Hi Folks,
I'm a new member and don't know if I have full posting rights yet so I'll keep it short. I recently obtained one of these micro bushboxes and I'm fairly taken with it. Trees are a rarity in my stamping grounds (Peak District, N. Wales, Lakes so I wouldn't consider burning twigs etc. My intended use is with an alcohol burner. The grate is 4cm square, approx, there ain't any alky stoves that small commercially available so I home brewed.
I used a copper 35mm end feed stop end as used by plumbers to blank off 35mm dia water pipes. End feed describes stop ends where the plumber feeds his own solder to make the joint. There is another more expensive variety with an interior ring of lead solder which is easier to use but in this application lead is pretty much a no-no. I got mine from a local plumbers' merchant for about £2: avoid the guy selling the same thing on Ebay for £7 +P&P!
I filled this with a stack of four 35mm circles of carbon felt (aka welding mat) and topped it off with the stainless steel mesh culled from a butchered tea strainer. The finished job weighs about 30g but in it's defence, you'll not destroy it by standing on it, the fate of many a pop can stove. The burner is a lovely fit in the micro stove and it boils 300ml water in about 7 - 10 minutes using between 10 & 15 ml of alcohol. Not world beating but quick enough for a cuppa outdoors. Additionally, the copper warms up nicely, so if you want a longer cooking session, the meths refill is warmed nicely by the hot copper and vapourisation is very quickly established again.
I did notice that in still air the flame was asymmetric in that the greater airflow from the micro stove filling port carried the flame to the back of the stove and up the rear surface of the cooking pot. Inspiration struck and I blocked the filling port by clipping a piece of thick aluminium foil to the stove front, with a small cutout for the trivet notch. The flame then rose vertically from the burner centre and spread equally across the pan base when on the trivet, which glowed dull red.
This is obviously a more efficient way to heat the pot. In a howling draught all bets are off and the flame goes all over the shop but covering the filling port still helps protect the flame and is worth considering.
The steel finish is matte rather than mirror so it needs a tiny bit more effort to clean it up. I've not yet used the stove with solid fuel but I guess inverting the home brew burner will get the heat closer to the pan.
I recommend using an office treasury tag to keep the bits together for transport. With cold hands, I dropped a trivet component twice in a couple of minutes. These are easily lost in longish grass, being quite small and you'd regret their loss in the field.
OK, that's my maiden post finished. I some of it makes sense.
I'm a new member and don't know if I have full posting rights yet so I'll keep it short. I recently obtained one of these micro bushboxes and I'm fairly taken with it. Trees are a rarity in my stamping grounds (Peak District, N. Wales, Lakes so I wouldn't consider burning twigs etc. My intended use is with an alcohol burner. The grate is 4cm square, approx, there ain't any alky stoves that small commercially available so I home brewed.
I used a copper 35mm end feed stop end as used by plumbers to blank off 35mm dia water pipes. End feed describes stop ends where the plumber feeds his own solder to make the joint. There is another more expensive variety with an interior ring of lead solder which is easier to use but in this application lead is pretty much a no-no. I got mine from a local plumbers' merchant for about £2: avoid the guy selling the same thing on Ebay for £7 +P&P!
I filled this with a stack of four 35mm circles of carbon felt (aka welding mat) and topped it off with the stainless steel mesh culled from a butchered tea strainer. The finished job weighs about 30g but in it's defence, you'll not destroy it by standing on it, the fate of many a pop can stove. The burner is a lovely fit in the micro stove and it boils 300ml water in about 7 - 10 minutes using between 10 & 15 ml of alcohol. Not world beating but quick enough for a cuppa outdoors. Additionally, the copper warms up nicely, so if you want a longer cooking session, the meths refill is warmed nicely by the hot copper and vapourisation is very quickly established again.
I did notice that in still air the flame was asymmetric in that the greater airflow from the micro stove filling port carried the flame to the back of the stove and up the rear surface of the cooking pot. Inspiration struck and I blocked the filling port by clipping a piece of thick aluminium foil to the stove front, with a small cutout for the trivet notch. The flame then rose vertically from the burner centre and spread equally across the pan base when on the trivet, which glowed dull red.
This is obviously a more efficient way to heat the pot. In a howling draught all bets are off and the flame goes all over the shop but covering the filling port still helps protect the flame and is worth considering.
The steel finish is matte rather than mirror so it needs a tiny bit more effort to clean it up. I've not yet used the stove with solid fuel but I guess inverting the home brew burner will get the heat closer to the pan.
I recommend using an office treasury tag to keep the bits together for transport. With cold hands, I dropped a trivet component twice in a couple of minutes. These are easily lost in longish grass, being quite small and you'd regret their loss in the field.
OK, that's my maiden post finished. I some of it makes sense.
