Beeter than a cat stove?

I have A Trail Designs Sidewinder made of titantium and the Inferno wood burning insert kit. It came with their alcohol stove and an ESBIT "Gram Cracker" tablet holder. The larger Tri Ti stove is similar.

1. I made a modified Brian Green Blog type tablet holder to almost double the ESBIT burn time. Now my ESBIT stove is much more fuel efficient and easily beats alky for lighter fuel weight on week long trips. Plus ESBIT is a bit hotter than alcohol.

2. The Inferno gassier wood burning stove is VERY efficient and very hot, leaving wood as white ash. Great for winter.

3. This stove will accommodate many types of alcohol burners. Just be sure the one you chose will work at high altitudes if that is your destination.

All you need if using alcohol is the outer cone. If using wood you can just use the outer cone and ti base with 2 ti stakes to hold the mating pot higher.

I'm curious as to what other fuels besides alcohol have you been burning in your cat stove.

@Eric, shameless.

Unleaded, diesel, just about anything I can find or scrounge.

What's you preferred method for lighting diesel?

I think you have been incredibly lucky.

"I think you have been incredibly lucky."

Wait a second. Check first to see if Brett still has his eyebrows.

–B.G.–

The Venom Super Stove will safely burn any king of rot gut flammable products out there:-) Lacquer thinner, Acetone, E85, gasoline etc. I've burned them all in it. It's all laid out on my website. I do not promote those as fuel for the stove as you know for all the reasons you can think of ;)

Because the wick absorbs and hold it securely makes it better than the cat stove…nough said ;-)))))

:(

I only did diesel the once for proof of concept and it was only about half an ounce and it was lit with a piece of tissue on the end of twig. Yeah, I know those are not optimal fuels but those are some of the things I come across when I bum around from place to place.

Jimmer has burned all the same fuels in his stoves and is sad to admit…the Venom Super Stove is the only one able to burn all fuels ;)

If you try them in the cat stove, use a longer piece of paper to light it :-))))

edit to say: use 1/4 ounce of fuel at a time ;)

Dan.

Actually, my :( reply was about this whole thread.

To recommend high energy petroleum based fuels in stoves designed for Ethanol and Methanol is both stupid and irresponsible. As a stove marketer,I would think you would have better sense.

Apparently,you've been burning too much laquer thinner witbout adequate ventilation and its killing off your brain cells.

Actually :(

I haven't experimented with any of the more "exciting" fuels — being perfectly content with my own alky stove / denatured alcohol set up.

But c'mon — we are all adults here. I see nothing wrong with sharing 'crazy' ideas — as long as we include warnings where appropriate.

Knowing what might work in a pinch can sometimes prove useful.

While sitting around waiting for Armageddon or a meteor strike or EMP attack… :^/

Hmmmmm. Better is an interesting request. Cat stoves are nice because they are cheap and just about anyone can make one. Fuel efficiency isn't so great and I myself am not a fan because of the pot stability. But HYOH, Cook with the stove that you are competent and efficient at using.

I am not a big fan of using white gas, kerosene or jet fuel in a stove. I would suggest that you might try hand sanitizer (~70% ethanol) or Sterno (also ~70% ethanol) as they are easy to find as an alternative fuel. You may have trouble using these fuels in a wick based stove, but I am not an expert in this area and other people may be able to chime in on this. Good Luck – Jon

I have tried a few Cat Can Stoves and they are a little fragile and not very efficient.
Putting a pot on top of it isn't that stable either.

I now use a Cat Ion stove that is almost double the efficiency.
At 6 grams, you can't beat it!

"I have tried a few Cat Can Stoves and they are a little fragile and not very efficient.
Putting a stove on top of it isn't that stable either."

Why would you put a stove on top of a cat can stove?

–B.G.–

I don’t know why everyone is worried about pot stability and efficiency, I never had an issues with mine. But then again I am not using one of those tall and skinny pots but a wide and normal one so that most of the heat goes into the bottom of the pot and if I need to stir stuff up inside of it I grab onto the handles and hold it steady while I do so. No big whoop. And if I need to make a new stove it costs me about $0.54 and the borrowing of a nail and hammer.

As for my fuel choices, I do try to use more sustainable options when I can but don’t always have that luxury.

Bret, you're doing good, keep experimenting with caution.

Look at this video of the budlite super stove burning Coleman fuel: