[pct-l] Alcohol Stoves: Mnfg tips/tricks?

[allangrey@hotmail.com (Tim Reid)]

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Hi all! I admit, I seem to have too much time on my hands and that I am a bit
obsessed with the alcohol stoves at the moment -- but it is a kick just the
same.

Some things I discovered (rediscovered?)-- accidently in one case.

1) sewing machine needles work awsome to make the burner holes -- they don't
bend and they go through the aluminum like butter with a tack hammer. You can
make small 'starter holes' so you won't bend your 'sizing' pin or needle or
you can get needles the exact size you want for the holes (they are cheap
too!). Easy to sharpen if they dull -- though I have been using the same one
for the last 16 stoves I have made (hey, I said I was a bit obsessed -- and
beer cans are everywhere here. Drinking seems to be considered an Olympic
sport for a lot of Korean men. Bad for their livers, but great for stove
experimenting!).

2) shrinking the stove bottom section: here in Korea (maybe in the states too)
the cans have a strange lining that protects the inside of the can -- this is
cool, but it burns off and clogs the jets with repeated use and you have to
sand the heck out of it to get epoxy to stick. Anyway, I decided to 'pre-burn'
the stuff off the can parts. I had to get the parts real hot (red) to burn off
the stuff completely. I then let the top air cool, but I dropped the bottom in
cold water (by accident). The result was the bottom shrunk or the top expanded
(honestly, I am not sure which). What was cool, was that it made it so the
bottom fit into the top WITHOUT cutting the sides of the top (exactly the same
type of cans) -- and with no distortion. Super snug & tight and no tape with the
tiniest bit of epoxy (just to be safe) and no leaks -- even eliminated a tiny
bit of weight with less epoxy and no tape. This method has worked 6 times so
far -- same results. Burnish with steel wool and the finished stove looks like
it's anodized. Don't use the steel wool and you can use a needle to "scribe"
the stove to decorate it -- kind of like scrimshaw. Looks cool.

By the way, my Korean hiking friends love these stoves -- which is part of the
reason why I am making so many. They do a lot of day hiking and love hot
coffee or tea during breaks. One friend thinks making them would be a great
business -- but I convinced them that would take all of the fun out of it.
;-D

3) a super easy mini-photon -- for the truly weight obsessed. Use the bottom
from your small (10 oz) pop can (they are a soda & juice mix here -- maybe
RedBull there? -- and look just like a mini coke can) and cut it to the height
you want (I use 2.2 cm) and epoxy it straight onto the bottom of a Pepsi can
--cut the bottom of the Pepsi can right at the edge of where it bends up for
the side. The top will fit perfect over the dome of the bottom, epoxy seals
the groove between the bottom and the top section. You fill the top with
alcohol, drip a little into the rim of the bottom (this eliminates the
preheating pan) and fire it up. I put 32 tiny burner holes in mine (with 3
small filler holes in the center) and was able to boil a cup of cold water in
4 min 50 secs from lighting and it burned 2 tablespoons (holds 3.5 tblsp) of
methyl alcohol for 6 min 10 secs. And it is ridiculously light!  I suppose
this might work with a Pepsi can (top) and a Fosters (bottom). I don't know.

4) Did you know you can use the sides of a 10 oz soda can as the inside
sleeve/ring/liner for a the regular Pepsi can stove? Just cut off the top and
bottom and you have a perfect size tube. Fits perfect in the bottom and top,
easy to cut and no need to meaure a rectangle -- just height -- or to cut
matching slots & glue the ends together. The other way works great too, but it
was just too darn difficult for me to get perfect.

Ok, I have a question: has anyone ever put fiberglass inside a photon stove to
help with fluid transport up to the burner holes? I wonder if it would make it
burn better.

Let me know what you think  ;-D
Great hiking!

Tim

"the path is the smallest part of the journey"   Korean proverb (close
translation).

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