Further adventures in stoving

[glyn77]

Hello again.

I've made a few alcohol stoves in my time (see previous threads), but the last one i made didn't quite work right. It was a lynx stove as seen on here somewhere, but I ballsed it up somehow - the flames would flare up, then down, then up, down etc..

I took the wee man out for a walk in his pram last night, and spied this on the pavement:

Some vile individual had left his empty bottle of vile beer on the floor, and it's aluminium - wombling time.

So I took the paint off the bottom and marked where I thought the best place to cut it would be - the lines are 27mm from the top, 77mm from the top and 55mm from the bottom (53 would be perfect, thanks hindsight). Chop it into four bits - I used a dremel - a bit off the top, top piece, middle piece and bottom piece - the very top and the tall middle piece aren't used, but can go in the bits box for future projects:

Sand em smooth, file a few weep holes into to the top of the top piece, invert it and rivet it into the bottom piece, et voila, a very sturdy yet light, sideburning alcohol stove - no need for a separate pot stand, pot can go straight on the top. Jet holes are about 1mm, 19 of them, about 1cm apart, 15mm from the top.

During the first test run, it spat liquid fuel out through the jet holes - not good. I drilled a couple of 1mm vents on the inside, about 2cm down, but still it spat. Enlarging them to about 3mm stopped the spitting.

I'll get some pics of it in action once it goes dark.

Cheers,
Glyn.

 

[TJRoots]

very nice glyn good bit of wombling there.

ATB
TJ

 

[glyn77]

Action shots:

Lit:

Blossomed:

Pot on:

Cheers,
Glyn.

 

[caliban]

That's a cracker that! Looks totally professional. Kudos!

 

[Neumo]

Nice little stove. I had heard of these bottles going on sale for the world cup so must look out for some, as they would be useful for a few projects I have in mind. The beer can go in some rabbit pies...

 

[glyn77]

They never sell the beers i like in these cool containers - I "had" to drink 5 litres of heineken for my pot belly wood stove, not too bad, but there's no way I'm buying or drinking bud. I'll be keeping an eye out for any pubs serving these though, as I'm sure they'll give me a load of empties for a pound or two in the collection box.

@Caliban - that's its good side in the pic, it's a bit more scratched and dented on the other side, and the rivets aren't spaced evenly enough, leading to a slight gap between the two pieces. If I get another bottle I'll make a really flash one and polish it up

 

[shaggystu]

i like that, and my mate likes american beers, i think i shall have to treat him to a few bottles!

one question, do the rivets just hold the inner and outer walls together or do they serve any other purpose? if they're just to hold the walls together then wouldn't it be quicker/neater/easier/lighter/cheaper/more robust etc. to just crimp over the top 2-3mm of the outer wall so that it folds over the inner and holds it in place? that's how i make deoderant can stoves and it works pretty well for me.

cheers

stuart

 

[glyn77]

i like that, and my mate likes american beers, i think i shall have to treat him to a few bottles!

one question, do the rivets just hold the inner and outer walls together or do they serve any other purpose? if they're just to hold the walls together then wouldn't it be quicker/neater/easier/lighter/cheaper/more robust etc. to just crimp over the top 2-3mm of the outer wall so that it folds over the inner and holds it in place? that's how i make deoderant can stoves and it works pretty well for me.

cheers

stuart

Hi,

Yes, I suppose crimping or (hi-temp) glueing would work just as well.

Cheers,
Glyn.

 

[widu13]

I made on up yesterday. Took 10 mins. Mine is just a push/interference fit. Boils 500ml in 5 mins. Needs a 12cm pot minimum though.

 

[glyn77]

Hi,

Looks good widu13 - I intended to just hammer mine together, but the two pieces were a bit loose, hence the rivets. I must have cut the top piece too high (low?)

 

[shaggystu]

Hi,

Looks good widu13 - I intended to just hammer mine together, but the two pieces were a bit loose, hence the rivets. I must have cut the top piece too high (low?)

i make the inner wall intentionally oversized, so much so that it won't fit. then i get a piece of wet and dry paper on a flat surface (a sheet of plate glass or a nice milled piece of marble are both ideal, a bit of MDF is what most people use, your kitchen worktop will do just fine), lubricate it with a little water, and just hold the piece of can/bottle/whatever nice and flat to the wet and dry and move it around a bit (it's best to try and move in circles but it's not too important). the effect is twofold, firstly it makes the end pretty much perfectly flat and smooth and secondly, it allows you to really control how much material you remove. remove a bit, see if it fits, remove a bit, see if it fits, so on and so forth. you end up with a fantastic fit that won't need anything at all to hold it together, it'll just get stuck.

it works for me but i enjoy tedious.

cheers

stuart