Saturday, February 15, 2014

Fire, water, and government know nothing of mercy. ~Proverb

CRAFT NIGHT!!!

I have spent the better part of a week watching DIY videos on making coke can alcohol stoves.  There are so many variations out there.  I decided to go with the one that requires the fewest steps.  

You can find instructions here, here, and here or just do a search.  You will find so many.


I managed to drink one Dr. Pepper, but I just poured out a Mt. Dew for a second can.  I also rummaged through the recycle at work, turning up one Pepsi can and then found a 7up can on the ground outside my apartment building.  It only takes two cans to make a stove, but I knew I would mess up so I needed extras.  

I also "borrowed" a box cutter from work.

Here we go:


Cut the bottom off two cans

In the top piece, punch holes with a tack.  16 around the side, 3 in the middle.

Wrestle the top piece into the bottom piece.

Here are the two I ended up with.

Finished product in my Trangia pot stand.
 And now for the fire:

Add a little of this to the stove through the 3 middle holes and a little in the bottom of the pots stand as primer.  Light the fuel in the pot stand and...





The green stove had a blow out on one side. I over worked the aluminum trying to fit the two pieces together and it didn't form a seal.



The stoves weight in at 9 grams (just over 0.3 oz).


Overall this was a success.  I will have to test how much fuel it takes to boil water, but for now I'm just excited that it worked and I didn't burn down my building.

Bonus:  

No PS's were harmed in the making of this stove, but I may have made her wear my headlamp a little.