Alcohol Stoves

[kynardsj]

I'm all about simplicity. The more simple something is the less likely it is to mess up. I've played around with alcohol stoves for years and got more into it recently when my Coleman Dual Fuel pump up stove died on a camping trip. I had several store bought and homemade alcohol stoves along with a couple bottles of Heet as a backup and it was no problem cooking my supper that night. For fuel I like Heet better that Denatured Alcohol as it burns great, it's cheaper and it already comes in an easy to pack plastic bottle.  There are several websites like Zen Stoves that show many ways of making your own alcohol stove. The most simple is the Super Cat that just involves taking a catfood or similar can and punching holes around it. Some searching on the internet showed me an improved version of the Super Cat called the Copper Cat. Same design but using a copper pipe cap instead of the aluminum can. When the guy on the video says the Copper Cat burns hot he ain't kidding. I can boil 2 cups of water in less than 4 minutes. I guess one of the old favorites is the Trangia stove that's been around a long time. With all the interest in backpacking, stoves now are made in many shapes and sizes in aluminum, copper, brass and titanium. Most with no moving parts that will mess up and have you eating a cold supper.

[mechanic]

I've been experimenting with stoves a bit lately.  Gonna' walk part of the Appalachian if I don't get old and die first, and the lighter it is, the better.
 
Some of the iso butanes are very compact, but the gas is not. 
 
Thanks for the link to the Zen Stoves.
 
BTW, I bought some Heet the other day, only to realize after I opened it, it was isopropyl and not denatured alchohol.  Have they changed formulation?
 
Ben

[Empty Quiver]

I've been experimenting with stoves a bit lately.  Gonna' walk part of the Appalachian if I don't get old and die first, and the lighter it is, the better.
 
Some of the iso butanes are very compact, but the gas is not. 
 
Thanks for the link to the Zen Stoves.
 
BTW, I bought some Heet the other day, only to realize after I opened it, it was isopropyl and not denatured alchohol.  Have they changed formulation?
 
Ben

I believe the Iso comes in a red bottle instead of the yellow. I know I have sold both in the past simply haven't paid attention lately.

[kynardsj]

The yellow bottle of Heet is methyl alcohol. It's the one you want.

[mechanic]

The yellow bottle of Heet is methyl alcohol. It's the one you want.

Found that info reading on the Zen website. 
 
Thanks,
 
Ben

[Victor3]

 Last week my Wife, Son and I went car camping for three days and I mandated that we were going light this time; we always take so much stuff we don't need.
 
 One thing I wanted to do was cook everything (except marshmallows and hot dogs over the fire pit) with my "penny" alcohol burner inside of a folding sterno camp stove as a wind break/pot holder. We did, and it worked great. Cooked four meals in a one quart sauce pan as well as heated water for coffee in it, all on 1/2 pint of denatured alcohol from a little stainless steel booze flask.
 
 The penny burner/sterno stove has been a backup for a while now, but we usually bring a Coleman single burner propane stove to do most of the serious cooking. I was able to show my Wife that we really could live without it, and comfortably. 

[mechanic]

I've been experimenting the last couple days with various stoves as to boil time.  I use the same amt. of water in my pot, and time the stoves to boil point.
 
The Sterno, The Esbit, and a liquid alchohol pressurized.  The Sterno never brought the water to a rolling boil, but close to it.  The Esbit burned hotter, but one fuel tab was not enough.  The only advantage to the alchohol is it burned hotter than Sterno, and longer than Esbit.  None of them would be sufficient in my take on it to cook a meal on.  They all would get water hot enough for freeze dry and coffee.
 
I'm going to take a look now at the fuel gas stoves like Primus and Jet Boil.
 
If I don't like what I see there, the liquid alchohol will get the nod.
 
Ben

[Anduril]

A good wind screen is very important when using an alcohol stove. I have used mine to bring a pint of cold water to a rolling boil in under 7 minutes with plenty of fuel to spare.
In below freezing temps you need to insulate the stove from the ground for best results.
 
Look here http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html for some good designs
..
 
 
 
 

[gcrank1]

Ben, Ive messed about with them (the simple Cat Stoves) for several years now, and like the way I can just 'almost' boil. The water is hot enough to do up a tea/instant coffee/HC to sip while I do another batch for boil in bag rice, soup, oatmeal, etc. A windscreen made of  4 folding sheets of flashing aluminum and hog rings is my solution for shielding options. If you want to simmer chili or pan fry this basic alchy stove probably wont be for you.

[kynardsj]

The first alcohol stove I ever bought was a Safesport from the Sportsmans Guide. I still have it and I do pan fry with it on every camping trip I go on that I cook fish. It'll burn around 25 minutes when full and I use about 1/2 to 3/4 inch of oil in my pan to cook my fillets, just have to turn them during the cooking. Takes too long to heat up a pot of oil to deep fry but the shallow oil heats up quickly. Now I do have to refill the stove if I cook fries after the fish. Check the full burn time of a stove before you buy it. Also it works great for some fried eggs in the mornings around camp to go with some link deer sausage cooked over the campfire.

[mechanic]

I went with the butane stove.  Small footprint, very light.  Fuel cylinders are not too bulky, about 1/3 a propane cylinder.  I'll be off tomorrow to throughwalk the Pine Mt. Trail, one overnight, finish Sat.
 
I'll find out if it's what I wanted for sure.  Esbit stove for backup just in case.  No fires at all on the trail this week due to dry conditions, so it's stoves only.
 
This is a mock up for Sept. when I start the Appalachian.
 
Ben

[kynardsj]

Be safe and have a big time.

[Victor3]

 Most of the info you'll find on alcohol camp stoves is geared toward backpacking, where size/weight of stove & fuel is kept to a minimum. But there's no reason not to scale them up to a size and fuel capacity that's useful for more than boiling water if you want to.
 
 I've experimented with various types. The penny stove is a popular light weight and fuel efficient one I like...
 

 
 One of my own designs, made using one of the newer aluminum bottles, is a gas hog but can fry a lot of bacon & eggs on a 1/4 pint fill. It's shown here with the top open but I have a cap with a 3/4" hole in it that allows it to burn longer (but not as hot)...
 

 
 They're a lot of fun to play around with and nearly free to make. You can always cook a meal at home similar to what you'll be taking camping, just to see how well it works for you.