FinallyMe, I tested all that back when I built the things and posted the original article and instructions for the "Dryer Altoids Stove". Nothing 'scientific', mind you. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" /> The mini-Altoids tins worked best:

My initial premise was not necessarily 'burn efficiency' but instead, to provide an Esbit tablet replacement for an Esbit stove frame. The little "mini" Altoids tins fit perfectly in the frames, with the lids removed, and burn plenty long to boil water with one cap full of alcohol....in MY pot. There's a picture of it boiling water in my standard pot, in the instructions on this site. "Cap" being a cap from the plastic spring water bottle I use to store alcohol. I also found you could 're-fuel' while the stove is burning by using a nose spray bottle of alcohol and squirting the stream directly in the perlite (AT YOUR OWN RISK! NEVER USE CAMP GAS IN THESE THINGS!!!). I've since eliminated the Esbit frame and use the little Altoids tin alone, using rocks, tent pegs, or stick tri-pod to hold the pot.
I still like solid Esbit as fuel of choice, and/or twigs to boost output, but the alcohol option is useful and cheap. The stove is safer than a pop-can stove in that it's more of a 'burner' and fuels itself with capillary action instead of pressurized vapor. We had a Girl Scout troop back then and it's was VERY easy for them to use without fear of exploding or flaring, as soda can stoves can do when bumped.

Interestingly, you can take your fingers and make a little 1" pile of sand, saturate it with fuel, and get about the same 'efficiency' as just about any burner stove I've tried. Problem with that is...in some places that's considered a 'campfire' and not a stove. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

I find 'scientifically' testing homemade stoves tricky in that it's not easy to maintain a control. We all live at different altitudes, humidity's, and temperatures. Unless you have a standardized lab, results will be un-reproducible.

So,

In my thinking, most of us design/build homemade gear with a particular 'need' in mind and sometimes 'results' are meaningless to someone else, if the need isn't there.

Oh yeah, the big Altoids tins, round ones, folded over cat food cans, etc. were all tried in my 'R&D phase'. I wasn't happy with any of 'em. The little tin worked best. It wasted the least fuel, fit the Esbit frame, and being refuelable, was by far the lightest and most efficient..........for MY needs. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
I've gotten tons of emails from folks blundering into the online plans....and those plans have been posted on other sites. Folks seem to like the thing I guess.