I have made a few open jet stoves and i cant get them to bloom.

Whats going on?
what can i do?

What design are you using? How much of what type of fuel? Are you allowing the stove to bloom prior to placing the pot on it?

The answers to those questions will help to solve your problem.

first i tried the simplified zen stove

http://zenstoves.net/SimplifiedZenStove.htm

and then i made one from a Monster energy drink can with the screw on top

Oh, and i use about an ounce of Heet.

and i light the stove with the pot off it and as soon as i put it on top the flame is extinguished

Try this one. Takes 30 seconds to prime after lighting. Simple and boils 2 cups in 6-7 minutes generally.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRt8mNOP2b0

Easiest stove I ever made and works excellent. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AcrW27Leo4w
I have made some modifications since but you can add those if you like after buildind the stove. It takes longer to watch the vid than it takes to make the stove lol

I use the Pepsi can stove and I can bring 2 cups to a boil in 4-5 minutes. As for the HEET, which kind? The red bottle is isopropyl alcohol and burns really dirty and not as hot. The yellow bottle is Methyl alcohol and burns cleaner and hotter, but is dangerous stuff. You can absorb it through the skin and the liver converts it to formeldahyde in the body. I would advise denatured alcohol available at hardware stores, paint stores, etc. It the best stuff for a stove.

Now, you said you lit the stove and placed the pot on right away. Try letting it bloom, which takes about 10-30 seconds sometimes, then put the pot on it.

i am trying to make the Monster can stove work because the screw on top works as a perfect pot stand for a Keg-can-pot, while the jets can be made close to the center of the stove allowing for a smaller dispersion of the flame along the bottom of the pot.

just the problem is that i cant get it to bloom at all, i guess because the open top is somewhat narrow it is not getting enough air.

my modified stove has a 1/4 inch opening on the top
http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k287/phoenixdadeadhead/007-5.jpg

I use the Pepsi can stove and I can bring 2 cups to a boil in 4-5 minutes. As for the HEET, which kind? The red bottle is isopropyl alcohol and burns really dirty and not as hot. The yellow bottle is Methyl alcohol and burns cleaner and hotter, but is dangerous stuff. You can absorb it through the skin and the liver converts it to formeldahyde in the body. I would advise denatured alcohol available at hardware stores, paint stores, etc. It the best stuff for a stove.

Now, you said you lit the stove and placed the pot on right away. Try letting it bloom, which takes about 10-30 seconds sometimes, then put the pot on it.

sorry i wasn't very clear with that.
i light the stove and wait and wait and wait for the stove to bloom before i put the pot on, but as is my dilemma, the stove never blooms.

sorry i wasn't very clear with that.
i light the stove and wait and wait and wait for the stove to bloom before i put the pot on, but as is my dilemma, the stove never blooms.

I wish I had an answer but I'm not really familiar with the design you are using. I would think about a different design or recheck the instruction you fooolowed when making yours and see if maaybe you missed something.

If the stove isn't blooming, it could be that it's not getting hot enough to vaporize your fuel. You could set it on a couple thicknesses of foil to insulate it, or you may need to prime it somehow to get it hot and blooming. You can test this out by setting the stove on a tuna can lid or something as a priming pan and putting a good splash of fuel in the pan before you light it. This will heat up the whole stove and will better vaporize the fuel.

I made a stove out of a coffee can, the neck does make a nice stand. I found that if you set the lower edge of the neck piece down a bit into the base, lower than the top edge of the base, you can create a nice well all the way around that will serve as a priming ring if you splash some fuel into it.

Mine was a super simple low pressure design like a super cat and worked well, but had efficiency issues that I probably could have improved, but I got a starlyte, and it was so superior, that I just went with what worked.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/7/8/9/6/dscf4764.jpg

I just realized that you're using a monster drink can, not a coffee jug can. I made one out of one of those too, with a steel can food can as a base, but it was low pressure and had a stand. I was going for a resealable trangia type stove. http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/7/8/9/6/dscf5011.jpg The monster can already has a ring around it that you can use for priming, spill some fuel into that to prime it and see if that. Also, consider the size of your base, you may be trying to pressurize too big of a space. My cat food can base with the monster top was too big to even develop the low pressure the stove needed to generate enough heat.

I have made a few open jet stoves and i cant get them to bloom.

Whats going on?
what can i do?

When you say open jet I think Supercat style stove. Is that what you refer to?

In that type of stove your jets will never bloom without puting the pot on top of it.

If you put the pot on too soon the flames will go out. The stove needs to be gotten hot enough before setting the pot on gently. Don't slam bamit down, gentle is nice.

As long as you've made the stove according to Supercat directions it should work as described.

When JasonKlass first made his Supercat he had problems getting it to work. When he put the pot down on the stove the jets worked just as they were suppose to. Jason went on to be a world class stove maker. We all start as newbies. Then we get hooked on "making fire" and "watching water boil":banana

I just realized that you're using a monster drink can, not a coffee jug can. I made one out of one of those too, with a steel can food can as a base, but it was low pressure and had a stand. I was going for a resealable trangia type stove. http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/7/8/9/6/dscf5011.jpg The monster can already has a ring around it that you can use for priming, spill some fuel into that to prime it and see if that. Also, consider the size of your base, you may be trying to pressurize too big of a space. My cat food can base with the monster top was too big to even develop the low pressure the stove needed to generate enough heat.

my stove is basically the same model as that one, i chopped the bottom inch and top inch and fitted the top over the bottom, just like you did with the steel can, the only difference is i put a ring of thumb tack holes a couple millimeters from the screw top as the jets.

i think you are right and i am trying to pressurize too big of a space, i think with the height i have it now its too tall and there is not enough air getting to the fuel because even the open top flame is small and almost non-existant

Don't forget to try priming it, and you may need more/bigger jets, there's not much space between the jets and the bottom of the pot.

My cat food can base with the monster top was too big to even develop the low pressure the stove needed to generate enough heat.


Catharsis, what Mister Krabs is saying is more than likely your problem. Takes lots of heat to get them to work. Lots of priming fuel means less efficient. I like the supercat for beginners.

do you think shortening the height could work?

and thanks zelph i'll try the super cat out.

do you think shortening the height could work?

Yes, the les metal to heat the better. Enlarge the holes to create more lineal surface heated by the flames.