Macsen: yeah it is basicly a pepsi can but it has fibre glass in the middle to act as a wick(smililer to the trangia just a differnt material i think), apperntly it helps with the fuel econamy, i looked at the photon but was put off massivly by the fact that you need to to prime it.
i have just made my second one today with smaller size holes, i aslo used a coke can and a pepsi can insted of two coke cans and it is noticable heavyer, my scales have decided to die so i can say how much by, probably only grams but at this weight it is still a big percentege, i also used the pepsi can as the top part with the holes in, and after firing it up once it is a blackish colour where as the cook one is still nice and shiny, maybe this is to do with the hole size or the differnces in the metal of the cans?
i just need to now make a stand for my pot to rest on, to see how they compeare with boil times.
i have to agree with you chris so far about the weight saving not being that great there maybe a few grams in it but i am still not convinced that these stoves are going to replace my gas stove(coleman f1 lite @~78g) any time soon as its just so much more flexibale etc, but i have a plan to walk either the AT or PCT in 2008 so hence why i am looking at these things now so by thenm ill already have a good system in place. and over there the alcohol stove might do be a lot better as it saves carrying around dead gas cartrages
RhysB, alcohol stoves are certainly popular on the AT and PCT. Whether one is suitable for a long trip depends on the type of cooking you do. I used a Trangia on a Land's End to John O'Groats walk many years ago but have never used an alcohol stove on a long walk since, though I sometimes take one out for 1-2 night trips. I like stoves that are fast and simmer easily. A friend of mine hiked the PCT 2 years ago. He set off with an alcohol stove but after a few weeks changed to a Coleman F1 Lite, as he wanted an easier to use and quicker stove. I wouldn't think you'd have to carry more than a couple of empty cartridges at any time on either trail. The big advantage of alcohol is fuel availability though cartridges are far more common on the trails than they were a decade ago.
When I hiked the PCT I used a Svea 123 gasoline stove! Back in 1982 finding cartridges in the USA was very difficult. If I was doing it again I'd use a cartridge stove.
thanks for the info chris, as i said im looking at 2008 so have loads of time to sort out kit etc. the coke can stove started because i was somewhat bored yesterday with my lift to wales for the weekend having fallen through. But this idea behind home made gear is quite good it might never compeate with mass factory made kit in terms of performance, but it curtanly is fun and allows you to try to expemerent with ideas(im sure most have been done by someone else but who cares.)
Making your own gear is certainly fun. And in my experience can stoves compare favourably with factory made alcohol stoves in all respects except durability (you can't crush a Trangia burner with your hand).
As I said at the NEC, Chris, you're either a true believer of you're not and I know, whilst championing many US-inspired innovations, you have never gone down the alcohol stove road.
I was interested to learn that when you hiked the PCT in the early '80s these stoves were unknown. They are now the stove of choice on the long US trails in general, and I believe, the PCT in particular, as the dryer climate favours the lighter gear.
At the end of the day, as they say on Grandstand, I'm not going to quibble about a gram or two. There are other valid reasons for going for a home made stove, not least the satisfaction of knowing that you've beaten the gear manufacturers at their own game.
There you are, chowing down on some delicious noodle creation fresh from your 97p stove, as your mate struggles to unblock the tubes of his Whisperlite with that strange dyno-rod attachment you can buy as an add on to your sixty quid commercial cooker.
Then there's the silence of stove itself. Many's the time a dappled faun, or some other gentle creature of the forest, has emerged from the trees near my tent quite unaware I'm boiling away, not ten feet from its spot. Not so with the aptly named Jet Boil: if I wanted a stove that noisy, I'd buy a house with a kitchen facing Heathrow.
Whether you call it Methylated Spirits, Metho, Denatured Alcohol, Heet, Rubbing Alcohol or Glenmorangie, you can always lay your hands on some kind of fuel that will, at least, try and burn with an alcohol stove. The same cannot be said for the alternatives. There ain't no Coleman Fuel in Poland, take it from me. Likewise, the lightest gas stoves, like the Pocket Rocket and Snow Peak, have a screw on valve that is common enough here and in the USA, but not too thick on the ground anywhere in Continental Europe, as G20 thruhikers will have already noted.
