I've recently been trying out a homemade alcohol stove. I'm amazed at the way this thing kicks butt! I make it from a 8 oz Dole mandarin orange can and a 3 oz spam spread can (you can use a cat food can but I don't like the taste of cat food although I'm sure it's better for you than spam). I use a hole saw to cut a 1 1/2" hole in the Dole can bottom (after removing the top and the goodies, of course) and then a church key to cut 6 church-key punctures in the side of the can (make sure your church key is sharp for this). So the can sits upside down with six v-shaped holes in the side and a 1 1/2" hole in the "top."
The spam can is lined with some thin, say 1/4" fiberglass insulation. I just peeled off a hunk of some that was lying around here. I think it came from some window weather stripping kit or something. Then I cut a small hunk of aluminum screen (got it from the hardware for free from the scrap bin) and lined the spam can with that. So the 3 oz spam can now has a thin layer of fiberglass insulation around it's inside edge, held in place by a piece of window screen.
Now slip the spam can into the dole can, open side up. The metal that folded in from the church-key cuts serves to hold the can in place.
Pour 2 oz of ethanol into the hole, light, and you have an alcohol stove that will amaze you and never fail. This is much lighter and far more dependable than my svea 123 or my msr. The mandarin oranges cost 79 cents, the spam 89 cents. Make three and now you have backups The only way you ruin one of these is to accidentally step on it. It really is a far more dependable stove than the colemans, msrs, or sveas for that matter (they all break down and require maintenance). I suppose it will eventually wear out but I don't know how many total burns you can get out of it. A survey of appalachian trail hikers showed that the alcohol stove was the only stove with zero failures (it was a small survey though).
Since trying this little puppy, I've become a convert to alcohol-ism. But I was also curious because I heard there was a commercially available alcohol stove out there that in testing, beat most of the home brewed varieties. I checked all the sources I could find but no one had this stove (it's an import). Then I stumbled across a source last week and just ordered one last Friday. The stove is called a Trangia Westwind Stove. It's supposed to be pretty simple in design but I guess it does have jets and maybe this is how it is able to concentrate its heat. I don't know. I can't wait to get a closer look at it. Soon as I get it, I will test it head-to-head with my homebrewed model.
Here's the outfit I ordered it from.
http://www.gearheads-inc.com/gifts.html
Oh yeah, one more thing, if you don't like fruit, you can also use a 9 oz tuna can.
------------------
Hoodoo
The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stonethe light-pressd blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.
Walt Whitman
[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 05-14-2000).]
The spam can is lined with some thin, say 1/4" fiberglass insulation. I just peeled off a hunk of some that was lying around here. I think it came from some window weather stripping kit or something. Then I cut a small hunk of aluminum screen (got it from the hardware for free from the scrap bin) and lined the spam can with that. So the 3 oz spam can now has a thin layer of fiberglass insulation around it's inside edge, held in place by a piece of window screen.
Now slip the spam can into the dole can, open side up. The metal that folded in from the church-key cuts serves to hold the can in place.
Pour 2 oz of ethanol into the hole, light, and you have an alcohol stove that will amaze you and never fail. This is much lighter and far more dependable than my svea 123 or my msr. The mandarin oranges cost 79 cents, the spam 89 cents. Make three and now you have backups The only way you ruin one of these is to accidentally step on it. It really is a far more dependable stove than the colemans, msrs, or sveas for that matter (they all break down and require maintenance). I suppose it will eventually wear out but I don't know how many total burns you can get out of it. A survey of appalachian trail hikers showed that the alcohol stove was the only stove with zero failures (it was a small survey though).
Since trying this little puppy, I've become a convert to alcohol-ism. But I was also curious because I heard there was a commercially available alcohol stove out there that in testing, beat most of the home brewed varieties. I checked all the sources I could find but no one had this stove (it's an import). Then I stumbled across a source last week and just ordered one last Friday. The stove is called a Trangia Westwind Stove. It's supposed to be pretty simple in design but I guess it does have jets and maybe this is how it is able to concentrate its heat. I don't know. I can't wait to get a closer look at it. Soon as I get it, I will test it head-to-head with my homebrewed model.
Here's the outfit I ordered it from.
http://www.gearheads-inc.com/gifts.html
Oh yeah, one more thing, if you don't like fruit, you can also use a 9 oz tuna can.
------------------
Hoodoo
The low, hoarse purr of the whirling stonethe light-pressd blade,
Diffusing, dropping, sideways-darting, in tiny showers of gold,
Sparkles from the wheel.
Walt Whitman
[This message has been edited by Hoodoo (edited 05-14-2000).]
