Does anybody have any experience making and using these home built alcohol stoves?

My current gear includes a Coleman Apex II multi fuel (which I love, only multi-fuel I know that can actually simmer, but heavy), small and large Esbit folders, Canteen cup and stand.

The Esbit and canteen cup are excellent for size and portability, but have long boil times. Some of the pop-can stoves claim weights of less than 1/2 an oz, and boil times of under 4 minutes.

PS I have a serious dislike of canister fuel stoves. Bulky, non-refillable, temp sensitive, ad nauseam

I've made a few, and love them, but you'd better be able to get in out of the wind, as they're useless in a good breeze. Oh, and, be careful not to cut yourself when putting one together, I haven't yet, but I tend to be lucky around sharp edges, for most folks, I'd suggest a pair of kevlar gloves. Aside from that, if you've got a spare 15 minutes (for the first one), go for it, they're kind of fun to put together, and they DO WORK as well as most alcohol burners you can buy, so the price is right <img src="/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Troy

Have made a bunch and the work well. However, if you can afford it the Triad Alcohol Stove is awesome. I have used it a number of times, boiled 8oz of water in as fast as 3 minutes, and as slow as 7 minutes (42deg F outside). Not as fast as my JetBoil but not bad for a stove that weighs 28gm!

Here is a couple of the pages I used when I started making these stoves. Wings Homemade Stoves Zen Stoves

They work well, but realistically they are only good for a fairly short life. The ones I've made all seem to have had thier burner holes open up with usage.

Tips: A pad and a windscreen. They dont' like the cold, and they really aren't throwing a huge amount of heat, so you will need to use both of those additional items. THe pad can be a little donut of plywood, and the windscreen can be aluminum foil, doesn't have to be fancy. And I recommend having a back up plan, in case it is too cold out for them to light well.

The upside is, they are dirt cheap. Soda cans, scrounge them. A bit of scrap dryer vent for a combo windscreen/pot stand, about 2 bucks will buy enough dryer vent for half a dozen of these guys. The pad, as I said, can be a plywood scrap. And in the spring (or if you have an all year growing season), a bag of vermiculite will run you about 5 bucks, and be enough for a hundred or so stoves.

Fox10/McCann's book has plans for a snow melting stove that uses the Nuwick candles. That might not be a bad thing to try with a soda can stove. The stove, a nuwick for backup, a small thing of matches, and a flask of fuel should make a handy package.

That being siad, I like my trangias better. They have them same place that was recommended for the Vargo for about 14 bucks with a really nifty potstand/windscreen. My trangias are surplus and probably older than I am, and they work perfectly. I'd estimate they will out live me, based on thier wear compaired to my brother's, which he got new.