BUILD a  BETTER  WINDSCREEN

Contributed by: SGT Rock, 4/1/02


Windscreen

( click on each image for an enlarged view -- then click on your back button to return to the instruction page ).

 

Whether you're building a soda can stove, Cat stove, Turbo V8 or Esbit stove, the windscreen is an important part of the stove. Simple changes in the windscreen can drastically effect stove performance. On my Turbo V8 stove I made two screens. #1 was as tall as the pot and had a 1/8" gap around, and #2 barely came to under the handles but had a 1/4" gap all the way around. Normally you would expect the taller and tighter #1 screen to help transfer heat to the pot, but the truth was opposite. I boiled faster and with less fuel using the #2 shorter screen that had better air flow. 

The best material I have found is aluminum oven liners. I had an MSR stove and the windscreen material they uses is exactly the same. They have this trick of folding the ends over about 1/16" to prevent cuts and make the windscreen a little stiffer. I haven't found that necessary. You find oven liners in grocery stores and stores like Wal-art where they sell disposable aluminum pans used to cook large meats like turkey.

If you build a stove to the instructions on this site and still have problems, check the windscreen.

Measure for the wind screen

Measure for your wind screen height. A good rule of thumb is to make it to the bottom of the pot handles.
 
 
 
 

Cut the wind screen

Cut the oven liner to the desired height, adding about 1" so there is room for error and adjustment.
 
 
 
 

Wrap around pot and trimWrap around pot and trim

Make your wind screen fit around your pot with about a 1/8" to 1/4" gap. Trim the top to the desired height. If your pot is too large, you will need to make a 2 piece wind screen.

*** Note: after much testing I have found that a wind screen should be large enough to have a 1/4" gap all the away around. Closer and you choke off the stove, further out and you loose heat. Windscreen height actually matters less than distance to the pot. I found that a windscreen as tall as the bottom of the handles was better than a tall one because it maintained better air flow and weighed less.***

Make air holes

Use the hole punch to make as many air holes around the bottom edge as you can.
 
 
 
 

Use paper clips to secure the screen

Use paper clips to secure the wind screen at the top and bottom. If you have a two piece screen, you will need two extra paper clips.
 
 
 
 

Cut a bottom reflectorBottom reflector

I also add a bottom heat reflector. Cut the reflector from some scraps to be just a little bigger than the pot stand.
 
 
 
 
 

 
SGT Rock, 4/1/02
ebengman@HotPOP.com
 
 

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