Alcohol Stove Problem?

[Tree Nerd]

So I tried using an alcohol stove I made out of cans the other day and when i set the pan on top of the stove it died (suffocated I assume). I did this several times and eventually I just held the pot a little over the stove to let it breath. How do I make it so I can put my pot on top of it without killing it? Any suggestions? I leave on tuesday to start my thru, probably should of figured this out before now.

Thanks.

[cjlusmc]

Are you talking about a fancy feast stove? If so, try lighting it, wait about 30 seconds for the alcohol in the stove to heat up, then put your put on. Primer pan is something else you may want to consider.

[yaduck9]

So I tried using an alcohol stove I made out of cans the other day and when i set the pan on top of the stove it died (suffocated I assume). I did this several times and eventually I just held the pot a little over the stove to let it breath. How do I make it so I can put my pot on top of it without killing it? Any suggestions? I leave on tuesday to start my thru, probably should of figured this out before now.

Thanks.


Since you are leaving on Tuesday, we don't have a lot of time for back and forth. So; go to this link and take ten minutes, read it carefully, and it should explain what problem your experiancing or how to start from scratch and build a super cat, that will work correctly. make sure you use denatured alcohol, rather than isopropol ( its in the link, just need to read ).

Good luck and have fun!

http://jwbasecamp.com/Articles/SuperCat/index.html#Build-Instructions

[Wise Old Owl]

Haven't seen your set up but the quick answer is ....You really need a inch of protected air between most stoves and pot. fuel needs air to burn. Make a wire stand and have some flashing handy.

[Drybones]

So I tried using an alcohol stove I made out of cans the other day and when i set the pan on top of the stove it died (suffocated I assume). I did this several times and eventually I just held the pot a little over the stove to let it breath. How do I make it so I can put my pot on top of it without killing it? Any suggestions? I leave on tuesday to start my thru, probably should of figured this out before now.

Thanks.

1. You may not have enough holes, more holes heats faster but burns out faster.
2. The stove may be too tall, the taller the stove the longer it will take to heat up.
3. You may be putting the pot on too soon, the fuel needs to boil first, depending on stove about 30 seconds.
4. Steel stoves will take much longer than aluminum, the thinner the aluminum the faster they seem to heat, but less durable.

[Maui Rhino]

As others said, wait about 30 seconds, watching the fuel. Once it starts to bubble, begin to SLOWLY put your pot in place. I found that the key was to slowly lower the pot the last inch into position on the stove. If I try to rush it, it goes out, but taking 10~20 seconds to lower it that last inch gave me a nice bloom every time. I am using a supercat, mostly in the 6000'~8000' elevation range, so it usually takes a bit longer to get going. However, even at lower elevations, going slow when lowering the pot the last inch really helps a lot.

[markdek]

All the above comments and links are good. It takes time/experience to learn how to create and use a fancy feast/cat stove. Honestly, I just made my first 2 last week using the link above....standard and "simmer" versions. The hole punches were not perfect (I used a crappy/small hole punch on the cat food can) and though I really botched both of them, but they are actually working very good, now that I know how important pre-heating is and how important A GOOD WINDSCREEN IS.

[Odd Man Out]

Assuming you are making a super cat.
What I did is make a simmer cat (one row of holes). But then I make a pot stand with a ring of 1/2" hardware cloth. Make it three squares (1 1/2") tall. Then the pot will be just a fraction of an inch above the pot. I know a pot stand is not necessary with the super cat, but using one like this has some advantages. One is that the pot is more stable and less to be tipped over by a clutz like me. Second, you can put your pot on top of the stove immediately upon lighting without it extinguishing. This saves fuel because you don't have to let the stove burn without the pot until it primes (wasted fuel). Third, the stove primes faster because there is no contact between the stove and the pot. The pot acts as a big heat sink that prevents the fuel from getting hot. I tested this configuration last winter when it was Michigan cold and it worked like a charm. Fourth, with the slight gap between the stove and the pot, the stove burns hotter. I thought the super cat already burned too fast (lots of flames come up the side of the pot) and the simmer cat was pretty slow (hence "simmer"). But the power of a simmer cat on the pot stand was in between the two and nice for me. Fifth, the ability to use the more powerful simmer cat allows you to use more fuel and have longer burns if you want. With only one row of holes at the top, the simmer cat has a much larger fuel capacity. Sixth, after your water comes to boil, you can lift the pot, use a stick to pull out the pot stand, and put the pot on the stove and you can simmer for even longer as the stove will now work at its lower power level. This is a bit tricky, but if you really want to do some cooking, you get a two power stove this way. Finally, if you don't want to use the pot stand, you can simulate the effect by putting some U-shaped wires on the rim of the can so that the pot rests on the wires and not the can. This can give you the gap that vents the stove, increasing its power and allowing you to use it right away without priming. But when I tired this, the pot was even more "tippy" than when on the stove, so I opted for the pot stand.

[Drybones]

So I tried using an alcohol stove I made out of cans the other day and when i set the pan on top of the stove it died (suffocated I assume). I did this several times and eventually I just held the pot a little over the stove to let it breath. How do I make it so I can put my pot on top of it without killing it? Any suggestions? I leave on tuesday to start my thru, probably should of figured this out before now.

Thanks.

Check out this website...it will tell you everything you need to know about stoves....www.zenstoves.com....

[Tree Nerd]

Thanks guys, I think I got it all worked out.

[staehpj1]

Thanks guys, I think I got it all worked out.
Care to elaborate? What stove design were you using and what was your solution?

[Drybones]

Care to elaborate? What stove design were you using and what was your solution?

I'm curious too........