High Quality Chainsaw Bars Husqvarna Toys Hockfire Saws

Small Cookstove recommendations

Dustin4185

Pinnacle OPE Member
Local time
5:04 AM
User ID
2032
Joined
Oct 25, 2016
Messages
1,409
Reaction score
4,255
Location
East TN
Country flag
We are looking for a new stove for the big game check station at work. It is a little one room cabin about 16x24. We currently have an old insert that we built a stand for as a stove. It worked great for years, but the bottom has broken out and the damper is warped. If we replace it, it would be great to have a small cook stove like the Drolet Bistro or another brand cook stove. We spend ALL day in there during our hunts and being able to bake biscuits or put a pot of beans on would be great. Does anyone have any recommendations for a small cook stove?
 

dangerousatom

Super OPE Member
Local time
5:04 AM
User ID
11828
Joined
Feb 25, 2020
Messages
109
Reaction score
200
Location
Quakertown, PA, United States
Country flag
We ran one of these ( not exactly same ) in our house addition for like 20 years on mostly pallet scraps. It heats very well and is fairly small for a wood stove. It would cook that room even dampened down.


If you need smaller than that look for a "guide stove" It the kind that goes inside a large 8-15 man tent. They are really small like the size of 2-3 boxes of boots. Here in PA there is a plethora of great used wood stoves on FB for under $400-500. That Drolet Bistro is pricey if thats what you really need. If your looking for a food warming box-stove scenario any large metal lid that will cover the ceramic plate and food without touching will work, even a big deep cast iron fry pan will do.
Otherwise IMO if you have a welder just take a day and make a lil one out of some random metal scraps and a +10" steel pipe or square tube for the body. Heck Ive seen guys weld up little bot-belly stoves out of two old truck brake drums and steel scraps. As long as its semi air tight to be able to control the draft and you can put fire in it, it will work...... a DIY stove falls to: how safe do you need it and how much do you need to place the blame on a manufacture.
More info maybe helpful interims of esthetics if your after the "look" of the Drolet Bistro
 

Sloughfoot

Super OPE Member
Local time
2:04 AM
User ID
26879
Joined
Jun 7, 2023
Messages
345
Reaction score
712
Location
Norcal
Country flag
We are looking for a new stove for the big game check station at work. It is a little one room cabin about 16x24. We currently have an old insert that we built a stand for as a stove. It worked great for years, but the bottom has broken out and the damper is warped. If we replace it, it would be great to have a small cook stove like the Drolet Bistro or another brand cook stove. We spend ALL day in there during our hunts and being able to bake biscuits or put a pot of beans on would be great. Does anyone have any recommendations for a small cook stove?
This Drolet Bistro is pretty smart with the stainless oven and cook top. May have to sell accounting (better half) on one of these for our place.
 

dangerousatom

Super OPE Member
Local time
5:04 AM
User ID
11828
Joined
Feb 25, 2020
Messages
109
Reaction score
200
Location
Quakertown, PA, United States
Country flag
At $1000 less the price Maybe.....


 

Dustin4185

Pinnacle OPE Member
Local time
5:04 AM
User ID
2032
Joined
Oct 25, 2016
Messages
1,409
Reaction score
4,255
Location
East TN
Country flag
This Drolet Bistro is pretty smart with the stainless oven and cook top. May have to sell accounting (better half) on one of these for our place.
They have some other models that would work great if we had more room. I hate to run us out of there trying to cook! We were trying to make coffee during the last deer hunt and filled our current stove up and opened her up. We had windows and doors open trying to get the place cooled back down. It was 20* outside then. This insert just doesn’t get that warm on top. We have been successful using a reflector oven for biscuits settingnit in front of the glass door. Like I mentioned though, it’s time for a new stove and we might as well get one with cooking capabilities. When we built this new checkstation, I should have went another 6-8 feet each way, lol.
 

dangerousatom

Super OPE Member
Local time
5:04 AM
User ID
11828
Joined
Feb 25, 2020
Messages
109
Reaction score
200
Location
Quakertown, PA, United States
Country flag
I think you maybe looking for something that will not work for your particular needs and square footage.
I’ve cooked on a wood burning oven/4 burner stove and they are difficult to keep at an even temp. It’s either full throttle or almost too cold. You have to use small chunks of wood to keep things right. Witch is not efficient or good for heat especially when ur outside for a few hours. I still think a 1/2 steel plate like 24x24-30 on top of the first stove I showed would be great. Plenty of surface area for 2-3 pots n a big coffee pot……and it be cheap
 

Sloughfoot

Super OPE Member
Local time
2:04 AM
User ID
26879
Joined
Jun 7, 2023
Messages
345
Reaction score
712
Location
Norcal
Country flag
They have some other models that would work great if we had more room. I hate to run us out of there trying to cook! We were trying to make coffee during the last deer hunt and filled our current stove up and opened her up. We had windows and doors open trying to get the place cooled back down. It was 20* outside then. This insert just doesn’t get that warm on top. We have been successful using a reflector oven for biscuits settingnit in front of the glass door. Like I mentioned though, it’s time for a new stove and we might as well get one with cooking capabilities. When we built this new checkstation, I should have went another 6-8 feet each way, lol.
Been looking for a woodstove to put in our kitchen/living. I hadn't thought about one we could cook with, too.
 

Hoser

Pinnacle OPE Member
Local time
5:04 AM
User ID
27081
Joined
Jul 9, 2023
Messages
389
Reaction score
1,469
Location
Grey county Ontario
Country flag
I have a customer with a Drolet cookstove but it’s a larger model fire on the left side and an oven on the other. Every year he tells me how great it is.
Likely depends on how fancy of a meal you want to cook up?
My regency has cooked meals in power outages but they weren’t anything to be proud of, but it’s not a cookstove and I’m no chef.
 
Top