Gram Weenie stove

[Travis Leanna]

Greg,
Yes, George sent me the "Super Gram Weenie" as well. This stove is going to be good for those times where I'll need to boil a little more than 12 oz. It may also come in handy to heat up two separate mugs of water (my girlfriend is usually with me) without having to refuel and relight the stove.

I'm a beginner to alcohol stoves myself, so I can't offer too much more help! But I'll chime in whenever I can (or whenever I feel like adding something mindless to the thread…..)

[Travis Leanna]

Greg,
Don't feel too bad about the article thing. I floated around here for more than a year before deciding to become a member, which I did for 2 reasons.

1. I learned more than I ever thought I would, and I'm happy to pay for good knowledge. (except student loans–those can really get to be a pain)

2. So I can actually read about what many of these threads are about, rather than trying to extrapolate the information from various comments!!

3. Ok, I said 2 reasons, but whatever….I also have seen Roger "scold" others for not reading the actual article being discussed, and decided to avoid that fate!! :)

[Link .]

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[Greg Lewis]

Anna,
I did not know you could order it. I assume a quick search online will reveal sources. Does anyone else want some 190 Everclear in WA? Thanks.

Travis,
I have been meaning to join for awhile. Roger is right though- It is so easy to search for things like that, and that is where people should start. It's just so easy to jump into a conversation w/o doing your homework.

There is a ton of good info here. It gave me the bug to MYOG. I have a Sil tarp, backpack, and many stoves that I have made due to this site. Now I have to make everything again- in Cuben of course.

I have a whitebox that has been great for trips with my son and my evernew .9L, but I am looking for something that I can use with a heinie can, or my firelight 550, and maybe a trappers mug.

I couldn't get a boil in my 550 so George is sending the "super". It is such a cool little stove that I want it to work- hence the search for a different fuel. That article was great.

I have had great luck with a tealight, but I would like the integrated stand. It is just a "cleaner" system. Let me know how yours works out.

Greg

[Travis Leanna]

Greg,
I'd be really surprised if you couldn't get a boil with the Super GW in your 550. If you do get your hands on some Everclear, try the regular GW again. But now that you'll have both, you've got options! And depending on your cooking needs, you may not even need a full boil. I use little hot water when hiking, between 20-25 ounces a day, and none of it actually needs to boil.

And heck, these little buggers are so small and light, you can carry two if you've got a hiking partner. When I go with my girlfriend, we've been carrying the MSR Pocket Rocket (which we will still use in winter), and we'd trade off boiling water in our mugs. Now that I've got two of these, we can boil at the same time. I think we can handle the extra 13 grams of weight.

[Link .]

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[Greg Lewis]

Hi Anna,

I just saw their website. There was another one that was a little cheaper too. But you are right, the shipping is $$.

While looking I came across an interesting alternative- Race fuel. It is cheap, and the contents are 95% Ethanol and 5% methanol. I know,methanol, but at only 5%, that seems reasonable when dentured is 50% methanol and other bad stuff is in there. And many people use the HEET at 99% methanol.

It says in the description that you can use it for indoor fireplaces(?) and stoves.

Best thing is that it's $8 a gallon! Here is the link;

http://www.goestores.com/storename/highfuelsn/ViewDept-81051.aspx

Greg

[Travis Leanna]

Greg, that race fuel would be interesting to try. I wonder how much a difference the 5% methanol vs. 5% water in the Everclear would make. I'm guessing it'd burn a smidge faster (if at all measurable) because its all flammable, whereas the water in the Everclear may prolong the burning time. It bay burn hotter though. But, I'm just guessing at this.

I do believe part of the article on fuels dealt with the effects of water blends in fuels.

[Greg Lewis]

Travis,
Yes, according to the article up to 25% water can be added to help control the flame so that the heat is not all wasted up the side of the narrow pot. That in theory seems like a good idea. Maybe experiment a little by adding from 5% to 15% water.

It seems as though this may be a good option. the other option besides grain alcohol was to look for a denatured alcohol (Sunnyside) that is mostly ethanol. This is still cheaper and there are no other additives. I will have to see if I can locate an MSDS to confirm this.

Greg

[Link .]

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[Travis Leanna]

I'm currently experimenting with water blends as I type this!

