So, I did the thing we all do during the recent rains. I went a bit nuts and started fettling.
I discovered poundland had those little aluminium water bottles and they struck me as the ideal starter for making a reasonably sturdy meths stove, mostly to learn/experiment with. having read the zen stoves site a fair chunk, i wanted to test out some theories. Its not pretty, look away now if you're easily offended
left to right (and top to bottom):
1. My work in progress wierd ideas thingy. based on the trangia (semi pressurised) principle + being its own pot stand. It started with the thought that getting the jets to burn inwards rather than outwards might be interesting. Well, in reality the flames form around the lower layer of air holes (rather on the internal jet inlets). Its claim to fame is that lifting the pot off creates the worlds biggest flare (and proves that 13stone of lard can move fast when motivated). I suspect it might be ok with the removal of the top inch, reducing it to a design similar to the trangia burner.
2. The most successful, similar to the whitebox stoves. It'll bring 500ml of cold tap water to the boil in 3mins 40 secs (in my shed). Its also sturdy as hell.
3. The original open pan experiment (like a cat stove), takes about 9 mins to bring 500ml of tap water to the boil.
So what did I learn?
1. Supporting the pot directly on the stove isnt very efficient, the fastest bloom happened in 35 secs and thats 35secs of heat being wasted.
2. Hole patterns are crucial in stoves that rely on a pot making a seal (if you want them to self ignite).
3. this stuff is stupidly addictive. its ridiculous.
Anyway, heres a pic of design 2 in action..... Im calling this one a success since it seems to boil water in 2/3 the time of a whitebox (based on the data I found on the duo)
Whats next?
Im going to dabble with the inward facing jets, on the trangia principle..... with a separate pot stand (made of wire mesh). I figure this way I dont waste time/heat while I wait for the widget to bloom.
PS> they're all made just with a dremel for cutting and then push/friction fit together.
I discovered poundland had those little aluminium water bottles and they struck me as the ideal starter for making a reasonably sturdy meths stove, mostly to learn/experiment with. having read the zen stoves site a fair chunk, i wanted to test out some theories. Its not pretty, look away now if you're easily offended
left to right (and top to bottom):
1. My work in progress wierd ideas thingy. based on the trangia (semi pressurised) principle + being its own pot stand. It started with the thought that getting the jets to burn inwards rather than outwards might be interesting. Well, in reality the flames form around the lower layer of air holes (rather on the internal jet inlets). Its claim to fame is that lifting the pot off creates the worlds biggest flare (and proves that 13stone of lard can move fast when motivated). I suspect it might be ok with the removal of the top inch, reducing it to a design similar to the trangia burner.
2. The most successful, similar to the whitebox stoves. It'll bring 500ml of cold tap water to the boil in 3mins 40 secs (in my shed). Its also sturdy as hell.
3. The original open pan experiment (like a cat stove), takes about 9 mins to bring 500ml of tap water to the boil.
So what did I learn?
1. Supporting the pot directly on the stove isnt very efficient, the fastest bloom happened in 35 secs and thats 35secs of heat being wasted.
2. Hole patterns are crucial in stoves that rely on a pot making a seal (if you want them to self ignite).
3. this stuff is stupidly addictive. its ridiculous.
Anyway, heres a pic of design 2 in action..... Im calling this one a success since it seems to boil water in 2/3 the time of a whitebox (based on the data I found on the duo)
Whats next?
Im going to dabble with the inward facing jets, on the trangia principle..... with a separate pot stand (made of wire mesh). I figure this way I dont waste time/heat while I wait for the widget to bloom.
PS> they're all made just with a dremel for cutting and then push/friction fit together.
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