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Alcohol Stoves

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    • I have five different types of cans to make eCHS from. The circumference of the sidewall of the Jay Street can is 1mm smaller than that of the Milo can and 2mm smaller than that of the High Brew can. The Starbucks espresso and Kern's nectar cans fall between those extremes, with the espresso can being the larger of the two. The Starbucks and High Brew cans are both made by Ball. The others are of unknown manufacture. The Jay Street can shows obvious tool marks on the inner side of the rim/flange. The other cans have no such marks. The aluminum top/lid/closure of the Jay Street can is stiffer (most likely thicker) than that of other cans I work with.

      I am making eCHS out of 7 cans (2 of the Kern's, 2 of the Starbucks, and 1 each of the others). I set the Compass Cutter for a 38mm diameter, puncture the center of the pull tab pivot, score the aperture, rough cut with tin snips, tear the remainder with pliers, grind with Dremel 115 high speed cutter in Dremel 7300 on low setting, deburr with the tang of a file, and dull the edge with extra fine steel wool.

      I cut the top and bottom to be 1 13/32" (36 mm) tall by scoring with a single edge razor blade braced against the rim of a 3 OZ StarKist tuna can. I cut the Jay Street sidewall with scissors, and tear the other cans along the score. I file the cut edges, deburr with the tang of a file (Jay Street only), and dull with extra fine steel wool.

      There will be 18 ribs/creases spaced every 9.2 mm, for a target circumference of 165.6 mm. The actual circumferences range between 164.5 and 166.5 mm. In theory, one pair of creases will be 1.1 mm too close on the Jay Street can, and 0.9 mm too far apart on the High Brew can. I expect wider actual deviations due to the hand crafted processing.

      Making creases is every bit as difficult as I remember, especially without a three-sided scale and grooved jig. The creases need to be deep enough to allow smooth assembly of the two pieces. Otherwise, the pieces will bind or unwanted bulges will appear. I begin each crease by pressing a Westcott stainless steel 6 inch ruler into the shoulder of the can and work my way down to the cut edge.

      I remove the coating from the rim and the inside of the can bottom with a Dremel 442 rotary brush and extra fine steel wool to ensure an adequate bond with the JB Weld.

      I will drill 8 jet holes with a number 70 bit (0.71 mm).

      The tabs will be 10 mm long for the Milo can and 6 mm long for the other cans..

      The post was edited 4 times, last by WanderingStovie ().

    • meat wrote:

      WanderingStovie wrote:

      The outer diameter of the Nestle Milo can and the inner diameter of the High Brew coffee can are a particularly close match possibly suitable for making double wall stoves, air pumps, and Stirling engines. Maybe even a vapor turbo mini penny stove.
      Is the high brew a kosher coffee? I never heard of it before.
      Not as far as I can tell, but that would be a nice pun. See highbrewcoffee.com/our-coffee-2/
    • WanderingStovie wrote:

      meat wrote:

      WanderingStovie wrote:

      The outer diameter of the Nestle Milo can and the inner diameter of the High Brew coffee can are a particularly close match possibly suitable for making double wall stoves, air pumps, and Stirling engines. Maybe even a vapor turbo mini penny stove.
      Is the high brew a kosher coffee? I never heard of it before.
      Not as far as I can tell, but that would be a nice pun. See highbrewcoffee.com/our-coffee-2/
      I don't usually go in for flavored coffees, but damn those sound good.
    • WanderingStovie wrote:

      I widened the aperture to 1 5/8" (41 mm) and left the jet holes at #76 (0.5 mm). The jets ignite ten seconds after lighting the bathtub. There is less thermal feedback because the jets are not hitting the inner piece. The jets are not as noisy, but the flame tears away from the hole (leaving a gap between the hole and the flame). The burner is now 15/16" (24 mm) high.



      You should be able to extinguish the flame by placing the pot directly on the burner, and use a suction bottle to easily recover most of the fuel by slightly tilting the burner to one side. Wear appropriate gloves or wait a couple minutes for the burner to cool before touching the burner. Do not operate burner in contact with textiles, plastic, or other heat sensitive materials.
      My goal was 20 ml capacity. I have not tried that yet, but I just burned 30 ml in a moderate wind without a pot. It burned for 8:57, including 65 seconds for the tornado to fully form. The rate of burn may be on the fast side. I expected a slow bloom with that much fuel. It should bloom faster when operated as intended with only 20 ml. I think it works well enough to take it out on the trail.
    • WanderingStovie wrote:

      WanderingStovie wrote:

      I widened the aperture to 1 5/8" (41 mm) and left the jet holes at #76 (0.5 mm). The jets ignite ten seconds after lighting the bathtub. There is less thermal feedback because the jets are not hitting the inner piece. The jets are not as noisy, but the flame tears away from the hole (leaving a gap between the hole and the flame). The burner is now 15/16" (24 mm) high.



