Suggestions for alcohol stove for Snow Peak 450 mug

Yes, that is a very small diameter 'pot'. Two thoughts:

1. Forget any and all of those fancy side jets / pressurized type stove. Flames will simply shoot out all around your narrow pot — meaning a lot of wasted fuel and unimpressive boiling time.

2. Get a simple "open top" type stove — made out of a tea light candle holder or the very smallest cat food can you can find. Unlike pressurized, a simple open flame means more of the fire will stay under your pot and actually be useful. Still, expect some fire to lap out all around (there's no helping it with such a narrow pot). But at least this will waste less fuel.

How about a pop can stove? A pop can is 2.6" diameter so it should fit no problem. The weight is next to nothing and so is cost!

I second what Benjamin said- the tea candle holder should be fine.
A soda can (I think is still too big), to much flame lost around the sides.
One way to help is to make a MYOG caldera cone, this will keep the heet on the cup- you might not be able to use the cup because it might be too hot to use but it will work.

Thanks for the tea light suggestion! Is it simply an empty tea light, pot holder and windscreen, with denatured alcohol? Or do I have to actually "manufacture" a stove?

I think I saw a Jason Klass video on something like this…

Edit: yeah, I just watched a youtube video of his tealight stove. Seems easy enough. But, if there are other options that people feel would work for a small pot, lets hear 'em!

I've been an avid fan of tinny's stoves over at minibulldesign and have a number of them. His Bongo series were absolute fuel sippers, and i was able to get 2 cup boils with less than ~.3 ounce of alc, under optimal conditions and with a windscreen. However, im not gonna lie, his stuff is not simple, and theres a lot of parts involved, which to me is just more stuff to misplace or lose or break in the field. I saw Javan mention zelph's stoves on another thread, so today, i was doing a lot of research into his work. His stuff is mega KISS, with a lot of his stoves being 1 piece. He builds them for small pots including hieny beer pots, so the flame pattern is perfect.

I like his fancee feest and will probably pick one up in the future.
Its under 1 once, and can do a 6.5-8 min boil on just .5 ounce of alcohol. Everythings built in, including the pot stand, and to me this is a benefit because its all 1 piece

http://www.bplite.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=619

His newer stoves are more durable, and a tad bit heavier

Here's his cobalt blue soloist, lil heavier than the one i linked above, and takes a lil longer to boil, but still same fuel consumption. This one is jetted, unlike the fancee feest and unlike the super stove, which is the last link in this post.

http://www.bplite.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=3581

This one is also worth a look. Its his super stove…it takes the longest to bring to a boil, but also burns the longest.

http://www.bplite.com/viewtopic.php?f=59&t=3307

He sells some by themselves, and others in a kit with windscreen. Just click on his store link on the top of his posts.

I've experimented with open stoves, and while i find them super light (b/c essentially its just a tealight candle holder, or a sobe bottle cap, or whatever cylinder shape you can find), i dont find them very efficient. The flame patterns are narrow, but they whip all over the place, and are more susceptible to wind. Also, the alcohol always boils in an open tealight type setup, and likely ends up producing more heat then your pot can absorb ( i could be wrong about this, but i remember reading that alcohol boiling is not as efficient) Seeing as how zelphs stoves are designed for narrow pots, you can get the benefit of a jetted stove, while not having flame loss up the sides.
Hope this helps!

and how can i forget…Caldera Cones are also great. Integrated pot stand with your windscreen, and 2 cup boils on .5 ounces as well.

Konrad,
I'll have to check on those.

I switched to alcohol set up for its light weight, compactness and simplicity. It's also why I stay away from the caldera system!

Caldera reportedly can shorten boil times and reduce fuel usage. Reading the posts, the time saving is not much significant and in any case not important to me when I'm out there hiking. For shorter trips, the fuel saving is minuscule and while that can theoretically add up on longer trips; that's when I switch to my canister stove.

But the one big minus is packing the cone itself. It does not lend itself to compacting at all. And it can be easily bent. From what I've seen, users either wrap their cones around something or insert them in between their sleep pads for protection. But for those of us who like to have our kitchen packed all in one place — the resulting bundle can be pretty huge — like this Tower of Babel below:

My entire kitchen — including alcohol fuel — fits inside my Firelite 550 with the lid securely on — or less than half the size shown above. I switched to alcohol stove because it is a lighter and simpler system. It just didn't make sense to then incorporate the caldera and see my kitchen using up twice the pack space as before! YMMV, of course.

good point about the packing. Thats the one thing that turns me off about the caldera cone as well. But, its just awesome to me that they integrate the windscreen with the pot stand. I use to use a windscreen seperate from a wirecloth stand. With the caldera, i get to save weight, and keep things simple. If packing is a concern, theres always those new Caldera compacts that fit inside the cookpots…nots sure if they make em for the sp 450 though

I currently use the MSR pocket rocket. Not the lightest canister stove, but its a pretty good performer for boiling water. Its decently small and simple. So yeah, multi-section getups turns me off too. Maybe I just don't know enough about it. If I'm gonna do the alcohol stove, I'd like it simpler than the pocket rocket. And smaller.

