Stoves » Pop can alcohol stove
Weight: .4 ounce
Dimensions: 1.75 inches high
Boil Rate: 2 cups of water in 5 minutes, 17 seconds on less than 1 ounce of fuel at sea level, 5 minutes, 7 seconds at 14,500′ msl.
Fuel: denatured alcohol
There are over 22 steps taken to prepare and assemble this alcohol stove using special tools, jigs, and assembly techniques I have developed to ensure consistantancy, quality and performance. After making hundreds of these alcohol stoves, I have settled on this design as the best combination for fuel economy and performance. I have made over 5,000 of the Tin Man stove to date!
Don’t be fooled by the size and construction materials. These alcohol stoves are very rugged. This alcohol stove has no moving parts to wear out or break down. The construction process involves using high temperature epoxy to seal the pressure chamber. There are no slits on the side to weaken the alcohol stove and cause potential leaks like you will find on other designs. The top and bottom pieces are sealed with 600 degree epoxy and are safety taped. I have never had a leak with one of these alcohol stoves.
The pepsi can alcohol stove is designed for denatured alcohol only. This is a readily available fuel that can be found in any hardware or paint store and at many outfitters like those along the Appalachian Trail. Rubbing alcohol works poorly and is not recommended because it contains 30% water and just will not perform. Due to the location of the burn holes you can place your pot directly on the alcohol stove – without snuffing out the flame – thus eliminating the need fro a pot stand.
Directions to build your own pop can stove:
http://www.antigravitygear.com/alcoholstoveinst.html
Product Website:
http://www.antigravitygear.com/proddetail.php?prod=AGALBC
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(9 votes, average: 3.78 out of 5)
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I have made a Pop Can stove before. I used the steps from another site. My stove did not use 600 degree epoxy. It took me a couple of times to get the stove right so the fuel would burn. It was a fun project to build the stove to see that it works. It is supper light weight and small in size.
I never used the stove for cooking or anything else. It just seemed that it would take a lot of time to cook your food, much like a tommy stove.
I’m pretty happy with my pop can stove. Mine is the antigravitygear one linked in the review. It lights easily and is pretty quick to get a cup of water boiling. If that’s all you need for a dehydrated meal, it’s perfect. It wouldn’t work well for other types of cooking.
It’s light, but you do need to carry some fuel. I’m not sure I’d use this stove for a long trip (2+ weeks). But for shorter trips where I’m only planning on cooking a few dinners the weight of the stove + 3-4 oz of alcohol is pretty minimal. I carry a small titanium cup to both store the stove in and cook up ~8 oz of water.
Another issue is availability of fuel. Any hardware store will do, but many small towns don’t have them. Also, the smallest container you can usually find is 16 oz, which is probably more than you want/need to carry.
I made the penny alcohol stove version, more info here, http://www.csun.edu/~mjurey/penny.html, about the only difference with it and the version above I think is a “simmer ring”, which somewhat regulates the burn.
We normally use a whisperlite stove, but really wanted to drop that weight, so we tried this stove (dropped about 1/2 lb of weight and some bulk). Although it works differently (need to plan ahead for a limited burn time), it worked great, on boiling water, coffee, scrambled eggs, and even a stew and dumplings dinner. If it does burn out while you still need to cook, not a big deal, you just wait a minute or two for it to cool, reload and go.
Very cool little invention, incredibly light, at the right price (six pack of Heinekin). Only downside was, the Heink’s didn’t taste nearly as good as I remembered from my early drinking days.
I’ve built several popcanstoves and used them in very different circumstances. From below zero (centigrade) to very windy.
They work great. It’s takes some more time to boil then other systems. But you can use that time to make camp or just enjoy the view.
One of the most easy ways to save weight and space.