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Hot Box offers the lot
  |  First Published: September 2013



A new product that stood out at the Tinnie and Tackle show earlier this year was the Hot Box. The Hot Box is a portable outdoor stove, much like an old Billy stove of yester year but with some pretty fancy modifications allowing it to be portable and travel friendly.

There are three sizes available in the range and all three pack up within themselves, so at first glance these products seem to be too big for a standard camping trip. But the clever design means the legs, flume, side tables and all over accessories fit inside the main oven compartment for transport and storage, so it doesn’t take up much room at all. Smaller than a normal esky and about the size of a carton of beer, the Hot Box packs a mean punch.

I was super keen to try one out as I love an open fire. The smell of burning timber and cooking food is hard to beat when you’re out amongst the wilderness or at your favourite fishing destination.

The main thing that impressed me was the workmanship. The quality of the door and the way the components are joined is first class. Putting the Hot Box together is a simple exercise: screw on the legs, put on the side plates, connect the flume and then add your fuel, it’s that easy.

The Hot Box is not designed for a raging fire. It’s purpose is for cooking and radiant heat, and so massive tree stumps are not needed. I got the fire started with a fire starter brick, some twigs and a couple of pieces of hard wood cut into 20cm lengths. When the fire had caught I added 8 heat beads. If the heat slows you can simply add some more timber to get it going again and maybe add some more beads. Very easy and simple and the heat radiated is incredible as is the ambiance of this great campsite centrepiece.

I reckon most anglers have a man cave or shed. This would be a great feature if plumbed into the roof making those cold nights a pleasure to escape the kids as you hibernate for winter.

Cooking is easy. I laid an oven tray with a family sized chook on top of the heat beads and then added the veggies about an hour after the chook started. The meal was fantastic and had a slight smoky flavour to it. Maybe there is a possibility to smoke trout or tailor down the track – I can’t wait to try that out.

I had some friends over one weekend recently. The kids were being kids so we decided to sit outside in the patio area. I set up the Hot Box, placed it in the middle of the back yard on our grass and light a fire. We set out our chairs, opened the door and talked and drank the night way. The mood was fantastic and to my surprise when I rose in the morning there was no mess or burnt grass. How good are they? A suburban outdoor fire with no mess, all contained within itself. Clean up is simple, shovel it out and load up again.

So where do you get the Hot Box from? Give Lorey or Rod a call (Lorey: 0432 817008 or Rod: 0427887783), as they are two down to earth blokes who designed, build and sell the Hot Box. If there isn’t a Hot Box seller close to you, they will send you one to your door You can also visit their website at www.thehotbox.com.au.

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