Esbit Concentrator

Dan, the overlapping parts of the upper half… are those going to be spot welded or folded together or something?

How much air space is there between the upper half and the Esbit cube?

–B.G.–

Looks like a copy of the Focus Fire 14. Whatever.

Jon, Dan's device has a similar purpose to the Flat Cat Gear device, but it looks a lot different. For one thing, his metal is stainless, not titanium, and its weight appears to be much lighter. His stainless steel appears to be more reflective and less structural.

–B.G.–

Bob, it's about 3/16".

It's a one piece folder with bread box corners to prevent loss of melted esbit. The design allows for complete combustion of the tablet. It can be made with obtainable stainless steel for those of us on a budget ;)

This video was made 1st but not easy to see flame pattern but easier to see construction of tray.

Dan, this is interesting, but exactly what does it accomplish? Is it optimized only for the 10 ounce aluminum pot, or what? I mean, does it get a boil fast, or does it provide a longer burn time? What does this do that you couldn't do with a titanium tri-wing Esbit burner? I'm also impressed that you were able to find any 0.002" SS shim stock for cheap. You stated that the Esbit burner weighed less than an ounce. What about with the windscreen added?

–B.G.–

< If used in conjunction with a Foster beer can pot and windscreen boil results are the same as using the Calder Keg Cone set-up. The concentrator keeps the flame focused close to the bottom of the pot to prevent flame wandering.

Bob, if something like the concentrator were to be used with the tri-wing you could expect greater efficiency due to keeping the flame concentrated on the bottom of your pot. The design concept is flexible. A tube of sorts could be made to go over the esbit tray on the Tri-wing and rest on it's legs. Reduce the amount of air flow up the tube according to the burn rate desired.

Bob, I'll have to do a video of the tri-wing and the concentrator stove side by side to show what it accomplishes.

The stove will work with all pot sizes to include the smallest diameter ones. The concentrator can be welded to the pot support. The esbit can be easily dropped into the center and then lit through the side port.

The tri-wing burns cool and a little lump is left in the tray. The concentrator body stays hot through the entire burn due to the thin stainless steel. All fuel is consumed.

4 gram tablets can be used for efficiency of boiling 2 cups.

I use a 14 gram stainless steel windscreen, a 20 gram aluminum pot with 4 gram lid and the stove weighs 24 grams. Stove and windscreen fit inside pot.

I get the same boil times and fuel usage as the Caldera Cone.

edit to say the pot has a 2.5 cup capacity.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=75140

Dan, although your little video clips of an experimental stove are meaningful to stovies, you need some new talent. By that, I mean a "hand model." You need to get some twenty-something model with beautiful hands to light the stove and move it around on-camera.

Otherwise, I agree with every word.

Incidentally, you complain about the Esbit residue and how it forms a lump in the center of a wing stove fuel platform. Don't scratch at it too hard, because there is a rivet underneath there, and the rivet holds it together. Come to think of it, the rivet probably conducts heat differently from the rest of the platform, and that contributes to the Esbit residue.

Before the start of a week-long trip where I will be burning Esbit, I clean the platform off pretty cleanly, and then I cover it with aluminum foil. The foil doesn't weigh anything, and it allows one week of Esbit residue to be cleaned out with the flick of a knife blade.

–B.G.–

Next time I'll try to do better on my videos. This little sweetie might do my next stovie video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mpuLnWyIRs

Off Topic: "showering on the trail"

Dan, I don't know if you want to hire any talent like that. The viewers would be watching the talent and not looking at the stove.

In your video clips, all we ever see is the back of your hand.

–B.G.–

I made a new esbit tray and was able to spot weld the thin stainless no problem.

The tray fits inside the Tri-Wing tray. The concentrator allows a complete burn of the esbit.

Bob, I don't have a problem with left over esbit because I don't use it as a fuel……..yet ;) If I start using it I will use the 4 gram tablets.

Here is a video of the Tri-Wing and the Concentrator:

Dan, the video dialog leaves a lot to be desired, so I don't know if that will win any Academy Awards. Now that this concentrator is spot welded, does it still collapse flat for transport?

