Trees are a rarity in my stamping grounds (Peak District, N. Wales, Lakes so I wouldn't consider burning twigs etc. Consequently I wanted to make an alcohol burner for my Bushcraft Essentials micro bushbox. The grate is 4cm square & there ain't any commercial alky stoves to fit so I home brewed.
I used a copper 35mm end feed stop end (these don't have a ring of solder around the inside) as used by plumbers to blank off 35mm dia water pipes. Mine came from a local plumbers' merchant for about £2: avoid the guy selling the same thing on Ebay for £7 +P&P!
I filled this with a stack of four 35mm circles of carbon felt (aka welding mat) and topped it off with the stainless steel mesh culled from a butchered tea strainer. I had pre-shaped the mesh by ramming it into the empty stop end and pinching it hard against the side to fashion some nice folds. On removal it spronged outwards slightly but it clearly had got the idea.
The finished job weighs about 30g but in it's defence, you'll not destroy it by standing on it. The burner is a lovely fit in the micro stove and it boils 300ml water in about 7 - 10 minutes using between 10 & 15 ml of alcohol. Not world beating but quick enough for a cuppa outdoors.
Additionally, the copper warms up nicely, so if you want a longer cooking session, the meths refill is warmed nicely by the hot copper and vapourisation is very quickly established again. Wot is nice.
I did notice that in still air the flame was asymmetric in that the greater airflow from the micro stove filling port carried the flame to the back of the stove and up the rear surface of the cooking pot. Inspiration struck and I blocked the filling port by clipping a piece of thick aluminium foil to the stove front, with a small cutout for the trivet notch. The flame then rose vertically from the burner centre and spread equally across the pan base when on the trivet, which glowed dull red.
This is obviously a more efficient way to heat the pot. In a howling draught all bets are off and the flame goes all over the shop but covering the filling port still helps protect the flame and is worth considering.
I've not yet used the stove with solid fuel but I guess inverting the home brew burner will get the heat closer to the pan.
Edit: Bushcraft Essentials were happy to sell me an extra back panel I could use in place of the front panel. This should help generate the desirable symmetrical air flow. The combination of Micro Bushbox and satisfyingly chunky alky burner is fine for boiling 300ml of water for an economical quick brew in the field, even if the burner is brutally simple.
Addendum: two discs of carbon felt + mesh topping works well in the small Vaseline tins, which can be used in the Esbit solid fuel cookset and the mk 1 Crusader cookset base. Pricier than glassfibre wadding, carbon felt doesn't melt down to a stinking mess. I'm only sayin'.....
This shows the micro Bushbox with burner in place
A small piece of foil over the stoke hole makes for symmetrical airflow in still air.
View from above
Components held together with treasury tag - I dropped trivet piece twice due to cold hands when taking out of slip case!
The burner -strong, brutally simple- with two other views of 35mm end feed stop end.
I used a copper 35mm end feed stop end (these don't have a ring of solder around the inside) as used by plumbers to blank off 35mm dia water pipes. Mine came from a local plumbers' merchant for about £2: avoid the guy selling the same thing on Ebay for £7 +P&P!
I filled this with a stack of four 35mm circles of carbon felt (aka welding mat) and topped it off with the stainless steel mesh culled from a butchered tea strainer. I had pre-shaped the mesh by ramming it into the empty stop end and pinching it hard against the side to fashion some nice folds. On removal it spronged outwards slightly but it clearly had got the idea.
The finished job weighs about 30g but in it's defence, you'll not destroy it by standing on it. The burner is a lovely fit in the micro stove and it boils 300ml water in about 7 - 10 minutes using between 10 & 15 ml of alcohol. Not world beating but quick enough for a cuppa outdoors.
Additionally, the copper warms up nicely, so if you want a longer cooking session, the meths refill is warmed nicely by the hot copper and vapourisation is very quickly established again. Wot is nice.
I did notice that in still air the flame was asymmetric in that the greater airflow from the micro stove filling port carried the flame to the back of the stove and up the rear surface of the cooking pot. Inspiration struck and I blocked the filling port by clipping a piece of thick aluminium foil to the stove front, with a small cutout for the trivet notch. The flame then rose vertically from the burner centre and spread equally across the pan base when on the trivet, which glowed dull red.
This is obviously a more efficient way to heat the pot. In a howling draught all bets are off and the flame goes all over the shop but covering the filling port still helps protect the flame and is worth considering.
I've not yet used the stove with solid fuel but I guess inverting the home brew burner will get the heat closer to the pan.
Edit: Bushcraft Essentials were happy to sell me an extra back panel I could use in place of the front panel. This should help generate the desirable symmetrical air flow. The combination of Micro Bushbox and satisfyingly chunky alky burner is fine for boiling 300ml of water for an economical quick brew in the field, even if the burner is brutally simple.
Addendum: two discs of carbon felt + mesh topping works well in the small Vaseline tins, which can be used in the Esbit solid fuel cookset and the mk 1 Crusader cookset base. Pricier than glassfibre wadding, carbon felt doesn't melt down to a stinking mess. I'm only sayin'.....
This shows the micro Bushbox with burner in place A small piece of foil over the stoke hole makes for symmetrical airflow in still air. View from above Components held together with treasury tag - I dropped trivet piece twice due to cold hands when taking out of slip case!The burner -strong, brutally simple- with two other views of 35mm end feed stop end.
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