Alcohol Stove

S

soapboxpreacher

Joined
Apr 3, 2010
Messages
955
Ok so I have access to a great metal shop and want to make something a little nicer then a soda/pop can stove. Your design ideas are welcome here. In fact I want everyones advice on design. I usually carry a GI Canteen kit but I want to start a different approach to this. Since GI cups, stove stands and so on are getting less available I want to use some common stuff available to see if I can find a more modern and smaller yet lighter approach. I want to base it on a standard 32oz naglene bottle with a snow peak Ti cup (or like) and make a stove that I can put the cup on. Something that has a folding wind screen or wind ring that could be integrated to the stove or just nested around it when the cup is nested around the nalgene bottle. I like nesting the cup around the nalgene for the space saving is excellent and using a common naglene bottle is smart and practical for they are common and offer a ton purposes (Water filter screw on them (MSR Mini-Works etc). As I said, I am considering nesting the stove and windscreen/ring (folding or cup size around the snow peak ti cup so the whole thing fits together nicely and stores without taking up much addition space or weight. Let me know what you guys thing. I am yet to find a product designed around this idea. But I believe I can make one. Maybe even take it one step further.
 
soapboxpreacher said:
Ok so I have access to a great metal shop and want to make something a little nicer then a soda/pop can stove. Your design ideas are welcome here. In fact I want everyones advice on design. I usually carry a GI Canteen kit but I want to start a different approach to this. Since GI cups, stove stands and so on are getting less available I want to use some common stuff available to see if I can find a more modern and smaller yet lighter approach. I want to base it on a standard 32oz naglene bottle with a snow peak Ti cup (or like) and make a stove that I can put the cup on. Something that has a folding wind screen or wind ring that could be integrated to the stove or just nested around it when the cup is nested around the nalgene bottle. I like nesting the cup around the nalgene for the space saving is excellent and using a common naglene bottle is smart and practical for they are common and offer a ton purposes (Water filter screw on them (MSR Mini-Works etc). As I said, I am considering nesting the stove and windscreen/ring (folding or cup size around the snow peak ti cup so the whole thing fits together nicely and stores without taking up much addition space or weight. Let me know what you guys thing. I am yet to find a product designed around this idea. But I believe I can make one. Maybe even take it one step further.
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Check out this guys machined alcohol stoves. He started out innovating the common pop can stove, and has now progressed to machined aluminum.
http://minibulldesigns.com/
 
I've been using the honey stove for a wood stove, but it can be put together with only four sides instead of six to be used with synthetic fuels. It's a handy little piece of kit that I enjoy a lot...

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I'd suggest going to REI to get some ideas.

Also, if you are into winter/cold weather camping I'd suggest the Soto canister stove - it works!
 
Rather than soda cans or soup cans, use a stainless or aluminum water bottle.

You can get them for as cheap as $2-3 in discount stores. These have the correct shape and are much more solid than soda or soup cans.
 
While we're doing alcohol stoves and since the last post was about aluminum bottles, a bit of advice is requested...
I can't find aluminum bottles in my area, but someone was nice enough to send me a couple recently. The aluminum is thicker than a can's.
What's the best way to cut these things? If a electric miter saw would make a clean cut without risk, I'd try it.
Other options are a Dremel with a cutting rotor or a good old fasioned hacksaw.
 
Hey Jgon, that's a cool little stove but did you really pay close to 70 US for it? The website lists it at 35 UK pounds.
 
Guyon said:
What's the best way to cut these things?
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Whatever you're sawing you want a fine enough toothed saw to have at least two teeth on it at all times. If those bottles are as thin as I think they are you're never going to find a saw fine enough, so you'll have to use a cut-off wheel.
 
Guyon said:
While we're doing alcohol stoves and since the last post was about aluminum bottles, a bit of advice is requested...
The aluminum is thicker than a can's.
What's the best way to cut these things? If a electric miter saw would make a clean cut without risk, I'd try it.
Other options are a Dremel with a cutting rotor or a good old fasioned hacksaw.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't use a hack saw. Not knowing how much thicker your aluminum bottles are than a can, you could try a rig like this:



Keep spinning it until it can be snapped.

If too thick I would use a Dremel, a thin cutting wheel, and a steady hand. ;)
 
Guyon said:
While we're doing alcohol stoves and since the last post was about aluminum bottles, a bit of advice is requested...
I can't find aluminum bottles in my area, but someone was nice enough to send me a couple recently. The aluminum is thicker than a can's.
What's the best way to cut these things? If a electric miter saw would make a clean cut without risk, I'd try it.
Other options are a Dremel with a cutting rotor or a good old fasioned hacksaw.
Click to expand...

I'd start by making a continuous line around the whole bottle with a sharpie, then scoring it with a fine toothed coping saw, or at least that's how I cut the bottle I made my white box clone from. Once you're most of the way through, the remaining aluminum was brittle enough to just snap off. The edge was made level and smooth by rubbing briefly with a circular motion on some sandpaper placed on a hard, flat surface.

A hacksaw with a fine toothed blade would also work well, I suspect.
 
I'll be interested to see what you come up with. I started playing with the soda can stoves last summer, and I just got one of the ones made by brasslite, but I haven't had a chance to fire it up yet. I also plan on trying one of the ones by Trangia. I particularly like that the Trangia has a screw on top so that you can keep fuel in the stove between uses. That may or may not be something you'd like to incorporate into your design.
 
Shotgun said:
Hey Jgon, that's a cool little stove but did you really pay close to 70 US for it? The website lists it at 35 UK pounds.
Click to expand...

"Buy the best you can and you will only cry once."
Well, the saying goes something like that right?

Hey, we take pleasure in owning nice gear,
take a look at just about any knife picture on
this forum and you will see that.

Besides, it looks like a much better stove than
the one for a $100.00.:D
 
The thicker metal bottles will cut with a hacksaw.
They usually are pretty darn thick, if you are talking
about the coffee ones. Or a dremel would work, as well.

I would try hacksaw first, things are much stronger than
we give them credit to be. Well, that is what I always find.
 
Sometimes simple is better ... my mate Scotty takes a small tin of fish and a small bottle of alcohol, eats the fish and half fills the tin with alcohol ... instant stove -

scottyStove.jpg

Scotty Stove
 
dart I have this setup now and I really like it, but it is getting harder to find.

I did some preliminary sketches and I am starting to like what I am coming up with. I think I will actually make my own cup as well. I have access to hydroforming presses and CNC. So with some scrap I am going to make a cup with handles that are higher up on the cup so when the wind ring (also is the stand for the cup) is nested around it it can go up a bit more, once again helping maximize space. I will do a lid for the cup and the stove design will be somewhat of a modified vargo. The case/bag for it will have a side pocket for an 8oz alcohol bottle and a second pocket for a spork. I was even thinking about a matches lighter compartment as well. Draw string on top that can easily be opened and the bottle slide out without loosing the cup, lid, wind ring, and stove. I think it is going to be pretty nice. Will take some pictures of it when I get more done. Thanks guys
 
Soap, for your info this is a name that helps to locate the cup and shield - Hexi Stove Kidney Shape Military Field Camping B910
Good luck with your design, maybe you can include some sort of volume control.
 
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