Pre heat penny stove notes

[Kitetraveller]

I could not get the penny stove to jet properly unless I kept topping up the middle with meths for pre heat.
I mentioned this to the engineering genius at work and this is what he came up with ~ a pre heat setup that works every time.
It should be self explanatory. I add a small amount of meths to the pre heat base, put the filled stove in and light the pre heat. This causes the stove to start jetting very quickly and usually ignites the jets from the pre heat before the pre heat burns out!

3 of the slots act ask stove supports, and the other 3 act as vents.
Hope it is of some use to someone.

Regards
Andy

 

[bikething]

I think you may have solved a problem i've had of priming a photon stove in a crusader cooker!

cheers

 

[scanker]

I usually just set the stove on a tin lid and pour a little meths around the stove to prime. You need to watch that you don't add too much priming fuel. It should be going out just about the time the jets fire up. Too much priming fuel and you'll have 3 feet meths jets!

The crusader has a ready made priming pan doesn't it?

 

[bikething]

The crusader has a ready made priming pan doesn't it?

The trouble is there are 2 sizes in circulation - The one i've got is the smaller one - the gap around the mini-bull stove I made is so small (3-4mm) that the oxygen can't get in to keep the meths burning..

The pan on the later ones is about 5mm bigger all round..

 

[scanker]

Oh OK. My mate has the smaller version. He still manages to prime a Ti Vargo though. More meths!

 

[bikething]

Oh OK. My mate has the smaller version. He still manages to prime a Ti Vargo though. More meths!

Which vargo - the triad or the XE? - i've got an XE but the burner doesn't hold enough meths to brew up on one fill (if i can get it to wok at all ) - I made my burner from a mini redbull can and a small tin of tomato puree. I couldn't figure out how GrahamS had no problems lighting his until I saw his cooker base..

 

[scanker]

Triad I think. That's the one with a burner and separate base/legs? I suppose the other thing to try is a fibreglass wick attached around the top outside of the stove and soak that in meths.

 

[bikething]

Triad I think. That's the one with a burner and separate base/legs? I suppose the other thing to try is a fibreglass wick attached around the top outside of the stove and soak that in meths.

Nah, that's the XE... the triad's got fixed folding legs.. The XE (well, it's full name is the Triad XE) has a little pan with folding legs, and a seperate meths burner that sits in the pan.

I did buy some fibreglass wick (well oven door seal from a rayburn shop) to tie around the burner, but never got around to trying it

 

[JohnC]

I use a tin lid, but I like that idea and shall make one.. thanks for posting

 

[Daegurth]

excellent, i've been looking for a way of priming from the bottom; the top loses way too much heat to atmosphere, and always needs a double full prime. that's a lot of meths- probably about as much as i use for the actual cooking.

 

[gregorach]

My penny stove seems to prime OK from the top - but it's got quite a small volume, probably about half the norm. However, since I use it in a Crusader cooker and fill from a wide-necked bottle, I often end up spilling some meths into the Crusader's fuel well as well.

 

[Ogri the trog]

I could not get the penny stove to jet properly unless I kept topping up the middle with meths for pre heat.
I....... ~ a pre heat setup that works every time.
........ I add a small amount of meths to the pre heat base, put the filled stove in and light the pre heat.

Regards
Andy

Hi Andy,
how much fuel are you actually putting into the stove - when you say "the filled stove" I get a little worried....

Ogri the trog

 

[Kitetraveller]

Ooops! Not 'filled' exactly.... I have a top on my bottle of meths and I use 4 of those in the stove as sufficient to boil a cup of water.
I did some experiments to see how much I needed in order for the stove to extinguish itself just after the water was ready, and 4 tops full is just a bit more than needed, but close enough that I don't have to think about it.

Thanks for the concern.
Regards
Andy