After waiting several weeks we finally got our ger stove.  In the never ending quest to get something of high quality for a low price we had ordered a stove to be made for us through a friend.  Although it took much longer to make than any of us had expected since the man making it needed electricity to weld the parts together, we did finally get the call that it was done. The next day we eagerly drove to Dalanzadgad to pick it up.  Well, as we may have guessed, once Darkhuu went to collect the stove it was discovered that our stove was a piece of crap.  As in there were actual holes in the top and in the corners and it looked like it was pieced together with metal scraps from around the workshop.  Not the best design if one is trying to avoid carbon monoxide poisoning!

Working quickly Darkhuu’s relatives called around and we got a lead on a stove for sale in a ger district for the same price.  We rushed off to get it before someone else who valued being warm did.  Our stove is a bit strange looking compared to normal ger stoves, it reminds me a bit of a lunar module, but it works fabulously and gets our ger toasty warm in a matter of minutes.

Once we returned to town two gentlemen who are known about town for their craftiness with mud came over to prepare our stove for use.  All ger stoves get lined with bricks and mud which harden into thick, heat retaining walls after the first few fires.  Breaking old bricks apart with a hammer and gluing them in with a mud slurry, our bricklayers had our stove ready for use in under an hour.  The first fire was glorious!

To keep our stove company we have now added a fire proof tile for it to sit on, a dung/wood box, a coal bucket, some fire tongs and a poker, and an assortment of hot mitts.  Let the fire fiddling being!

Preparing the stove for use

The first fire. My cold little fingers were so happy!