i am slowly lighting up my whole kit but i am keen to give this ultralight methord a go to see how i get on with it compered to just lightweight way of thinking. an i have came across these alcohol stove's the seem so tiny and light weight i feel the need to try one out and the fact they can be hommade, a definate plus. i am looking at making either a COBRA STOVE or a MO-GO-GEAR the mo go one looks a little better but i was wondering if anyone has any exprence with them and if they would like to pass it on
thanks

Hi there, I have a brasslight, in fact I have a few. Good stoves, if you want to just boil. Also, more fiddly and can mean a bit of faffing, both filling and lighting. Once lit you have to let them burn, flame is not easy to see in daylight and you have to make sure they are out before handling them. Last year I used one as my only means of cooking for a week of wild camping. Weight for weight, re carrying meths etc, there was not a lot of saving. In future, on extended trips I would stick to gas. For overnight stops, a bivi etc then maybe. If you want to experiment further, I could send you a brasslite. My e mail is with my profile. Have fun.

Oh and if that is the same Rhys that I think it is then not to worrage, it is a freebie.

hi brenda, yes it is the same rhys, the tent is great used it the first time in anger(well outside of the garden) last weekend, and realy like it, it would great if i could try one pf your brass lites out. its mainly experimenting that im doing at the moment, trying to see what works for me and what does not, i have always been fairly light weight, just using hevey kit if that makes any sense.

i have just started to butched two coke cans now, trying to make the mo-go stove, using fibreglass stolen from the loft, ill see how it goes but it might take some practice.

hi brenda i was also wondering what type of pan/kettle you used with the stove and how you found it?

Great to hear the tent is doing ok Rhys. The pot I used with the brasslite was a titan. Not the best of pots, I now use one I bought from Podcast Bob, a titan air. The stove is stable with a 1ltr pt. However, there is another thing with light alchohol stoves, they need a lot of protection from the wind, also with meths they create a lot of soot on the pot. Usually I stick to just one pot,with my latest, it has a lid that doubles as a small frying pan. Be careful where you light your creation, it is not good practice to burn the house down!!!!

well i have just finished making it, it was quite fun this home made gear thing is a really good idea. i think i might have made the odd the burner hole a bit to big. but it is amazing how light weight it feel.

does anyone know where i might be able to get pure alcohol from for it?

Brenda im planning to try it in the middle of the garden, just in case it goes up in a big ball of flames

Doesn't it just use meths.

most hardware shops sell it.

i would image it would burn meths, seems very similer to a trangia burner, it just all the stove building sites metion denatured alcohol and that they(the stove) burn clean, where as meths is very dirty

For meths try a shop that sells radio controlled models, particuarly one that specialises in fuel-powered aircraft etc. One of the various fuels used in glow engines is methanol. Try and get one without any oil as the oil won't burn and just ends up blocking the jets.

I ve made quite a few of these coke can stoves. Once you get the principle of how they work etc you can get quite creative and experimental with designs. Although marginally heavier, I found the best way was to make a pot stand/storage case from food cans. This also acts as a wind-break.

E-mail me if you want any advice, photos etc. I won t include the photo of my workshop bench after the minor fire though....

denatured alcohol = meths

Meths is ethanol with a denaturant added - usually but not always methanol (toxic). Dentaured alcohol is a more generic term but fundamentally the same stuff - ie 90%+ ethanol, a bit of dye, some denaturant and bitrex.

I made the Cobra and the Photon stoves last week but as I was just curious as to whether they would work or not I didn't pay much attention detail; jet hole size etc. However having ascertained that they worked quite well I made another 2, paying great attention to detail. Each one took about an hour to make and they work extremely well. I used no adhesives or fillers apart from aluminium flu tape.
By the way there is a way to construct a simmer ring and a snuffing device.
I find the photon burns longer for the same amount of fuel but it does have to be preheated.

i have just test fired the MO-go that i built it burns well, but i need to sort out the hole sizing on etc there a a couple bigger than others, so i mght build a few more to expeement with diferent size holes etc. i also had a slight split in the side of the can whilst joining them together which alsolets a flame out. iam quite impressed for my first attempt, the mo-go design is very simple so make needs no tape etc and i made it all just using my leatherman. as has been said you can get quite creative with them just need to source a load of empty cans, as im not that big of a pop drinker :(, i might go try the local pub to see if they have any there cucking out etc

With the jets i found both size and spacing was important. Generally better if they are close enough together so that if one jet gets blown out, the adjacent one will re-light it.

Pressure is all important too, and i found the all-in-one designs lose pressure too easily. A completely sealed design seems to be more efficient, but then it s getting closer to a trangia....

my burner is very similer to a trangia burner all ready, its basicly the same as THIS
what size holes do people use?

i am about to make one with small holes now and see how that goes

That looks like the Cobra.

no the pics where not that great ill try and get some on the web tomorrow, but it has a double wall the same as a trangia, with the the center of the top can cut out unlike the cobra which has the top can intact(well other than the hole if that make any sense

Yippee! I've been predicting for ages that alcohol stoves were going to take off in a big way in this country and now it looks like it's starting to happen.

I've been fiddling around with them for years after using them as my only stove on the AT, Bibb Track and various long trails in our own fair land.

My problem is general stupidity and cack-handedness in particular, and I have a problem getting them just right. On the AT you just have to look mournful and someone will usually hand you one in 5 minutes. I have made the Cobra Stove satisfactorily, but am not 100% happy with it, the holes are too large and the fact it needs priming wastes fuel.

Last year in Chile I made the most simple stove of all: I cut a couple of jagged 'Vs' in a medium-sized tuna can to make a pot support, then put the little foil holder of a tea light in the middle as a fuel holder. You fill up the tea light holder with meths, put a match to it and voila. I have so far hiked for over a 1000 miles using this system and, although it's very slow, it has never let me down.

I recommend experimenting with different types of stove and paying particular attention to things like the size of the holes: some burn like the clappers, others with a pathetic excuse for a flame. I have the anti-gravity gear stove, it's an example of the former: fast, but heavy on the gas. You can buy it in Winwood Outdoor in Keswick, they also have a website.

Personally, unless you have a can stove that really eats it up, I think it's a myth that these stoves are heavier in relation to amount of fuel carried. Most hikers in this country are only out for the weekend or a few days. You should be able to make small Coke bottle of meths last that amount of time easy. Last year I used my stove for 12 days straight on the Larapinta Trail in Central Australia and got by on 1 litr, granted I lit the occasional fire to help things along.

Throw out your Whisperlites!

You're right there is a hint in the piccies of it being a pepsi can stove.
I actually made the pepsi can and photon stoves. Sorry for my mistake.
I found the pepsi can stove easier to light but the photon burned for half as long again although it does require priming/preheating.

It's not a myth, St Rick, at least not on the basis of my usage. I have two ultralight alcohol stoves - a 40 gram can stove and a 70 gram Brasslite Turbo IID. For the type of cooking I do I use about 60 grams of alcohol a day. With a cartridge stove, average weight 85 grams, I use 30 grams of butane/propane a day. Given that the lightest cartridges hold 100 grams of fuel, enough for 3-4 days, an alcohol stove is probably slightly lighter for one or two night trips if you carry it in a very light plastic bottle.

Nothing wrong with Whisperlites if you're melting snow and cooking in winter.