      You should be able to extinguish the flame by placing the pot directly on the burner, and use a suction bottle to easily recover most of the fuel by slightly tilting the burner to one side. Wear appropriate gloves or wait a couple minutes for the burner to cool before touching the burner. Do not operate burner in contact with textiles, plastic, or other heat sensitive materials.
      My goal was 20 ml capacity. I have not tried that yet, but I just burned 30 ml in a moderate wind without a pot. It burned for 8:57, including 65 seconds for the tornado to fully form. The rate of burn may be on the fast side. I expected a slow bloom with that much fuel. It should bloom faster when operated as intended with only 20 ml. I think it works well enough to take it out on the trail.
      I burned another 30ml with the burner on a level concrete slab without wind. It took 12:24, including two minutes for the tornado to fully form. I think I will enlarge the jet holes just to see what happens. If I make another one, it will have some creases to drain excess alcohol forced upwards by bursting bubbles. The CHS burners sold by RiverSideRambler don't have creases, but they do have channels in the machined insert. I suspect the channels provide drainage while also allowing vapors to travel upwards more easily.

      I burned 10, 20, and 30 ml of Heet methanol with the 0.5 mm jet holes. Time to form the tornado was 25, 50, and 120 seconds, respectively. The total burn time was 4:50, 8:30, and 12:24, respectively.

      I will try making heat sink fins next time, bending down segments of the conical portion of the cheese can. If that does not decrease the time to form the tornado, I may give up on the tornado, making the jets vertical, and extending the inner piece vertically above the jet holes, like my last low profile burner.

      The dad gum spell checker has a football fetish. It wants to capitalize jets.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by WanderingStovie ().

    • My least favorite part of bulding the eCHS is cutting the top opening.

      I got tired of the clumsy compass/circle cutter arrangement. I thought on it for a day and within about 5 minutes I put together a very stable and fully adjustable cutting jig.

      It makes short work of cutting perfect circles in whatever diameter I choose.

      Panavise, miter box, a dremel, and a few quick clamps.

      I started with a small ball rasp bit, and settled on the cutting wheel.
      Images
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      The post was edited 1 time, last by Klonkish ().

    • Klonkish wrote:

      I just found a stash of 10 more empty cans. And by I, I mean my wife.. she found them

      So now I have 10 or so half built stoves, 10 more candidates, no time, and a wife that's giving me the eye.

      I can't just put these things into the recycling bin. What do I do??? Gah!
      That’s how it begins, harmless routing through the recyclables. :D
    • Klonkish wrote:

      I just found a stash of 10 more empty cans. And by I, I mean my wife.. she found them

      So now I have 10 or so half built stoves, 10 more candidates, no time, and a wife that's giving me the eye.

      I can't just put these things into the recycling bin. What do I do??? Gah!
      There are a lot worse addictions you could have. :)
      The road to glory cannot be followed with much baggage.
      Richard Ewell, CSA General
    • Over 1,900 posts... this is by far the longest thread I have seen on any forum!

      Went through it all, skimming through some posts but reading a lot of of them more carefully. A lot of catching up for a newcomer to the site!

      I used to use a Trangia 15 years ago. Never had a problem with it and was happy with the performance - boiling, simmering, even frying up several serves of bacon and eggs for 3 people that a crazy hiker offloaded on us one morning - and never experienced the boil over/ flare ups that some people report.
      I'm about to get back in to hiking after being out of it for some time. I need a new stove as the non- hiking ex made the Trangia disappear, but that's a whole other story...

      I'm also cutting back on pack weight as the knees can sometimes be a bit interesting, hence looking at something light and DIY. I whipped up a simple Super Cat last week, and while it works well it had its downsides for me. So I searched further, discovered the CHS, then found this forum.

      I've just put together my first eCHS and given it a little test burn. Looks ok. I'll test it properly with a pot of water as soon as I can.

      With 95% ethanol (methylated spirits) the combustion looks a little incomplete and the flame is a bit orange. Unfortunately methyl alcohol isn't as readily available over here as it is for you guys.

      I know BB had said 95% EtOH is too high, but as it's what I can get I'll either adapt my design around that fact or make other adjustments.

      The old Trangia trick of adding 15% water seemed to slow down the burn and give a bluer flame.

      The flames tend to start away from the jets a bit, with a small gap. Is this normal? Or is the jet pressure too high?
    • Brekel wrote:

      Over 1,900 posts... this is by far the longest thread I have seen on any forum!

      Went through it all, skimming through some posts but reading a lot of of them more carefully. A lot of catching up for a newcomer to the site!

      I used to use a Trangia 15 years ago. Never had a problem with it and was happy with the performance - boiling, simmering, even frying up several serves of bacon and eggs for 3 people that a crazy hiker offloaded on us one morning - and never experienced the boil over/ flare ups that some people report.
      I'm about to get back in to hiking after being out of it for some time. I need a new stove as the non- hiking ex made the Trangia disappear, but that's a whole other story...

      I'm also cutting back on pack weight as the knees can sometimes be a bit interesting, hence looking at something light and DIY. I whipped up a simple Super Cat last week, and while it works well it had its downsides for me. So I searched further, discovered the CHS, then found this forum.

      I've just put together my first eCHS and given it a little test burn. Looks ok. I'll test it properly with a pot of water as soon as I can.

