Looks like a pretty easy fun project
Is it as easy as pouring alcohol into the stove and igniting?
Is it as easy as pouring alcohol into the stove and igniting?
Penny stove/can stove
- Thread starter connorav
- Start date
Depending on how deep you make them priming them can sometimes be an issue. The Lynx can versions seem to work better and need no pot stand.
the very simplest home made meths stoves (and just about the best too) is a cat stove which is simply a tin can with a few holes cut into it, you pour some meths in and then light it. some of the pop can and deoderant can stove are a smidgeon more complicated than that, but thy're all still pretty simple on essence. this link should tell you everything that you could possibly want to know about meths stoves.
stuart
stuart
I did wonder about getting a puck shaped pumice stone, plonking it in a suitable tin and seeing if that would make a good stove - the pumice should act like a wick...?
I posted in the wrong thread earlier. Doh!
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72565&p=882164#post882164
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=72565&p=882164#post882164
I made a can stove once. It had burner holes all different sizes. My advice is to get a pin and put a stop on it so you can only poke it through so far so the hole is more uniform. Also watch out when fitting the parts together. I created an extra jet at the join due to puckering. Also for some reason the jets on one side are bigger than the other. All in all a crap effort and I have kinda been put off. I know of some people who can make you a stove from scratch in about 3 minutes as they make so many of them. You know the sort, they keep trying out slight variations in the production then test each one for fuel efficiency. IIRC the better ones have a kind of cone innards not a simple tube.
I think there is a good resource at zen stoves website. Also on youtube there is a helpful Hispanic American fella who does an amusing video of how to make one. At the start of the vid his son kind of gets involved in an unhelpful way. Although the guy really does explain how to make one quite well. Even down to the better knife to use to cut the cans up.
You can get the Bud bottles now over here so you can make a whitebox stove type of burner too. There are so many styles of meths burners to make. Although not really a MYOG style of design Mini bull designs do some nice wick type burners with remote fuel bottle (some of which are re-fillable during the burn too). I won one in a comp and its tiny and light.
I think there is a good resource at zen stoves website. Also on youtube there is a helpful Hispanic American fella who does an amusing video of how to make one. At the start of the vid his son kind of gets involved in an unhelpful way. Although the guy really does explain how to make one quite well. Even down to the better knife to use to cut the cans up.
You can get the Bud bottles now over here so you can make a whitebox stove type of burner too. There are so many styles of meths burners to make. Although not really a MYOG style of design Mini bull designs do some nice wick type burners with remote fuel bottle (some of which are re-fillable during the burn too). I won one in a comp and its tiny and light.
The link that shaggystu (to Zenstoves) posted is spot-on. I've made the pressurized alcohol cooker (this one). If you make it with the inner wall as the design states you need a primer plate. However, if you make the same stove without the inner wall but use cotton or rockwool (the insulation stuff) inside the burner, it will light more easily and you don't need a primer plate unless temperatures are low. I'm busy with a third one now which will have a inner wall and rockwool between the inner and outer layer.
As for performance, I've used both in my swiss ranger volcano stove. When I fill the cup till the part where it gets wider I got the following times to a full boil:
Trangia (civilian version) 8.45 minutes
Can stove with inner wall 4.45 minutes
Can stove without inner wall but with rockwool 5.45
Times are from a cold start.
As for performance, I've used both in my swiss ranger volcano stove. When I fill the cup till the part where it gets wider I got the following times to a full boil:
Trangia (civilian version) 8.45 minutes
Can stove with inner wall 4.45 minutes
Can stove without inner wall but with rockwool 5.45
Times are from a cold start.
fair enough thanks 
do you need to seal the two can bottoms together? or can you do with just slotting them in? I have solder but im not sure if it would melt if I soldered both cans together
do you need to seal the two can bottoms together? or can you do with just slotting them in? I have solder but im not sure if it would melt if I soldered both cans together
See the thread below for a few I knocked up
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69148&highlight=
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=69148&highlight=
fair enough thanks
not at necessary, but you can seal them together if you like. gasket paste smeared between the two layers works, as does exhaust repair putty, you can get high temperature tape which is a really easy option but expensive, solder i think would simply melt and run out, brazing would work but IMHO really overdoing it. personally i woldn't bother at ll, but do always make sure that the cans i'm using match each other well, that is; the outside diameter of one can should be the same as the inside diameter of the other can. can's pretty much all look the same size but they aren't, there's about half a dozen different ideas of "standard size", take a vernier to tesco and measure before you buy, it's worth it just to see the looks on the security guard's face! IIRC guiness and strongbow cans fit together quite well (although i can't remember which was the bigger of the two) and if you add just a little bit of tia maria in with the guiness/strongbow black velvet that you've just made you'll have yourself one of the nicest pints known to man.
cheers!
stuart
As for holding the cans together, they will stick together if you press them into eachother. I use "openhaardenkit" (which translates as fireplace sealant) to seal it completely. Just a thin layer, it's fireresistant up to 1250 degrees celsius and it works fine. I bought a tube (this one) for 9 euros, there should be similar products in the UK.
As for the can stoves themselves, I always remove the paint. I'm not sure it's bad for your health but I rather not run the risk.
As for the can stoves themselves, I always remove the paint. I'm not sure it's bad for your health but I rather not run the risk.
The only reason I don't use the penny stove I made and move on to a tatonga is that you have to empty them to transport. Anyone solved this "problem"?
Your fuel fu is strong... me, I have difficulty judging - plus carrying the fuel in the stove saves space.
Try using a syringe or dropper bottle to fill a measuring cup with the amount of meths needed. Learn to be more accurate and not waste any and you won't need to pour any out. Takes some learning and experience in different conditions though.
I did it initially by putting one capful in and seeing what it did to a 1/2 pint of water, then two capfuls (remembering to change the water to get the same start temperature) and so on.
Four capfuls in mine is enough to cook rice with.
AS for priming sotves you can get lantern wick and use gasket sealant (think thats what its called a metal "glue" that works at high temps) to stick it to the outside. A few drops of meths to it, light and it warms the stove for a fast prime quite nicely. So I've heard but never really bothered as have a primer plate.
Yeah, when I'm using the Swiss ranger volcano you basically already have a primer plate, the volcano itself. I just pour a little meths in and light it up. When I'm just using the stove I pour a bit on top, this heats the rest enough to get it going. That way I only have one fuel to carry around.
If you start using it, you will often use too much or not enough fuel but after a while you get the hang of it. You could determine how much is needed to boil a certain amount of water at home and work from there.
