Adjustable Output Alcohol Stove


Ooben

Ooben

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A couple of guys in another thread asked for some more info on a stove of mine, so here it is......

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I made it so I can brew up a cup of coffee when I'm humping it in the hills. I have tried all sorts of ways to get my fix in the morning, but nothing beats fresh perked coffee.....

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Here you can see the inlet holes at the bottom of the stove. The band will choke off the inlet reducing the oxygen flow to the burn chamber, in turn reducing the heat output. I'll brew up a pot tomorrow and post a vid of it in action. Depending on the Grandpa Attention Requirement Factor this weekend, I will take pics of putting one of the stoves together.

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These are the cans used to make the stove. That's my wifey's stove next to mine. She didn't want to have a Rambo like stove, so no .45 case for her.....

Mike
 
Very interesting stove, I had wondered about it in your earlier post. Thanks for the pics and explination.
 
I got a video shot this morning.....

Heine Perk.wmv - YouTube

I should have known better than to drink a bunch of coffee and then try to sight in a rifle....got it on paper at 200 yards, but it kinda looked like a shotgun pattern instead of a group.....

I got to thinking last night that I want to give back a little to this forum. I have gained much knowledge and enjoyment from the members . I think I will do a how to on the stove and perk unit, and then give them away to a member. Any suggestions on how to do that would be appreciated....

Mike
 
thanks for the video! i would love to see how you made this stove! i dont quite understand the operation of how you are adjusting it.
thanks!
 
That's cool!!!...I've got some soda can stoves but nothin like that! To bad Heine quite making the keg cans...I never got one before they were gone.
 
Very nice work. I did something similar, then bought a packafeather just to show some support for what they are doing, and also to compare the performance of mine to theirs. About equal, though mine is a little heavier and a little more durable. Here's pics.View attachment 71113View attachment 71115

@ capt. jeff- There are air intake holes under the band that runs around the middle of the can. Turning the screw (or the bottle cap, on mine) loosens or tightens the band, opening or closing the air intake to control the burn rate. Adjustments are not instantaneous, as the stove has to heat up or cool off to achieve a stable burn rate at the new setting, but the range of adjustability is impressive. On the packafeather and the one this thread shows, there is a cable to extend the controls to the outside of the windscreen, so you can adjust without reaching under the pot. Mine does not have that feature, but I plan to add it. My next version will feature a rolled edge and will me made from the budweiser aluminum bottles. Both of the stoves I show above are really efficient.
 
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That is awesome....I see more stove building in my future, lucky I have a breadth of different can and bottle types stock piled....HA

Great job man I cant wait to see the tutorial.
 
churro said:
Adjustments are not instantaneous, as the stove has to heat up or cool off to achieve a stable burn rate at the new setting, but the range of adjustability is impressive. On the packafeather and the one this thread shows, there is a cable to extend the controls to the outside of the windscreen, so you can adjust without reaching under the pot. Mine does not have that feature, but I plan to add it. My next version will feature a rolled edge and will me made from the budweiser aluminum bottles. Both of the stoves I show above are really efficient.
Click to expand...


That is correct, flame adjustment is not instantanious. Having a cable outside the windscreen is useless. You can't see the flame adjust when you have the windscreen around your pot. It's difficult to see alcohol flames during daylight hours. In cold weather it's difficult to light the packafeather.
 
"Having a cable outside the windscreen is useless."

Hmmmm, I use it all the time. It's not too difficult to figure it out, if you want to slow down the boil rate, you close the air intake. You are quite right about not seeing alcohol flames in the daylight, however, I don't seem to have any problem seeing the water in my pot, if it's boiling to fast, close the stove.

To me, having the stove adjustment inside the windscreen would be useless, it would take quite a bit of gymnastics to get to it....but hey, I'm just an amateur stove builder....what do I know?:D

Mike
 
Ooben said:
"Having a cable outside the windscreen is useless."

Hmmmm, I use it all the time. It's not too difficult to figure it out, if you want to slow down the boil rate, you close the air intake. You are quite right about not seeing alcohol flames in the daylight, however, I don't seem to have any problem seeing the water in my pot, if it's boiling to fast, close the stove.

To me, having the stove adjustment inside the windscreen would be useless, it would take quite a bit of gymnastics to get to it....but hey, I'm just an amateur stove builder....what do I know?:D

Mike
Click to expand...

I had a Packafeather and did a lot of testing. I bought it used to see how well it worked etc. I sold it shortly after testing. It was difficult to light with a bic lighter and so I had to use the large strike anywhere kitchen matches. It was hard to regulate the flame because it was hard to see, had to get my head close to the ground to see under the pot. (no picnic tables in the woods) The thin wire feet and pot support were to flimsy . The feet are not stable enough for my needs, same with the pot support.

Your video was interesting to see how you regulated the stove. Thanks for sharing that. We can watch it again :dblthumb:

[video=youtube;xOfO7yp9dqs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xOfO7yp9dqs[/video]
 
Yep, that peculator is kind of touchy....my hearing isn't what it used to be. Neither is my eyes, that's one reason why I'm not to worried about seeing the flame with my setup. I have found that stove to be one of the easiest stoves I have to light, no priming, no wicks to wet, just light and go. I don't try lighting it with a Bic by itself, that would be kind of silly, I like simple solutions to simple problems, I don't like to over complicate things. After I load the stove with alcohol and place the windscreen I just find a twig the right length, and dip it into the stove, pull it out, light the twig with the Bic, and then light the stove with the twig. Simple, isn't it?

As far as regulating the flame, like I said, the best indicator of how hot the flame is simply to look at how the liquid is boiling in the pot....boiling to fast? Turn down the stove. Not enough? Turn up the stove. When I'm cooking on the range in the house, I very rarely ever look at the temperature markings on the knob, I look at what I'm cooking.

I have never had a Packafeather stove, so I won't make any assumptions about it based on how my stove works....completely two different animals I think....

Mike
 
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