Alcohol Stoves

[trailfinder]

The pros and cons of alcohol stoves are pretty simple; light and compact, but slower (compared to propane) to bring water to a boil. When I backpack I am not in a hurry so I'm going to try to build an alcohol stove. I've checked the web for designs, but there are too many choices. If you have an alcohol stove that you built and are pleased with, then please email me where to find the design. Thanks!

[Nameless]

Hello,

I personally LOVE the super cat stove, you can find it at http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/index.html

Its extremely simple, and very quick. I use a half ounce of fuel to boil 2 or so cups of water (not rolling boil, but hot enough to cook with). These were all feild trials, so I dont know the time, other than it seemed very quick.

I personally use the templet you can find on his site, cutting it a little shorter than he recomends (I usally cut to about the first or second line up from the holes), and start your holes with a thumb tack. This way you get all the holes exactally where you want them, and you can make them larger with a drill. If you keep the drill going the direction to drill into the material when you pull it out, most of the little metal shards will be pulled off, and there is almost nothing to flatten. I havent found the need for a pot stand, but it could be kinda nice if you dont mind the weight. The stove itself is less than a quarter ounce.

I wish you the best, and ask any question you think of,
Pink

[Ender]

I've been using the Pepsi-can stove from pcthiker.com for years. works great, fun to build.

[trippclark]

AntiGravity Gear makes and sells a pepsi can alcohol stove for $12, and also offers very detailed instructions on making your own at

http://www.alcoholstove.com/

I have made one using their instructions, and while mine worked fine, the one they built works a little better (I guess their are some intangibles that just get better after you've made a few thousand of these things), so I bought one from AntiGravity Gear (http://www.antigravitygear.com).

They also offer a new primer pan ($2) that is really neat. It cannot be more than 0.1 oz and allows you to immediately place your pot on the stove so there is much less wasted heat/fuel.

Tripp

[trailfinder]

Thanks for your suggestion!


Hello,

I personally LOVE the super cat stove, you can find it at http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/index.html

Its extremely simple, and very quick. I use a half ounce of fuel to boil 2 or so cups of water (not rolling boil, but hot enough to cook with). These were all feild trials, so I dont know the time, other than it seemed very quick.

I personally use the templet you can find on his site, cutting it a little shorter than he recomends (I usally cut to about the first or second line up from the holes), and start your holes with a thumb tack. This way you get all the holes exactally where you want them, and you can make them larger with a drill. If you keep the drill going the direction to drill into the material when you pull it out, most of the little metal shards will be pulled off, and there is almost nothing to flatten. I havent found the need for a pot stand, but it could be kinda nice if you dont mind the weight. The stove itself is less than a quarter ounce.

I wish you the best, and ask any question you think of,
Pink

[Stoker53]

I have been using this stove with great results. For $9.00 you get a stove/windscreen and free shipping.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=87136&item=5199587965&rd=1

Eventually I might try my luck at building my own but for now this one more than meets me needs.

[honu]

I like the Atlanta stove. Took me less than an hour to make out of scraps of stuff I had in my garage. Total cost -- zero dollars.

Go to http://zenstoves.net/AtlantaStove.htm

If you go to the http://zenstoves.net (http://zenstoves.net/) page and scroll down, there is a list of alcohol stoves on the right hand side.

There is also lots of discussion about the atlanta stove on a thread on http://forums.backpacker.com (http://forums.backpacker.com/) Go to the ultralight section.

[stupe]

I made a stove by filling an Altoids tin ( I prefer the round ones that the sour Altoids come in ) with perlite ( that white gravelly stuff they use in potting soil, get it at the gardening store ) and topping it off by cutting a piece of wire mesh to fit inside the top, to hold the perlite in place. Uses about a tablespoon of fuel to make a quart pot of tea. It fits great in an Esbit stove to support the pot, and I carry some Esbit tablets for back up, in case I can't get alcohol. I've compared it, favorably I think, to some of the soda can stoves I've seen in action, although mine does'nt shoot out impressive jets of blue flame. It cooks well and I think it burns fuel more slowly, an advantage when making a big pot of Lipton Noodle or Rice Sides.
If you use a rectangular Altoids tin, you have to remove the lid to fit it in the Esbit stove. Lid still snaps back on. You could make a pot supporter if you don't want to spend eight or ten bucks on the Esbit stove. I made a wind screen from a piece of aluminum flashing, and the whole shebang weighs ounces and fits in my Kmart grease pot.

[MacGyver2005]

Check out this: http://www.backpacker.com/gear/article/0,1023,4566,00.html

[trailfinder]

Check out this: http://www.backpacker.com/gear/article/0,1023,4566,00.htmlThanks for the weblink!

[Sandy B]

Go fo it

I have made many stoves, but keep coming back to the pepsi stove. I like the cat type also. Build a few and make up your own mind. There is a web site called "wings" or something like that. It is where I got started.
Good Luck
Sandy

[MacGyver2005]

Thanks for the weblink!
Gladly! When in doubt, reference Backpacker Magazine. ;)

Regards,
-MacGyver
GA -->ME 2005

[Dances with Mice]

Gladly! When in doubt, reference Backpacker Magazine. That article in Backpacker sparked my interest in home-made alky stoves also. The burner can be downsized without sacrificing function, and the windscreen shown can be easily improved. There are illustrated step-by-step directions to make both in the Gear gallery.

Instructions for the downsized cat stove, which I dubbed the “kitten stove”, start here.
http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/5409/sort/1/size/big/cat/500/page/

It’s a good stove, reliable and sturdy, but I don’t get into the ‘my stove is better than your stove’ debates. They all work, this one works well.

The improvements to the windscreen design and directions to make it start here:
http://www.whiteblaze.net/gallery/showphoto.php/photo/5841/size/big/sort/1/cat/500

[flyfisher]

I like the Atlanta stove. Took me less than an hour to make out of scraps of stuff I had in my garage. Total cost -- zero dollars.

Go to http://zenstoves.net/AtlantaStove.htm

If you go to the http://zenstoves.net (http://zenstoves.net/) page and scroll down, there is a list of alcohol stoves on the right hand side.

There is also lots of discussion about the atlanta stove on a thread on http://forums.backpacker.com (http://forums.backpacker.com/) Go to the ultralight section.
I use the Atlanta stove design with a couple mods: I made 12 holes with a paper hole punch about a half inch above the bottom of the can. I don't put the fiberglass inside. That gives me room to put a box of matches inside the stove when storing it.

With this design, I can can carry my twig stove and an alcohol stove and both weigh less than 4 ounces. When the wood's twigs are dry, I burn twigs. When it has been raining, I can quickly cook on alcohol.

Coffee Twig stove:

http://www.imrisk.com/woodgas/coffeestove.htm

Rick