Gat-gen wax/multifuel stove?

[Timothy Huguenin]

Hey just saw a word about a stove that works primarily on wax but could also run on alcohol, made by a company i think called Gatt-gen? Looked online but it looks like the website they used to run on is no longer. Does anyone know about these stoves? like how good they are, versatile, lightness, efficiency, etc, and where to find them? thanks

[Franco Darioli]

A huge amount of info here :
http://zenstoves.net/G-Micro.htm
but yes it looks like it vanished in thin air.

[Timothy Huguenin]

Right, that's what I had seen, and I was trying to find out how to get one, or at least see a price on one

[Franco Darioli]

From memory the stove came out at $129 , later on discounted to $100 but as you have found out it isn't for sale any longer.
The good point was that the fuel could be taken on a plane, however the price and slow boil time (12 to 20 minutes for 1 pint) I suppose killed the idea.
BTW, note that it was sold as a wax burner only, the idea of using alcohol was dropped.

[Dan Yeruski]

And then it took forever to start it up…think prime of sorts ;-)

Who was the member here at BPL that was trying to do a DIY wax burner and is an ongoing project? Wanted it for taking fuel on plane.

[David Thomas]

Dan, that was me, playing with various wax burners because of a jet flight (TSA restrictions) to a grassy, volcanic Aleutians island (Adak) with no natural wood.

At $129, I'd guess this wax/multifuel stove boiled the wax somehow and made a hot, pre-mix flame. My simpler burners had cool, yellow flames (think candle). Adding an inner air channel (i.e. the wax burner was an annual ring) increased the heat output and reduced but didn't eliminate soot.

The "stove" I made that I liked best weighed about the same as a cat-food can alky stove. Two bits of soda cans, some JB weld, and some fiberglass (as a wick). Under an ounce before adding the fuel (wax).

[David Thomas]

That last photo has the wax burner flat on the workbench (i.e. no interior air channel). Elevating it 2 cm caused a much higher flame (and therefore less unburned wax vapors and soot.

[David Thomas]

As always, I ponder the benefits of a heart exchanger on the pot. I might revisit these wax burners with that tweak. Unlike my 1 to 2-liter HX pots, these wax burners lend themselves to 200-300 mls of water at a time.

Also, the wax seemed a little too volatile. I might try "dripless" candles (high steric acid, I think) next time.

[Jerry Adams]

"Also, the wax seemed a little too volatile"

smaller wick?

[Dan Yeruski]

Thank you David. I look forward to advancements on your project. Really a nice DIY project.

[Dan Yeruski]

Sterno Wick Chaffing fuel

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Sterno-Wick-Chafing-Fuel-Can-with-Twist-Cap/23436410

This stuff is fun to make stoves with. It won't burn without using a wick. It might be a product that can be taken on a plane. Burns clean.

Downside of it is it's foul odor when snuffed out. It will gag a maggot! Same as Esbit :-)))

[David Thomas]

An advantage to the wax is that it doesn't smell much (or smells of "Christmas-berry" or some such) – I buy the biggest, ugliest candles at Goodwill for about 25-50 cents per pound. That makes the fuel cheaper than pump gasoline, 1/3 the price of propane, 1/20 the price of Sterno, and 1/30 that of butane.

One may or may be able to successfully argue flash points and vapor pressure with a TSA agent, but you can always bring an ugly candle with you.

I think it was Bob Gross who researched chapter&verse and reported that you could bring wooden objects in your luggage, but you COULDN'T bring wood as fuel in your luggage, even in your checked luggage. The work-arounds that occurred to me:

1) get a 1000-stick box of popsicle sticks (I have). I have a deeply-held belief that Hobby Lobby stocks those which gives me a constitutional right to possess them.

2) a nice source of super-dry, very-seasoned hardwood is old furniture. Knock apart an old chair from the dump, bundle it up in your luggage and say it is a kit that you'll assemble at your destination.

[Bob Gross]

Go ahead, blame it on me.

Yes, several years ago I went around and around with TSA, then DOT, over what constitutes fuels versus non-fuels.

Yes, old hardwood is good stuff to burn, but it takes a bit to get it started. You either have to whittle it down into small pieces or else have some softwood kindling.

If you put an ugly candle in your baggage, that is a non-fuel. If you put the same ugly candle in there with a label that says "stove fuel," then it is banned.

Actually, a good combination works nicely. Some piece of ugly candle to get it started, and then some piece of hardwood to keep it going.

–B.G.–

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