Snow Peak stove windscreen

[Erik Basil]

This is a great thread, and it's re-whetted my appetite to figure something similar out for my Optimus Crux.

The Crux has a much wider burner, and I haven't quite figured out how to attach such a thing, but I have been pining for an old, aluminum Swanson chicken pot pie tin… which I think would be the ticket to easily make a cheap reflector. My goal is to shield the sides of the burner from wind, and then to reflect some heat up off of the canister — so I am intrigued and surprised at the experience above that a heat-reflectored stove actually heats the canister more, due to the lack of airflow upward.

Man, I want to play with this!

[Hikin’ Jim]

Erik:

I've experimented with a heat shield like this:

It's not as nice as one suspended by the pot supports, but it does do the job. I use it with a free standing foil windscreen like this:

It's harder with something like a Crux to suspend the windscreen from the pot supports since the supports are part of and level with the burner head.

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[Erik Basil]

Jim,
That's pretty much what I'm thinking of, but I want to put the reflector above the valve control and be able to roll it up, compact it. I've been imagining one of those Swanson tins, cut in half and then "rejoined" on trail with embedded wire twist ties from the grocery store or those aluminum ties that come on toys now.

I realize this isn't "Snow Peak Windscreen", so I'll try to start another thread once I come up with something, even incomplete. I like the Crux a lot, but did notice it struggle in a strong breeze at 1000 Isle this summer. A mini-cairn solved things but tinker we must.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Yeah, that's the drawback of a heat shield like the one I'm using: It's below the valve control. If you have a free standing windscreen like the one in the photo, it's not too bad to adjust because you have to leave the windscreen a little open anyway (to prevent canister overheating).

If however you want to mount your windscreen on top of your heatshield, then the valve control really needs to be below the heatshield.

Maybe you could suspend the heatshield with wires looped over the Crux's pot supports? The wires would go over the top of the pot supports, and the heat shield would hang below. Might not be very stable though.

Honestly, I gave up on mounting my windscreen on my heatshield because for a lot of stoves it was just too much hassle. I went with the free standing foil one just because it's so easy to make and use. Lazy me. :)

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[Roger Caffin]

Hi Jim

The Australian summers get pretty hot.
I use a windshield which wraps at least 3/4 of the way around the pot.
I never bother with a reflector between the flame and the canister.
I have never had a problem this way.
KISS.

Cheers
PS: yes, I do still monitor the canister temperature of course – habit.

[Brad Walker]

I tried a suspended wind screen for a MSR Pocketrocket, which is more similar to the Crux than a Snow Peak. I made it out of flashing and used opened-up paperclips to loop the windscreen onto little holes in the stove's pot supports.

It worked OK but required about 5 hands to get it attached to the stove…been meaning to work some more on it.

[Ken Larson]

Roger…."I use a windshield which wraps at least 3/4 of the way around the pot."

QUESTION: What material do you use AND how do you store it?

[al b]

I use a Roger Caffin / HJ(shown above) style windscreen but with large cut outs around canister for cooling, thus it is still more or less open to air, in conjunction with a heat reflector above control and one on canister, both of which have a gap around the for air flow, and upper one has gap in centre for air. Canister stays cool enough for 7/8min boils.

I used alu from oven tray / tooling foil and roll it into a cardboard tube.

[Justin R]

This is great info. More pics if possible.

I just put order in for TiGoat. However, where are people getting there flashing?

Thanks.

[Brad Walker]

Home depot or any other hardware store has flashing.

[Justin R]

Great! I was thinking flashing like for windows, but wanted to make sure!

thank you. Might be cool to experiment with flashing than make final piece with my Ti stuff that is coming.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Roger Caffin wrote: > The Australian summers get pretty hot.
I use a windshield which wraps at least 3/4 of the way around the pot.
I never bother with a reflector between the flame and the canister.
I have never had a problem this way.
KISS.

Cheers
PS: yes, I do still monitor the canister temperature of course – habit.

Well, perhaps I'm being a bit overcautious then. I guess I'm just a little paranoid about causing an overheating explosion. Those BLARING warnings that come with canister stoves must have frightened me. :)

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[Hikin’ Jim]

Ken Larson wrote: > Roger…."I use a windshield which wraps at least 3/4 of the way around the pot."

QUESTION: What material do you use AND how do you store it?

Ken,

For my windshield, I'm just using normal household Al foil. I cut it to size. I use about four layers. I fold the edges together on all four sides to hold everything together. For transport, I fold it in half the long way and roll it around a water bottle. I use a rubber band to hold it in place around the water bottle. Then I place the whole affair in a plastic bag that originally held a loaf of bread (long and narrow in other words).

I figured I'd probably have to replace the windscreen every trip or two, but it's actually held up very well. It's better to make one for each type of canister you'll use. If you make one for a 230g canister and then use it for a 113g canister, it will be a tad tall. The material is very light. The wind tends to buffet it it. I found it necessary to brace it with rocks around the bottom if the winds came up much.

Flashing would probably work better but would be heavier. Flashing would be hard to fold lengthwise for transport. You'd probably have to figure something else out.

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[Roger Caffin]

> Roger…."I use a windshield which wraps at least 3/4 of the way around the pot."
> QUESTION: What material do you use AND how do you store it?
Aluminium shim, rolled up in a tiny silnylon bag sewn to fit.

