A canister stove windscreen idea

[nsherry61]

Okay, it's been over a year now and I haven't followed through on marketing this thing to help supplement my income, so it's time to just make the idea available to all of you that are interested in using it for personal use as a DIY project.

The following is my attempt and explaining my design for a simple, effective, inexpensive, and highly functional canister stove windscreen.

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This deserves some text explanation, but that will have to follow after dinner. For now. Here's a start.

[nsherry61]

Okay, the windscreen it made out of heavy foil like an oven liner or disposable baking sheet or pan.
The five partitions are slightly differently sizes, as seen in the plan drawing so it folds flat nicely without the partitions interfering with each other as it folds flat.
As long as the folds are not pressed down to be sharp folds, the aluminum holds up quite well to many dozens of foldings and unfoldings. I haven't had a crease fail on me yet, although, I'm sure there is a limit to the number of foldings at some point in the future.
The windscreen can be sized for the pot diameter you are using and the height of the stove above the canister.
The flaps without the holes in them can be folded over the canister to help keep the canister from overheating. Or, in cold weather, the two flaps without holes can be folded open so some heat from the burner reaches the canister to help keep it going.
This entire project can be done in about 20 minutes using nothing but a ruler, some foil, a regular pair of scissors to cut the foil and a sharpie marker to mark measurements.
In the original wind screen I cut the top out of a canister cap to act as a clip to hold the windscreen onto the top of the canister. With use, I find I rarely need that "clip" as the holes in the windscreen flap actually stay on the top of the canister pretty well without the clip. I have also melted the plastic ring with my BRS 3000T stove on high for an extended period while melting snow. So, if you want the added security of the clip, forming one out of a piece of wire is easy and works quite well. I'll post pictures of my metal clip at some point.

Have fun. Let me know how it works out for you guys.

[TexasBob]

Interesting idea, thanks

[MtDoraDave]

Nice design. Thanks for sharing

[MtDoraDave]

I bet that weighs less than the Snow Peak Giga-power stainless steel windscreen, and probably works just as well or better (depending on how snug of a fit to the pot you make it)

[Kaptainkriz]

Nice! Kinda reminds me of the Optimus clip on wind screen but lighter. :D

Okay, it's been over a year now and I haven't followed through on marketing this thing to help supplement my income, so it's time to just make the idea available to all of you that are interested in using it for personal use as a DIY project.

The following is my attempt and explaining my design for a simple, effective, inexpensive, and highly functional canister stove windscreen.

428604286142862
428634286442865
428664286742868
42869

This deserves some text explanation, but that will have to follow after dinner. For now. Here's a start.

[Dogwood]

Looks like a solar oven. Can thru hikers use the design too or is it only for non thru hikers? ;):bse:datz

[u.w.]

Very cool. Thanks!

u.w.

[Odd Man Out]

Excellent. Now you need to build a wind tunnel and do boil tests, measuring boil times and fuel consumption with the wind on and off to determine its effectiveness and calculate the net difference between the added weight of the wind screen and the weight savings due to lower fuel consumption. :)

[orthofingers]

I like it. Just curious how you settled on a height of 100 mm?

[rocketsocks]

Very patienable...nice clean design.

[nsherry61]

I like it. Just curious how you settled on a height of 100 mm?
This was a very drawn out and complex computation . . . it was the height that fit inside the pot. And, it so happens it was also high enough to come up past the bottom of the pot with the stove I was using. With a much taller stove, I might sacrifice the pot fit and add some height to provide enough wind protection, but I haven't had to yet. One thing I like about this design is how flat and easy it is to store inside the pot or otherwise.

[nsherry61]

Excellent. Now you need to build a wind tunnel and do boil tests, measuring boil times and fuel consumption with the wind on and off to determine its effectiveness and calculate the net difference between the added weight of the wind screen and the weight savings due to lower fuel consumption. :)
That would be just typical wouldn't it. But no. I'm lazy. It makes cooking with a canister stove so much easier, I don't need increased efficiency to justify using it.

[nsherry61]

Hey, if any of you folks decide to make one of these windscreens and try it out, please give feedback on the process and the use.

Thanks

[nate.2346]

Slick design, very professional!

[nsherry61]

Slick design, very professional!
Thanks. Now if I'd only get off my lazy backside and get out and sell the idea to someone interested in manufacturing them and willing to give me a small royalty. I'd think they could be sold easily enough for $10. Give me $1. Cost of manufacturing couldn't be more than another $1 or less. I'd pay $10 to have one of these ready-made and not have to find the foil, trace the pattern, and then cut it out.

Anyway, I finally got around to making and trying out a clip to hold the windscreen in place over the canister flange in high winds that won't melt like the orange plastic one seen in the pictures above can in some instances. I tried both a bike spoke and a heavy paper clip. Both wires worked fine, although something in between the two different wire thicknesses would probably have been best. Below is a drawing of the design I used for the clip. If you bend the wire around something with a diameter smaller than the diameter of the canister flange then the clip works well without having to fiddle around trying to tighten up the loop further after the initial bend. I found a piece 3/4 electrical conduit I happened to have clamped in my vice worked well to bend the wire around for a good clip diameter.

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And again, not to belabor the point too much, but I generally don't use a clip because the foil slips into the underside of the flange nicely enough to stay put on its own. So, I don't bother adding the extra step of fiddling to secure it with the clip. . . except in high winds where it can help.

[QiWiz]

Great design, well-executed, nicely explained. An option for the material to use is "tooling aluminum" foil.
This can be folded and refolded a lot without cracking. I use it to make my baking pans that can be flattened out and folded into a pan and flattened again.

[nsherry61]

. . . An option for the material to use is "tooling aluminum" foil. . .
Where would one find such lovely material?

. . . okay, so it's easy to find on-line. What gauge would we be talking about?

[zelph]

Where would one find such lovely material?

. . . okay, so it's easy to find on-line. What gauge would we be talking about?

Get it at Hobby Lobby

[nsherry61]

Get it at Hobby Lobby
Thanks. Great idea. I'll look into it at a Michael's or something. Yeah, I shop my politics and they don't support Hobby Lobby unless I can't find what I'm looking for elsewhere. :rolleyes:

[johnacraft]

Hey, if any of you folks decide to make one of these windscreens and try it out, please give feedback on the process and the use.

I made a pair a few weeks back, and used them on an overnight to Black Balsam Knob last weekend.

I used aluminum baking pans. Layout and trimming was straightforward. They fit perfectly the first time, and work well with a Pocket Rocket 2 as well as an older Primus. And it fits in my kettle.

Thanks for posting this design - very well thought out.

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[nsherry61]

I made a pair a few weeks back . . .
Thanks for posting. The photos are great. It's really cool seeing an idea I developed being made and used by someone else!

[zelph]

Very nice design.....how's it working out for all that have tried it? Have you used tooling foil? How's that working?

Packs nicely
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=43591&d=1535480379

[JPritch]

Really cool. Almost hate to see you put it "out there" for everyone and possibly have one of the big companies come along and get even richer on the idea. But thanks for sharing. I never carry a wind shield, something like this might sway me.