Started playing around with making some light weight stoves and was wondering if anyone else has looked into home made stoves. I made a stove out of two soda cans and a Red Bull can that burns alcohol and weighs about an ounce or so.

I've made a couple of "pepsi-can" alcohol stoves. Most of the plans have the seam between the outside pieces too low. If it leaks, you will either have burning liquid alcohol running out of the stove (bad) or burning alcohol vapor coming out (not dangerous, but it can make the stove harder to "turn off")

I like to cut the lower piece to the full height of the stove, and squeeze the upper piece inside, then seal it.

I've used epoxy and it works fine until the stove burns low, then it starts to burn off and smoke. I will try JB Weld, but I think I will rough up the can with sandpaper first, to give it a better grip.

Do you make the double walled style of Pepsi Stove or the singled walled ones?
Mine are double walled with the bottom full height to keep fuel loss to a minimum.
I?ve played with both and the doubles are easier to fill and light.
Truth be told my last stove was a Coke, Sierra Mist, Red Bull combo. <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

I have made 2 of the soda can stoves, the first one worked ok but I was not impressed with the burner function, the flames were too uneven and the boil time was like 7 minutes with the homeade potstand/windscreen made from aluminum flashing . Then I made a 2nd one with an improved burner design. That one worked great, actually too well, when I fired it up for the first time I had the water rolling at 3 1/2 minutes the only problem is the pot stand turned bright red and melted on the kitchen stove. I was able to get the pot off the stand and blow out the stove before I dumped 3 cups of boiling water all over the kitchen. I am in the process of looking for some stainless steel hardware cloth to make a new pot stand from, then it should work great.

You can go to zenstoves.net here web page to get more info than you will ever want on this subject

Thanks for the link I had looked at that one before but lost it.
I have been reading http://wings.interfree.it/html/main.html

Sheepdog
The 2 stoves I made were of the pressurised type from zen seekers web site. I made mine from a 12oz dr pepper can and an 8oz dr pepper can when cut to size one will just slip inside the other, and yes you have to use a high temp adhesive like J B weld. The nice thing about the pressurised stove is that you don't have to worry about the inner wall which makes construction a lot easier.

I have saved up some different size cans and want to make a multi-can sleeved "furnace" that I can insert a candle into for heat.

The reason I am thinking of a multi-can sleeved type "furnace" is to reduce the heat intensity on the outermost can so that anything touching it does not catch on fire.

There is a web site recommending the use of supplemental heat in the form of a candle for assisting individuals that are on the verge of hypothermia. They recommend wrapping the victim in a space blanket with the head outside the blanket so they don't asphixate themselves from the candle burning in the "tent" they make by wrapping themselves in the space blanket.

Because of concerns that the a candle could set off the space blanket with its open flame, I figure a multi-can sleeved "furnace" could reduce the intensity of the heat at the outermost can while still producing and utilizing all the heat the candle puts out.

The trick is to keep the innermost can covering the candle cool enough so that the candle does not melt into a blob instead of burning normally and getting enough air flowing through the outside can so it stays cool enough to keep its surface from igniting anything. Right now, I am planning on (3) cans sleeved into each other with spacer supports pop rivetted between each can. Figuring out the spacing of air intake and exhaust ports will probably be the hardest part.

Bountyhunter

I was looking at those last night! Thanks again for the contact!!

A typical caver trick to ward off hypothermia is to don a large garbage bag with only your face sticking out of a hole in the corner, tuck your knees in, sit on something insulating, and place a carbide lamp between your legs (flame out) or a candle. Mini oven. A second garbage bag helps add insulation. The only thing to remember is to maintain proper ventilation because of the moisture that is part of the combustion process.

Williamlatham:

Don't know how much latent heat an extinguished carbide lamp has, but the candle or mini oven between the legs still pose an exposed flame problem.

