Alcohol Stoves
This is one of the more successful alcohol stoves I have come up with. It is based loosely on the Sgt Rock cat stove and the Brasslite stoves. This stove is not the fastest, but it is by far the most efficient I've come up with. Stove, jacket and simmer ring weigh 1.6oz. With 1oz of fuel it boils 500ml (~18oz) of cold tap water (50-60F) in 13 min at room temperature (72F) using my 1.5L Ti pot. It maintained a low simmer a further 20 min by adding the simmer ring, after which time it burned at a low flame which kept the pot near boiling for an additional 15 min (kinda like a tea-lite candle). With 1/2oz of fuel it just barely brings 500ml to a boil in 13min. With the simmer ring on it will burn a 1/2oz of fuel for 1 hour. At that rate it puts out enough heat to keep 8oz of water piping hot. A smaller cookpot will give faster boil times, but since I'm usually cooking for 2+ people this is the pot I'll most likely use.
I've made stoves that were more than twice as fast, but they all burned almost twice as much fuel and didn't simmer well. I didn't like the pressurized ones, since they needed priming and sometimes overheated, causing them to burn fuel too fast. I'm still working on this design, so I'm sure there is room for improvement, especially with boil times. However, I wasn't as concerned with boil times as much as I was with how much fuel it uses. It is not as simple to put together as other stoves, but the finished product is very sturdy and it looks pretty cool. If you don't like messing with drills and such I'd recommend the Sgt Rock cat stove, a similar design and very simple to make.
Materials: <-- click to expand/collapse
6oz Bumblebee tuna can, 10.5oz Campbell's soup can, 14.5oz tomato can.
Dremel tool (I love my Dremel) with cutting disc, 1/8" drill bit and grinder.
stand to hold Dremel.
small metal file or sandpaper.
small wire cutter.
fiberglass insulation.
Construction: <-- click to expand/collapse
Empty and wash cans (what you do with the contents is up to you - I eat them). Save tomato can lid for simmer ring. Use a file or sandpaper to smooth all cut edges.
Drill 8 equally spaced holes ~ 3/8" down from the top of the tuna can. Use drill bit to carve out the holes to 1/2" wide by 5/16" tall. Make top of holes start at the reinforced rim.
Cut tuna can 3/4" from top with cutting disc.
Cut bottom of soup can at the first ridge. Make sure to cut at the inside or trough of the ridge - this will make it easier to fit this piece inside the bottom of the tuna can.
Use drill bit to drill about 32 holes in a circle ~1.25" diameter in the center of the bottom piece of the soup can. Snip out middle, and carve out an ~1.5" hole with drill bit and grinder.
Turn the bottom piece of the soup can upside down, and carefully fit the soup can into the bottom of the tuna can (the soup can is slightly smaller in diameter, making it a very snug fit). Gently press with your hands to get it started. Place it on a flat surface with the soup can up. Place a piece of wood on top and gently tap repeatedly with a hammer all around to get the soup can completely and evenly into the bottom of the tuna can. The bottom of the soup can will protrude about 5/16" from the bottom section of the tuna can when completely in.
Fit the top of the tuna can over the protruding part of the soup can and again use a block of wood and hammer to get the top of the tuna can completely onto the soup can/tuna bottom assembly. Stuff bottom with insulation.
Outer Jacket is made the same way as the soup can bottom. Cut the tomato can 3/4" from the bottom. Make a 1.5" hole in the center of the bottom.
Simmer ring is made from the tomato can lid. Use drill bit and grinder to get it to ~2.25" diameter. Cut a hole 7/8" in the center (or 1" for a hotter simmer).
Here are photos of the finished components.
Operation: <-- click to expand/collapse
Use whatever windscreen and pot stand you like. Distance should be ~ 1" above the stove.
Add 0.5 - 1.5 oz alcohol to stove, light, place jacket over stove, and place pot over flame. No need to prime.
Remove jacket to add simmer ring, drop in simmer ring and replace jacket. Use a metal utensil to remove the jacket, because it will get too hot to handle, especially when using a windscreen.
Test results: <-- click to expand/collapse
burn times
| oz alcohol | ml H2O | amb. temp | wind | wind screen | min. to boil | min. boil | min. simmer | total burn | comments |
| 1 | 500 | 72F | 13 | 20 | 48 | ||||
| 0.5 | 500 | " | 13* | *near boil | |||||
| 1 | 1000 | " | 23* | *near boil | |||||
| 0.5 | 250 | " | 30** | 60 | ** no boil reached, warming only | ||||
| 1 | 500 | 72F | 13 | 10 | 23 | ||||
| 1 | 500 | 56F | 14.5 | 7.5 | 22 | ||||
| 1 | 500 | 29F | slight | yes | 16 | 9 | 25 |
windscreen is 4" tall aluminum flashing, with a ~1" gap all around the pot.
| oz alcohol | burner dia. | simmer dia. | amb. temp | wind | wind screen | min. to boil | min. boil | min. simmer | total burn | comments |
| 1 | 1 3/8" | 72F | 13 | 10 | 23 | |||||
| 1 | 1 1/2" | 72F | 11.5 | 8.5 | 20 | |||||
| 1 | 1 7/8" | 72F | 9 | 6 | 15 | |||||
| 1 | 2 1/2"* | 72F | 7 | 3.5 | 10.5 | |||||
| 1 | 1 3/8" | 29F | slight | yes | 16 | 9 | 25 | |||
| 1 | 1 1/2" | 27F | slight | yes | 14 | 8 | 22 | |||
| 1 | 1 7/8" | 25F | slight | yes | 11 | 4.5 | 15.5 | |||
* max diameter without soup can insert (diameter of tuna can)
Improvements?: <-- click to expand/collapse
Use a smaller pot.
A larger diameter opening in the soup can will speed up boil times with larger pots.
A taller jacket may also improve efficiency.
A larger hole in the soup can for fast boil/large pots, a medium sized simmer ring for slow boil/smaller pots, and a small simmer ring for warming.
