I am not sure why it is in blue font but oh well
I saw a magazine about alcohol stoves and was very intriguing. So I did a Google for a few “how to” sites on how to make a pop can stove yesterday. Last night I fetched an empty pop can out of the recycle bin at work. On the way home I stopped at a grocery store on my hunt for some yellow Heet but, they only had red………… alas……….. Ah ha! Thought I and I went over to the Rx isle and grabbed a bottle of rubbing alcohol. $.90 later I was out the door. Only to be accosted by some cute little girl scouts selling cookies……… Okay, two boxes of Thin Mints and $6.50 later I was on my way home.
I wanted to do a “what if” scenario and try making a very simple one can stove to see if it would work so my only tools were a Leatherman, a utility knife, a cutting board and a straight edge ruler.
I turned on the news and started hacking away. Ended up making a pressurized version out of one can. Poured a bit of alcohol in it, lit it, and waited about a minute for it to prime. Much to my amazement blue flame started to hiss out of the little slits cut around the top of the can so I put a couple cups of water in my pack-pot and set it on top. About five minutes later the water was boiling away and I was shaking my head in disbelief!
I have used a Whisper lite for years but I don’t like the hassle or weight of it on day hikes for a hot lunch on the trail. This little free stove looks like the perfect answer and will be trail tried this weekend.
Me thinks this is just way to cool and is something I never knew about until yesterday. I love learning and trying new stuff. I am sure that there are more efficient ways to make this stove and I am sure commercially made stoves are better as well. But hey, free is okay by me.
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