DIY Ultralight Remote Inverted-Canister Winter Stove – Version 4, Part 1

Thanks @Roger,

I went and checked, and it measures 21.5cm across, so about 3.5l.

However, that doesn’t mean it is ever full of 3.5l water. I put in a bit of water, and the fill it with snow. I do add snow partway through, but never  end up with it full of water.

Don’t I remember @Ryan Jordan using a ~6l popcorn pot for group trips?

I have some of the tall, narrow 2l pots, and there is no way I could get enough snow in those in any time effective manner to melt enough for even two people.

Does 21.5 cm count as a ‘large’ diameter in your experience, creating the issues of reflecting heat back down?
I would never use that on an upright canister stove, simply because of balance issues.

@Tjaard

21.5 cm – that is probably OK with a REMOTE canister stove, imho.
I hear you about snow melting. It doubles my fuel consumption.

Cheers

AHHH! A cliff hanger ending..

well done Sir

Part 2 this week I believe.

Cheers

Great article!

I want to buy one!
Let us know when you’re ready to make a small serie for us gear-lovers.

Binne Smid

Yeah, great articles, I like the sleeping on problems part…

If a stove flame output is turbulent, there may be better heat transfer leading to more efficiency

Are you considering this in your designs?  Are you measuring grams of butane to boil a volume of water?

Hi Binne. Please email me direct via roger@backpackinglight.com for details.

Hi Jerry: oh yes, the flames are turbulent for sure. With the rates of expansion due to burning they could not be otherwise. There is also turbulence at a micro scale inside the burner head: that is how we get the fuel/air mixing.

As to efficiency, see for example our articles
https://backpackinglight.com/canister_stove_efficiency_p1/
https://backpackinglight.com/canister_stove_efficiency_p2/
https://backpackinglight.com/canister_stove_efficiency_p3/
and
https://backpackinglight.com/heat-exchanger-pot-test-hx-haa-caffin/
for some figures.

I don’t use ‘grams per litre’ very much myself; rather I use ‘grams per day’ for the two of us in practical conditions (ie, walking). Over long periods in the mountains (like 2 – 3 months) I find I use 30 grams per day for the two of us in summer, and I allow 60 g/day for the two of us in the snow. The latter is probably excessive, but it does allow for melting snow every day – which I try to avoid.

Cheers

Roger, thanks for sharing your stove design “secrets.”

Do you have a photo of the V4 stove folded up, with rough dimensions?

Thanks again.

Photo from David G of V4 stove inside a Toaks 900 mL pot, 115 mm diameter.

Cheers

Very cool to see! Looks like a fantastic stove!

How big is the pot support from side to the other? (In other words, what  diameter pot would exactly Line up with the pot supports)?

4 pot supports, not 3.
Between inner ends of pot supports: 70 mm (beer cans need not apply)
Between Ti wire uprights: 124 mm (but note that the outer corners have a radius)
Larger pots (up to a point) are of course fine.

Cheers

Is there some info about the exchangeable gas cannister connectors in some of the other articles maybe? (I hope i haven’t missed it here…?)

I’m interested in getting one of these stoves (will send a mail!) and would like to know a little more about compatibility with different containers and their usages. I see you mention three different connectors, and the most common here in Sweden/Europe are the 7/16″ and the bayonet(?). Is there something special to think of when using different types of cannisters, with gas or liquid feeding?

Trying to get a grip on the different connections I found http://bushwalkingnsw.org.au/clubsites/FAQ/FAQ_GasStoves.htm and spent quite a long time there before I saw the authors name. :)

before I saw the authors name. :)
Chuckle.

There is some info in some of the other stove articles – but a bit scattered. I don’t think we an article focusing on connectors as such.

The French Campingaz connector is the best in my opinion: safe, long-lasting and reliable. But the French did not stir their backsides to get international sales, and lost out.

The screw-thread (7/16″) is the most common, but as one might expect, it is an abortion of a design. It’s a partial steel thread, rough surface, ‘mating’ with a soft brass thread on the stoves. The stove thread strips after a while, and yes, it happened to me.

The bayonet connection is found only (?) on butane canisters (ie not butane/propane), and is designed for what we call ‘wok stoves’. We have an article coming here at BPL about them. You can buy adapters on ebay to convert them to screw-thread.

Cheers