Coke Can Stove???

[C_Claycomb]

I was just wondering if anyone who is going to be at the Outdoor Show on Saturday has made a successful Coke can meths stove that I could have a look at?

I had a go at my first last night using a couple of beer cans, but it was less than entirely successful. It had a very orange, flickery flame, and didn't seem to be all that efficient. There are several things it could have been. Getting a look at someone elses could save me from having to re-invent the wheel too much.

I have lots of cans, but glue and tape are limited, don't want to waste them doing the wrong thing.

Chris

 

[Great Pebble]

I've made about a dozen of them, just hacked the tins and shoved them together, worked fine. Sat one sunday afternoon and carefully drilled even holes, sealed the seam with exhaust tape sanded the tin down to a nice finish, the whole sheebang.... Wont stay lit.

:shock:

 

[Roving Rich]

Mine proved less than successful, turned into a bit of a fireball! :shock: :f:
It leaked around the join, where one can overlaps the other when the meths vaporised. I decided most tapes would melt, so is exhaust tape the answer. (Stuart don't tell me airline repair tape at £800 a roll!!!!)
Cheers
Rich

 

[Great Pebble]

It doesn't catch fire... But then neither did the rest of that effort.

 

[maddave]

I've made a few and they're fine.

Can't make the outdoor show though as I'm off in a teepee for the weekend

Tips

Don't make em too tall, 1.5inches is fine
seal with aluminium flue tape (B&Q)
fill the cavity wall with some fibreglass rockwool (helps with wicking)
Drill the holes or pop em in with a drawing pin before assembly
Take your time

PS you can make tiny ones with red bull cans :-D

 

[dtalbot]

Well,
I made a stove from two mushy peas cans last weekend. Trial is tomorrow and I'll bring it to the show if it works
David

 

[PC2K]

i made and used this homemade design: http://hometown.aol.com/walkingfire/halconstove.htm

 

[RAPPLEBY2000]

:biggthump :biggthump :biggthump :biggthump

halacon coke can stove
if you're going to try making one try the halcon one (link shown on last post above)!

i made this first time with a lock knife and a pair of pliers(optional).

i have used it and it works just as well as a trangia i have a trangia and the coke can version is a fraction of the weight! but roughly the same size!

a point to note!

once going you can't stop it!!!!!! :shock: :shock:
make sure you have some sort of cover, i used a shaped tin foil cake tin!
(this acts as the simmer ring as found in a trangia!)

another point all the instructions are clear, easy, and nothing else is needed!

a couple of points on making the stove:

i made it without gloves but another time i would wear something as edges of tin cans are very sharp, especially when tearing and fitting parts \:

the last section is the worst!

:aargh4:

dammit fit will you!!!!



come on it's almost finished!!!

:***:

aaaggghhhh!!!

:aargh4:

the last bit is tricky! actually persuading two identical tubes that one is slightly bigger than the other is incredibly fustrating as well as stupid, i didn't think they heard me :roll: point being the slipping one into the other part took me half an hour of wild thrashing and cursing, several times i wanted to crush the damn thing :evil:

but :0:

it did fit i found taping one side in position usefull, and heating one cooling the other but it was still an unusually tight fit :shock:

never the less it does work i'm pleased with it and will use it again!

make sure you have a beer ready! :-?

 

[the naughty boy]

just buy a trangia m8 for goodness sake!!!

 

[sargey]

why bother with the expense bulk and weight of a trangia when you can make an ultra-light-tri-fuel stove for practically nothing! i have a new digi cam, i'll do a how-to as soon as i work out how to work the camera

i'll second the vote for the halcon stove. some of the best instructions so far.

don't forget a bit of rockwool from the loft for the all important wicking material between the walls.

cheers, and.

 

[Hoodoo]

Alan's stove is too cool. It's at the top of my projects list. BTW, turn it over and the bottom of the can should be perfect for burning esbit, eh?

Here's a little alcohol stove I made from a candy tin. I'm going to try one using knife slits instead of drilling holes. According to Dirttime Dude, this is supposed to be more effective. I dunno.

http://www4.gvsu.edu/triert/bpack/frutay/alcoholesbitstove.html

 

[PC2K]

i never had that much problems as far i can remeber, you will get the hang of it after a couple of stove's. I use the top section of another can with the top cut out as mine simmer ring. I have never cut myself making a stove for my self, i cut myself twice wenn i tryed to make one for somebody else....

 

[sargey]

BTW, turn it over and the bottom of the can should be perfect for burning esbit, eh?

dagnabbit hoodoo! stop giving my cunning tricks away! :-x :-D and yes it also makes a great little greenheat gel burner too!

cheers, and.

 

[Hoodoo]

Sorry sargey. Send me a list so I'll know. :-D

 

[PC2K]

you can also polish the botom, so you can use it light fire's... I haven't been able to do that, though...

 

[maddave]

If you'd like a look at a coke can stove, I've left one with Stuart at the Kellam Knives stand. I had no meths though, so if you want to fire it up, take a small bottle of meths with ya :-D

 

[sargey]

above all DO NOT FORGET TO PUT A BIT OF LOFT INSULATION BETWEEN THE WALLS on your stove by way of a wicking material.

cheers, and.

 

[C_Claycomb]

MadDave, thanks for leaving the stove!! It didn't look so different from the one I made, so that was good :-D I think that Stuart may still have it though, things were a little rushed at the tail end of the Saturday.

I am in the midst of making stove number 2, no drilling, punching holes with the tip of one of my less successful knives. So far much easier than the drill! Tonight I'll be up in the loft digging for insulation!!

Chris

 

[Stew]

above all DO NOT FORGET TO PUT A BIT OF LOFT INSULATION BETWEEN THE WALLS on your stove by way of a wicking material.

cheers, and.

I found that they worked better without fiberglass. It might depend on which style is being made, and I may have packed it too tight/too loose but it was definetley not as good.

 

[sargey]

odd :-?

have you used a commercial trangia at all?

what you might find is that all the meths gets sucked up inside the walls leaving very little to actually get the thing up to temp, so it can be hard to light.

what should happen is that the burner heats up to the stage that the meths boils, the vapour given off then burns hotter/faster than just the meths. if the meths is all sucked up inside the walls it comes out of the holes in the top of the stove doing a viable impression of a gas burner. with a load of blue flames. if not you just get the one big flame inthe middle.

my one's a bit battered at the moment, and leaks too much. i'll try to make a couple of replacements and get some pic up.

cheers, and.