Just a Hot Drink (Cookset Setup)

[HeavyHanded]

My first go (ever) at a wind screen made from flashing. Going to experiment with some different sizes.

If you make one with a cone shape that's fairly tight fitting around the neck of your cup, allowing a notch out for the handle, you'll improve the efficiency a great deal, especially when setting up in the wind or if your stove doesn't quite fit with the shape of your cup as well as it might. A lot more of the heat generated will be trapped around the cup, and much of this will feed back to the stove. Remember, HEET or other alcohol type fuels only pack half the BTUs of white gas, feeding some heat back to the stove will make them burn a bit more effectively and anything you can do to prevent lost heat will pay off. Everything that escapes around the cup is heat that could have made your tea/coffee a bit better. Just provide a decent amount of vent holes around the bottom, and possibly some additional ones around the top just below the rim (but only if needed to control the burn). A cone pattern can be made by figuring out what the profile should look like (trapezoid). Cut this out, lay it down on a sheet of aluminum, and butt it up against itself three times in a semicircle. Figure out where all the upright lines converge and describe an arc across the top and bottom of the pattern. Add a little extra for a flap and cut it out. Rolled up it will make a nice cone shape. You can make the base as large or small as you like. Make it as thin as you can get away with, the shield itself will rob heat from your cup until the stove heats it up. If its too thick, more of your heat will constantly be absorbed by the shield, especially in some wind. Overall its a great concept - I'm gonna make a smaller unit for myself. More than once I've stopped for a rest on the trail and would have made a hot cup if my gear wasn't all packed tight. A microsized stove, screen and cup might have to become SOP.

 

[Katdaddy]

My first go (ever) at a wind screen made from flashing. Going to experiment with some different sizes.

Instead of flashing you might want to look into aluminum, as in one of those disposable baking pans from Wally World. That's what I use. Should be lighter than the flashing and easier to use.

 

[Guyon]

Guyon-

This thread got me interested is shrinking my daypack gear enough that I picked up a SP 450. It also renewed my interest in my old Gram Weenie. With this in mind, you might want to check out the linked thread. It is partially about getting the most out of the GW. Besides recommendations about the tightness of the windscreen, it is also suggested that one tie a wick around the stove to shorten bloom time. It looks like you could use a piece of jute or other string (as long as it would absorb a few drops of alcohol.) If you wanted the wick to last, you'd use fiberglass wick. The other suggestion is to use Everclear instead of HEET.

Here's the link:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=28627&disable_pagination=1

If you make one with a cone shape that's fairly tight fitting around the neck of your cup, allowing a notch out for the handle, you'll improve the efficiency a great deal, especially when setting up in the wind or if your stove doesn't quite fit with the shape of your cup as well as it might. A lot more of the heat generated will be trapped around the cup, and much of this will feed back to the stove. Remember, HEET or other alcohol type fuels only pack half the BTUs of white gas, feeding some heat back to the stove will make them burn a bit more effectively and anything you can do to prevent lost heat will pay off. Everything that escapes around the cup is heat that could have made your tea/coffee a bit better. Just provide a decent amount of vent holes around the bottom, and possibly some additional ones around the top just below the rim (but only if needed to control the burn). A cone pattern can be made by figuring out what the profile should look like (trapezoid). Cut this out, lay it down on a sheet of aluminum, and butt it up against itself three times in a semicircle. Figure out where all the upright lines converge and describe an arc across the top and bottom of the pattern. Add a little extra for a flap and cut it out. Rolled up it will make a nice cone shape. You can make the base as large or small as you like. Make it as thin as you can get away with, the shield itself will rob heat from your cup until the stove heats it up. If its too thick, more of your heat will constantly be absorbed by the shield, especially in some wind. Overall its a great concept - I'm gonna make a smaller unit for myself. More than once I've stopped for a rest on the trail and would have made a hot cup if my gear wasn't all packed tight. A microsized stove, screen and cup might have to become SOP.

Instead of flashing you might want to look into aluminum, as in one of those disposable baking pans from Wally World. That's what I use. Should be lighter than the flashing and easier to use.

All outstanding suggestions and info. Thanks to the three of you. I'm going to give a new windscreen a whirl eventually.
I hit the lake for some fishing on Saturday and used the kit: http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/s...ay-A-Few-Pics-Obligatory-Becker-Shot-Included
It worked just fine and got my water plenty hot for steeping tea. It will be interesting to see how it does as the temperatures drop.

 

[KBamhi]

I found a coffee can lid that fit my cup. I simply took the cup to the grocery store and tried different lids till I found one that fit, then I bought the appropriate item.

 

[Guyon]

I found a coffee can lid that fit my cup. I simply took the cup to the grocery store and tried different lids till I found one that fit, then I bought the appropriate item.

I got gear fever and purchased both the 450 and the 600 single wall mugs (for different kits). I'm going to take your advice, and I'll report back if I find any product lids that work.

 

[Scott Free]

Earlier in this thread, I proposed a floating silicone lid. So, I just had to test the idea myself. I used a Snow Peak 600 and 16 oz. of room temp water on a Gram Weenie Pro. I did the test indoors and without a windscreen. My usual lid is a fitted aluminum lid that I got from Jason Klass. It weighs .5 oz. The silicone "lid" came from an auction site. I cut it to fit. It weighs .2 oz. One of the things I learned is that the silicone lid does not actually float, but instead seems to have a neutral buoyancy. If the "lid" is touching the sides of the cup at all, it will "float" there.

The results: The boil time with a conventional aluminum lid was 8:15. The silicone lid boil time was 8 minutes. One advantage to the silicone is that it will act as a sipper lid and moves out of the way for drinking when the cup is tipped. When the cup is level, the silicone disk goes back to keeping the contents hot.

I still prefer the conventional lid. I think a person would have to pretty obsessive about weight and efficiency to prefer the floppy silicone lid.

 

[Mannlicher]

I have a no name stainless steel cup hanging on my pack. There is always an esbit stove and some tabs in a baggie in the pack. Simple, quick, cheap.