Thought i'd have a lil' tinker with a Tiffin i bought for a grand total of £2.50.
First off i made one of them there Pepsi/Penny stoves, then i made a little stand for it that fits inside the bottom pot of the Tiffin from a sheet of aluminium i had lying around.
Having done that i removed the stove and stand and wrapped a strip of paper around the bottom pot and marked where it overlapped, then divided the length of paper by 16 and marked these invervals on the paper. Then i cellotaped the strip of paper around the pot and covered where the holes were to be drilled in cellotape too (helps prevent the drill slipping). Next i centre popped the hole positions with the top pot set in place to help prevent buckling.
I first drilled the holes 3mm using a collar on the drill bit and the bit set all the way in the drill chuck (only about 4mm of drill bit showing), this helps prevent the bit snapping.
I then opened up the holes to 5mm, note the bit is too long to sink all the way into the chuck.
Then openned out the holes to 8mm.
I then drilled a 3mm hole in the centre of the lid so i can fit a wooden handle at a later date.
Next i drilled 32 3mm holes around the base.
And a if by magic, the finished Tiffin Stove (or so i thought).
Now to test it......
Filled the Penny stove with meths, dropped the penny on, and filled the 'Puddle' with meths.
Light the puddle....
Wait for the jets to light (took 3 refills of the puddle to get the aluminium hot enough).
The top pot holds 500ml of water, which is lucky as that seems to be the standard for boil tests.
I popped the pot of water on and waited....and waited....yawn.
Not enough air flow (damn).
So this is where i cheated and set 3 tent pegs across the bottom pot in a triangle, for the top pot to sit on.
Changed the water, refilled the meths, and lit the thing.
It came to a rolling boil in 5mins 15 secs and kept the water boiling for 12 mins.
How this compares with other stoves, i don't know
Downhearted i openned up the 3mm holes around the base to 5mm, and drilled 16 5mm holes between the 8mm holes. Tried it again and it now works without the tent pegs (YEAH!).
Not bad for an outlay of £2.50 if i do say so myself.
For those of you wanting the secret to drilling stainless steel .... Low speed, High feed,
Because my drill bit had a collar (with grub screw) i was able to count each rev, i drilled at about 60rpm.
For the high feed, i just put my entire body weight on the drill.
Never let the bit touch the steel with no feed, it'll blunt in seconds, lean on the drill first, then start it turning.
I look forward to your comments.
First off i made one of them there Pepsi/Penny stoves, then i made a little stand for it that fits inside the bottom pot of the Tiffin from a sheet of aluminium i had lying around.
Having done that i removed the stove and stand and wrapped a strip of paper around the bottom pot and marked where it overlapped, then divided the length of paper by 16 and marked these invervals on the paper. Then i cellotaped the strip of paper around the pot and covered where the holes were to be drilled in cellotape too (helps prevent the drill slipping). Next i centre popped the hole positions with the top pot set in place to help prevent buckling.
I first drilled the holes 3mm using a collar on the drill bit and the bit set all the way in the drill chuck (only about 4mm of drill bit showing), this helps prevent the bit snapping.
I then opened up the holes to 5mm, note the bit is too long to sink all the way into the chuck.
Then openned out the holes to 8mm.
I then drilled a 3mm hole in the centre of the lid so i can fit a wooden handle at a later date.
Next i drilled 32 3mm holes around the base.
And a if by magic, the finished Tiffin Stove (or so i thought).
Now to test it......
Filled the Penny stove with meths, dropped the penny on, and filled the 'Puddle' with meths.
Light the puddle....
Wait for the jets to light (took 3 refills of the puddle to get the aluminium hot enough).
The top pot holds 500ml of water, which is lucky as that seems to be the standard for boil tests.
I popped the pot of water on and waited....and waited....yawn.
Not enough air flow (damn).
So this is where i cheated and set 3 tent pegs across the bottom pot in a triangle, for the top pot to sit on.
Changed the water, refilled the meths, and lit the thing.
It came to a rolling boil in 5mins 15 secs and kept the water boiling for 12 mins.
How this compares with other stoves, i don't know
Downhearted i openned up the 3mm holes around the base to 5mm, and drilled 16 5mm holes between the 8mm holes. Tried it again and it now works without the tent pegs (YEAH!).
Not bad for an outlay of £2.50 if i do say so myself.
For those of you wanting the secret to drilling stainless steel .... Low speed, High feed,
Because my drill bit had a collar (with grub screw) i was able to count each rev, i drilled at about 60rpm.
For the high feed, i just put my entire body weight on the drill.
Never let the bit touch the steel with no feed, it'll blunt in seconds, lean on the drill first, then start it turning.
I look forward to your comments.
