Candle Stove / Finnish Candle / Swedish Torch

Moose Masher

Moose Masher

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Location
Oak Hammok Manitoba
Whatever you want to call it, who uses these when out hunting?

I was messing around this past Sunday afternoon and made a couple.
I used 9-10" pine.

For the first one I used a dry piece, 2 years old, and made four cuts so I had 8 sections.
It lasted close to 2 hours before loosing too much wood to hold a pan, it was also a little hot for cooking.

The second was made with green wood, and only 2 cuts. I also dug a little bowl in the center to hold some fluid.
It lasted around 4 hours before finally going out on its own, and still has lots of wood to hold a pan.
The temp was better for cooking as well.

I cheated and used a propane torch to light them, and used a bit of oil instead of white gas since I has none on hand.
I'm going to play around a little more and try cooking on one.

Experiences to share?







 
More cuts = hotter fire if you want to cook or boil a large pot of water over it.

It can also be made by bundling a number of smaller branches together and standing them upright if you don't happen to have a chainsaw.
 
I use a dry ash, 10" to12" it will keep the oil bubbling perfect for walleye fillets. Also makes a great light while camping etc. If you Google Norwegian Fire Log ,you can get some ideas. It's Really Cool.
 
Never even thought about them for cooking, I have only seen them used as a ceremonial fire after a Druckjagd ( group hunt for big game) in Germany. I plan to investigate the cooking possibilities.
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I've not used one for cooking or anything like that but I have made one just for fun and it might take a try or two to get it right but when you do you can get one heck of a jet of fire out of one of those things. They burn real well and are a lot of fun. I can only imagine they would be very useful though for cooking/boiling water.
 
I tried building one of these at hunting camp in September -made 3 cuts with a chainsaw in a 15-16" diameter log. It took quite a while to get going and never burned very hot. I think more cuts would have helped. Next time I'll just split the log into a number of pieces and set them upright.
 
JPOHLIC said:
I tried building one of these at hunting camp in September -made 3 cuts with a chainsaw in a 15-16" diameter log. It took quite a while to get going and never burned very hot. I think more cuts would have helped. Next time I'll just split the log into a number of pieces and set them upright.
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That's the way I did it-- actually cut them into long quarters then lash them together with a small piece of steel wire around the base. The key is to put blocks in between the pieces before you tie them together so that you leave about 1/2" - 3/4" air gaps between the quarter logs. I find having them split down to the bottom really lets the air get sucked in allowing for that epic chimney effect going on. Finish off by stuffing those gaps with whatever dry paper, twigs, leaves etc you can find. That's the key to an epic Canadian Candle, at least in my experience.
 
I have tried these for fun and they work... That being said, I am more of a dutch oven over small fire kind of guy when convenient... Nothing beats a good stew cooked over wood at a slow pace... Great pics guys and great way to stay traditional... Love it..
 
Deerdr said:
I use a dry ash, 10" to12" it will keep the oil bubbling perfect for walleye fillets. Also makes a great light while camping etc. If you Google Norwegian Fire Log ,you can get some ideas. It's Really Cool.
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Now we're talking! Fresh fish over an open fire...mmmm.

Do you use any liquid fuel, like white gas, or small kindling packed in the spaces, or...?
 
Moose Masher said:
Those are great pictures Longwalker.

Was that two separate hunts?
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yes, one hunt at Cologne and one at Hagen a couple years apart. I really appreciate the ceremony around German hunts. Honouring the game after the hunt is very important, the "swedish candles" the " last bite" and a special horn tune for each species bagged is part of the proceedings.
 
I tried one this spring. I used split ash, quartered. Used twigs & birch bark to start the fire in the middle, and it burned quite well. Would have been ideal to boil a kettle, fry bacon, etc.
 
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