chris
10-10-2002, 10:04
I'll try to use Sgt. Rock's review format here.
Name: Chris
Age: 28
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 210 lbs
Experience: 4 years solo hiking, plus boyscouts. Extended trips in the Sierras, Rockies, lower Cascades, Smokys, Nepal. Exploratory mountaineering in northern British Columbia.
Similar products used: None.
Locations tested: In my kitchen, although similar models have made two 3 day trips with me into the Smokys.
Weight: .2 oz to .3 oz depending on model.
Price: Free
Manufacturer address: Your home.
Description: The lackwit stove is an alcohol stove for the mechanically challenged. That is why I built one. Since I am not that creative, I most likely saw this idea in use by another hiker or on a website. The lackwit stove is just the lower third of a beer can, with some insulation stuffed in it. That is all. So, if someone steps on yours and squishes it flat, you can easily make another one in a hurry. The purpose of the below test was to examine the effects of the insulation on the performance of the stove.
Fuel Used: HEET gasline antifreeze (methyl alcohol, I think).
Amount of water: 1 pint
Pot used: 1.5 L MSR blacklit pot with lid.
Stove stand: Homemade from a coffee can.
Warnings: I did this in my kitchen without a way to accurately gauge boiling. I used the same method as I do in the outdoors: When I see a significant amount of steam coming out, I call it a boil. Times were kept on a watch and weights measured on a scale. Specific numbers might vary for you, but hopefully the relative results will hold.
Process: I built 4 models, each with a varying amount of insulation (fiberglass, pink type). I ran 3 trials for each stove, corresponding to 1 (A), 1.5 (B), and 2 Tbs (C) of fuel. There are .5 oz per Tbs.
I recorded the amount of time to boil and the total length of burn.
Stove 1 (S1): No insulation.
Stove 2 (S2): A small, wispy bit of insulation.
The bottom of the stove is clearly visible
throughout.
Stove 3 (S3): The lower third of the stove has
insulation. Cannot see the bottom.
Stove 4 (S4): Stove is packed full of insulation.
This is the only stove where the amount of
insulation registers on my scale (.1oz).
The first three stoves weigh .2 oz.
The tests.
A,B,C refer to the fuel amounts above. Time is
measured in minutes, seconds.
Boil time.
Stove| A | B | C |
------------------------
S1 | - | 6,12|8,04 |
S2 | - |5,37 |5,50 |
S3 | - |7,08 |7,35 |
S4 | - | - |7,37 |
Length of Burn
Stove| A | B | C |
------------------------
S1 |4,50 |8,04 |10,37|
S2 |4,35 |7,27 |11,57|
S3 |6,03 |8,20 |10,33|
S4 |9,14 |8,24 |11,15|
Conclusions: It is clear that stuffing the stove fuel of insulation reduces BTU output significantly, increases total burn time on the low end of fuel use, and hence should not be used.
It appears that a very small amount of insulation provides the best stove characteristics, but that not using it does not significantly reduced stove performance, at least in real world uses. Which one will I carry? Probably stove 2. However, I have a couple of other lackwit stoves that are in the pipeline, including one with a built in icemachine.
Name: Chris
Age: 28
Height: 6'4"
Weight: 210 lbs
Experience: 4 years solo hiking, plus boyscouts. Extended trips in the Sierras, Rockies, lower Cascades, Smokys, Nepal. Exploratory mountaineering in northern British Columbia.
Similar products used: None.
Locations tested: In my kitchen, although similar models have made two 3 day trips with me into the Smokys.
Weight: .2 oz to .3 oz depending on model.
Price: Free
Manufacturer address: Your home.
Description: The lackwit stove is an alcohol stove for the mechanically challenged. That is why I built one. Since I am not that creative, I most likely saw this idea in use by another hiker or on a website. The lackwit stove is just the lower third of a beer can, with some insulation stuffed in it. That is all. So, if someone steps on yours and squishes it flat, you can easily make another one in a hurry. The purpose of the below test was to examine the effects of the insulation on the performance of the stove.
Fuel Used: HEET gasline antifreeze (methyl alcohol, I think).
Amount of water: 1 pint
Pot used: 1.5 L MSR blacklit pot with lid.
Stove stand: Homemade from a coffee can.
Warnings: I did this in my kitchen without a way to accurately gauge boiling. I used the same method as I do in the outdoors: When I see a significant amount of steam coming out, I call it a boil. Times were kept on a watch and weights measured on a scale. Specific numbers might vary for you, but hopefully the relative results will hold.
Process: I built 4 models, each with a varying amount of insulation (fiberglass, pink type). I ran 3 trials for each stove, corresponding to 1 (A), 1.5 (B), and 2 Tbs (C) of fuel. There are .5 oz per Tbs.
I recorded the amount of time to boil and the total length of burn.
Stove 1 (S1): No insulation.
Stove 2 (S2): A small, wispy bit of insulation.
The bottom of the stove is clearly visible
throughout.
Stove 3 (S3): The lower third of the stove has
insulation. Cannot see the bottom.
Stove 4 (S4): Stove is packed full of insulation.
This is the only stove where the amount of
insulation registers on my scale (.1oz).
The first three stoves weigh .2 oz.
The tests.
A,B,C refer to the fuel amounts above. Time is
measured in minutes, seconds.
Boil time.
Stove| A | B | C |
------------------------
S1 | - | 6,12|8,04 |
S2 | - |5,37 |5,50 |
S3 | - |7,08 |7,35 |
S4 | - | - |7,37 |
Length of Burn
Stove| A | B | C |
------------------------
S1 |4,50 |8,04 |10,37|
S2 |4,35 |7,27 |11,57|
S3 |6,03 |8,20 |10,33|
S4 |9,14 |8,24 |11,15|
Conclusions: It is clear that stuffing the stove fuel of insulation reduces BTU output significantly, increases total burn time on the low end of fuel use, and hence should not be used.
It appears that a very small amount of insulation provides the best stove characteristics, but that not using it does not significantly reduced stove performance, at least in real world uses. Which one will I carry? Probably stove 2. However, I have a couple of other lackwit stoves that are in the pipeline, including one with a built in icemachine.