The simplicity of alcohol stoves, notably the absence of moving parts, means that they hardly ever go wrong. I was worried that my antigravitygear can stove wouldn't last for the whole AT in 2004, not only did it pass the test with flying colours, it didn't look too shabby when I tried firing it up at the foot of Pen y Fan not 3 weeks ago! And should some big fat hoofer accidently sit on it by mistake, why, take out you Swiss Army Classic, get yourself down the nearest trailside Costcutter, and run up a replacement in 10 minutes
St Rick, when I hiked the PCT in '82 cartridge stoves were virtually unknown in the US, let alone alcohol stoves. Mind you, PCT hikers were rare too. I think 4 completed a through-hike that year and maybe 40 set out.
When I wrote the second edition of The Backpacker's Handbook in 1996 one of the peer reviewers complained that I'd given too much attention to alcohol stoves, which he said were European and unknown in the USA.
I used a Svea 123 gasoline stove on the PCT and CDT, a Whisperlite on my length of the Canadian Rockies and Yukon Territory walks, an MSR GK with paraffin on my length of Scandinavia walk and an Optimus Nova on the Arizona Trail. I often used unleaded gasoline as Coleman Fuel was unavailable. I never had to unblock any tubes, except for pricking the jets occasionally! And I'm unfamiliar with the "strange dyno rod attachment"!.
A Trangia was my first stove and I used it regularly for many years, including on a Land's End to John O'Groats walk. I still use an alcohol stove - Trangia or Brasslite - occasionally and I do like the quietness and the lack of moving parts. If I was hiking the AT I would consider one.
However my stove of choice would be an 85 gram cartridge stove. That's what I used on my Munros and Tops walk. And on the GR20 last year I used an MSR Superfly, which will work with standard resealable cartridges and Campingaz CV resealable cartridges, which are available on the GR20. Alcohol fuel was not as readily available as CV cartridges. CV cartridges are also easy to find in the Alps and Pyrenees.
I use an alcohol stove most of the time - a Trangia, usually with the full kit, stand/windbreak etc. In the early parts of my Lindesnes to Nordkapp walk, I tried the MiniTrangia, but found that it took forever to heat anything - over an hour for two half litres. this was using the stove "as it came" without any extra windbreak, so I suspect the problem was heat loss due to lack of a windbreak, because I was in sub-zero, breezy conditions.
Has anyone solved this problem? What is an efficient windbreak for a "naked" alcohol stove, like those that folk here have been discussing? The Mogo looks as if it would have exactly the wame problem as I had had with the mini-Trangia
Jim, an MSR type foil windscreen works well. I use one with the Brasslite. It makes a huge difference. I fold it so it fits round the edge of the pan rather than leaving a big gap.
I looked at Bob's titanium foil shield at the OS show. I couldn't help but think that it was just as likely to blow down a hillside as the ten pound note you swapped it for.
Brianetta, the key with foil windscreens is to wrap them round the stove and connect the ends so they can't blow away. I have chased standard windscreens across the hillside before now!
Hello there, I have to say over the last couple of years I have only used an alcohol stove. At the moment it is a Brasslite, although I have tried a few others. The big advantage is that you can buy fuel everywhere; I got fed up with clogged MSRs when travelling abroad and hands covered in soot so decided to try alcohol. After two trips to Oman, where you can't buy alcohol or meths, I found that Surgical Spirits burns just great. I still use a canister for car camping but otherwise it's alcohol. I need another go making my own stove when I have time ...
i have just made my pot stand out of 1 onh square mesh, so have now just boiled my first litre(and cup of tea!) on it, it took 14 minutes to brink standarded tap water to boil outside in the garden, but it was with my first nodel that i did not pay much attention to hole size etc so i mightbe able to impove this a little by refining my design, but im pleased, i have got some photos and just trying to get them on to the web now
I'm with Brianetta on Bob's titianium windshield, which I also clocked whilst at the NEC. I was so glad I saw it because I was just about to shell out the aforementioned tenner online just before I went.
For windshields I just buy some heavy duty turkey foil, fold it over a couple of times and cut to size. On the Bibbulmun Track in Western Australia, the same one was still going strong after 600 miles; if you wrap it around your pot or fuel bottle and apply a rubber band it's more durable than you think.
St Rick, you must have found some stronger turkey foil than me! I tried that and even fold over four times it wouldn't keep its shape and tore very quickly. I'll see if I can find some tougher stuff.