Edit: Caldera does make a stove for the 450….hmmmm…..

I have the Caldera Cone UL for my MLD 850 mug and I love it. It is very simple – just the single piece stove and the single piece pot stand/windscreen. The cone shaped windscreen really makes it a very efficient setup, and everything fits into your pot (no "tower of babel").

I had good luck with the SP 450 + gram weenie stove. The stove + pan + windscreen + foil lid weighed .7 oz in total. The positives were that it was sturdy, used .5 oz when full and acted as a pot support (did need a stand). If looking for a minimal setup it is something to consider.

I have now switched to a caldera cone plus 550 ti pot + lid for a little more convenience. I have significantly added volume and weight though.

Jamie

Jamie,
I'm guessing thats the SP 450 in the picture? The gram weenie does look like it would work well for that.

One question. You wrote "and acted as a pot support (did need a stand)."

I'm confused I think. I see how the mug sits on the stove in the picture. Where does the stand come in? Thanks!

I ordered a Gram Weenie today.

Dennis wrote, "and everything fits into your pot (no "tower of babel")."

OP's pot is the Snow Peak 450. Everything really fits inside his pot? Hmmm….

Travis — the gram weenie will get your water boiling, but the flames come out from the sides — meaning more of the flames will shoot up and around your pot — heating (and searing) your wind screen instead. But since you've bought it already, you may as well experiment with it. Do compare it with a tea candle "stove".

Yes, I will indeed be testing tea light options. The gram weenie wasn't expensive, and it seems to be made for small pots, though the flames may still come up the sides a bit. (Plus, I get to buy more gear…er…I mean try something new.) I do have a GSI kettle that I use sometimes, which may work well for the Gram Weenie if it proves too much a stove for my mug. Thanks for your input Ben….or should I call you Mr. HTML? ; )

I go by three names: Ben. HTML Man. The Gear Enabler.

I re-read Jamie's post more carefully. He wrote the gram weenie set up works well for him. That's a pretty good testament right there. Have fun with your new toy!

I really hope you don't get smitten with alky stoves like that total weirdo Jason Klass. Talking about stove weenie…

Rumor has it, he owns 150+ stoves. I don't even have over 50 pieces of gear TOTAL!

I like to keep things minimal–no more than two of a particular item, and that is usually because of different seasons. I just get rid of my extraneous stuff.

All of my trips so far are under a week long, so the alky stove will probably give me some benefit with weight.

"I like to keep things minimal–no more than two of a particular item,…"

I am the same. But because I hate cold weather — my two setup's are geared to "ultralight" and "light / comfort".

Armed with a search warrant, I'm pretty sure I can dig up a lot more than 150 stoves @ Jason's place.

I think they have support groups for that kind of addiction……..

Maybe BPL should have a support forum.

Travis, Yes that is a SP 450 in the picture. Sorry to be confusing about the pot stand. No you don't need a pot stand it sits right on top of the stove. The only thing you have to worry about is knocking the pot over. The stove is not wide so it doesn't take much to make it fall over.

Ben is correct that the jets come out the sides which tends to reduce efficiency as pot diameter shrinks…as in a SP 450. The gram weeny still works reasonably well because the stove diameter is so small bringing the jets closer to the center of the pot. Again this makes the setup easier to knock over.

Things I like about the stove.

* no need for pot stand
* no need for fuel measuring cup…the stove holds only .5 oz when full
* stove is sturdy, it is made from thick aluminum bottles
* small and light weight
* its cheap

Limitations
* easy to knock over
* it will not boil much over 1.5 cups of wate without refueling
* it is limited to small pots only, a big pot wont balance on it
* may be less efficient on fuel, Ben's point about a side burner and a small pot.

Once you try it out, let us know how it works.

Jamie

@ Travis – thanks for the order. Here's a pic of the GW w/ a Firelite 500 pot.

Flame creep is minimal to non existant.That was the original inspiration – to build a stove that would work w/ a small diameter pot.

@Jamie – thanks for the positive words.

@Ben – I'm bettin' your number's a little low. I won't tell Jason the stove police are comin' – I ain't no snitch :P.

Thanks Jamie

As you know, the SP 450 doesn't hold too much more than 12 oz anyways, and that's all I ever need to boil. In your experience, will the Gram Weenie boil cold water from a mountain stream? How's its use in winter?

Truth be told, I really don't even need it to boil. Just hot enough to make instant coffee and a few freeze dried things. I always filter my water, so I'm never worried about sterilizing my drinking water.

Y'all have been great! Good info!

A picture says a thousand words. Looks like a winner there!