Stove-Off

[Son of a Beach]

(EDIT: This topic has been split off from the titanium topic. Use this topic for talking about actually meeting up to look at or compare stoves.)


I used gas when I first started walking and switched to a metho Trangia kit soon afterwards. I've recently been considering switching back to gas again, because it's so much nicer to cook with, and the kits seem to be a lot better than they used to be.

Is it possible to remove the burner from the gas cylinder while the cylinder is still mostly full? When I last used gas while walking (about 20 years ago), you could only separate the burner from the cylinder when the cylinder was empty (or otherwise you'd get gas everywhere!).

[norts]

Most new stoves use a screw thread(Kovea, MSR etc) although if you use a Camping Gaz( the blue ones) they use a different type of fitting. This means that you can remove the stove from the bottle. I still have one of the old style puncture stoves. They take up too much room.
So check which type of fitting before you buy your gas. The only stove I know of that will fit both types of gas bottles is the MSR Superfly.
The Kovea Titanium fits inside my mug, I keep it in its plastic case that it comes with.
I agree with the comment about Piezom makes life alot easier.

I still have one of the old style puncture stoves. They take up too much room.

Roger

[corvus]

Thanks for that info taswaterfalls I will check it out when I feel the need to expand my stove collection

[Joe]

im in dev too..so if you want a closer look scream out. more than happy to give a demo Mine had a swim on weekend (along with me... ) and it survived that well

[corvus]

That sounds good we could set up a "stove off" somwhere ( I think Cathy C might be in it if I ask) your call now

[Joe]

A stove off?!?! Is this a challenge? I feel it would be UnAustralian of me to refuse! Before such an event I reckon we should all have a go at the DIY stoves though to compare their efficiency as well...

[corvus]

Sounds good to me but do we need to have a "beer off" first to collect enough cans to experiment or shall we restict it to coke cans only

[Son of a Beach]

This topic has been split off from the titanium topic which went a bit off-topic. Use this topic for talking about actually meeting up to look at or compare stoves.

Please keep that original topic for disucssion of titanium equipment, or other construction materials.

For general (ie, non stove-off) discussion of stoves, please use the other stoves topic.

Thanks.

[Joe]

Sounds good to me but do we need to have a "beer off" first to collect enough cans to experiment or shall we restict it to coke cans only

tasadam has been begging me to let him shout me some beer...perhaps we could organise a carton of tinnies...ill bring my swiss army knife

[tasadam]

tasadam has been begging me to let him shout me some beer...

Yeah, I was thinking stubbies, not cans.
A stubbie stove? AKA molotov cocktail... Some stove-off that would be!
Actually ya better check your email...

[corvus]

Get drinking as we have made two stoves one from a single beer can which works well and one from 2 coke cans which does not work all that well is there a moral in this story
Looking forward to comparing with the ones you make.

[Joe]

Sol was on special at bottle-o this week..so bottles not cans...and I hate soft drink pretty much...rarely drink it. When I find some cans my Dremel will be let loose

[corvus]

Hey youall (as they say in the classics )what happened to our stove off, my son and I have been making and discarding all sorts of can stoves and for the sake of research I have even consumed Red Bull (had to add Vodka to kill the sweet taste ) we have come to the conclusion that our gas cannister stoves beat the crap out of these homemade stinky metho jobbies but I am still willing to pit my best against your best any time any where .
I have also committed to make an addition to my stove collection and will be the soon to be proud owner of a Kovea Titanium stove ,that takes me to the tragic as this makes the 8th stove to date and I like the look of some others.
As I say to my wife it will be a valuable collection one day (check out the stove collectors sites) by the way does anyone have a cheap Choofer they dont want
corvus

[Joe]

I actually wouldnt mind a stove off as such...but more to see what you have done. I had a play around with some can stoves and wasnt happy with any. Nothing compares to my kovea.

I would like a can stove sturdy enough that i could use is with some trangia accessories in case of snow camping though.

