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Thread: Pepsi or Coke?

  1. #1

    Default Pepsi or Coke?

    I've build the Pepsi Can stove using both Pepsi and Coke cans. The Coke can has a different geometry and seems to have slightly thicker aluminum. This makes it noticeably stronger but causes it to heat up slightly slower, thus taking 10-15 longer to ignite completely. I've also noticed that the Pepsi stove is quite fragile. Have any of you "expert" alcohol stove builders gone trough this before? Has anyone compared Pepsi vs. Coke performance, durability, etc...? Is there a specific reason for using Pepsi cans in the first place?

  2. #2
    Bloody Cactus MadAussieInLondon's Avatar
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    i'd reply but i think i just replied on trailforums! mm small world!
    -- [TrailName :: Bloody Cactus] --

  3. #3

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    yes, i posted it in both places. thanks

  4. #4
    Yellow Jacket
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    Now you know why they call it a Pepsi can stove.
    The extra deep grove on the bottom of the Pepsi cans helps hold the inner wall in place much better than other can styles.

    Actually you can use any can bottled (canned) by Pepsi. Dr. Pepper, Diet Pepsi, etc. They all have the same bottom.

  5. #5

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    I don't know. Somehow it seems the walls on the Pepsi can are thinner or they use different alloys. I'm bending the side walls in when putting it together. This does not happen with the coke cans. Maybe it’s just me.

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    Yellow Jacket
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    The walls may be thinner as well. But it the bottom design is why Pepsi cans are used.

    Several of the stove instructions actually call out the bottom design to point out why Pepsi.

  7. #7

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    Thanks. Finally put one together that looks good. I just had to make the top section slits longer.
    I plan to test its durability by firing it up with 1oz of fuel until it gives out or i reach 152 burns.

  8. #8
    GA-ME 3/5/02 -8/14/02
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    We used a Mountain Dew can (pepsi) for the top, and a Coke can for the bottom. We didn't realize it until we tried to make more using just coke cans, and didn't get similar results, but they are different in slight ways. Anyway, this worked best for us, and we are still using the stove to this day, it worked flawlessly the whole trip. Good luck!
    "It's a dangerous business, going out your door...if you don't keep your feet, there's no telling where you might be swept off to."-The Hobbit

  9. #9
    Yes, I know I mis-spelled "Hamster"...
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    I used "Pepsi One" cans. I also used JB Weld instead of tape. By using a small bead where the inner wall is, and securing the two halves together with it, you avoid having to use tape. I read somewhere that special irish beer cans wil actually slide perfectly together with a pepsi can. This allows you to put one bead of JB Weld around the can, rather than making slits and such. Haven't tried it though. I cook on my alcohol stove at work too. It's always in my pick-up with a couple packs of Lipton's!
    "A man builds a fine house; and now he has a master, and a task for life; he is to furnish, watch, show it, and keep it in repair, the rest of his days".
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  10. #10

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    RH, you may be refering to Guinness cans, they are tall and thin and contain a plastic ball that releases a gas that takes the tinny taste out of the beer. Guinness is actually better from the cans than from bottles, it is actually closer to the smooth draughts. Supposedly the new bottle design is supposed to help, but I haven't tried yet.

    Anyhoo, I believe the can diameter is smaller than standard cans.
    Andrew "Iceman" Priestley
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    Not for us O Lord, not for us but in Your Name is the Glory

  11. #11

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    Well, just wanted to update the durability test results. Boiled water 152 times, and besides a small amount of burned alcohol residue, it looks like new.
    Great little stove. It will be going with me next year.

  12. #12

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    This is probably a dumb question....

    How do you support a pot over a pepsi stove? I own one, have a windscreen and bought 2 steel tent stakes.

    The stakes are round and roll, what does everyone else use as a pot support?

  13. #13
    Whatever you do, do it boldly without apology!
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    I have come to understand that my participation in this forum is counter productive. In an attempt to ammend this I am deleting my posts and have requested to have my account deleted
    Last edited by meBrad; 08-12-2003 at 14:14.

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    Yellow Jacket
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    What are the dimensions of your Pepsi can pot support? Whose V8 stove did you build? SGT Rock's , Thru-hiker's, or the one on PCTHiker.com?

  15. #15
    Whatever you do, do it boldly without apology!
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    I have come to understand that my participation in this forum is counter productive. In an attempt to ammend this I am deleting my posts and have requested to have my account deleted
    Last edited by meBrad; 08-12-2003 at 14:14.

  16. #16
    Yellow Jacket
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    Sounds more like SGT Rock's Ion Stove without the mesh pot stand. Did you use insulation between the inner and outer walls?

  17. #17
    Whatever you do, do it boldly without apology!
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    I have come to understand that my participation in this forum is counter productive. In an attempt to ammend this I am deleting my posts and have requested to have my account deleted
    Last edited by meBrad; 08-12-2003 at 14:15.

  18. #18
    Yellow Jacket
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    Originally posted by meBrad
    stiffen the pot stand
    This part has me a bit confused. Where is the bead you run to "stiffen" the support? Vertical lines?

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