[Greg Lewis]

Hi Anna,

I was just on the website to figure that out. To get 1 gal to Seattle is $12 shipping. So $20 for a gallon of E95 as opposed to about $30 per liter for the Everclear. Not a bad deal unless you want to drink the booze too!

I will most likely order a gallon on Monday. I would like to seee the MSDS before buying and they are closed now.

Greg

[Greg Lewis]

Travis,
Let me know how that works out.
greg

[Link .]

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[Greg Lewis]

I added another gallon to my order to see what I would save and the total was $34.24 for 2 gallons. So $16 for the E95 and $18.24 for the shipping. Essentially I would save $6 in shipping by ordering two.

I wonder if it's because I am on the Eastside in Kirkland?

I have been searching for a local supplier.

Greg

[Bob Gross]

Why don't you get some of the good ol' boys from the area around the southern end of the AT? They know how to make moonshine cheaply. That would burn really good.
–B.G.–

[Greg Lewis]

'cause shipping to Seattle would be too expensive!
gl

[Travis Leanna]

Greg,
The only thing that experimenting with water/fuel blends proved was that George's design is efficient as can be. Mixing any water in with the Everclear only degraded the stove's performance.

Edit: I've tested the Gram Weenie through an entire Liter (Litre for you English/Aussie types) of Everclear, and have not found a way to improve its performance. This should NOT suggest that George's design desires improvement, but rather should highlight its ideal use for small capacity mugs/pots. If I decide to test and try to improve upon a piece of gear, its because I personally find it is already a quality and worthwhile investment. That may seem counterintuitive, but that's how I work–at that point I've already weeded through the crap. Kudos to George.

[Greg Lewis]

Thanks for the nfo Travis.

I need to try the E95 in the original gw and see how the super works out.

Greg

[Dan @ Durston Gear]

Neat link. It's pretty much impossible to get pure or close to pure ethanol here in Canada. Unfortunately the cheapest shipping option to Canada is $56 for one gallon. I guess I'll keep using methanol until I can find it cheaper.

[Greg Lewis]

Hey Dan,
If you ever get down to Seattle you could have it shipped to my house. I would be glad to arrange a time for you ro pick it up. In fact, that goes for you too Anna. The shipping drops a few dollars with each gallon. At 3 gallons I think it dropped the price to a total of $18/gal shipped.
Greg

[Greg Lewis]

Hi George,

Thanks for the great service shipping me the Super GW. I recieved it yesterday and tested it today. The results were excellent in my book.

From ignition to boiling 2 cups of water was about 9 minutes, including bloom time, with about two more minutes of boiling.

Conditions;
water temp around 58F, outside test temp was 45F, humidity 81%. It used about 3/4oz fuel.

My scale only registers 1/4 oz and the SGW wieghed the same as the GW at 1/2 oz.

Thanks, and nice work!

I ordereed some E95 to try. I think the only thing that will do is maybe let me get by with about 1/2 oz fuel. We shall see.

Greg

[Aaron Robson]

Does anyone know where to get the sheet aluminium the is used for the windscreen and primer pan?

I've got a bunch of different sized aluminium bottles headed my way from McKernan – going to try out some different designs and sizes. Much fun…

[Travis Leanna]

Its not as nice and soft as the stuff sold with the Gram Weenie, but if you go to your grocery store and get oven liners (basically really thick aluminum foil pans) you can make windscreens out of those. Just be careful of sharp edges after cutting them. I made a windscreen for my MSR pocket rocket out of these and it worked great.

(I know about the dangers of windscreens and canister stoves, and I assure my design did not let the canister heat up at all)

[Greg Lewis]

I recieved my E95 fuel today, so I having been playing with it a little. So far it seems like good stuff.

On my stove top with no windscreen I was able to get the 2 cups of water to boil in about 10 minutes. Not much change there. What was different is that I got 16:55 total burn time with the 20 ml of guel that the sgw holds. This is about 2 to 3 minutes longer than with the denatured alcohol.

This was not entirely unexpected as the article on fuels suggested that you may have to carry less of the pure ethanol.

So I ran it again with 15ml, which equals .508oz. Same burn time but it still went 13 mins.

Originally I couldn't get the original gram weenie to boil 1.5 cups. So, I pounded down the concave bottom, and was able to get 11 or 12 ml in there. It boiled 1.5 cups in about 8 mins and burned out at 9:45.

I think the E95 is promising to be the fuel of choice. Field testing to come soon.

Greg

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