Older arthritic people like myself would have a difficult and in my case impossible time squating down tight without being able to move my legs frequently to alleviate pain. In the process of shifting around from time to time, it would be very desirable to not have to worry about my garbage bags, space blanket, clothes or other insulating cover coming in contact with an open flame or high temperature heat source that could ignite them.

The biggest down side will be the bulk of the "furnace".

Bountyhunter

I have made a few ?Pepsi-Can? alcohol stoves in my quest for the Holy Grail of stoves. However, nothing as yet beats my Trangia.

Can stoves are the tops in weight (the lightest) and cost (nothing, but time and the willingness to drink a Pepsi). And, they are a lot of fun to make and fiddle with. However, they are delicate (dropped a wrench on one accidentally, and well??), they do not give you a great bang-for-the-fuel compared to other alcohol stoves, and you must burn off all the fuel when you use them ? you can not store them with fuel. My Trangia is built like a tank (pun intended) and you can store fuel in it with the cap in place (it?s a tank ? get it? Ha. Ha. Ha.) <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />. I?m in the process of making a windscreen/stand for using my Trangia with a USGI Canteen cup, as the Natick stand is not tall enough to use with a Trangia. I?m going to make it so it can be used with larger pots, too. Of course, I will post images of my utter brilliance and stunning creativity when done. <img src="/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Hope this helps,

?..CLIFF

Note to Tom: You were right ? now that I have a house with a workshop, I don?t know how I ever got along without one. Heaven ? lots of power tools and a place to use them!

Nope have a Trancia stove from Major surplus and survival.

Lee

Cliff:

Do you know about the Clikstand? I have one, and it's great. Here's the site. It might give you some ideas if you're not already aware of it.

Clikstand

These are cool to make. I've made several. There are hundreds of designs..that's kindof the fun of these, plus they are real practical. Here in tornado alley, I have a few made up with fuel in our scaredy hole.

Couple of things I have noticed in making mine.

Pepsi product cans seem to work better..don't know why. I used a couple of coke cans on one and they just didn't seem to work as well.

If your particular design calls for a sealed burner, make sure you are using the High Temp JB weld. There are two types..at least they sell two here in OK.

I use the electronic ignition lighters to fire my stoves. That way, when I poor a little fuel on the base, I can turn the lighter upside down and light it.

Have fun making them.

My Camping m.b counselor made them for us when we had to learn about the different types of stoves, they're awesome!

I am also looking at making an alcohol stove to boil water for my cup-of-soup on hunting trips. But strictly for "Survival" I have yet to see one that beats a can of Sterno. The stoves I've seen will all burn for 8 minutes (give or take) on an ounce of fuel. The larger 7 oz. can of Sterno will burn for over 3 hours (the specs say 2 but I've timed them far longer.) To get that burn time with a stove you would have to pack 22.5 ounces of fuel and you would have to be constantly refueling the stove. The Sterno does take MUCH longer to boil water--I've timed it at 18 minutes--but its lower output is actually a plus when you are using it as a heater under your poncho/space blanket/garbage bag. It's simple and uncomplicated, and you can even make your own gelled fuel if you are so inclined. I plan on carrying both this fall.

Regards, Vince

You can make a dandy little stove from a discarded tin can; simply punch some holes in the sides all the way around the bottom; if you've got a couple of nails, drive them through the sides about 3/4"up from the holes so that they form a bit of a grate to support the fuel. Throw in some tinder, followed by firewood broken to size, and light from underneath via the holes. Not only does it catch well because your tinder is sheltered, it draws like a chimney and burns beautifully, especially if there's a bit of breeze.

This obviously works better with larger, taller cans; I've had good success with apple juice cans.

We made a few up here at work.
Only need a knife and ONE coke can.
Works VERY well.
Most of the instructions seem to think that when it is finished, it has to look like a commercial stove...
Got the plans for this one from Backwoodsman Magazine

The slits you make with the knife to make the nozzles work MUCH better than you would think.
This is not an open burner style... It is a full double wall center light burner.