The Watchman Stove was designed by Kirk Salmons of Front Royal, Virginia. Kirk received so much positive feedback and interest in his early prototypes that he decided to pursue higher volume production and marketing of the product to reach a larger consumer base. Kirk has partnered with Winchester Metals, Inc. to start producing and distributing the Watchman Stove throughout the United States. The partnership with Winchester Metals allows for a higher quality stove at a lower price point to the consumer.
The Watchman Stove is built to last. It is constructed of mostly 3/16″ & 1/4″ carbon and stainless steel. The design of the stove body, which is made of 6″ x 3/16″ wall steel square tube, creates maximum burning efficiency. The adjustable square tube legs allow for a level cooking surface in any terrain. Keep your food or coffee warm on the 1/4″ thick “potato plate” or use it for baking. The 3/16″ stainless cook surface also flips back to allow for top feeding of wood into the funnel to go into bonfire mode. The 1/8″ ash dump plate can also be utilized as an adjustable draft control when burning a bonfire. Product weight is 75 lbs and dimensions are approximately 20″ w x 30″ h x 22″ d.
The Watchman Stove – running on multiple fuels video shows the stove in operation. There’s a griddle, grill grate and a warming shelf for corn, baked potatoes, etc. and an ash grate. The stove works with branches, firewood or charcoal. *The latest version has a high quality stainless steel cooking grate (see photo above).
You can buy the Watchman Stove as a pre-cut kit that is ready to be welded together. This video shows how: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWWsATyIqrU
Watchman Stove.com
Comment: I saw a DIY rocket stove video that caught my eye the other day that had a similar design except it was just the bare bones rocket stove made with the same square steel tubing. I realized the simplicity of the design lends itself to do-it-yourselfer experimentation and sure enough I started coming across different versions on YouTube. There’s a small backpack version, a tent stove version and a version hooked up to a water heater. To sum up, you can buy the Watchman Stove already assembled, get as a kit to save money, or you could watch videos and make all or part of the stove from scratch. The design has been well tested obviously so you know it will work well. That will save a bunch of trial and error. So there are lots of options using the same basic fuel efficient simple design and easy to find components.
Here’s a design that breaks down and fits in an ammo can:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbnlIM41VAw
Here’s a similar design minus the extras to show how simple it can be:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8whL3vkw6Fo
I would add extra horizontal bracing at the base to prevent tipping from side to side, other than that great work.
Very similar to the coal pots that we cook with in the villages in Ghana. The top portion is what is used here. I like the side wood chute element with the closed in bottom; it’s a good conservation design. I might take a picture of this and share it with my local welder – I’m sure they can replicate it.
Watch the video about how to assemble the kit. It’s very detailed. They show every step. And also compare to the other link that shows a similar but simpler design. Any metal shop can make this type of stove.
Thanks! I’ll check it out tonight (no YouTube access at work)!
Side note: I’m starting the fence on my half-acre property this week! We got the trees cleared off last weekend (I’ve got the blisters to prove it); most were far too small and the teak variety didn’t lend much to shade, only 40+ years for timber, which I’m not interested in. Once I get my layout organized, I’ll work on planting some shade and fruit trees; the rainy season is just a few weeks away!