it's been very reliable, lightweight, and works in cold weather. Fuel is cheap and a lot more environmentally friendly than disposable cannisters.
Plus, it's easy to make and works great as a project for ~10-year old kids. You need a windscreen and a pot stand with it (those are both easy to build), just like you would with any other small burner stove.
The one change I made to that stove's design was that I used a little bit of JB Weld to help keep the inside can in-place. Then I put the lid back on the outside can and JB Welded it on. The result was a very durable, lightweight stove that works great.
There's no need to be fancy unless you really like diddling around.
My current method: Buy a can of potted meat. Do not open it. Use a utility knife to score around the circular indentation in the bottom of the can. Pop out this indented part when it finally surrenders. Scoop out the can's contents. Wash the can thoroughly and maybe dull the sharp edge where the indented part was removed. (SHARP!) Get a bit of fiberglass insulation and stuff it into the can as a wick. Done.
The stove is now usable and with the wick it will light easily even in low temperatures, and the flame will be more regulated.
What you finish with is too light to register on the scale at the post office. Can't beat that.
Fuel: Buy denatured alcohol anywhere paint is sold. (And if you are stealthy, and at a place like Home Depot, you can also get a small "sample" of fiberglass insulation to use as your wick there while you're at it. You need only a tiny bit.) Carry the fuel in a 16 oz/500 ml bladder like Platypus sells. To reseal the "bottle", squeeze out the excess air and make sure that the cap is on tight. Alcohol vapor will escape from a bottle with a push/pull dispenser cap and leave you short, especially if carried in a rigid, fixed-volume bottle. (Talking from experience.) And the little bladders weigh essentially nothing and take up no space when empty.
Measure fuel by using the cap from the bottle that carries the fuel. A cap full is about 1/4 ounce or 7.39 ml. After a while you get really good at measuring out exactly how much you need.
The book needs some updating and much better illustrations, etc., etc. but I've quit backpacking now anyway. I live outside the US these days, and though I've been back a couple of times just to go backpacking, it hasn't worked well. Too hot, too wet, too dry, too expensive, disintegration of national and state parks, too much incipient violence. I've gotten death threats just for being on a public trail that someone else regarded as their own. And so on.
I have one, I used it a few times. Once for a 3 days backpacking trip, it was difficult starting it in the morning as temperature was only a bit above 0 degC. Then for another 3 day hike where I used it to boil water for two persons it took so long that other people were done eating where we started.
I also had the fuel bottle leak in my pack (and the friend I was hiking with forgot his gas canister), fun times.
Now I'm mainly using a small gas canister (100g) and a small titanium burner (20g I think?) and I find the (small) added weight worth it.
Alcohol stoves are great if you have time and it's not too cold, plus it's easy to take only the fuel you need. With gas canisters you have to take the whole thing, and after a while you may end up with several partially empty canisters and have to weight them to take the one with the amount of remaining fuel the closest to what you'll need for your trip. I have 3 or 4 of those at the moment.
> Then for another 3 day hike where I used it to boil water for two persons it took so long that other people were done eating where we started.
There's quite a spread between the heating output of alcohol stoves. # Of holes, alu vs. Ti vs. brass, filler materials (if any). Some have simmer rings, some don't. Outside temps matter too.
The trick is to use it a # of times before you go out camping / backpacking. So that you're familiar with its behavior.
Disclaimer: cooking daily on a deluxe model (Origo 3000). Safest method to cook on a boat.
Propane/butane burners are easier to regulate, but these gasses have the nasty habit of sticking to the floor. So a leak could cause a deadly explosion (which happens semi-regularly).
That Origo: I could flip the whole thing over while burning & it wouldn't start a fire. Can't remove the burner from the stove while it's on due to a safety catch.
Also have a Trangia stashed somewhere (just the burner not pots/holder). Also used many times.
Both Swedish design & highly recommended. Cheap/ubiquitous fuel is a big plus too. Sadly the Origo isn't made anymore afaik.
I like to hike fairly light but I still make room for a flash boiler as a luxury despite weight. This thing takes the pain away from cooking. I’m always impressed by how quick and efficient it is.
I own a Chinese manufactured petrol stove which works ok. It’s a pain to light however. Never used an alcohol stove myself but I have hiked with a friend using one and that seemed painfully slow. Can stoves seem like a novelty to me. A nicer burner is not particularly expensive nor is it that heavy.
Alcohol stoves can be very fast. I've done a bunch of hikes using one of those double-walled cat can stoves, and it works great. Really pumps out the heat. Very reliable, and almost as fast as my canister stove.
Depending on the weather and how much you're cooking, an 8-day trip may be long enough that the low energy density of alcohol fuel outweighs the size advantages of the stove.
You can simplify this a bit from the construction in the article. Use the bottom sections of two cans, and you only need the pinholes in the rim and a larger hole in the middle of the top half to fill/drain.
I've taken this stove backpacking lots of times: https://zenstoves.net/CatCanStove.htm
it's been very reliable, lightweight, and works in cold weather. Fuel is cheap and a lot more environmentally friendly than disposable cannisters.
Plus, it's easy to make and works great as a project for ~10-year old kids. You need a windscreen and a pot stand with it (those are both easy to build), just like you would with any other small burner stove.
