minibulldesign

[rapidboy]

I was reading Magickelly's - Cheap Lightweight Brew Kit thread and checked the link posted by Andy Brierley - http://www.minibulldesign.com/vidminiin3.htm
The little stove looked like a bit of fun so i grabbed a couple of can's of beer and watched the little video.
Now i don't have any sound on my PC so i wasn't 100% sure I'd got everything right but i gave it shot.

I didn't bother marking out or using scissors or a hole punch as i wanted to try a real "hobo" approach so this is just made from 2 beer cans and i used a SAK "Soldier" to cut everything.
I wanted to make this as simply as possible and i didn't want to use tape to hold it together so i just crimped the edges a little and it held fine.



Fill with meths or in this case Industrial spirits (i use this in my trangia as it burns much cleaner and doesn't soot up the pot's as much).
When it light the flame's only comes from the centre.



After a few seconds the flames start to come out the holes round the side.
I moved into the shed for these pic's as the flames are hard to see in daylight.



It's strong and stable enough to support a crusader cup and one fill was more than enough to bring a half full cup to a roaring boil and it was surprisingly quick.



5 min's turns 2 empty can's into a stove that cost's about as much as it weighs (nothing).
Hardly an essential piece of kit but if you loose your trangia burner it might just save the day.


rb

[leon-1]

Nice post rb, I have been a fan of coke can stoves for a while and this is a good example of them

[stotRE]

Cool stove

[mojofilter]

Nice one RB, Ive made about half a dozen coke can stoves over the last year, great fun!

What is that you are using as a fuel bottle, it looks handy?

[AJB]

At last a convert! I’ve been having so much fun over the last couple of weeks with these things.

The fuel bottle is a Trangia fuel bottle, expensive but very useful and works very well. One thing I’ve discovered is that you don’t need the tape around the edge to secure the two halfs. The first time you light it, the cans shrink a little and, I think, the inner coating melts and the whole thing bonds together beautifully. Oh, one other thing, if you put the flame holes on the top, like a gas burner, it looks lovely, but doesn’t work. There isn’t enough heat transfer, when the flame is not licking up the side of the can, to maintain temperature within the inner skin so the fuel stops evaporating.

I’ve made a few out of two cans as shown on the web site. Then I progressed to using one can which seems to work a little better. Then on to pressurised cans, which don’t seem to perform significantly better. My last attempt was a pressurised lamp! See sketch attached (hopefully, but I’ve not done this before). It looked great and, at the first burn, started to work, then turned into the second stage of a Saturn V rocket, went through an unplanned change of shape and produced a fire ball which took out the entire population of midges in the Oak tree at the bottom of my garden, which was nice. Not 100% tent safe.

Have fun.

AJB

[AJB]

The picture didn't seem to work any clues as to what I did wrong?
I'll try it again on this post!

Don't you just hate computers!

[rapidboy]

Nice one RB, Ive made about half a dozen coke can stoves over the last year, great fun!
What is that you are using as a fuel bottle, it looks handy?

As Andy says it's a Trangia fuel bottle.
You can see it better in this pic (this one is large version and the one with the home made burner is the smaller version)
They are good kit - i got one after my mate had a bottle of meths burst in his pack.
The lack of fuel wasn't a problem but it destroyed most of his food and soaked his sleeping bag and clothes.



To be honest i never understood why anyone would want to make a burner from a can when you can buy a trangia burner that is cheap and safe to use but the advantage with this is that by putting the holes at the side you don't need a separate stand.
I made this little stove when i was kid and just used an empty airgun pellet tin filled with meths and a little piece of asbestos rope as a wick.
It works but it's really slow ,a homemade burner would have really improved it's performance.



It's got me thinking about modifying a Trangia burner.
The Trangia burner has the advantage that you can carry fuel in it and it should be possible to drill new holes around the sides and if necessary fill the holes on the top with solder.


