Another Wax Stove

Raymond Gatt has lost any potential future business from me.  The guy is not even selling lightweight, backpacking stove anymore, so why would he be concerned with Jon’s in the first place?  That’s just petty.

If you decide to try a run with a Alpha version, best of luck to you Jon.

“collect the feedback here in this thread for all of us to see.”

I probably have an above-average need for such a thing, since about once a year, I’m flying (on a jet, hence TSA’ed) somewhere to go backpacking where propane/butane/white gas aren’t available for sale locally (Adak, Unalaska, Kaui).  And, in the Aleutians, there aren’t even any trees for a wood-burner.

Any solution would have be pretty light and easy to use because in a pinch I can just bring a bunch of tea candles.

And I’ve found my own means of getting liquid fuels to those places, so I’ve already got better solutions than a wax-powered stove would ever be.

And I’ve cobbled together other (free!) wax-based options (a tuna can with a coil of corrugated cardboard or fiberglass as a wick; soup can as a a pot and a larger tin can as a wind screen / pot support).

When you arrive in those locations,(Adak, Unalaska, Kaui) you might find a package or 2  of wood clothes pins for a nice wood fire. 2oz. of wood will boil 2 cups. Do the locals use up all the driftwood?

I’ve got a box of a thousand “craft sticks” (popsicle sticks).  And, yes, clothes pins are another good choice.  4 years ago, Bob Gross posted “DOT was trying to tell me that I could check something wooden as a container, such as a shipping pallet, but I could not check some wood that was intended for use as fuel.” but I can’t find firewood mentioned – yes/no, carry-on/checked – on TSA’s website.  I’ve thought of furniture parts (an old, hardwood kitchen chair, in pieces).

There is some driftwood, but it’s pretty big and wet getting to those island through the North Pacific.  There scrap wood from power poles, docks, etc, but a lot of is creosoted or pressure-treated.  Wooden pallets used to be used a lot in Western Alaska for firing steam baths, but more pallets are reusable now and especially airfreight has gone to lighter alternatives.

2 ounces of wood = 2 cups boiled is a helpful rule of thumb.

A wax stove would be great for people who want to avoid methanol and other toxic fuels.  It is also great when fuel transportation is a concern.  For International traveling, using hand sanitizer (70% ethanol) in a cat can stove will work just fine.  I have been able to find hand sanitizer in about every country that I have travelled to so far.  My 2 cents.

I am pretty sure that in a lot of  countries buying ethanol is less expensive as long as you know what is called.

An Australian example :

Dettol, 50g, $3.99

generic 95% ethanol , 1 liter, $3.49 :

You forgot to price the Vodka.

Cheers

that is pretty lame to see an aggressive patent holder for wax vapor chambers. When I designed and wrote the article for my wax gas stove, I felt a little gaurded with my creative investment, but knew leaving it to public knowledge would excel the design faster. Also with it’s drawbacks and niche status, I never thought it would be worth retail value anytime soon.

Reading the patent though, it seems rather vague and open ended while trying to pertain to his detailed design. I don’t know anything about language in patents but his seems flawed. Although it is pretty apparent he is hoping to cashout with the military buying the design to use a less combustable fuel. A model that catches sales for it’s quality of use and simplicity in moving parts and cost or selling the rough idea to a current military food cooking systems distributor would be required to catch the military’s eye I would expect. Until then he is just holding back innovation.

Oh, I doubt he is holding back innovation. Inventors just gotta invent. I suggest consign problem to waste bin.

Cheers