Hey youall (as they say in the classics )what happened to our stove off, my son and I have been making and discarding all sorts of can stoves and for the sake of research I have even consumed Red Bull (had to add Vodka to kill the sweet taste ) we have come to the conclusion that our gas cannister stoves beat the crap out of these homemade stinky metho jobbies but I am still willing to pit my best against your best any time any where .
I have also committed to make an addition to my stove collection and will be the soon to be proud owner of a Kovea Titanium stove ,that takes me to the tragic as this makes the 8th stove to date and I like the look of some others.
As I say to my wife it will be a valuable collection one day (check out the stove collectors sites) by the way does anyone have a cheap Choofer they dont want
corvus

[corvus]

I guess a modification of the can stove would be possible but why would you bother when the orginal works so well allbeit a tad heavier ,I would go as far as to say that the can stove experiment is really an adolecent excercise (despite the posts in USA sites) and having achieved success with one I would still not rely on it to see me through even a summer day walk.I say go the real thing be it gas cannister ,Shellite or Metho. and yesI would still be in a stove off.

[Cheesypigs]

Talking about home made stoves here is my effort that sits in my summer hiking bumbag:

The stove is a fruit tin with holes punched in the top with an old style can opener. A squirt of metho into the can which is lit with the flint. The holes make the stove a sideburner model. The canteen cup sits directly on the can meaning I don't need a separate pot holder. With a piece of alfoil on the top the cup will boil in about five minutes. Coffee in a folding cup and the whole package fits into the canteen pouch on the left.

[corvus]

Gday cp,
Welcome to the forum,the stove you made is a nice basic unit which I have used b4 the ones we were making were from two beer/coke cans see http://www.pcthiker.com/pages/gear/peps ... ruct.shtml - 72k or just google pop can stove and check out what others have done. Give yourself a couple of hours though as there are dozens of makers with dozens of variations

[Cheesypigs]

Yeah I've looked at the zen stove site and others, I've made a coke can stove with linited success. This has no moving parts and is very easy to make. It's foolproof.

[Joe]

I got as far as drinking the beer, and cutting up the cans roughly. I got out the rotary tool and drilled the jet holes and fine tuned the previous rough cuts. This was all just before New years when I went camping at Lake Gairdiner. After a lovely evening at Gairdiner with a very nice meal of Forth Valley Italian Bratwurst Sausages cooked on my fiery little Kovea Titan 2, I came to a decision. Why on earth would anyone want a stinking grog stove when they could have such a wonderful little gas burner for under $100. It weighs nothing, lights itself and cooks with the fire of a thousand suns. I tend to agree with corvus now, the whole penny stove idea is a touch redundant in my mind. If I hadnt tried the kovea my preference may have been different...but seriously...how good are gas stoves

Edit: And before people jump in to educate me to freezing condition usage of gas, I already know...but for me its not often Im in sub zero.

[Cheesypigs]

Yeah I have a couple of gas stoves that I quite like and I agree that sub zeo temps play havoc with gas, and also with metho. Thats why I also carry this in my back pack:
.

This will run off a handful of sticks and isn't ffected by cold weather, although rain may affect it.

The Cheesypig test kitchen just off Snug Bech.

[Joe]

ive seen something similar to that called a volcano stove. it woulld be questionably leagal in fuel stove only areas though wouldn't it?

[Cheesypigs]

Yeah it's not something I'd use during fire danger periods for example coz it does drop embers. However it is relatively self contained. I think it would be suitable in fuel stove areas as it is a small flame in the firebox, I can also use the Hexamine tablets in it which is still a flame, but without ash or embers, its a kind of paraffin/kero mix. On the weekend I set this up in a car park and boiled a pot with 2.2 litres of water in 10 minutes.

[Joe]

the volcano one i saw was fully self contained. boiled the water in its own water jacket. According to its website It boiled water with single sheet of newspaper. YMMV

[Cheesypigs]

Yeah I haven't seen one in operation, but I've been told about them

[corvus]

Speaking of gas and cold check this out http://www.optimus.se/index.php?option= ... &Itemid=65 - it gets cold on Everest I think

[walkinTas]

Hey Corvus,

It would seem the world is truly a strange place, check this out.

[corvus]

G'day wt,
Thanks for the thought however I have been a viewing member for some time now and some folks on this forum think I am mad with my small collection what about these blokes and their obsessions
Its a good source of spare parts for just about any stove and if you are an enthusiast you can waste hours on the site