      With 95% ethanol (methylated spirits) the combustion looks a little incomplete and the flame is a bit orange. Unfortunately methyl alcohol isn't as readily available over here as it is for you guys.

      I know BB had said 95% EtOH is too high, but as it's what I can get I'll either adapt my design around that fact or make other adjustments.

      The old Trangia trick of adding 15% water seemed to slow down the burn and give a bluer flame.

      The flames tend to start away from the jets a bit, with a small gap. Is this normal? Or is the jet pressure too high?
      Makes sense - never thought of that. Hense I returned it. Outstanding post. Why? I did everything to remove the water.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • WanderingStovie wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      good luck. Let us know how it turns out
      PITA. This is as far as I got - tabs, creases, and jet holes. I wish I had a vise or press. Perhaps a hammer would work?

      The split metal band is my drilling jig. I drill the jet holes from the inside of the rim. My #70 bit is broken, so I used #71.
      I gave up on the design a few years ago. It clearly pressurizes the fuel and burns too fast to heat transfer. Non pressure versions work slow and better and are easy to heat control with a mini cover. In cooking heat control is very important. Boiling water - not so much.
      Be wise enough to walk away from the nonsense around you! :thumbup:
    • Wise Old Owl wrote:

      WanderingStovie wrote:

      odd man out wrote:

      good luck. Let us know how it turns out
      PITA. This is as far as I got - tabs, creases, and jet holes. I wish I had a vise or press. Perhaps a hammer would work?
      The split metal band is my drilling jig. I drill the jet holes from the inside of the rim. My #70 bit is broken, so I used #71.
      I gave up on the design a few years ago. It clearly pressurizes the fuel and burns too fast to heat transfer. Non pressure versions work slow and better and are easy to heat control with a mini cover. In cooking heat control is very important. Boiling water - not so much.
      Less dangerous too.
    • I still use my eCHS. Haven't made any in a few years. I have enough in the basement to last a lifetime. However I was fiddling with my wind screen a while back and in the process destroyed it, so before I go hiking again I will have to build another. Plus I need a new snuffer. The last one wasn't quite the right size and failed on me. But I have considered going to a lighter weight system (my Olicamp XTS pot is bombproof, but heavy). If I switch to a lighter pot, I might have to go to a stove with more control, maybe canister. I do like the dimensions of the Olicamp pot. I just wish it were a little smaller. This is the one I have my eye on.

      evernew-global.com/products/ulseries/eca267r.html
    • odd man out wrote:

      I still use my eCHS. Haven't made any in a few years. I have enough in the basement to last a lifetime. However I was fiddling with my wind screen a while back and in the process destroyed it, so before I go hiking again I will have to build another. Plus I need a new snuffer. The last one wasn't quite the right size and failed on me. But I have considered going to a lighter weight system (my Olicamp XTS pot is bombproof, but heavy). If I switch to a lighter pot, I might have to go to a stove with more control, maybe canister. I do like the dimensions of the Olicamp pot. I just wish it were a little smaller. This is the one I have my eye on.

      evernew-global.com/products/ulseries/eca267r.html
      • Hand-pressed by highly experienced Japanese craftsmen
      This made me chuckle
      :thumbup: ~”you push this button here Daniel Son”
    • Hello everyone!

      This thread has been a good resource for my own stove construction, so I thought I'd share a small video I made of a stove I created for a friend. The stove is an eFrevo design. The folding potholder is my own design, and is very compact while being strong, though it is not the most stable design due to it's compact nature. The fuel container sits neatly in the stove, and the potholder sits tightly on top of the fuel container, and all parts are then housed in a shell made from the bottom of a redbull can - this design makes storage and packing very neat. I hope instagram links are alright:

      instagram.com/p/BQ5kr7hDI8K

      -Knives
    • I got a Jetboil Stash for Christmas. I have a hard time spending that much $ on a pot and stove, but when Santa is paying, then what the heck. For a while now I have wanted a lighter smaller pot than my Olicamp XTS, but there was no good option with a heat exchanger which lets me integrate the stand and windscreen for an efficient, simple, and powerful alcohol system with my eCHS stoves. There is an UL Sterno Inferno pot, but it is too small for me to cook in. When the Stash came out this year, I figured it should be ideal (800 mL and less robust than the XTS). It came with a gas burner I will use when necessary, but I wanted to adapt it for alcohol. The results are in and it works like a charm. I boiled 2 cups of water in 3 min 30 sec. The pot and lid weigh 145 g. The stove 9 g. The screen/stand 11 g. I use an insulated heat reflective disk as a base (reads 0 g on my scale) for a total system weight of 165 g / 5.8 oz.

      The post was edited 1 time, last by odd man out ().

    • jimmyjam wrote:

      An alcohol jetboil. Who knew???
      I emailed the company a while back asking if they would ever sell the pot by itself for people like me who was to pair it with an existing stove. The said they probably would eventually. I decided not to wait since I probably will need a gas stove eventually, such as where fire bans don't allow alcohol (out west) or where alcohol is not available (Isle Royale).