View Full Version : I think I screwed up making my first alcohol stove...
SGTdirtman
03-14-2006, 14:13
Well the gas had to be shut off on my house today to put a new heater in, So I was bored and wanted some noodles so I decided to make a little alcohol stove.... Im pretty sure I screwed up because it shoots a big orange flame not a blue flame, and doesnt seem to get very hot. It started boiling the water in 10 minutes but really wouldnt get it passed a slow boil. I used 2 bottoms of beer cans and some fiberglass... anyone got the link to the how-to page that shows how to make alcohol stoves cause this thing is pretty neat its just not hot enough. It burns for a good 20-25 minutes though
http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/displayimage.php?imageid=10312
did you perhaps use isopropyl (aka rubbing alcohol) instead of denatured or methanol? Isopro burns with a rather orange flame and leaves a lot of soot on the pot
http://mywebpages.comcast.net/photonstove/stove/HighPerfAlcoholStove.html
http://zenstoves.net/ZenStoves.htm
orangebug
03-14-2006, 14:27
Anything will work with denatured (not rubbing) alcohol. Warmers for buffets commonly are little more than a small pan of alcohol, with a damper arrangement to regulate the height of the flame. Our fancier alcohol stoves are similar pots made from the bottoms of aluminum cans. The chief differences are size and patterns of small holes to concentrate the vapors and the heat.
If you screw up your first one, you will have a great opportunity to perfect your style.
SGTdirtman
03-14-2006, 14:31
I'll be honest... I have no idea what the heak I used for fuel, It was in an unlabeled container I found in my basement that smelled like rubbing alcohol. I think it may have been windsheild de-icer. :-? at first I used vodka, but that didnt burn very well at all
Im pretty sure I screwed up ...
you did, but not the way you think... you're mistake was making the first one... and now you're an addict... you don't know it yet, but you are... pretty soon you'll lay awake at night wondering "what if i drill the holes like this? what if i drill one less hole? i wonder if i use this windscreen, will it make a difference? just how small can i make a stove?" :D
the worst bunch of stoveaholics/alkies i've ever met is over on sgt rock's hiking headquarters, if you need a support group... mutinousdoug, hog on ice, incognito, oops56, myself, and a few others really need help... it gets pretty funny sometimes... magnesium fuel, for example (don't ask... but yes, he lived) seriously, google 'pepsi can stove'... you'll get a bunch of sites. build them all... if you have questions, other stovies will always help... and welcome to the light side...
SGTdirtman
03-14-2006, 16:47
Actually I think I like solid fuel stoves better, I had a big box of those esbit fuel tabs laying around and took an old tunafish can, poked a bunch of holes in it with a canopener and it boiled water twice as fast as my screwed up alcohol stove. no need for a stand or windscreen either
Think I'm just gonna use my messed up tunafish can and some esbit tabs isntead... simplier and lighter, but I dunno I've been looking at designs for building different types of alcohol stoves and they seem really cool. that zenstoves is an awsome site. for hiking purposes I just seem to think it be easier to carry a tunafish can with 6-8 fuel blocks in it instead of having to carry a bottle of alcohol :-?
yeah... right... a mechanic who won't tinker... :D
the other site that has compilation of designs is this:
http://wings.interfree.it/html/main.html
actually, solid fuel has it's niche... some people love it, some hate it... i just like making stoves, testing them, burning off my knuckle hair (and sometimes eyebrows), etc... as long as you have something that works for you, go for it... (you can burn an esbit in the bottom of an upside down pepsi can stove, btw...) and as far as speed goes, no, alcohol is seldom faster than gas/solid fuel... it's a BTU thing (though i did make a pressurized one once that ran like a blowtorch for a few minutes, but that was it... once it was out, it was out...)
but if you get curious, wings, zen, and sgt rock's sites are probably the place to start with... good luck.