That would make a light weigh and self contained brew kit that would store in your mug.
Anyone know if spare military trangia burners are available ?


rb

[AJB]

The other advantage of these is that you can fit a second in your trangia kettle, so whilst cooking you can be brewing up at the same time.

My next-door neighbour, a mad hill walker, was wild camping in Europe somewhere. The local village about five miles down the mountain didn’t stock gas for his stove, so they had a miserable two weeks with water bread and olives. But they did stock meths, when I showed him these, he kicked himself.

If nothing else they are a skill to tuck away for the right situation.

If anyone knows what I'm doing wrong with attaching images please let me into the secret!

[MagiKelly]

That would make a light weigh and self contained brew kit that would store in your mug.
Anyone know if spare military trangia burners are available ?
rb

I've thought about this too. The problem is when you drill hiles in the sides of the threaded part of the Trangia the lid will no longer keep the meths in. So it is just a heavier version of the can stove.

[rapidboy]

I've thought about this too. The problem is when you drill hiles in the sides of the threaded part of the Trangia the lid will no longer keep the meths in. So it is just a heavier version of the can stove.

Quite right - I hadn't thought that through

If anyone knows what I'm doing wrong with attaching images please let me into the secret!

Is the pic hosted on a remote server ?

[AJB]

No, it's a jpeg sketch I did and it's sitting here on my C drive. So irritating.

[Marts]

You need to upload it to a server on the net and put an http link to wherever it is hosted at.
There ar eplenty of free places on the net to do this - I'm sure someone can give you a link (Sorry - I only use my own webspace)
Marts

[rapidboy]

Check your PM Andy

[MagiKelly]

No, it's a jpeg sketch I did and it's sitting here on my C drive. So irritating.

It is only paid members that can attach files. It is one of the perks. You will need to host the file somewhere. I suspect the PM from RB may help. Either that or make a donation.

[MagiKelly]

[QUOTE=rapidboy]Quite right - I hadn't thought that through [QUOTE]

That's why they pay me the Big Bucks

[AJB]

Thanks everyone.

I didn’t know anyone paid! How much? Who to? What dya get?

[match]

I've used a slightly different design of coke-can stove before, where slits cut in the top section works as a wick:

http://www.garlington.biz/Ray/YACCS/

This gives a very even fine burn due to the 'jets' of burning liquid that get sucked up the slits.

[MagiKelly]

Thanks everyone.

I didn’t know anyone paid! How much? Who to? What dya get?

Go to "User CP" (top left of every page) then click on Paid Subscriptions in the Misc options.

[Motorbike Man]

You can buy a Trangia bottle top that fits the Sigg and MSR bottles quite cheap

[mattange]

Had a go at making my first one last night , very sceptical, but the results were surprisingly good. Think I will try again with a more refined design.

[mojofilter]

At. My last attempt was a pressurised lamp! See sketch attached (hopefully, but I’ve not done this before). It looked great and, at the first burn, started to work, then turned into the second stage of a Saturn V rocket, went through an unplanned change of shape and produced a fire ball which took out the entire population of midges in the Oak tree at the bottom of my garden, which was nice. Not 100% tent safe.

Have fun.

AJB

Here is Andys lamp design!

If you look at the picture, that is one can, up side down. I cut out three oval panels from the sides and took off the ring pull.



I then essentially made a pressurised alcohol stove at the top of the can by inserting a cylinder, to form an inner wall, and the base of another can, with the edges crimped, through the oval hole I had made, then fixing it in place in the top of the can. I then drilled a couple of fuel filler holes in the top, which I sealed with matchsticks, in this first version. In retrospect it didn’t need the inner cylinder; I was just used to making none pressurised stoves and put it in automatically.



This gave me a pressurised stove standing on three legs. My theory was that instead of making jets around the perimeter of the can, as in a stove, I would run the pressurised vapour via a narrow pipe, which was a bugger to find, from the top of the can back down underneath the stove. So when it started to burn, the heat from the gas flame would heat the can above, so perpetuating the cycle.



