Handy (and cheap) hiking stove

[French G.]

Funny, I was pondering Everclear as a fuel. Maybe due to the one-stop shopping for getting supplies as well as the multi-use quality.

I used Heet for now because I haven't been to see my dad who probably has a 1K gallons or so of methanol. Truly amazed at how much heat this little thing throws.

Excited about my stand ring because it really focused the heat and I think helped air movement. I'm trying making this thing with just knife and Swiss army scissors just on the theory that a drill is not always handy. Laying the burner part on a piece of soft wood and gently whacking a knife tip from the inside makes a nice flame hole. But then again, anyone who cannot come up with a few hundred ways to put a hole in am aluminum can has no business playing with fire.

I had my Coleman 440 out too, love that stove. How do you know when it is too cold to fix your tractor? When your camp stove is tucked up tight to the wheel to keep out of the wind and so it can be close by for you to toss your wrenches on and warm your hands every 3 minutes. 

[French G.]

My son's a Webelo and to get his Craftsman pin he needs to make six projects, but only two can be wood.

Two trips to Home Depot the Saturday of each month and the wood projects are covered.

He's going to make a Foxhole radio as one project.

I think that this hiking stove would be another great project.

Just need to find a couple of other projects that a 10 yo can build on his own.

Gonna let him drink the beer too? This is an easy metalworking project until you do it with a 3 beer buzz and have to piss every 5 minutes.


This is the hi-tech analog of what we're up too, saw this a few years back and fell in lust. I might make a welded up nice one at some point.



Then there is this, I sense a new project...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyofhLYYVC8&feature=player_embedded#at=36

[RevDisk]

Funny, I was pondering Everclear as a fuel. Maybe due to the one-stop shopping for getting supplies as well as the multi-use quality.

I used Heet for now because I haven't been to see my dad who probably has a 1K gallons or so of methanol. Truly amazed at how much heat this little thing throws.

Excited about my stand ring because it really focused the heat and I think helped air movement. I'm trying making this thing with just knife and Swiss army scissors just on the theory that a drill is not always handy. Laying the burner part on a piece of soft wood and gently whacking a knife tip from the inside makes a nice flame hole. But then again, anyone who cannot come up with a few hundred ways to put a hole in am aluminum can has no business playing with fire.

I had my Coleman 440 out too, love that stove. How do you know when it is too cold to fix your tractor? When your camp stove is tucked up tight to the wheel to keep out of the wind and so it can be close by for you to toss your wrenches on and warm your hands every 3 minutes.  

My state doesn't sell Everclear, otherwise I'd love to test it.  Seems a bit on the expensive side, and always will due to the tax on the drinkable forms of alcohol.  Still wish I could test it.  I'd use a spike, needle, sewing awl, etc over a knife if possible, but your point is valid.  Nothing wrong with figuring out improvised ways of manufacturing "essentials".  

Just curious, re wind, would a wind break have been possible?   That has DRASTICALLY helped me out in cold weather.  It made bone chilling temperatures quite bearable, simply by mostly blocking the wind chill.

Gonna let him drink the beer too? This is an easy metalworking project until you do it with a 3 beer buzz and have to piss every 5 minutes.


This is the hi-tech analog of what we're up too, saw this a few years back and fell in lust. I might make a welded up nice one at some point.

I like it, just not the price.   

[Scout26]

Do electronics count?  Have a couple projects that'd probably interest him, very good way to learn how to use a soldering iron.

Yes !!  It just says 4 other projects that aren't wood.

[RevDisk]

Yes !!  It just says 4 other projects that aren't wood.

PM being sent.

[Jamisjockey]

Okay it has been eons since I've done this project.  I don't remember what I cut the damn coffee can with to make the tending hole.  

Edit: Probably tin snips.  I thought I had a pair around here, but they're not turning up.     Guess I'll buy some cheap ones tomorrow.

Once I get it up and running I'm going to mess with it and see how long it takes to boil about 8 ounces of water using charcoal, sticks, and anything else I can burn as fuel.

[Jamisjockey]

Ok....dikes worked.  Hole's kind of ragged but its a hobo stove....not a work of art.  I've got some pics I need to upload them first though.

[AZRedhawk44]

Well, I tested my alcohol stove against my CampinGaz backpacker's stove.

CampinGaz brought 1 liter of refrigerated water to a boil, outdoors in an approximate 65 degree atmosphere, in 4:30.  That was with the throttle full-open on the stove.

The alcohol stove brought 1 liter of the same refrigerated water to a boil, in the same environment, in 11 minutes.

Both of those were done open-lid on an MSR stow-away backpacker's pot with 1100ml capacity.  They'd both boil more quickly with the lid affixed, but I wanted a visual.  So, I ran the experiment the same for both, open-lid.


Considering the fact that I'm unlikely to EVER need a full liter of water to boil while out in the back country, I'm happy with the result.  This means that a pint (16 ounces) should boil in 5-6 minutes, which is plenty for morning coffee/tea and oatmeal.

I made another half dozen (hiccup  ) stoves with my brother tonight.  We raised the pinholes up a bit higher on the design... I was concerned that my previous stoves had the holes too low.  This limited fuel capacity and was an issue when trying to boil a liter in 11 minutes because I had to refuel at the 9:30 point since it ran out.  This will also put the flame in closer contact/proximity to the vessel to heat, helping with faster transference.  Once these finish setting up and curing, I'll test one.  I expect about an 8:30 or 9:00 boil time for 1 liter in them.

[AZRedhawk44]

I also noticed some "acceleration" of fuel consumption after about the 7-8 minute point.

I think the alcohol vaporized more quickly as the aluminum stove got hotter and hotter.  This increased available fuel, which increased flame size, which increased temperature, which increased available fuel even more, pete and repete were in a boat, pete fell in, who was left?

Even when I refilled the stove at 10 minutes, the alcohol hissed when it contacted the aluminum and I could smell the isopropyl very distinctly and strongly.  It vaporized on contact.  The flame came back very fast with almost no priming needed.

All in all, I think raising the holes will resolve this issue of overpressure and over-vaporization as well as increased fuel capacity and increasing heat transference to the cooking media.

[French G.]

Just curious, re wind, would a wind break have been possible?   That has DRASTICALLY helped me out in cold weather.  It made bone chilling temperatures quite bearable, simply by mostly blocking the wind chill.

I settle for a neoprene head sock these days, keeps me happy. There was a windbreak nearby, I call it the garage. But, given the indirect problems with putting the nice car out in the snow drifts when other parties want to use it so you can have the old tractor in the garage? Heh, it's easier being cold. That and I didn't want an indoor antifreeze flood where the fur people would find it.


Speaking of fuel, I've played in methanol since I was a kid. It's non-volatile enough that you can do things like pour a few gallons on the shop floor and light it to warm up that cold ass concrete first thing in the morning. However, you get the fuel/air mix right and you can have a problem. I had a few drops left in my Heet bottle, poured them on while the stove was priming. Lit the vapor and rocket propelled my arm a bit, kind of funny. More methanol plus a shaky understanding of physics? Not funny. http://www.kirotv.com/news/24346345/detail.html

[Jamisjockey]

Okay I think its been too long since my last hobo stove.  This one was fail.

fire wouldn't stay lit.  Going to redesign and try again.   

[AZRedhawk44]

Okay I think its been too long since my last hobo stove.  This one was fail.

fire wouldn't stay lit.  Going to redesign and try again.   

Jamis, the hungry (and cold!) hobo...

[Jamisjockey]

Jamis, the hungry (and cold!) hobo...

 

Yeah yeah yeah.