SGTdirtman
03-14-2006, 18:30
yeah... right... a mechanic who won't tinker... :D
Well theres about 20 beer cans, tuna cans, and soup cans cut apart laying on my back deck surrounded by a pile of tools and bottles of everclear. The bad part is, it was recycle day and I had no empty cans.
so needless to say I had tunafish and alot of beer for lunch :D
Skidsteer
03-14-2006, 18:30
yeah... right... a mechanic who won't tinker... :D
;) Yeah welcome to the Happy Addiction, Sgt Dirtman. Resistance is futile.
SGTdirtman
03-14-2006, 19:27
ahh crap... did I just unknowingly join another undergroud sub culture by making alcohol stoves...
you did, but not the way you think... you're mistake was making the first one... and now you're an addict... you don't know it yet, but you are... pretty soon you'll lay awake at night wondering "what if i drill the holes like this? what if i drill one less hole? i wonder if i use this windscreen, will it make a difference? just how small can i make a stove?" :D
the worst bunch of stoveaholics/alkies i've ever met is over on sgt rock's hiking headquarters, if you need a support group... mutinousdoug, hog on ice, incognito, oops56, myself, and a few others really need help... it gets pretty funny sometimes... magnesium fuel, for example (don't ask... but yes, he lived) seriously, google 'pepsi can stove'... you'll get a bunch of sites. build them all... if you have questions, other stovies will always help... and welcome to the light side...
Support group??
Not what I would call them, they just encorage the addiction, , , OH, I see, they support the ADDICTION,
Nevermind.
Doctari.
Skidsteer
03-14-2006, 19:36
ahh crap... did I just unknowingly join another undergroud sub culture by making alcohol stoves...
No worries.;)
You can check out any time you like...But you can never leave...
Remember, the most awesome stove ever designed and built is the next one you build.
http://www.cruisenews.net/backpacking/BeerCanStove.html
Well theres about 20 beer cans, tuna cans, and soup cans cut apart laying on my back deck surrounded by a pile of tools and bottles of everclear. The bad part is, it was recycle day and I had no empty cans.
so needless to say I had tunafish and alot of beer for lunch :D
that's better... more like what i expected! :D i've eaten a thing or three, just for the can... wife thinks i'm nuts...
Old Spice
03-14-2006, 21:38
The first time I lit mine, it flare up. I made the mistake of puring water on it. Woops. Had to smother it with a dish rag.
ahh crap... did I just unknowingly join another undergroud sub culture by making alcohol stoves...
aha! so now you ADMIT there was more than one stove...
yes, you did... a large fraternity though, and mostly harmless lunacy...
again, welcome. and remember, if you make something, you have to share... but if you blew off a thumb or something, you have to warn us... (no sense all of us losing our thumbs!):D
jasonklass
03-14-2006, 21:54
You're one of US now.
Miss Janet
03-14-2006, 22:47
The first time I said " I think I can do that...."
I really should have stopped the first time I said "You know, if I just changed this....." or after...
I was threatened when the girls had to grab the fire extinguisher... and it really was a nice tablecloth!
I was put on probation after we tried to use a little "spring water"... don't do it!
Right now I am in recovery....
but I have this really awesome idea!!!!.....
Klezmorim
03-15-2006, 12:07
;) Yeah welcome to the Happy Addiction, Sgt Dirtman. Resistance is futile.
That really is funny! My first soda can stove was a piece of scat. Then I made a penny stove from a couple Heineken cans. That one worked so well I made a dozen more. Then I decided to try using the 24oz. size cans. *It* worked so well I made a half dozen or so of THEM.
And along the way I made SEVERAL Nimblewill Nomad stoves out of titanium to use as pot-stands/wind-screens for the stoves.
I've tried quitting on my own. I've tried denying there's a problem. I've even tried to hide the evidence of my stoving. Finally, I've found a group that understands.
That's my testimony. ;)
The first time I said " I think I can do that...."
I really should have stopped the first time I said "You know, if I just changed this....." or after...
I was threatened when the girls had to grab the fire extinguisher... and it really was a nice tablecloth!
I was put on probation after we tried to use a little "spring water"... don't do it!
Right now I am in recovery....
but I have this really awesome idea!!!!.....
omg... not you too miss janet! i had no idea!:D
Miss Janet
03-15-2006, 13:21
This kind of thing can happen to anyone if they are not careful.....
