DYI Stoves
Thanks for all the links and such on the DYI stoves folks.
I just made a twig stove from a coffee can, based on this design:
http://www.imrisk.com/woodgas/coffeestove.htm
It looks good. Seems like you could put an alcohol burner in it or use the solid fuel cubs too. Maybe I’ll test it in the morning.
twig/alcohol combo
I built a coffee can stove last year. Mine uses a computer fan powered by a 9V battery. I also carried my pepsi can stove for backup.
On our Bloodvein River trip (10days) I heated water using twigs on all but one day. The unit worked fine and got a lot of comments from my fellow trippers, who were all using coleman peak ones.
I punched side holes at midlevel and at the top. Tent stakes make pot supports and are inserted thru these holes. For a twig fire I place the pot high and with the pepsi stove the pot is lowered to mid level.
This set up works for boiling water and reconstituting dehydrated foods. For regular cooking you need longer burning coals and that means building a fire.
sierra zip stoves
Sierra makes a duel speed fan drivn woodburning backpacking stove called the ZIP stove… wieghs about a pound and uses 1 AA battery- stove fits inside my 1 liter cook pot… claim is 18,000 BTU blacksmith forge type heat… i have one and yea its a volcano.
MANY long distance backpackers/ thru hikers on the AT, PCT use alcohol beer can stoves. i make a pressurized version. if all ya mostly do is boil water or cook pasta then an alcohol stove may be for you.-
“yellow” bottles of HEET gasline antifreeze work well for fuel, found at most gas stations…
denatured alcohol IMO is #1 choice for fuel
at the end of my last outing i was eating no- cook meals with an ocassional hot meal cooked over campfire…
twig stove test
Jose, that sounds like a neat set up.
I tried out the stove refrenced in my post above this morning. Set it up head to head with the Coleman 3140 -700T mini canister stove. The canister stove has to be close to 15 to 20 years old, but seems to be running fine again.
Its about 50 degrees F here, misting rain with a steady breeze. I didn’t use windscreens on either stove. Both stoves boiled two cups of water in small kettles in quick order (10 min. give or take a couple). The Coleman was only a couple of minutes ahead of the twig stove. The Coleman had the better (aluminum) kettle. In fairness, the twig stove was fueled with dry finely split fruitwood kindling which I suspect burns hotter than an average handful of twigs.
The twig stove really seemed to work well. Now to look at wind screens…
Zip Stoves
Yes, I saw those listed at a couple of places. They look good. That is what came to mind at Jose’s description of his homemade fan-aided stove.
With these surplus and home made stove options available, looks like I’m going to save some dough.
Penny stove?
Not knowing anything about alcohol stoves, this one fascinated me.
Has anyone tried this penny stove??
http://www.csun.edu/~mjurey/penny.html
the fan
Risk did away with a fan for weight and simplicity. I like the fan because it speeds the burn and causes more complete combustion. Besides, the fan, battery and aluminum foil duct weigh almost nothing.
I also carry a pruner to clip small pieces of finger sized wood. It may be unneccessary weight, but very convenient.
Looks Good
I’m going to lay on some Heiniken today and start accumulating the raw materials.
That is a nicely done web site.
That one does look very interesting!
Liked the things I picked up on just skimming the article. Looking into it deeper!
Thanks and Happy Paddl’n!
:^)
Mick
Trangia
Thanks for putting up the links on how to make a stove especially the penny stove that was really well done!
Anyway, I have the trangia with wind screen, cook kit in duosal. It features the 1.5 and 2 qt pots. This is what I use for kayak trips in salt water environs. This kit has been with me for over 10 years (www.piragis.com) and I have never had a problem with sand getting into jets like my friends and their whisper lite stoves, etc. I have had no corrosion problems. I scrub the pots with sand and shells rinse in salt water at camp and they have never scratched or corroded.
For backpacking I got the trangia burner and stand I use it with the walmart grease pot it fits the base well.
Slow…it is,but I am in no hurry out there. Plus, if really hungry I start the stove while I set up camp and before you know it…dinner time.
Plus is, the stove is really quiet, well made and I have not had a problem transporting the brass burner and stove on the airlines. As long as you don’t take the fuel aboard no problem.
brasslight
– Last Updated: Jan-31-05 7:26 PM EST –
I use a home made alcohol stove when I backpack. If I were to buy one I would try a brasslight. http://www.brasslite.com I think I will try the penny stove and compare the boil times to mine. I use a snowpeak canister stove when kayaking where room for an extra canister is not a problem. For just boiling water I use a kelly kettle, no fan to worry about. http://www.kellykettle.com
Steve
they
are to make and fairly effective. In moderate conditions a canaster will be faster. Pound for calorie output Alchol stoves are borderline , but I still have mine and will probobly make a few more in the years ahead…
My bac pac stove is a cat stove I
made from cat food cans…it boils water nicely and weights nothing…http://hikinghq.net/cat/cat_stove.html
I bought aTrangia kit
– Last Updated: Feb-01-05 9:17 AM EST –
last year in Canada. Mine doesn't have the duosal pots, just regular aluminum. I sort of got carried away having never seen one of those Trangia kits before. (They are hard to locate in the US.) I probably won't ever carry it on a route that has portages. Too heavy!
Swedish Mil kit
McWood gave me one as a gift.I’m a freak on camping stoves. The stove is marked “svea” so I am not sure it is made by Trangia or a rip off.
One thing, the kit is HEAVY".
cannister availability
I think cannister stoves are great in warm weather. To address the availability of cannisters, I chose the MSR Superfly, which is claimed to work with all brands of fuel. I have used 3 different ones so far, no problems. It also means I am more likely to find cannisters on sale, since any brand will do.
Saving Weight
You’re better off trying to save weight by carrying lighter clothing than carrying a little stove. Levis weigh more than all the stoves mentioned so for. Backpackers who wear them are pissing in the wind trying to save weight with their stoves.
I have a folding wood burning stove that fits in a coat pocket. It’s small and takes about 15 minutes to heat two cups of water. I only used it when skiing or snowshoeing.
Trying to cook, on a backpacking stove, for an extendied trip isn’t my idea of a good time. The better the stove the better you’ll be able to cook. Carry a thermos if you want hot liquids on a day trip. I skied with a friend who would carry hot Jello in his.
See webshots
http://community.webshots.com/user/pack489 look for album Two Cat Can Stove that is if you can stop looking at his other pics. Sorry Fred.
Cliffjs