8 oz. fuel canister lids

Some of you may remember the BPL article I wrote a few years ago where I collated the various methods to warm up a fuel canister in cold winter conditions. Members can access that article by typing the following in the search box:

Winter Canister Warming Techniques

One problem I had was finding a suitable lid for the 8 oz. fuel canister to make a perforated cap for a hand warmer, and also to use to contain water for a warming “bath.” The Nabisco cookie cup lid worked perfectly for the 4 oz. canisters.

Recently my local pal Ron Stokely put me in touch with a guy that could make some using his 3D printing setup. After numerous prototypes, we finally came up with the perfect lids.

Here is a photo of what we came up with:

Note the base under the one on the left. It is a simple plastic lid, a bit larger than the bottom of the fuel canister. I cut a piece of 1/8″ closed cell foam to somewhat insulate things from the cold ground. Then I placed a disk of carbon felt over that which rises a few millimeters above the lip of the plastic lid. This allows air (oxygen) to get to the hand warmer, and it also helps insulate things from the cold below.

Here is a photo of the disassembled setup. The canister on the left is sitting upon the base disk I just described.

My guy came up with an ingenious alternate design for the hand warmer version. He placed the air intake holes on the side, just below the bottom rim of the canister. He made a small rim inside, just above the air intake holes, upon which the canister would sit. I cut a disk of carbon felt  to fit under the hand warmer and hold it in place. This helps direct the heat toward the canister, rather than allow it to escape downward. The sweet thing about the side ventilation holes is that all you need is a piece of 1/2″ closed cell foam as a base and insulation from the cold ground.

Here is a fuzzy photo of his work of art, but you can see what he did.

By the way, these lids snap on quite securely, which is especially important for use with the water bath technique. In fact, my buddy Ron likes the water bath version best. You see, his winter trips are usually snowshoe outings to a yurt, where they provide firewood for heat, and propane for cooking. He likes the fact that he can securely store small items in the bottom concavity, and the canister won’t scratch the bottom of his cook pot.

Now, my ‘guy’ is Nathan, and he is in cahoots with his buddy Austin. They are both engineers, and they have become hooked on thru hiking. So much so, that they formed a company to make what they feel is an improvement over hiking gear that is currently available. Their company is called Chicken Tramper Ultralight Gear, and they are based in Michigan. I have been working with Nathan throughout this whole project, and I’ve found him to be one heck of a great guy – polite, well spoken, and intelligent (he IS an engineer, after all). By the way, Nathan told me that their company would have no interest in adding these canister lids to their product line. He is just doing this for me, and for BPL (of which he is also a member).

Nathan asked me to give everyone on BPL a coupon code for 15% off at their web site. The following is that code:   BPL15

Please go to their site and check out their gear.

Now here’s the last thing I’d like to mention. If anyone might be interested in having one or more of these lids, Nathan said he would be happy to do a batch for me. They won’t be cheap though, as 3D printing is a bit pricy. I would need to charge $10 for a lid, which would cover shipping and PayPal fees. If you want a second lid, it would cost $4 less, or $6. This is because the USPS postage is the same for 2 lids as it is for just one.

If people are interested, please post in this thread. Please indicate which lid type you might like, which will give me some idea of the number and lid type people might want.

Thanks for indulging me on this. My main interest in this project has been to complete the circuit regarding my original paper. It had bothered me that I couldn’t put the 8 oz. canister thing to rest. But at the very least, I now have the lids I need.