Much of the time its a Trail Designs Classic windscreen because the gauge/thickness is about right:
http://www.traildesigns.com/accessories/classic-windscreen

(If you hunt through BGT you will find a review I wrote of their windscreens – that review helped launch the company in the UL world.)

I sometimes use a Ti foil windshield (from BPL I think), but it is harder to handle. Just a bit too thin and floppy.

Foil from a large disposable baking pan also works, although it is a bit lighter and doesn't last as long. Easy to get though. Multiple layers of cooking foil – works, for maybe one-two trips. Fussy.

Technique note: I also carry about 3 off 1.6 mm Ti wire stakes with the windscreen. They help to keep the foil standing upright and in the right place. A few grams, yes, but very time-saving.

Cheers

[Brad Walker]

Pie tins from the premade crusts also work pretty well. Mine lasted a few trips. Plus they basically already have the correct shape to work as a reflector and short vertical wall.

[Hikin’ Jim]

Technique note: I also carry about 3 off 1.6 mm Ti wire stakes with the windscreen. They help to keep the foil standing upright and in the right place. A few grams, yes, but very time-saving

I've been using rocks to stabilize mine, but the Ti stakes sound like they'd be a lot better. Can't always count on handy rocks.

HJ
Adventures in Stoving

[Sam Farrington]

Just in case you are a bit leery of full cover windscreens over canister stoves, please note that Snow Peak has marketed a windscreen that goes over the burner and supports, but is above the canister and nozzle. Only problem is that it is a little heavy, over 2 oz. So, a Ti pot bottom was used to make a knock-off. Here is a photo of the SP screen on the left, the Ti knock-off on the right:

Here are front and top view photos of the knock-off screen installed:

The Ti knock-off is under one oz. and has seen extensive use with no problems.
As you can see, the Titanium gets darker and discolored when exposed to the heat, but it doesn't effect the function.

Not only does the screen make it easier to use the stove in windy conditions, but it also adds to the life of the canister. I used to get 4 1/2 days from one of the Coleman canisters, and now get at least six, making the one canister safe to last for a week. A day's use for me is a dinner, boiling a liter of water, adding some to a dried food mix and simmering that for 10-15 minutes, then adding some more water and boiling another half liter for tea and washing utensils; then boiling another liter in the AM for tea and hot instant breakfast with gourmet coffee powder. Multiply that by six, and that is what I'm getting from the one canister; so only one is needed now for seven days of trekking.

The more expensive canisters don't last as long, so I don't use them. It may be that the ones with Isobutane might be better for cold weather use. Don't know – have never tested them.

The titanium was cut with a high speed Black & Decker rotor tool using a small diamond coated wheel sold by Dremel as an accessory. Holes were drilled for the center hole, and at each end of each slot. The diamond wheel was then used to cut out between holes to make each slot.

I would not use the stove with the screen in a tent, due to the probability of increased carbon monoxide; but have used it often just outside the tent floor under the tent awning in the rain with no problems to date.

[Jim Leonard]

What pot bottom did you end up using. I have been looking at a few of the Snow peak that my Local shop has, but I dont want to cut up a $40 pot if I dont have to. My other option was just to TIG one up out of the foil I have from TiGoat.

[Justin R]

Ti goat all the way. just got my material and going to make something soon.

[Sam Farrington]

Jim,
Sorry, it was too long ago, and I must have discarded the remnants. Can advise that the max diameter at the lip is 4.5", while the heavier SP one is 4 19/32". The slightly smaller diameter did not make a difference in fitting the windscreen to the stove. As I remember it was not a very tall pot, so it didn't have the capacity I wanted, and was sitting around unused.

There are Ti pots from companies like Evernew that can be found heavily discounted. This one nests perfectly for storage over the bottom of an Evernew (REI) Pasta Pot that I like because it holds the larger Coleman canister, and more water than the MSR and SP similar models. Only negative is the cover that clips over the top, rather than nesting inside it. I wrote them, and they feel strongly it is part of the pasta making design. So be it.

[Ken Thompson]

Denis Hazlewood made on out of a Snow Peak bowl years ago that works pretty well.

Related thread here.

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=45927&skip_to_post=394927#394927

[Justin R]

I would like to see some more pics of wind screen for snow peak stoves. I have be making mine soon.

[Eric D.]

Inspired by this thread, I looked through my assorted Ti cookware and decided that my SP Trek Ti bowl is the best candidate to become a UL windscreen for my SP GST-100. So I'm thinking that the bottom will look like Denis' and the height will be cut down to the top of the pot supports like the stainless SP windscreen. I'l post pics and weight when I get something operable.

Thanks for sharing all of the info here.

Eric

[Sam Farrington]

Eric,
Glad you are going to cut the bowl down to below the tops of the pot supports, as with SP's heavier screen. Otherwise, you might get a lot of CO. But Roger would know better than I.
Too bad SP couldn't just make a lighter screen

[Mark Fowler]

I am sure many people have used this inverted conical fustrum shape before, but this design seems to be a very light weight way to achieve wind protection. The photos are of my prototype made of aluminium flashing which weighs in at 18 grams. I plan to build it in Ti foil once I have used it for a few more nights to check on the size of openings required to provide air to the burner. I also need to tidy up the closure mechanism.

The small diameter opening fits around the lip of the gas cylinder and seems to make it relatively rigid. The large diameter is sized to provide a 1cm gap at the base of my MSR pot. It stores flat against the pad in the back of my pack.

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