The one change I made to that stove's design was that I used a little bit of JB Weld to help keep the inside can in-place. Then I put the lid back on the outside can and JB Welded it on. The result was a very durable, lightweight stove that works great.
There's no need to be fancy unless you really like diddling around.
My current method: Buy a can of potted meat. Do not open it. Use a utility knife to score around the circular indentation in the bottom of the can. Pop out this indented part when it finally surrenders. Scoop out the can's contents. Wash the can thoroughly and maybe dull the sharp edge where the indented part was removed. (SHARP!) Get a bit of fiberglass insulation and stuff it into the can as a wick. Done.
The stove is now usable and with the wick it will light easily even in low temperatures, and the flame will be more regulated.
What you finish with is too light to register on the scale at the post office. Can't beat that.
Fuel: Buy denatured alcohol anywhere paint is sold. (And if you are stealthy, and at a place like Home Depot, you can also get a small "sample" of fiberglass insulation to use as your wick there while you're at it. You need only a tiny bit.) Carry the fuel in a 16 oz/500 ml bladder like Platypus sells. To reseal the "bottle", squeeze out the excess air and make sure that the cap is on tight. Alcohol vapor will escape from a bottle with a push/pull dispenser cap and leave you short, especially if carried in a rigid, fixed-volume bottle. (Talking from experience.) And the little bladders weigh essentially nothing and take up no space when empty.
Measure fuel by using the cap from the bottle that carries the fuel. A cap full is about 1/4 ounce or 7.39 ml. After a while you get really good at measuring out exactly how much you need.
My free book which may or may not be a little fun: "Fire in Your Hand: Dave's Little Guide to Ultralight Backpacking Stoves" at https://fireinyourhand.blogspot.com/p/blog-page.html
The book needs some updating and much better illustrations, etc., etc. but I've quit backpacking now anyway. I live outside the US these days, and though I've been back a couple of times just to go backpacking, it hasn't worked well. Too hot, too wet, too dry, too expensive, disintegration of national and state parks, too much incipient violence. I've gotten death threats just for being on a public trail that someone else regarded as their own. And so on.
Be well if possible anymore.
I used one of these exclusively to cook on an 8 day bike packing trip about 15 years ago. You can't beat it for weight and size efficiency IMO.
I have one, I used it a few times. Once for a 3 days backpacking trip, it was difficult starting it in the morning as temperature was only a bit above 0 degC. Then for another 3 day hike where I used it to boil water for two persons it took so long that other people were done eating where we started.
I also had the fuel bottle leak in my pack (and the friend I was hiking with forgot his gas canister), fun times.
Now I'm mainly using a small gas canister (100g) and a small titanium burner (20g I think?) and I find the (small) added weight worth it.
Alcohol stoves are great if you have time and it's not too cold, plus it's easy to take only the fuel you need. With gas canisters you have to take the whole thing, and after a while you may end up with several partially empty canisters and have to weight them to take the one with the amount of remaining fuel the closest to what you'll need for your trip. I have 3 or 4 of those at the moment.
> Then for another 3 day hike where I used it to boil water for two persons it took so long that other people were done eating where we started.
There's quite a spread between the heating output of alcohol stoves. # Of holes, alu vs. Ti vs. brass, filler materials (if any). Some have simmer rings, some don't. Outside temps matter too.
The trick is to use it a # of times before you go out camping / backpacking. So that you're familiar with its behavior.
Disclaimer: cooking daily on a deluxe model (Origo 3000). Safest method to cook on a boat.
Propane/butane burners are easier to regulate, but these gasses have the nasty habit of sticking to the floor. So a leak could cause a deadly explosion (which happens semi-regularly).
That Origo: I could flip the whole thing over while burning & it wouldn't start a fire. Can't remove the burner from the stove while it's on due to a safety catch.
Also have a Trangia stashed somewhere (just the burner not pots/holder). Also used many times.
Both Swedish design & highly recommended. Cheap/ubiquitous fuel is a big plus too. Sadly the Origo isn't made anymore afaik.
I like to hike fairly light but I still make room for a flash boiler as a luxury despite weight. This thing takes the pain away from cooking. I’m always impressed by how quick and efficient it is.
I own a Chinese manufactured petrol stove which works ok. It’s a pain to light however. Never used an alcohol stove myself but I have hiked with a friend using one and that seemed painfully slow. Can stoves seem like a novelty to me. A nicer burner is not particularly expensive nor is it that heavy.
Alcohol stoves can be very fast. I've done a bunch of hikes using one of those double-walled cat can stoves, and it works great. Really pumps out the heat. Very reliable, and almost as fast as my canister stove.
Depending on the weather and how much you're cooking, an 8-day trip may be long enough that the low energy density of alcohol fuel outweighs the size advantages of the stove.
Similar, only mine was an even more basic fancy feast cat food can stove
Too many ads, generic instructions, account is a day old.
Soda can definitely stove.
To be a little less snarky -
You can simplify this a bit from the construction in the article. Use the bottom sections of two cans, and you only need the pinholes in the rim and a larger hole in the middle of the top half to fill/drain.
https://zenstoves.net/Construction.htm
I'm gonna leave this here for anyone interested in a more in-depth tutorial.
this looks similar
http://web.archive.org/web/20080211102811/http://www.pcthike...