An alcohol stove faster than a canister stove

[Jason Klass]

This guy named Zelph came up with a design that rivals any canister (maybe except the Jetboil). I made my own version of it too which turned out to have an even faster boil time. Check it out:
http://www.freewebs.com/jasonklass/fiberglassclothstove.htm

[david fausnight]

This looks like a cool idea. Im going to have to make one to try out. Here’s my question: Were both stoves filled to the listed capacity during the tests?

[Vick Hines]

Jason,
Your boiling times are really impressive on both the I and II. I gotta try it. With a little tweaking this could also be an Esbit burner, lending some versatility. Gotta try that too. Thanks for the idea.

[Jason Klass]

Yes, I filled both stoves to their capacity so I could also time the overall burn.

[David Lewis]

Wow. Nice. Have to try it. BTW… I’ve always wanted to find a use for those neat aluminum cases. If you check out Lee Valley Tools… they sell them in five different sizes and they are called Watchmaker Cases. The one you used was a 53mm size. Lee Valley also sells 33mm, 41mm, 48mm and 70mm.

Watchmaker Cases

[Jason Klass]

Thanks for the link David. I’m glad to know they come in difference sizes. Also, the ones you posted are cheaper than the wedding tins I bought at the craft store.

[Douglas Frick]

I used a round Altoids tin. Readily available at a store near you.

[Jason Klass]

I just made another version that is a lot more durable. I epoxied a hardware cloth stand to the base. Waiting for it to dry now and will report back when it’s done. Hopefully, I’ll get the same boil times.

[David Lewis]

I just made one. Took all of a few minutes. I used a 53mm watchmaker case, gutter gaurd and fiberglass. I found the the flame was too big for a beer can. The flames were licking up the side of the can. I didn’t get a rolling boil until 4:30… but still… not bad. I’m thinking I made it too tall. What height do you use Jason? I used 2 inches. Also… it ended up pretty heavy… 26 grams / 0.9 oz.

[Jason Klass]

Yep. Like most side burners, it’s not the best choice for a beer can pot. This stove is much better for wider pots like AGG, Titan Kettle, Evernew, etc. The boil time I got was with an Antigravitygear 3 cup pot and a pot stand height of 2″ Try the same stand with a wider pot and see if there’s a difference. Also, what is your elevation?

[Brian James]

just to be the devil’s advocate, does anyone know if there could be a possible health concern related to heating fibreglass cloth this hot?

probably not, of course, but something to think about with any stove system…

Brian

[Vick Hines]

Jason,
How much FG did you use??? I tried this with a 6oz. V8 can base and ended up with a heavy unit.

Brian,
FG is innert. The health concern is the possibility of inhaling finely chopped fibers or fragments when you cut it. When cutting (with any sharp scissors) do it outside, pretend it is giving off toxic fumes and protect yourself accordingly.

[Jason Klass]

Vick-
I used about 16″ X twice the height of the stove. You can use less but that’s just what I tried and it worked so I stuck with it. You can is smaller so wouldn’t require as much. Also, What kind of fiberglass cloth are you using?

[Joshua Mitchell]

one caveat to Vick’s comment. Some fiberglass cloth may be coated with some sort of binding agent. On the first burn (and really any burn if your burning anything not just the cloth… but point it the coating will likely burn off in one burn), it might be worthwhile to keep your head back incase the coating burns (to prevent irritating your nostrils)

[Vick Hines]

What kind of cloth?
7 ounce square woven E-Glass for boat building. The Bondo stuff is probably in that weight range, but may be lighter. I have some 4 ounce, so I’ll try that. That puppy weighed out at 1.5 ounces!

[Anonymous]

Jason, thanks for the links. I’ve read through them all… and I have a question. Do you think that if you used the wide base wedding tin, but use a wick that was shorter than the stand, you could get a flame shape that would work with a small pot?

For me, the perfect stove would have the flame shape of your tea light stove, but the stand of your wedding tin stove. Does it seem like this would be possible???

-jamieS

[David Lewis]

You could make a stand out of hardware cloth and then use a very tiny version of the stove to get a small flame… wouldn’t hold as much alcohol tho’. Personally… my boil test were not very impressive… over 5 mins… and sometime the stove ran out of fuel before boiling… so I’m gonna stick with my tried and true foolproof (but messy) esbit tabs with a hardware cloth stand and a beercan pot.

[Vick Hines]

Esbit:
David,
Yeah, me too. I’ve spent 100s of hours on alcohol stoves and will probably spend more. They are fascinating for some reason. But I keep going back to Esbit. Until I can boil 2 cups reliably on 1/2 ounce of alcohol, the Esbit wins on everything but aesthetics.

[Jason Klass]

Anon-
How small of a pot are you thinking? Something like the Snow Peak 600 or even smaller like a Heineken pot? I really haven’t found a sideburner that works efficiently with narrow pots. That’s why I like the regular tea light stove for my narrow pots.

[Anonymous]

Hi I’m Anon :)

Yeah, a Snow Peak 600 or (I think I have a 800).

I agree, I think the tea light is what is needed. I use a Brasslight (with the centered, chimmy flame) for my narrow pots.

Whoa! I’m gonna try adding a wick to the Brasslite. That should be interesting!

-jamieS

[Jason Klass]

Jaime-
I use a tea light with my SP 600 and thinks it’s the best setup. Sure it’s slow, but very efficient and you can’t beat the weight: http://i59.photobucket.com/albums/g294/jasonklass/sp699onstove.jpg

[Antonio Abad]

David, Vick: what’s it going to take to put you in an alcohol stove today? [end used car salesman pitch] ;-)

Vick, I can meet one of your requirements, but not both. A couple of years ago I built a pressurized red bull alcohol stove. I just fetched it out of storage and put it to the following test:

Conditions: 2 Cups H2O @ 60F. Foster’s beer can pot. 2 Tb denatured alcohol (included here is the amount for priming)

Results: simmering time (180-190F): 2:50. full boil (212F): 3:38. full burn time: 5:57.

Weight: Stove: 0.25 oz, wire mesh stand (hardware cloth): 0.6 oz, priming dish (piece of foil liner): 0.2 oz.

It’s a nice little rocket of a stove, but I prefer a design that doesn’t require a priming dish so I usually use another design that has a longer boil time. I haven’t been able to get it to boil on just 1 TB of fuel even though it’ll run for at least 4 minutes on this amount of fuel.

Anyhow here’s a photo of the stove:

#1356025

[Antonio Abad]

Yeah, that pic didn’t turn out so awesome. Here’s another try (sorry moderators):

[Anonymous]

More information on this type of wick stove can be found HERE http://www.practicalbackpacking.com/forums/showthread.php?t=283

Also search the thread “Awesome Wick Stove”

The flame size can be altered easily by raising and lowering the wick or reducing the diameter of the container etc.

[Author]

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