>>210187>So as I understand it you just burn twigs or whatever and the little fan gets it hot?Pretty much. It's like a small furnace. There is a copper thing sticking into the burn chamber which together with a heat sink in the unit and some black magic produce electricity which runs the fan and charge a battery inside the unit, and/or a phone or other electronic device with a USB cable.
The fan will create a little tornado inside the burn chamber, and as anyone who have ever tried to blow out a campfire will know, agitated air makes things burn better, hotter and cleaner. It's pretty amazing to watch even pretty damp wood yield energy in this thing.
>Will it boil water in a reasonable time?I actually haven't tried boiling water with it, only fried stuff and brewed many a pots of Bialetti. But here is someone who has:
http://youtu.be/POjgbKRvfdQ>Have any problems with the fan piece of this thing?Not as of yet, but it is a fairly complex piece of kit as camping gear goes, so I'd imagine it could start to act up after a few years.
Tip: last time I was out using it, I had only an Opinel knife and preparing wood pieces to fit into the stove was a major hassle. You want to prepare a decent stash before you start, especially if you plan to use it for charging stuff or use it as a bonfire. A foldable saw and/or a hatchet would have been very welcome. Next time I'm out with it, I actually intend to bring garden snips for this purpose.