After adding a gas mantel to the end of the pipe, I placed the bottom of a third can, under it. This acted as a shallow tray which was filled with alcohol and used to pre heat the whole can.



So in theory, once the tray right at the bottom was lit, that would heat the pressurised stove at the top. The vapour it produced would be forced down the pipe to a point directly below the pressure vessel where it would burn in a gas mantel. The heat from that would drive the system. QED, no problem, safe as houses!



It started to work and, I think, the mantel ignited properly, then it turned into the kind of thermal lance which they use to cut through safe doors in heist movies. This didn’t do much for the structural integrity of the coke can. It stood up to it for about twenty seconds then flopped, dropped the hot Meths, in the top, onto the gas mantel and the whole thing went off with a satisfying WOOF.



I may try again when I stop getting the flash backs.



Andy

Has a bit of potential methinks!

[Great Pebble]

Every time I make a "proper" coke can stove it refuses to work, whenever I do one rough handed it's the meths equvalent of a jet in afterburner.

As I've seldom been anywhere where I didn't find some sort of empty can I've determined to "make as I go".

[maddave]

All the home made stoves you could ever wish to build can be found here......

http://wings.interfree.it/

Have fun kiddies, and be safe

[marcja]

Tried this last nght and failed miserably, all I got was a ball of flames. I think I know where I wen wrong though. How does the strip inside work then is it meant to go tight to the top and bottom section or what??? ALso, only fuel I could find was lighter petrol for my Zippo but fuel is fuel isn't it.

[AJB]

Hi, the cylinder inside is locked in place by the rims on the inside of the top an bottom of the can. The tighter the fit the better as, within this double wall is where the pressure is built up to force the vapour out of the holes you have made. (Don’t forget to add a couple of small hole in the bottom of that cylinder wall to allow the fuel into the double wall.) I’ve never built one that doesn’t work, I think where you are going wrong is the fuel. These work with denatured alcohol (Meths). Zippo fuel is virtually petrol, as I understand it, as Zippos work on either, so I’m not surprised you got a fire ball. Meths will burn at a lower temperature and is less volatile. If you put Meths in the one you’ve made you will probably find it works.

Good luck.

[VIRULENT SALAMANDER]

I see from the pic's that RB put up that he never used the high temp. aluminum flue tape.
I was of the belief that it was needed after watching; http://www.minibulldesign.com/vidminiin3.htm
its nice to know that it can works without as the only place I have found the tape is Jewsons @
£14 per roll.
Thank's for posting.
Good work again RB.... ..

[capacious]

One rep point coming your way

[filcon]

Give that a try,what other fuels have you tried.cheers fil

[rapidboy]

I see from the pic's that RB put up that he never used the high temp. aluminum flue tape.
I was of the belief that it was needed after watching; http://www.minibulldesign.com/vidminiin3.htm
its nice to know that it can works without as the only place I have found the tape is Jewsons @
£14 per roll.
Thank's for posting.
Good work again RB.... ..

I had forgot all about this thread.
I can't coment on how the stove would perform with the tape, it might work better but i liked the idea of being able to make this stove if you got caught out without your burner.

My father was walking in the mountains a couple of months ago and he had just set up his Swedish Army Trangia to brew up for lunch and his dog knocked the whole thing flying.
Trangia went over the edge of a cliff and he returned homethat night freezing cold, hungry and more than a little browned off.
He was telling me all this as we ate our lunch together the next day and as we ate i made one of these to show him how easy it was.
If he had known how to make it he would been able to heat a can of soup and his walk would have much more comfortable.
In other situations it could be life saving so i think it's worth making one of these at least once and locking that knowledge away in case it's needed.

rb.

[VIRULENT SALAMANDER]

yes, its the simpleness that make it so great . They take less room than many store bought stoves that I have seen and there's so many tin cans laying around these days.