If this is old news to anyone I apologize in advance.
Being a fan of the alcohol burning Pepsi can stoves, I got carried away a little bit.
This morning I was looking for something to do, and happened apon my stash of old aluminum 35mm film cans. For you youngsters, these are what 35mm film came in back in the old days, before plastic, velcro, color TV, all that good stuff had been invented. Anyway, I got to wondering if I could make an alco stove out of one of these little cans, so I gave it a shot. First removed the 'rubber' gasket from the inside of the cap, then using a push pin I made a bunch of holes around the outter perimeter of the dome in the cap. The holes are less than the max diameter of the pin, and are about 1/8" apart, which worked out to 22 holes. I then discovered that the can will hold almost exactly 1 oz of fuel. Being a 'closed' system, some way is needed to light it up. I cut the bottom off of a Pepsi can (about 1/4" tall), and flattened the dome in the center of this 'priming pan' with the butt of a hammer handle. Filling the can and sitting it in the middle of the pan, then adding a little bit of fuel (yellow HEET) to the priming pan, I gave it a try. I put 2 cups of really cold tap water in my trusty old Boy Scout pot (with lid), and set it on the only pot support I had handy, which placed the bottom of the pot approximately 3/4" above the top of the 'stove.' Wrapping the whole thing in a foil windscreen, I lit it off in my shop, where there was no wind, and the temp was approx. 45 degrees. Much to my surprise, I had a rolling boil in 4 minutes 15 seconds, and a total burn time of just under eight minutes. This little guy, weighing next to nothing (I don't have access to a scale that weights that light), just about matches the performance of a full blown Pepsi can stove with less weight (altho when you get that light what difference does it make), and less bulk. It is also pretty tough. Imagine, a stove that you can carry in your pocket. I was impressed.

Now, what am I gonna do tomorrow???

How 'bout finding a digital camera and getting a few pics of it. Sounds pretty cool! If you don't have a website to post the pictures on, I'll give you my email address. Just mail 'em to me and I'll post it for you.

If I can find someone to loan me a digital you're on. In the meantime, just visualize an all metal salt shaker, that is what it looks like.

You can also take a "normal" picture and then scan the pic if you have a scanner. If you send me a scanned image I can convert it to an internet-appropriate format. Don't know if its worth your wasting film on, unless you just want a pic for yourself.

I'm gonna go ahead and activate my user name for public email. I don't see anybody here I would mind getting personal emails from. <img src="images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

For anyone who's interested, I found a discussion thread on where to go to find these film canisters:

http://www.photo.net/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg?msg_id=000t7k <img src="images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" />

OBG,

Can you prefill the film can with alcohol and use an un-punched lid to carry it or will the old rubber gasket not take liquid?

Can you use a small tin can with openings at the top and say midway up the sides as a wind screen, preheater vessel and cup support?

So reaching your lunch destination, you open the filled stove base, spill a bit of alcohol in the modified preheater containment vessel (tin can), screw the precision punched burner assembly (cap) on, set in the trifunctional stove support, light the preheating fuel, and brew up....neat.

(above advertising copy is my contribution for your new Mighty Munchkin Stove business)

Wish I would have saved these cans back in the old days.

I don't know, and I don't know. But those are great questions, and I will have to try them. Thanks for the ideas...

I would also like pics once you have had a chnce to send them out. I am knew to the forum but not new to being perpared.

Thanks in advance

Whoop@localnet.com

I will try for some photos, but you gotta be patient. We are leaving on a two week vacation this Friday. I will try to take a couple of shots of the stove in action, then scan them and attach them when we get back. I make no promised as to quality...

OBG

Take a look at this ultralight site and their solution to the prewarmer/windscreen/pot support. This should make the MMS perfect if you leave the bottom in the modified tin can.



from:

http://trailquest.net/dlgcstovecombo.html