View Full Version : pot support over a pop can alcohol stove
I got one of my old pop can stoves going, and it works well. I also have a wind screen cut out of an aluminum baking pan, that should work OK. Still need to punch some air holes in it though. What is a good way to support the pot over an alcohol stove? It needs to be up about 2" from the ground/base, and the lighter the better.
I'm thinking a ring of hardware cloth, but that stuff has so many sharp edges. Maybe need to file down the points some.
i dont need a pot support,my stove has jets on the side:cool: neo
i dont need a pot support,my stove has jets on the side:cool: neo
My alclohol stove has jets on the sides too! :banana
DEADRECKON'UN
01-13-2006, 12:42
I have used hardware cloth and rabbit fence wire with good results. The BPL site has plans for a "Z" support made from a single piece of aluminum or titanium rod.Haven't tried that yet, but intend to. Problem with the hardware cloth or fencing material is that it rusts over time. Deadreckon'un
I've seen some people use tent stakes for support. Hope that helps.
I've used the same bent coathanger stand for years. I've recently upgraded to bent bike spokes. Courtesy of a stovemaker who was astonished at my stove system . He thought I needed an upgrade!
Anyway, check it out:
http://www.magnanti.com/miscwritings/oldyeller.htm
It really is a simple and effective stove support. Did the LT (second time), PCT and Colorado Trail and other journeys with the same stove , pot, windscreen and bent coat hanger.
When people ask me if I do a lot of outdoor stuff, I can just send them this link. :D
jackiebolen
01-13-2006, 15:16
I went the ultralight route and used rocks. Or bricks at shelters. Or logs. Or whatever. A bit unstable at times but it worked for me. Eventually people would feel sorry for me and insist that I use their stands.
Shiraz-mataz
01-13-2006, 15:50
Ever since I ran across the web site for the Pepsi can stove I've been obsessed with making one. The "one" has since turned into "four" so far with more planned, each one tweaked just a little to see how the performance changes. What can I say...? I'm a mechanical engineer! The first thing I noticed was that the pot was too unstable for my liking so I went off on a tangent and started designing my own pot stand. I wanted something that would fit inside my smallest pot so that defined my dimensions. Of course I used my CAD system at work to detail the final design and I (shhh... don't tell anyone this...) asked our metal shop to cut the pieces out of 304 stainless steel, 0.032 in thick. Our waterjet cutter knocked out the two intricate pieces lickety-split! The two pieces have interconnecting slots that form an "X" shape when assembled. There is a recess in the upper portion of the stand that holds the burner itself, the top openning of which is flush against the bottom of the pot. I just finished all this yesterday and tried it out last night. Worked GrrrrrrEAT! And the stand and burner together only weigh about 2.4 ounces. I'll try to post some photos when I have them. Next I might try tackling some way to throttle the burner so it's easier to simmer!
i made my ion stove from two small V8 juice cans. it's about 3/4" tall. for a pot stand, i use a large catfood can (aluminum was the key). i marked three points on it, equally spaced, that would remain as 'pillars' to support the pot. i cut the rest of the sides away, leaving just the bottom, pillars, and top rim (which makes it a lot smoother and less likely to catch on stuff). i also bent the sides of each pillar toward the inside, again for a smoother finish. there is exactly 5/8" of space between the stove top and the pot bottom, like it's supposed to have for optimum performance. and it won't rust. a plastic cup, the stove, a lighter, and a scrubbie all fit inside it, and then the whole thing fits inside my pot.
i've used hardware cloth, tent stakes stuck through the windscreen, a coffee can cut down similar to the cat food can i just described, a coat hanger stand that i couldn't get stable enough for my liking, and a really fancy one i made that comes apart into 6 pieces (three brass legs and three steel brackets that hold them together. too heavy). easiest of the batch was the hardware cloth. just cut it and file the pointy parts off.
I was fooling around in the shop today, looking for a way to make a stand. One way that almost worked was:
Take some small copper tubing, bend it in a circle a little larger than the stove. Drill three vertical holes in it, the exact diameter of a bike spoke, and stick bike spokes in it. Trim the bike spokes to the right height.
