Pop Top Alcohol Stove Help!

screwthe49ers

screwthe49ers

Joined
Mar 14, 2008
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343
Can anyone with experience making the infamous pop top alcohol stove help me out a little. I've made mine per instructions, using an awl to make the burner holes. I started making them small, almost as if I took a sewing needle and pushed it through for each hole. After several tries, that wouldn't burn. So after enlarging each hole to double the size, it still wouldn't burn. So here I am with the holes the size of a nail hole and it will start to burn on the holes from about 12'o clock to 3o'clock, but as soon as I out the cup on it to boil water, it goes out! I am using 91% isopropyl alcohol, which should be fine according to most websites on the subject.
 
are all of your holes on one level?

i think you might need a couple of holes lower down to allow air to mix with the alcohol fumes in order to burn...at least that's how mine seem to work.

i've been experimenting with them a little lately...but i can't quite get them working properly yet... at least they are cheap to experiment with!
 
How do you prime the burn? You need to prime the fuel so it hot enough to combust properly. Are you using denatured alcohol? Don't use isopropal alcohol, it doesn't burn as clean and doesn't burn as hot. Please post a pic of your stove. A top and side view. That will make it easier to figure out whats not working correctly. If you make it right, the pin sized holes work fine.
 
From the playing I've done with the alcohol stoves I've learned also that they need to breathe, the commercial ones have a big well in the middle ... even the penny stove needs the hole under the penny in the middle.
 
Isopropyl alcohol is not the right stuff to use. Meth spirits will work much better. This website is the best I've found for building pop-can stoves. I have built the Heineken stove and it works quite well. Without seeing your stove I can't comment on why it doesn't want to fire.

http://www.csun.edu/~mjurey/penny.html#
 
What is the right alcohol to buy and what stores carry it?? What exactly is the full name of "meth spirits? I'm kinda hazy on the different alcohol types unless it's for drinkin'!
 
Probably a silly question but you say it goes out when you put the "cup on it to boil water". You dont actually put the cup on the stove, do you?
 
Denatured alcohol is what you want; look in the paint section. I think the automotive gas line antifreeze sold under the name Heet is about the same stuff too.

The pop can stoves seem unnecessarily complicated. I made a couple of the "supercat" alc stoves, which are easier and worked right away.
 
bentblade said:
Probably a silly question but you say it goes out when you put the "cup on it to boil water". You dont actually put the cup on the stove, do you?
Click to expand...

Yeah, in a lot of the pics, people had put together stoves and been able to set the cup right on top. You're saying don't do that!?
 
here is a stove designed to have the pot set right on the stove, to provide pressure. these are the sort i have been messing with. i can get them to work about half the time (by that, i mean that half the stoves i make work).

i feel like i'm getting close, but i haven't found that magical formula yet.
 
Foilist said:
Denatured alcohol is what you want; look in the paint section. I think the automotive gas line antifreeze sold under the name Heet is about the same stuff too.

Heet is not the same as denatured alcohol. Heet (yellow not red) works well in cat stoves but it will gum up the jets in a pop stove. Don't use it in stoves have jets and pressurize themselves without a cup on top.
Click to expand...
 
I use stoves with an open fuel hole, as well as stoves with all but the burner holes sealed, with great results. I cook directly on top of mine, or with a pot holder. As long as your stove is cut to fit flush with the into the bottom taper of the female section, you can place a reasonable amount of weight on them. As far as hole size, I have a couple with holes notably smaller than 1/64" that burn fine. Without pics it is hard to diagnose your problem, but I am guessing primer setup, and maybe fuel type. Here is a link to some pics and discussion of a few of my little 'uns.
http://www.bladeforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=608011

Good luck,
Beckerhead
 
screwthe49ers said:
Yeah, in a lot of the pics, people had put together stoves and been able to set the cup right on top. You're saying don't do that!?
Click to expand...

Im just guessing. I have never used one myself but was thinking that if you put the stove directly on the stove you would smother the flame by blocking the holes and air flow. I have only seen pictures of them being used with stands.

Also I was wondering if you are burning liquid alcohol in this type of stove or the vapor comming from the alcohol in the stove. I always assumed it was the vapor.
If it is the vapor that is burning then maybe you are over filling the stove and not alowing enough vapor to build up and come out of the holes. mv25b mentioned priming / heating being need for them to work which would seem to increase the vapor comming from the stove and creating more flame. ?????????????
Thats how the little svea stoves work. You heat the white gas in the burner tube to form a gas. They don't burn the gas in a liquid form.

Just another thought
 
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Ok, seems most stove designs aren't made fpr setting the cup/pot directly on top, so mine is working fine. The 91% isopropyl seems ok, but I'm gonna try the yellow heet and the methylated spirits, too. 2 wire hangers and my LM and I was in business.

I did a "scientific study and while I was making the stove I set the cup of water, measured at 8oz, outside, to get to actual winter temperature. From that to rolling boil was 7:25, so I was pretty happy for a total investment of $2.28, plus the hassle of telling the kids to quit crushing their damn coke cans!

I'll try too post a step-by-step with pics either Sunday a.m. or sometime Tuesday.

BTW, thanks for all the tips. Any good compact, durable windsrenn ideas besides aluminum foil? I'm thinking of using a metal coffee can and cutting about 1/4 around and 2/3 from the top down off and re-attaching it with a couple cabinet hinges and a small screen door hook and eye closure and packing the stove, pot stand, fuel, fuel tabs for the usgi cup stove, matches, etc in there too.
 
I gave up with making my own and ended up with three White Box stoves ($20). The newest has a clean rolled edge rather than the rivets they used before and an included fuel bottle). I use Heet (in the yellow bottle). Works great and I have one in each pack.
 
this is what you want, available at Home depot or Lowes in the paint section. Its often called alcohol stove fuel or Methyl Hydrate:

the one on the right:
pic241220.jpg


stuff like HEET and other methyl hydrate BASED fuels/cleaners etc have other additives added to them, they will burn with a yellowish/orangish blue flame. Pure methyl hydrate burns 100% clean and with a blue flame.
 
My experience with Heet in the White Box stoves is that it burns blue. It's a recommended fuel *for that stove*.
 
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