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The wind screen tube for tall pots


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  • #1275561
    Daniel Fosse
    Member

    @magillagorilla

    Locale: Southwest Ohio

    I'll try to get to the point out, eventually, as I tend to ramble. Got a Zelph Venom stove and it works as advertised. It seems to work OK with my SP600 mug. Though I am recently starting to question how heavy my pot is with the Ti lid and silicon wrapped handles (3.5oz).

    So I started to mess with other containers for boiling. I tried a heavy aluminum Budweiser bottle, a 12oz beer can and a Venom energy drink can as pots but couldn't get a rolling boil on 1floz fuel. I found immediately that the short screen for my SP600 will not work for tall can pots.

    So last night I went and got some of those Miller Lite metal bottles with the wide mouth caps to try out. They are kinda neat, heavier aluminum then a regular 12oz can and unlike the Venom can the cap threads are metal (Venom cans have a threaded plastic gasket for the cap, which will likely melt). I cut a new screen (AL flashing) which is about 1in taller than can (8ish inches) and allowed about 1/2 to 3/4in gap between the can and the screen.

    When I set the Miller Lite pot on the Venom stove and wrap it with the screen. The bottle pokes out by about 1in. My goal is some kind of cone/cylinder screen hybrid.

    First test fire, it worked exceedingly well. I got a rolling roughly half way through the 1floz burn.

    Success? Not yet.

    The pot and stove roll up nicely in the screen and shouldn't take up too much real estate in my bag. Pot also doubles as a water container with the cap. But there are logistical problems with the system. How do I get the pot off the burner? Last night I used an oven mit, which I will not likely pack. I mean, you gotta be quick getting the pot off the fire. Once the rolling boil starts it will quickly spill over and soak your stove (which is really bad for a wicking stove). Even if I can grad the pot and quickly remove it, it remains too hot to pick up and pour. How are you all dealing with these handeless pots? The thing I built will expose a silicon band to direct flame and a fiberglass wick wrap would also be inside the screen cylinder. Any suggestions, ideas, inflammatory comments?

    #1750360
    todd
    BPL Member

    @funnymo

    Locale: SE USA

    Wire bail and a bandana. Drill tiny holes "across" the can in between threads.

    #1750393
    Ben C
    BPL Member

    @alexdrewreed

    Locale: Kentucky

    I think the wire bail work fine. But I usually carry a thin pair of smartwool gloves that just double as my oven mitt. It works fine as long as you don't hold on to it too long.
    I am experimenting with a screen too. I am using a heine pot on a supercat stove. I agree that the tall screen seems useful on the tall pot. I think a lot of heat tranfer takes place most of the way up the tall pot, and you don't want those hot gasses blowing away. I just found a very tall Milwaukee's Best Ice can that I am going to try to cut for a tall screen. It may take 2 of them angled on the bottom and leaned into my pot.

    #1750404
    Daniel Fosse
    Member

    @magillagorilla

    Locale: Southwest Ohio

    Todd,
    Clever idea thanks! It would seem like I will need to install/uninstall the wire when I need to put the lid on. Perhaps I can loop a bit of wire around the little cap retainer ring, instead of removing the ring. Then I can leave it there and still put the cap on the bottle.

    I was also going to try and use a Foster's can as a screen by cutting off the top and bottom but I don't think the diameter is big enough.

    I like the super tall screen idea, it seems to make a lot of sense. I also gravitate to stoves which are pot supports+stove. The Venom stove is good but the Miller Lite bottle is nearly too small for it. It's a bit unstable on there.

    #1750611
    Daniel Fosse
    Member

    @magillagorilla

    Locale: Southwest Ohio

    I did the wire handel test. I strung some wire through the cap ring and made the wire really long. At the end of the wire I put a loop bigger than the can (Miller Lite aluminium bottle).

    This time I tested the rig with the same screen but with a cat stove. I lit the cat stove, put the tall screen over it then lowered the can down on to the stove. This is very tricky. Normally I would put the can on the stove then put the screen over it but the wire needed to be strung out of the top of the screen.

    The first go went well. I landed the pot right on the stove. I had to be quick because the heat coming out of the top of the screen tube was intense. I used 1oz fuel and got a full rolling boil with about 1/4 fuel left. Lifting the pot was easy, the wire was cool to the touch on the end. I pulled the pot out hooked the end loop around the bottom of the can and poured the water out. Never had to touch the can.

    The second test didn't go so well. About half way through the burn the pot tiped over and knocked the screen over with it spilling par boiled water all over the place. Luckily the cat stove didn't tip because I didn't have my usual bucket of water handy for a fire emergency.

    On the third try I had a lot of trouble sitting the pot on the cat stove.

    So far I would not use this rig in the woods. It's way too unstable. Given I was on a level slab of concrete and the thing fell over by itself. I need a wider pot or a skinner stove. The problem is that the rounded edge of the pot bottom is what contacts the stoves, both the Venom and cat.

    What I like is the Miller can is that it's tough and has a cap making it duel purpose for cooking and water storage. Also the tall tube screen creates an inferno the likes of which I have never seen from an alcohol burner. It's really hot and definately requires more testing. The cat stove + pot and cap + screen is 2.45oz.

    What I don't like is the instability of the whole thing. I guess that's why cones are so popular. I just don't like how big cones are. They seem bulky and hog pack space. What I'm working on all rolls up pretty neat.

    Meanwhile my Venom stove + SP600 rig works, is stable but at almost 2x the weight.

    Gotta put my thinking cap back on. Any suggestions?

    #1752033
    Daniel Fosse
    Member

    @magillagorilla

    Locale: Southwest Ohio

    Still messing with this thing. I was thinking about the Miller Lite can and how the cap is about the same shape as a tea light. I thought, neat, what if my pot coube be a sealed water bottle and the cap my burner.

    I pulled the rubber gasget out of the cap and gave it a try. Much to my supprise the Miller Lite bottle cap is perforated all arround the top, or bottom in burner mode. All the fuel leaked out.

    Oddly, the cap from a Venom energy drink bottle is the same size and threading as the Miller Lite cap but without the holes in it. It fits on the Miller Lite bottle perfectly. The gasget in the Venom cap was much harder to remove but I got it out.

    I moded my tall tube screen so I could run stakes through it to support the pot. The cap/burner holds about 1/2 – 3/4 floz fuel. I was unable to get a rolling boil outside in the wind or in my kitchen. But I also got no boil using a standard Tea Light.

    I think the burner top to pot bottom distance may be the problem. The burn was extra sooty, which usually indicates a low oxygen burn. I set the pot about 1.5in from the top of the burner which works for my SP600 but not for the narrow can/bottle.

    If I can get the bottle cap to work as a burner it would be really cool. I'll have a water container/stove in one.

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