Re: [pct-l] home made alchohol stove

[ROYROBIN@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/8/99, Jim Mayer writes about his tunafish can stove:

<< Weight (burner, stand, windscreen) 2.8 oz.
 Boiling time: 2 cups cold tap water, covered pot, indoors: 5 min 20 seconds
 	[boiling time is from lit match to boil... no priming]
 
 Materials:
 	3 oz tunafish can
 	aluminum oven pan liner
 	small amount of fiberglass insulation
 	hardware cloth (1/4 inch mesh, stiff)
 	aluminum foil
 	rubber band
  >>

Thanks for the recipe, Jim!  I built this pretty much as you described.
Couple of minor modifications and one genuine improvement:  

I used 1 inch hardware cloth for the stand, and substituted metal screen for
the interior  
aluminum strip to hold the fiberglass wick.  This reduced the weight
(insignificantly), and resulted in a boil time for 2 cups cold water in a
covered 1.3 liter titanium pot which matched yours, about 5.5 minutes (a bit
over 6 minutes for a real, rolling boil.)  

Then I added a blowpipe.  This is made from 6 inches of 3/16 inch brass
tubing, bent to hang over the rim of the burner.  The end is plugged and slots
cut into the side of the tubing so air blown into the burner won't spatter the
fuel. A couple feet of flexible tubing is slipped onto the end of the blowpipe
and air blown gently into the "firebox" improved combustion.  Boil time was
reduced to 4.5 minutes, and 5 minutes for a full rolling boil.  Weight of the
stove is 2.6 oz without the blowpipe, less than 3 oz with it.  

Is the turbocharged tuna can stove worth the extra fuss?  I don't know, but is
was sure fun playing with your ideas...  Another rainy afternoon converted to
sheer enjoyment and anticipation for the hiking season to come.           
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