Caffin Winter Vortex Burner Stove

Just used mine for the first time in field…  rocks!!

First off, its really light (Obviously…)  My cookpot is the Evernew 1300mL and the stove fits in it perfectly on the included wood base with the pot support… ready to go.  I swear the pot and the stove combined are lighter than my Windpro2… its really close, if not.

I didnt time it or anything (I know, I know… facts and stuff)  It seemed to do 1L in about 8min?  A little less than 10. I didnt use a windscreen, and I was in a small snow cave with no ventilation… JK we were ventilated.  I’m not sure what setting is most efficient, and dont know when I’m turned up too high, so I started with it pretty low and it seemed to weaken, so I turned it up and didnt have any issue.

I want to get a caldera cone style windscreen and cut the bottom off so I can control the flame and still get some heating up the sides.  The valve at the connector piece is confusing, I dont understand why there are two valves, but whatever… I can turn it off and on.

I think my wood base came with some vegemite stains on it.

Two Valves: Safety on/off at the canister, and Control at the stove.

Vegemite: denied vigorously! :-)

Efficiency: go for mid-range, no flames up the sides.

Cheers

just wanted to add that I used mine again at about 12F with no problems.  Fuel can was jetboil and less than 25% full.

Lovin it!

Ah, but what were you cooking? Or was it for coffee?

Cheers

Hi Roger,

I’m very interested….hopefully you have one left.  Sending an email shortly

Yes, I have a few left still.
Email to roger@backpackinglight.com

Cheers

Thanks Roger,

Hopefully the funds are in your paypal

Cheers!

..looks nice!

Roger, any Vortex stoves left in stock? I want one to melt snow in a 2 litre Toaks Ti pot if it has enough power ;)

Hi Dan

Strictly literally, there are none left in stock right now.

However, about 2 weeks ago someone else emailed me with the same Q. I checked and found I have a lot of spare parts and needed just few more parts to make up some complete stoves. So, I am in the process of making up enough extra parts to make another six complete stoves. As you can probably imagine, it is almost as easy to make 6 more as it is to make just 1. One has been sold already.

Email me direct (address above) and I will send you the sales blurb.

Cheers
PS: yes, it melts snow very well. All canister stoves do.

Email sent requesting blurb :-)

What is the distance from white knob to the other side of the stove and the distance from corner to corner of the wood base? What is optimum distance from bottom of stove to pot bottom?

Hi Dan

The photo you have is of a v2 stove: no longer in production. I am now selling the V3 version, outlined at
https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/yet-another-remote-winter-stove-part-2-roger-caffin/
and at
https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/v3-winter-vortex-stove-a-small-tweak/
There some other parts to that series as well.

In view of the change in design, some of your Qs are moot, but I will try.
> the distance from white knob to the other side of the stove
You should allow 90 – 100 mm as the hose has to bend for packing.

> and the distance from corner to corner of the wood base?
The wood base is optional: I can use the stove on benches or rock without the base. In the snow, the base is essential. I supply a base which is 120 – 140 mm square (left over from v2), but you can cut that down to 110 mm.

This shows the stove from 3 different angles. The version I am about to sell has the optional long extension handle which is removable. This is shown at the top right hand corner.

The wire goes into the handle and locks in place.

Cheers

Thank you for the update. I’m going to use the stove inside my combination windscreen/pot support made for the 2000ml Toaks pot. This is a photo of my 1300ML pot with Ti windscreen/pot support. I’l use the Vortex with that also on certain occasions.

It’s ok to confine the Vortex inside the potsuport/windscreen, nothing will melt?

If you made the windscreen a little bigger around, so there’s a gap between windscreen and pot, exhaust would flow next to pot, maybe a little more efficient?

I have strong reservations about sealing the windscreen to the pot with a canister stove. It works fine for alkies, but they make a much smaller exhaust gas flow. Do this with a canister stove and I suspect you might get a huge amount of CO emission due to the flame being ‘choked’.

Jerry’s comments about efficiency are also right imho – because of the higher flow of hot exhaust gas.