After fooling around with it for a while, I decided that what I needed was some automotive brake line, not copper tubing. I might get some and keep trying, this idea has some potential.
I use hardware cloth. I think that my pot is too unstable to just set it on top of the Pepsi can stove.
jasonklass
01-13-2006, 20:52
I've used the same bent coathanger stand for years. I've recently upgraded to bent bike spokes. Courtesy of a stovemaker who was astonished at my stove system . He thought I needed an upgrade!
Anyway, check it out:
http://www.magnanti.com/miscwritings/oldyeller.htm
It really is a simple and effective stove support. Did the LT (second time), PCT and Colorado Trail and other journeys with the same stove , pot, windscreen and bent coat hanger.
When people ask me if I do a lot of outdoor stuff, I can just send them this link. :D
Man, that's just about the most beat up cooking kit I've ever seen! What the hell did you do to that pot? Fend off a Grizzly with it?
I bought some lightweight aluminum from Lowes and made a pot stand similiar to the pot stand for an Etowah stove. Weighs .3 oz.
MtnTopThinker
01-13-2006, 22:29
For my soda can stove I fabricated a combination windscreen and pot holder from a piece of aluminum flashing. I bent three v-shaped legs at even intervals around the circumference. One end of the windscreen is a V and the other end is a tab that slips into the V--thus the connecting point is one of the pot holder legs. Then cut the tops off of the V's down to 2" above the top of my soda can stove. The stove fits between the V's. I punched vent holes on one side at the bottom of the windscreen for air. The circumference of the windscreen is 1/4" larger than the pot that sits inside, thus directing all heat to the pot. The whole contraption coils up and fits inside the Snow Peak titanium pot along with the stove and a 10 oz. bottle of fuel.
mweinstone
01-14-2006, 00:44
all i care about with a stand is stability.all i care about with a stove is having a lid,simmering and efficency.i wont carry a stove in my cookpot.its for food only.so i use a trangia burner.i have the stabillity and the lid and simmering and the best fuel use rate.yes i am heavy,yes i am exspensive,and i am slow.i am a turtle .please make soup!
Man, that's just about the most beat up cooking kit I've ever seen! What the hell did you do to that pot? Fend off a Grizzly with it?
Took a walk every now and then...
;)
Toolshed
01-14-2006, 21:14
I use 1/4 inch hardware cloth for potstands on all my pepsi can stoves (I've made a lot for friends). I have a bench grinder and I grind down and polish off the sharp nubs from each piece of wire. only takes a minute if you can find someone with a grinder.
For my soda can stove I fabricated a combination windscreen and pot holder from a piece of aluminum flashing.
Nice solution!
Just Jeff
01-15-2006, 01:04
Multi-use tent pegs, windscreen, pot stand...OES-style:
http://www.outdoorequipmentsupplier.com/alcoholstoves.htm
I always carried extra so I could cook without taking down my shelter, so I didn't save any weight with the multi-use aspect. That meant I had extra stakes in case I lost one, though - they're like 2g each.
There's another design that looked good but I can't find a link. Basically, start with two wires shaped like this: \__/ Now get a small copper tube, about 1/8" diameter, and stick one end of each wire inside of it. Secure so it won't come out. Now turn it over and you're done - spread the two wires out so it makes a tripod, put the stove underneath it, and the stove sits on the flat part (the middle section of the curve). Looks very light and pretty sturdy, but I never actually used one.
I've switched to a cannister stove now, though.
Whatever stand you settle on, make sure that you have enough space between the top of the stove and the bottom of the pot to allow for complete combustion of the fuel. If the support is too short, the alcohol will start burning under the pot, but a lot of it will burn on its way up the side of the pot - inefficient. I settled on roughly 1-1/2" for a good distance between stove top (open top Pepsi stove) and pot bottom.
Now I use a "Supercat" stove, which supports the pot itself, saving weight and not requiring as tall a windscreen.
mattydt20
01-16-2006, 09:34
I straightened a paperclip into the shape of a triangle and put it on top of my pepsi can stove. It elevates the pot just enough to get oxygen to the stove and it prevents it from going out when you're trying to boil very cold water. The flames of the stove stay directly on the bottom of the pot.