My off white box stove...

A while ago there was a post here about the White Box Stove . I was interested, so I obtained a couple of Bud aluminum beer bottles, and lugged them all over the western U.S. The other day I happened to have a little bit of time on my hands, so I finally got around to turning a bottle into a stove. I can't attach any pic, sorry, but I made the thing to look about like the one in the video. Tonight, after dark, I dumped about an ounce of yellow Heet into it (just a guestimate, based upon years of playing with soda can stoves), and lit it off. It took about 40 seconds for the central flame to emerge from the side burner holes, at which time I put my WallyWorld grease pot, containing two cups of tap water (fresh from the Colorado river) on top. Air temp about 70 degrees, no wind, no wind screen, no lid on the pot. Rolling boil in 3:40. Mucho faster than any soda can stove I have used (and I have made just about all of the various models around). I think I like it...

Thanks now to find plans for this stove.

Lee

I own a White Box and your boil time sounds about the same as mine. I used alcohol in mine to test it, and the interior is designed for 1 or 2 oz. loads.

OBG, what are you using for fuel? Becuase this blows away my trangias.

Yellow Heet as fuel. Blew away any other "alcohol" stove I have ever made...

Good luck finding plans. I can tell you how I made mine tho.

This aluminum is much tougher than a soda can, I doubt that it can be cut with a knife blade, so I used a cutoff wheel in my Dremel tool.

I cut the bottom off of the bottle, making it about 1 7/8" tall. Then you cut the mouth of the bottle off, this is a trial and error thing, you want the small end to just about reach the bottom of the stove while the shoulder of the neck part just touches the top of the stove. Once you get there, cut a couple of notches in the small end, to be sure that fuel can get into the double wall area. Once you have that fitted, cut the neck part off so that it is the same height as the top of the stove part. Then drill three 1/8" holes, evenly spaced, around the stove, thru both parts of course, for pop rivets. I put my rivet holes about 1/4" down from the top. Then come the burner holes. Mine are 1/6", because that is the smallest collet I have for my Dremel. I made them about 13/16" down from the top of the stove, 15 holes evenly spaced. Stove is now done.

Oh, before putting the parts together I used sand paper/emery cloth to remove the paint on the bottle. That was the hardest part of the whole thing, they used some tough paint on these bottles!

Then just put your fuel in, light it, wait for the flames to come out the burner holes, put your pot on top, and you are all set...

Are there plans posted anywhere on the internet for this, or should I just buy it?

I saw it several places on the internet for $20, which is certainly cheap enough.

I suppose that if I equate it with what my time is worth, it is far better than me trying to cut aluminum bottles apart with my swiss army knife!

Interesting stove which I haven't seen before.

I built and use a Penny stove (instructions here: http://www.csun.edu/~mjurey/penny.html ) with SLX denatured ethanol. It's a simple stove, but there are a few tricky gotchas.

Have you ever built or used a Penny stove? If so, how does the White Box compare with it in construction and performance? The test results on the link posted above seem to put it about the same as the White Box.

I built one similar to the penny stove, mine had a t-nut in the top and a thumb screw that you removed to add fuel, then screwed back in to use the stove. This one is morebetter, plus the aluminum beer bottles are MUCH tougher than a soda can, so should be more indistructable...

That material weight might be it's secret, less prone to deforming.

The latest version of the white box stove does away with the three pop rivets and uses a much cleaner and more efficient "cope roll" instead.

For only $23.00 including shipping, I just went ahead and bought one to try (not that it takes much to convince a gear junkie like me to try something new).

Jim

You might like this site, and look for the BOIS stove. I have one and they work great.

http://www.minibulldesign.com/fs2.htm

Paragon where did you get your stove?.

Lee

Looks like a much nicer super cat type design. They claim a boil time under 4 minutes too but this design is much nicer. Does it vacuum itself to the pot? Thats the only thing I didn't like about the cat food can stove. Of course a secured base would solve that.

"...Does it vacuum itself to the pot?..."

Not that I can tell. If it does pull a vacuum, it is so slight I can't feel it when I lift the pot off...

Lee,

I ordered it from here since he was the guy that originally developed the idea.

Jim

Hi Guys,

My name is Bill Ballowe and I am the guy who makes the White Box Stove. It is my own original design and I believe it is the first stove to use the heavier aluminum bottles. I don't know of any patterns on the net but there are several people out there who have made copies of the WBS.

The Bios stove by Tinny is just a little shorter version of my White Box Stove. Somehow we have become friends even though I've never spoken with him other than through emails. He asked me if he could do a review on the stove and the rest is history. He also gave me the information on how to make the rolled top edge instead of riveting it together.

Paragon.... your stove was sent today. Should have it by Tuesday if USPS does their job. Thanks for the business and I know it will be a great stove for you.

Led... I've never had anyone mention that their stove ever vacuumed to the pot bottom. Probably in part due to the 1 ounce weight.

FYI:....I've got a website in the works and it should be up and running in a few days. www.whiteboxstoves.com

Thanks and if you have any questions about the stove just write me at billinmt@yahoo.com

Bill Ballowe
White Box Stoves

Welcome to the forums Bill we have a good group here.
I'll be getting one soon.

Lee

Welcome Newguy, and thanks for a great stove!!!

Just to follow up, I received my white box stove from Bill last week, although I noticed a small issue involving the integrity of the cope roll. I sent Bill an email advising him of the issue, and he immediately sent out a replacement stove that same afternoon. Two days later I received the replacement (at no charge) and was back in business.

Anyone can have a defective product find its way out the door from time to time, but it's how they handle it that determines if I'll do business with them again. Bill certainly did everything one would hope he would, and it's greatly appereciated.

I haven't had a chance to accurately compare this stove with a stopwatch to my others, although the quick test run that I made with it on the porch suggests it is one of the better alcohol stoves out there. The fact that it is strong enough to support a large pot of boiling water without the need for a pot stand or other equipment is a very nice feature.

The white box stove appeared to burn much more consistently (and longer) than my Triad titanium stove that is installed in my BCB Crusader, although not quite as long as my Anti Gravity Gear 10-12 stove. Again, I haven't timed everything with a stopwatch yet, so it's probably a stretch for me apply any formal rating to it at this time.

Overall the quality of the stove is very high, the service good, and the windscreen supplied with the stove is as nice as any on the market. If you are in the market for an alcohol stove, I would not hesitate to give Bill a call.

Jim

Got mine 2 days ago and wow this stove is nice fired it up tonight and the stove works real good its a keeper. Plan on making one no beer bottles in utah found mtn dew bottles that I'll use.

Lee