The Gram Cracker folds flat. The Focus Fire does not. The Tri-Wing Stove does not, but it isn't too bad.

Also, I notice that you are using a barbecue lighter to ignite your Esbit. How many of us do that? I think that most of us use only a Bic or mini-Bic lighter. Plus, how many of us ignite it at both ends?

–B.G.–

Bob, you are correct. I wish we lived in a perfect world. :-)

The Tri-Wing doesn't fold all the way flat, the tray remains as is as you pointed out ;) Good thing you got your esbit box to store it in.

No, the Concentrator doesn't fold flat. It's stored inside a small plastic container with a lid just like the container furnished with the Gram Cracker and the Brian Green Esbit tray.

The BGET and Concentrator are one piece, the Focus Fire is not, nor is the Gram Cracker.

Most of us know that Esbit is hard to light. The lighter I used was just for expedience ;) and for my Academy Award wining video.

I like the way the Concentrator keeps the flame pointed at the pot bottom in a slight breeze. The height of the Concentrator, Tri-wing, Gram Cracker and BGET are just right. The Focus Fire is too short according to the video produced by Hiram Cook on youtube.

The Concentrator and BGET can be made with aluminum tooling foil, won't last long but long enough to know if Esbit is the fuel to be used as a backup. This is all about DIY. I like puttzin around with stove stuff :-)

Fire away Bob!

Dan, I like "putzin' around with stoves" as well. :^)

Honestly, at any one time I might choose to pack alky, Esbit, canister or wood (if fire conditions are low). I like being "fluent" with different stove systems and understanding their strengths and weaknesses in various conditions.

I used only white gas (and occasionally canister and rarely open fires) for a VERY long time before my 'UL conversion' and quickly became interested in the practical use of each system.

It's fun to see what efficiencies can be achieved with whatever fuel is involved.

(bobmny10562) My favorite fuel is wood. I'm anchored into the Midwest where fire bans are rarely seen.

Designing stoves is fun.

Dan, do you burn best with hardwood or softwood?

–B.G.–

Mostly hardwood. I split twigs,stack vertical and light from top.

After the stove is loaded I remove a couple twigs from the center to allow air to come up through the center for optimum ignition. Very little smoke is experience with this method.

When testing multiple stove designs against one another I use hardwood clothespins(stacked vertical) and I weigh them to be sure all things are equal.

I use telephone book paper as starting tinder.(white pages)

slick rocket design Zelph.

Thank you Russell. It's nice to watch the concentrator in a dimly lit environment to see how it keeps the flame at the pot bottom. I attached the concentrator to a carbon felt disc to give it more stability when empty. When I get a roundtoit, going to do the same for the BGET trays and ditch the reflective aluminum disc. One less piece to contend with ;)

Hi Dan, I am the Aussie guy that have bought 3 or 4 of your 2cup fosters cans off you (probably won't remember me but thought I'd mention it) in the last couple years.

I have the triwing esbit burner and a simple cylinder ti-windshield and have noticed a bunch of times flames licking up the side of the pot as it's doing it's thing. I actually never aim to get 'boil' but just 'hot water' so I can eat or drink my food/coffee quicker. This flame concentrator is a cool idea, I like it. It would fix the issue of flame loss and achieve greater efficiency especially as we climb to higher altitudes and/or colder climate camping!!

Thanks to your pots my entire cook kit is down to 154g (5.4ounce), some of those items double for other uses too. That includes:

foster can w lid
ti windscreen
mini bic lighter
ti tripod
neoprene insulator (cut from wine bottle cooler)
caddy w lid for crush protection and bowl to eat out of
plastic spoon

Cheers and keep up the good work!!

Thanks for your interest in the designs.:-)

I'm going to send you my one and only "Concentrator" :) You'll get more use out of it than me. Also will send a 3 inch diameter stainless steel pot support for use with the concentrator. It fits the bottom of the Foster pots, gives best all around support. Test it and see if you like the combination. It will give you something to do during your winter months.

I like the Trail Designs caddy, multi use for sure.

Very kind of you Dan!!

My caddy is a $2 tupaware snap on lid container just perfect in size for the can wrapped in the neoprene sleeve!! I'll post a picture when I get home from work :-)