[pct-l] Alcohol Stove Questions

[NickJStone@aol.com (NickJStone@aol.com)]

Last weekend I successfully constructed my first alcohol stove.  I followed=
 the Pepsi can stove instructions out there on the web.  They were very det=
ailed instructions (like 8 pages worth) which was a little frightening at f=
irst, but once I was done, I realized how simple what I had done really was=
.  I was surprised that it worked so well!  I used a Guinness can for the b=
ottom of the stove.  Annoyingly, in PA you can't just go buy a six pack in =
a convenience store.  If you are buying beer, you have to buy a whole case =
from a state store!  I couldn't find a local bar with the cans to sell for =
takeout, so I wound up having to buy a whole case of Guinness.  Mind you I'=
m not complaining.  It's just that drinking beer (or several beers) and lig=
hting denatured alcohol on fire is not that great a combination, in retrosp=
ect.  Fortunately I managed to avoid serious injury.

I have one question though, that maybe someone else who has experimented wi=
th the Pepsi can stove can answer.  I didn't have any really thin needles, =
so I used a push-tack to make 24 pin holes around the top.  This works pret=
ty well, but I found that I had to put in approximately twice as much alcoh=
ol as recommended in the instructions to get a 9 minute burn (4 tablespoons=
).  So, my question is this.  If I make more (32) but SMALLER holes using a=
 sewing needle, will this be more efficient?  What if I made another stove =
with 24 holes again, but with a smaller hole size?  Or use the same hole si=
ze, but eliminate 4 more holes so there are 20?  I'm not really concerned a=
bout having a quick burn time;  I can wait 10 minutes for water to boil jus=
t as easily as I can wait 5 minutes.  My main goal is to promote fuel effic=
iency such as to heat water carrying as little fuel as possible.

I actually studied aerospace engineering many years ago in college, and onc=
e understood fluid dynamics even,  but I don't think that I could solve a p=
artial differential equation today if my life depended on it.

Final question:  If you make your stove with a Diet Pepsi can instead of a =
Pepsi can, will it be lighter (because it's on a diet?).

Nick Simon (AKA Hidalgo the Infidel)