At the Rough Close meet last week, Andy T was kind enough to give me one of his own homemade Bud bottle meths stoves. I've always used my wood burner and have never been bothered with meths stoves after trying a Trangia some years back. But after briefly testing this out last week I was well impressed and wanted to give it a thorough review.
I'd like to add at this point that my review was undertaken without a pre-determined bias towards the stove. In fact quite the opposite. I've never gotten on with meths burners. The fact that it was given to me in no way affected my view of the performance. If I wasn't impressed, I wouldn't be writing this now
It's a small little stove that sits nicely inside my Bush Buddy with space for matches or a firesteel. This all fits into my Ti pot and makes for a lightweight and compact cooking combo.
The stove itself is very small and made from a recycled aluminium Budweiser bottle. Pretty much the same specs as the Whitebox Duo stove from the states, but entirely handmade by our own Andy T. The exhaust ports are more numerous than you usually get with the Trangia or Tatonka alternatives.
The point of this test was to try it out in the field and test boil and burn times. I chose quite a windy spot, a) because I'm an idiot and b) because I wanted to test it in less than clinical conditions.
Two pots of water were used. My Ti mug for some hot chocolate, and my larger pot with one litre of water.
Lighting is easy, a couple of hits with some ferro rod sparks get the primer pan burning nicely.
It takes roughly 15 to 25 seconds to get a full bloom. In these windy conditions with only the log as a windbreak, it took about 35 seconds. But when it gets going, you know about it. It burns like my gas hob at home. Very impressive.
The mug sits directly on the rim of the stove. Ideally, the pot or mug should be slightly wider as mine was heated through the sides rather than through the base. Not a problem, but some heat is obviously lost this way and the handles get very hot. No major drama though.
Boil time was just 3 minutes without any protection from the elements other than the log. This was quick and I had hot choccy in no time. Perfect when on the trail.
For the litre pot of water, I threw my Bushy Buddy windbreak around it. The difference was immediate and the flames increased in intensity.
The pot sat just above the stove with the BB stand in place, so I guess meths consumption increased somewhat.
Again, not a problem though, and after about 4 1/2 to five minutes, I got a nice rolling boil.
I also left the water on and got a continuous burn for a further 12 minutes. From 2fl oz of meths in breezy conditions, this performance is excellent. Heating a bagged ready meal or rat pack would certainly not be a problem. Rice and noodles could easily be cooked in this time.
It's a great little stove, and perfect for walks or camps. The size is easily small enough to fit inside the mug with ample room for other items. It's very light, so no problems there. I will certainly be getting another to fit inside my mug for short walks, whilst keeping this one in my combi pot and stove set for other times.
Andy was sourcing some more bottles to convert so may have some more available soon. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Can't wait to try it out in the colder months. Certainly easier and quicker than my wood burner could ever be, plus you don't need to top it up constantly. I now have the best of both worlds.
I'd like to add at this point that my review was undertaken without a pre-determined bias towards the stove. In fact quite the opposite. I've never gotten on with meths burners. The fact that it was given to me in no way affected my view of the performance. If I wasn't impressed, I wouldn't be writing this now
It's a small little stove that sits nicely inside my Bush Buddy with space for matches or a firesteel. This all fits into my Ti pot and makes for a lightweight and compact cooking combo.
The stove itself is very small and made from a recycled aluminium Budweiser bottle. Pretty much the same specs as the Whitebox Duo stove from the states, but entirely handmade by our own Andy T. The exhaust ports are more numerous than you usually get with the Trangia or Tatonka alternatives.
The point of this test was to try it out in the field and test boil and burn times. I chose quite a windy spot, a) because I'm an idiot and b) because I wanted to test it in less than clinical conditions.
Two pots of water were used. My Ti mug for some hot chocolate, and my larger pot with one litre of water.
Lighting is easy, a couple of hits with some ferro rod sparks get the primer pan burning nicely.
It takes roughly 15 to 25 seconds to get a full bloom. In these windy conditions with only the log as a windbreak, it took about 35 seconds. But when it gets going, you know about it. It burns like my gas hob at home. Very impressive.
The mug sits directly on the rim of the stove. Ideally, the pot or mug should be slightly wider as mine was heated through the sides rather than through the base. Not a problem, but some heat is obviously lost this way and the handles get very hot. No major drama though.
Boil time was just 3 minutes without any protection from the elements other than the log. This was quick and I had hot choccy in no time. Perfect when on the trail.
For the litre pot of water, I threw my Bushy Buddy windbreak around it. The difference was immediate and the flames increased in intensity.
The pot sat just above the stove with the BB stand in place, so I guess meths consumption increased somewhat.
Again, not a problem though, and after about 4 1/2 to five minutes, I got a nice rolling boil.
I also left the water on and got a continuous burn for a further 12 minutes. From 2fl oz of meths in breezy conditions, this performance is excellent. Heating a bagged ready meal or rat pack would certainly not be a problem. Rice and noodles could easily be cooked in this time.
It's a great little stove, and perfect for walks or camps. The size is easily small enough to fit inside the mug with ample room for other items. It's very light, so no problems there. I will certainly be getting another to fit inside my mug for short walks, whilst keeping this one in my combi pot and stove set for other times.
Andy was sourcing some more bottles to convert so may have some more available soon. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Can't wait to try it out in the colder months. Certainly easier and quicker than my wood burner could ever be, plus you don't need to top it up constantly. I now have the best of both worlds.
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