 8 watt panel in my kit.
I have multiple packable solar panels and review them however this time I am reviewing the Campstove 2. Never tried Suntastics. Thanks for watching.
Hi james. Can you share your choice about solar panel? Im sure its usefull if you like to use
@@akaytheking This is my preferred for small packable panel. Also has the best low light performance.ruclips.net/video/rPwQ0fzjCRc/видео.html
@@MegaWoodswalker I bought the 8 watt charger some years ago.
Had done some online research for a reliable and durable solar charger, and compared to the latest (then) and older models. Goal Zero failed in comparison tests from the competition, but theirs did do 12V where most others did not.
Almost went with Gomadic except I did not like their connections, and their EOF cycles seemed rather short.
At the time SunTactics was debuting their models and took me over a year before buying one. No regrets.
American made, 5 year warranty after registering, can upgrade during the warranty. I wanted the 12 watt but the 8 was watt more affordable, and got a Veteran's discount as well.
Customer Service is impeccable and I never once received a 'canned' reply. Always been one-on-one and I was even writing to Dean Sala before & after purchase.
Suntactics put their panels through torture tests after I acquired mine. And they also found better panels that boost efficiency.
The 4 watt has both Manual & Automatic modes. Automatic good for Apple products and batteries. Manual best for non-cloudy days.
Have been charging many a phone even through the windshield, even while driving. Works great, still have & use it.
Here's their corporate panel introduction: ruclips.net/video/5bbU5mf3Qd8/видео.html
Have also charged in overcast and cloudy days; through a windshield with car facing away from the sun; in the dead of winter through windshield; outdoors; dust conditions; on a recumbent trike; and more.
When the green LEDs light up on the ports, they are good to go!
Great review just ordered one 👍
He died
Where did you get the voltmeters at???? I have 2 biolite 2 stoves and wanted these voltmeters
www.amazon.com/X-DRAGON-Multimeter-Chargers-Capacity-Accuracy/dp/B019RHJRM8/ref=asc_df_B019RHJRM8/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=242041198988&hvpos=1o1&hvnetw=g&hvrand=4371822409687953688&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=m&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9012215&hvtargid=pla-426269107564&psc=1
Is is the most realistic review about Campstove. Thank you so much for in depth review.
Why did it overheat??? If i were to buy this how do i avoid this?
This is fantastic. Thank you so much.
would love to know how long it would take the stove burning hot, how long would it take to charge the I
nternal battery
I think after charging first then discharging the recharge is around 4 hours. Thanks for watching!
@@MegaWoodswalker so charging via the wood stove only? Not mains power it's only 4 hours charge time?
It can charge via USB or wood fire. The 4 hours is wood fire however you should initially charge the battery first via USB. The reason being the stove holds some power in reserve so the battery doesn't totally drain to say 2.9 volts. It needs power to auto start the fan. It charges and discharges the same as a 1A 5V powerbank when operating via USB so is faster than 4 hours. You can charge it the first time via fire but will initially take longer to a full charge.
Cool stove / charging system !
Thanks for watching!
Thanks for reviewing this! I had asked if you would do so some months ago, great to see you do it. I notice you dont seem to use it much in your subsequent vids; is it not that great for hiking?
If wanting to use a forced air stove more often I pack the Biolite Cooktove as it's lighter. However the prepper in me does like the power generation and self charging of this stove. I am working on a review of the Biolite campstove I purchased in July.
Great review and demonstration
Best review man, kudos
Great video thank you. Quick question were can I get a meter like that one ?
Yeah, what were those two meters called and where can we get them? Those are cool, but I wouldn't know how to read it.
www.ebay.com/itm/Dual-USB-Digital-Power-Meter-Tester-Multimeter-Current-and-Voltage-Monitor/222433076741?hash=item33ca0b6605:g:rBgAAOSwaiBb6Sj6 and www.ebay.com/itm/LCD-USB-Charger-Voltage-Detector-Current-Meter-Capacity-Tester-Power-For-KEWEISI/173574206826?hash=item2869d4356a:g:VCMAAOSwe~BbuGWa
If the internal battery has a full charge and you have the fire burning. How well will it charge a phone then ?
About the same as a 1A 5V powerbank. It pulls the power from the battery first but then slows down as it must use energy from the fire. Thanks for watching!
Rip walker