Need help with beer can stove

[jimmyjob]

I am trying to put together a stove...i cut two ends of beer cans used a tack to put the holes for flames and punch a center hole to put fuel in...finally i used aluminum tape to attach the two ends......

i have placed in a tuna can and am try to boil a pot of water....about two cups...it is windy but a used the aluminum tape to make a wind guard....it has been thirty minutes the flame has gone out twice and it still has not boiled.....what am i doing wrong????

two more factors.....

---white fuel ---methyl alchol
---tuna can top less than quarter inch from stove top.....

please help....going on trip this weekend and need this to work....

[mattydt20]

Sometimes after you go through the hard work of making a can stove it just doesn't work. It may be how you placed the holes, how many you made, etc. Try straightening out a paperclip into a triangle and placing it in between your stove and your pot. I found that this helps prevent the initial flame from going out after you put on a pot of very cold water.

For a beer can stove you also need a layer of tin inside the ridges of the two ends. Find another can, cut a straight strip which measures the height from the ridge of the bottom piece to the ridge of the top piece. Tape the two sides together so it fits in the circumference of the can ridges. When you fit the two sides of the can together, make sure this extra piece fits smoothly into both sides. I hope this is not too confusing.

I'm not sure about the exact instructions for your stove, you may also want to check another set of directions.

[titanium_hiker]

does "warming it up" by burning a little alky around the stove work? my pepsican stove has interior walls as matt said.

titanium

[Seeker]

like someone said, without a picture it's hard to tell...

i'd move the water container to about 1/2" to 5/8" above the flames. might need a higher pot stand than a tuna can.

also, as someone already posted, you need an inner wall, if it's the pepsi can stove we all know and love...

[jimmyjob]

thanks...

i think i have it now and just need to get the stand down...i found some directions with pictures online...and was able to follow them..

i am going to buy one of those big tuna cans and make a wind guard..from there i shouldbe set....

thanks again....

[squirrel bait]

Heavy guage foil works well for a windgaurd, is flexible and light. A piece cut from a foil oven/roasting (disposable type) pan is also an option.

[jlb2012]

side walls from aluminum cans can also be used for a windscreen - crimp two together to get the right diameter