MY THRU HIKE

The Alcohol Stove!!!!
The Resources:

• Zenstoves.net
• Thermojet Stoves
• MBD Stove

I made my own. You can buy them at Thermojet.com and MBD. There are other places to buy them and other designs. But if you’re counting ounces… So far I have made a side burner and a top burner. I made a coke can version and a spam can version.
I took my stoves out for a trial run this weekend. It was suposed to get into the twenties. I think it MIGHT have gotten as low as the low thirties. For fuel I took Iso-propol alcohol grades 91% and 73%. My father brought Everclear. We have, on occasion, heard that this is a great fuel for the little stoves and is multipurpose as well!!!

(You should never play with fire! Especially around alcohol!)

Right off I discovered a flaw in my side burner design. I drilled the jets too big for the fuel/air mixture to be right when using the iso-propol. The flames were way two yellow and way to big! So I know that the side burner will need to be remade. I tried the soda can version and had the same problem with the same fuels. The 91% burns better than the 73%. Duh. But I thought I would check it out in case it was all I could find. I originally had not intended to take the Everclear. I don’t drink the stuff and just didn’t want it in my pack. I’m a bigger fan than I was…Anyway.
My dad and I then tried both stoves again with the Everclear. The flames were bluer and hotter, and not nearly as big. So the required fuel air mixture is better with the Everclear. I think this was because the Everclear did not evaporate as quickly as the iso-propol. But with the jets being to big that resulted in the Everclear drizzling out and onto the priming pan.

(My daughter more curious about the flashlight than my “crumby” looking stove! Hehehehehe)

I had a rolling boil with in 4 minutes in 30-35 degree weather. I’m pretty impressed with the function of the stoves. There will be some tweeking in the future. All in all I would say that we are deffinantely taking the alcohol stoves for the AT. I am also certain that our fuel of choice will be Everclear.
On a side note, we found an old sterno stove. We tinkered with it and found that it worked well with the soda stove as a windscreen. However, the soda stove was just slightly too small for the center “keeper” of the assembly. So I’m going to build my next stove out of a Foster’s can. It will hold more fuel and fit better I think. The primer pan I used was from a 12oz can of tuna and it fit nicely. So either way I think it will be something I take with me. If I can replicate it in a lighter form then I will take the homemade version. We’ll see.

(I need to remember to take better pictures!!! If it weren’t for my wife we wouldn’t even have these! Thank God for wives!)