Another Ion question...

[Patrick]

I posted briefly about this in another thread, but I don't know if anyone will have read down far enough to see it, so thought it would be okay in its own thread.

I build an Ion stove last night. Everything seems to be to spec, but it doesn't work like I expected. The problem is that the flame only comes out of the big hole, not the burners. In thinking about this, I actually can't figure out why it would happen any other way. If I'm not mistaken, the big hole is meant only for filling and the flames are meant to come out of the burner holes only. Is that right? If so, I can't see why it would happen. I'm no fire expert, but it seems like it would take the path of least resistance, which would certainly be the large hole right in the middle.

I have the large 1" hole in the middle of the lid surrounded by twelve 1/16" holes evenly spaced around it. The only thing different for mine is that I didn't make the ti-pod (didn't want to make the stand before testing the stove). I used four wedding tins to support my pot over the stove. The tins don't get near the stove, so they're not interfering with the flame. Also, the bottom of the pot is at about the same height over the burner as it would be on the ti-pod (5/8", I think).

I'm doing it with the lights off, so it's not a question of not seeing the flames. I tried it with 1/2 ounce of fuel and with a full ounce, letting it burn through all of it in each case. I tested with a pot supported over it and with just the stove. None of it seems to make a difference.

What am I doing or thinking wrong here?

[jlb2012]

try the pot closer to the burner - the Ion depends on being fairly close to the pot before the jets start working

[Patrick]

try the pot closer to the burner - the Ion depends on being fairly close to the pot before the jets start working

Excellent, thank you. I'll try that tonight.

[Seeker]

patrick,

i think Rock figured out that the ideal distance is about 5/8" above the stand... sorry i didn't think of that last night...

good luck, and let us know how it works. btw, the flame will come out of the center hole, to some extent, no matter what... but the side holes should definately show flame too...

[Big Dawg]

I'm monitoring this thread closely. Based on what I've read, when you light the stove, flame comes only from the center 1" hole, then once the pot is placed on the TiPod, this causes flames to also come thru the 1/16" holes???? Things have been crazy busy, so I won't be able to make mine til next Thursday.

[sierraDoug]

So, who out there has made an ion stove and had the flames come out the small holes? And does that only happen once you put the pot on? Just wondering if Patrick is the only one who's had this problem, or is this stove too fussy for me to bother trying. Thanks for the info.

[Patrick]

Wow.

Still can't get it to work. I got the pot to 5/8" and still no soap. However, it burned for 56 freaking minutes on 1 ounce of alcohol, which has me reeling.

I'll try another one and report back. Thanks for all the comments.

[Seeker]

patrick, et al,

i made one awhile back, and just posted on an ealier thread (the one about the ion having no inner walls) my experience today with lowering it by 1/8''... the flame height was amazing... had never had it happen that way... oh, and my pot was narrower too (was greasepot, is now a titan kettle).

i don't use the tipod stand, but a homemade one from a large catfood can. cut three large sections out of the sides to lighten it up and allow airflow. i'll maybe mess with it some more tomorrow, and try to get better times (just swagged it today).

btw, the ion doesn't register on my spring scale, the old pot stand did, at one ounce, and the new one doesn't register either... i'm happy!

[Big Dawg]

Wow.

Still can't get it to work. I got the pot to 5/8" and still no soap. However, it burned for 56 freaking minutes on 1 ounce of alcohol, which has me reeling.

I'll try another one and report back. Thanks for all the comments.

Where's Rock when we need him? I know, defending our country. I'll be making my Ion stove next week, & am starting to get a little concerned about it working properly, based on Patrick's reports. I'll report back w/ my results.

[SGT Rock]

I'm back. If you put in too much alcohol you may have problems achiving a boil as well because some of the energy is used to heat the alcohol. A 56 minute burn would indicate to me that it isn't getting hot enough in the first place. In this case you may try raising the pot off the stove by about 1/8" and/or making more burner holes.

[Patrick]

Sgt Rock,

Thank you for the reply, I'll try that. I'm sure this is all just growing pains stuff and that it'll be working as expected in no time.