If confined within such a windscreen, the whole stove would get very hot. Neither the aluminium not the titanium parts should be bothered, but the Viton O-rings and the PFA fuel hose might be pushed a bit harder than I would like. The plastic knob on the control valve might definitely suffer.

I would have to refuse too accept ANY liability for the use of such a windscreen with any of my stoves. And I would not even attempt it myself.

Now, if you make the windscreen a bit bigger, so there is a >15 mm gap all around between the pot and the windscreen, and you support the pot on a couple of Ti wires through the windscreen – that might work. I normally have such a windscreen about 3/4 of the way around the pot, leaving a good gap for the valve, for air flow inwards and for me to see the flame. In my case the pot sits on the integral pot supports that come with the stove.

Cheers

All good points to ponder.

My Ti windscreen hugs the pot sides and serves the purpose of a heat exchanger. When the heat flows out through the top holes it will travel approx 3 3/4″ (95mm)(H) which is the height of the pot. The ridge will be placed 1 3/4″ from the bottom of the pot. That gives a lot of heat exchange. The nature of rising heat causes the cooler air to push it towards the pot sides. Tony’s  scientific photography showed that to us years ago here on BPL. The heat loss will be minimal.

Incoming air and exiting holes will be made to insure complete combustion according to guidlines that will be posted by Ryan in his StoveBench: A Stove Testing Protocol for Comparing the Performance of Backpacking Stoves.

I will ponder what you have said Roger. Thanks for the update.

Roger is pretty much spot on (as usual).  I offer a windscreen that can be used for alcohol, Esbit or a remote fed canister stove.  If you run the canister stove at a low output for fuel efficiency, then you can get away with the standard configuration.  When I mean fuel efficient,  I mean I dial down the canister output to be similar wattage to an alcohol stove: ~400 watts.  OD is 5.9″ to fit the Evernew 1.3 liter pot.

Note: if you try to crank up the stove while in normal mode, you will choke off the stove.  You can actually hear the pitch change as you lower the pot.

If you want a fast boil and want to crank up the heat, you need to use the wide mode.  6.8″ in diameter so about a 0.45″ annular gap.

The dual mode allow you to use alcohol/Esbit/Canister on low as well as flat out fast boiling.

My 2 cents

Hi Jerry

Now that is neat: press-studs to control the gap. Very neat.
I am left to wonder whether there is enough air INLET area? Are there inlet holes I can’t see?

Cheers

I’ll make sure there is enough incoming and exiting air holes :-) My motto has always been “never deny your stove oxygen”

Dimensions of Toaks 2000 =  6 7/8″ (170mm)(Dia) x 3 3/4″ (95mm)(H)

All things considered….I’ve decided the Kovea Spider is what I’ll experiment with. Canister will be outside the windscreen/pot support, all should go well.

I’ll be able to cut off the pot supports of the Spider and just retain the supporting legs where they curve upward. Always an eye open for modification :-) and weight savings. The pot support/windscreen will fit sideways inside the pot, Spider should fit in there also.

Lots of air holes

Roger,

Here is a better image of the windscreen in the wide mode.  There are slots along the bottom for air inlet and in normal mode a single hole in the front.  When in the wide mode, the slots on the bottom expand and the holes no longer overlap providing more air.  In the alcohol Esbit mode, the windscreen operates in an oxygen starved environment in order to reduce the impact of ambient wind.  By the way, over here we call them snaps and not pressed studs.  Best regards

Hi Dan
Myself, I would double the area of the upper row of exit holes.
Would not cutting the pot supports off give you more flexibility?

Hi Jon
What are those two blue things on the windscreen?
But yes, if the bottom edge cutouts go right around, that should imho be enough. How does the hose get out the back? A slot?
Snaps, press-studs … I know.

Cheers

Hi Dan
Myself, I would double the area of the upper row of exit holes.
Would not cutting the pot supports off give you more flexibility?

Yes, it would, but I want the stability when using a 2L pot. A dedicated windscreen/pot support is fine with me at this point.

Using a remote canister stove in a confined space is currently being done, see photos:

http://www.spiritofmawson.com/objects/nansen-stove-antarctica/

The system uses the  MSR XGK stove.

annular snow melter – interesting idea to get more efficiency