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| Moments before a near catastrophe occurred! |
The parts fit together as if they were meant to be used as a stove. I modified the plan a touch by leaving the top in the base, which makes the unit a bit more rigid and gives it more mass to absorb heat. The end product is pretty solid and you could bash it around a bit and I think it would be none the worse for wear. Quite unlike my first stove attempt, by the way, which was really fragile, in my opinion.
So, you guys that are "fire bugs" will enjoy this- it was time to fire this dog up and see just what it would do. I researched fuels a bit, and Heet in the yellow container was a recommended fuel, so I grabbed a container at the convenience store. A scrap of the first stove attempt made for a perfect wind screen. I fabbed a very quick and rather shoddy pot stand out of stainless steel spokes and went outside to try it all out.
I had a stainless steel container meant for mixing martinis and filled it a third of the way with water. I filled the stove with Heet and lit that candle. Holy cow! The heat generated was instantaneous and immediately warped the wind screen. I thought it was going to actually melt there for a second. The heat was intense, I could feel wafts of it as the afternoon was quite windy out.
In my fervor to play with fire, I took a big chance using zip ties to bind the pot stand together. It held weight just fine, that wasn't where I failed. It was the intensity of the heat which I hadn't figured on that did me in. Moments after this image was shot the stainless steel canister fell over because the pot stand zip ties were melting. Duh! I know.....but I was in an excited hurry, and I figured it wasn't going to work this well!
In fact, this stove is amazing. It went on burning for well over a half an hour. I easily could have made a dinner with the thing. So- now that I have that behind me, I just need to get a decent pot stand together using wire, and I'm set. I do have some concerns though.
The major one is that the flames from the stove are completely invisible. I couldn't see them in daylight, at any rate. I have a remedy for that though, and I will report on that after I have revisited some old knowledge I have.
Okay, so that's the stove! One more bit checked off the list. Oh yeah.....still have not found that cook set. Ya know- the minute I buy another one, I'll find the original. Oh well.......
Note: Here is the link for the stove plans I used, if anyone is interested. Thanks Jonathan!
8 comments:
Alcohol = almost clear flame, just like when the Indy car guys had methanol fires in their pits in the 80s. It's part of the game. A good wind screen helps keep the flame where you want it and not licking around the sides so much. It also means the flame is burning clean so there's no soot covering the outside of your pot or your stove.
@Steve Fuller: Yep, I recall those fires, and that is what concerned me about the stove. But as I say, I have a solution for that, and it won't be sooty if it works as I recall that it did. Old jewelers trick I knew from back in the day.....
dontcha be talking bad 'bout guinness, willis
S24Os are great. I'm lucky to squeeze in 2 or 3 a year but the good times add up.
If you're set on an alcohol stove you might wanna try the cat food can design. It's K.I.S.S. approved and has minimal cost and construction time. Plus the pot stand is integral (albeit small)
http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=27563
This site is pretty informative as well.
http://www.bikeovernights.org/
Have fun and get out there before summer slips away.
I use a Trangia. Considering the cost of the burner, the ability to control the flame and store fuel inside (no carrying fuel separately for a S24O), I can't see the point of making an alcohol stove.
@All- You guys are a crack up! I already have the stove made, it works great, and it weighs next to nothing. Cost me next to nothing as well. I have a plan for a combination pot stand/windscreen/carrying device as well.
But thanks for the suggestions. I'll be fine with this one I have.
Glad you got it working! Keep a slightly bigger tin around that you can just put over the stove to smother it in the event of a runaway ;)
Looks great GT- thanks for posting the link to the plans.
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