If you start buying softdrinks or beer that you don't intend to drink.... but you like the way the cans look... walk away while you can!
SGTdirtman
03-15-2006, 13:24
This kind of thing can happen to anyone if they are not careful.....
If you start buying softdrinks or beer that you don't intend to drink.... but you like the way the cans look... walk away while you can!
CRAP! yesterday when I bought beer I bought Milwaulkees best ICE, not because I like it... but because it had a nice red line on the can that was a perfect line to cut on.
:eek:
CRAP! yesterday when I bought beer I bought Milwaulkees best ICE, not because I like it... but because it had a nice red line on the can that was a perfect line to cut on.
:eek:
Try to find an international food market. You'll be amazed at the different can designs. I bought some "Mr. Coffee" cans and drank them and saving the cans for my next project. Too bad I'm out of fuel. Need to go to the store!
there was a thread awhile back called 'you know you're an ultralight backpacker if....' along those lines:
"you know you're a stovaholic if you've ever dumpster dived for those little cans V8 Juice and energy drinks come in because you don't regularly drink either of them yourself, but needed the cans to test out a stove design".
actually, i think there were a lot of entries in it that involved stovies/stovaholics too... something about secret can stashes, etc...
Skidsteer
03-15-2006, 19:33
... something about secret can stashes, etc...
Recently my wife decided that she didn't need one of our upstairs walk-in closets anymore and asked if she could make it our gear room. I was busy/distracted at the time and readily agreed since A: it's a bigger space than I had previously, and B: she wasn't asking for my help moving it.:)
Turns out there were two boxes worth of "possible" stove parts I had been ratholing for a rainy day. Now I regularly catch her giving me funny looks and whispering to family members when she thinks I'm not looking.;)
You know its gotten to be an obsession when you bring another can of denatured alcohol to the cashier and she wonders if you are running a meth lab.
SGTdirtman
03-15-2006, 20:57
You know its gotten to be an obsession when you bring another can of denatured alcohol to the cashier and she wonders if you are running a meth lab.
I've been using everclear, that way me and the stoves can share...
Klezmorim
03-15-2006, 21:07
I've been using everclear, that way me and the stoves can share...
Share!? Everclear costs around $60 a gallon. Let your "date" drink denatured - at about $4 a gallon. Just put "her" special drink in a clearly marked container so that you don't accidentally share "her" brew some time.
:eek:
fivefour
03-16-2006, 09:50
God, grant me the serenity to accept the stoves i cannot make work, courage to make stoves that do work, and the wisdom to know the difference.
SGTdirtman
03-16-2006, 12:38
Share!? Everclear costs around $60 a gallon. Let your "date" drink denatured - at about $4 a gallon. Just put "her" special drink in a clearly marked container so that you don't accidentally share "her" brew some time.
:eek:
its only 8 dollars for a liter here...
the guy at the liquor store has been giving me some strange looks lately though....
Klezmorim
03-16-2006, 12:53
its only 8 dollars for a liter here... Really? Wow, I may need to drive to Joy-zee and stock up!
the guy at the liquor store has been giving me some strange looks lately though.... Oh yeah, I always get asked what I use the stuff for. I tell 'em I cut it 50/50 with water to make cheaper, 95-proof vodka. Once they wrap their brains around the concept, they always say. "Hey, that's a great idea!"
God, grant me the serenity to accept the stoves i cannot make work, courage to make stoves that do work, and the wisdom to know the difference.
god, that was funny....
God, grant me the serenity to accept the stoves i cannot make work, courage to make stoves that do work, and the wisdom to know the difference.
Spoken like a true "STOVIE"
Nothing Ventured Nothing Gained
Forestescapes
03-20-2006, 09:06
The simple fact is...as many have already mentioned, you have taken the first step! How can you now return to the drudgery of branded stoves when you have felt the pride of creation? Yes, you will no longer see cans as trash, and your wife will look at you funny...but when you create a real goer...then only you will know the feeling of true success!!
Burn On Brother!
( I have MSRs,Gas Canister stoves,and commercial burners a plenty, but none compare to the feeling of using a home made coke can stove!)