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#86254 - 01/06/08 08:15 PM Altoid stove Instructions
cheap Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/08
Posts: 46
This is a great stove to carry with you in addition to a regular white gas or butane stove. It will burn 10 minutes on 5 soda capfuls of fuel and costs about 5 dollars, and you get to eat the mints!
It will simmer things and keep things hot and, provided you can wait for 6 minutes, this thing can make a good cup of coffee or tea.

1.Buy a tin of altoids, I recommend the rectngular tin as it is larger and is easier to work with.

2.Buy a bag of perlite. Perlite is a porous rock that is used for garden dainage. It will suck up excess alcohol while it waits to be burned. Perlite is non-flammable. A six litre bag of it will cost you $3 at a nursery or garden center.

3. Get some ALUMINUM window screening. DO NOT GET nylon window screening, as it will melt instantly from the heat.

4. Trace the altoids tin shape onto the screening and cut out with scissors.

5. fill the (empty) tin with perlite. Then put the window screening on top and push down until the window screening catches on the rolled over tin edge. The screening keeps in the perlite.

6. Get some alcohol (runs on ethanol and methanol, also runs on isoprpyl but is a bit sooty). I got 95% ethanol based rubbing alcohol at Shoppers drug mart. It burns clean and hot. pour in about 4 soda bottle capfuls, try to make the fuel spread out.ligh with a match or lighter by holding the flame against the screen.

It got 1 cup water to a low boil in about 10 minutes... with a 3/8 inch thick aluminum pot! Works great for making noodle dinners or drinks. It weighed in at
1 oz!



This is the stove in action with a coat hanger pot holder. The stove burns with a hot blue flame.

Give me some Feedback,
Cheap <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

Note: Based on many "earlier" stoves, especially the dryer altoids stove
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#86255 - 01/06/08 09:12 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: cheap]
Trailrunner Offline
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Registered: 01/05/02
Posts: 1835
Loc: Los Angeles
Looks like a fun stove to build and use, but 4-5 capfulls of fuel(even if it's rubbing alcohol) to bring only one cup of water to a low boil in 10 minutes seems rather inefficient compared to other alcohol stoves discussed here.

Maybe it would have done better with a thinner pot?
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* May not apply at certain latitudes in Canada and elsewhere.

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#86256 - 01/06/08 09:47 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: cheap]
cheap Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/08
Posts: 46
Yes, it seems long, but the long wait is caused by a 3/8 inch thick pot!
It takes forever to heat up!
Also this stove is very safe because you can knock it over without spilling burning alcohol everywhere, as all the alcohol is in the perlite *note: do not go and knock over your stove though, its still kind of dangerous!*

Give me Feedback,
Cheap <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />
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#86257 - 01/07/08 04:43 AM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: cheap]
Dryer Offline

Moderator

Registered: 12/05/02
Posts: 3591
Loc: Texas
If you go to the "Make your own gear" section of this site, you'll see I put instructions for that stove there four years ago.
I've included pictures. It's shown up on other sites too, exactly as you are describing.

http://www.backpacking.net/makegear/altoids-stove/index.html


Edited by Dryer (01/07/08 04:45 AM)
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#86258 - 01/07/08 12:42 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: Dryer]
Xelif Offline
member

Registered: 07/04/07
Posts: 241
Loc: Bay Area, California, USA
Quote:
If you go to the "Make your own gear" section of this site, you'll see I put instructions for that stove there four years ago.
I've included pictures. It's shown up on other sites too, exactly as you are describing.


Glad it wasn't just me with that sense of deja vu!
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#86259 - 01/07/08 12:45 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: Trailrunner]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
After doing extensive scientific research, I found that 87% of the stoves mentioned on this site burn more efficiently.

However, with a weight-burn time ratio, only 49.75% did better. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />
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#86260 - 01/07/08 01:23 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: finallyME]
Dryer Offline

Moderator

Registered: 12/05/02
Posts: 3591
Loc: Texas
My numbers say 49.76%. Must be the barohumidperature in this part of the US.
My new Altoids Plus (includes nitrous injection kit) stove should kick that number right on up. Should boil a pint of water in under 2 seconds but I'm having trouble finding small quantities of nitromethane. Instructions to follow if I survive. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
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#86261 - 01/07/08 03:04 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: cheap]
hootyhoo Offline
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Registered: 12/14/06
Posts: 686
Loc: Cyberspace
Has any tried rocket fuel in a pressurized stove? It has the potential to really cut the boil times.

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#86262 - 01/07/08 03:28 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: hootyhoo]
Earthling Offline
member

Registered: 02/22/03
Posts: 3228
Loc: USA
FinallyME post a chart on the stoves if you can to prove your point. Of course what pot is used, temperture of water should be 50F not 65F as many stove makers try to get away with IMO, quantity of water, thickness of pot metal, weight of stove.

I'm incompetent to do it that's why i suggest you do it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />
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#86263 - 01/08/08 06:21 AM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: Earthling]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
Quote:
FinallyME post a chart on the stoves if you can to prove your point. Of course what pot is used, temperture of water should be 50F not 65F as many stove makers try to get away with IMO, quantity of water, thickness of pot metal, weight of stove.

I'm incompetent to do it that's why i suggest you do it <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />


You mean to tell me that all those things are important. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> I thought best guess was how you scientifically proved things. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> Well, back to the drawing board. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

On a serious note, I would like to see a comparison done between using the round altoids, and the square. Use the same design, just one with the round can, and one with the origianl square one. My "best guess" is that the round would be more efficient. I guess I will have to test and see. hehe.

You do have a good point Earthling. I guess I could start a spreadsheet to compare. I would have to build all the stoves to compare them though. There is error in that as well. But, the only fair way to compare is to use the same pot, quantity of water, ambient air temperature, water temperature etc.
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#86264 - 01/08/08 07:26 AM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: finallyME]
Dryer Offline

Moderator

Registered: 12/05/02
Posts: 3591
Loc: Texas
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.
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#86265 - 01/08/08 08:13 AM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: Dryer]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
Thanks for your experience and indepth answer.

Quote:


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 think this is interesting, never thought about it. What about using an empty altoids can, only filling it with a little sand each time you use it? Then you don't have to carry the sand, and it is used inside a "stove". <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/ooo.gif" alt="" />
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#86266 - 01/08/08 09:54 AM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: finallyME]
Dryer Offline

Moderator

Registered: 12/05/02
Posts: 3591
Loc: Texas
"Then you don't have to carry the sand, and it is used inside a "stove". "

Heck, I've squirted alcohol right into the bottom of an Esbit stove and it worked fine. The flame wasn't as "focused" but it worked. Kinda where I got the Altoids tin idea in the first place. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> Seems like I tried 'nekid' alcohol with the altoids tin too but decided wicking through perlite or the like would give me more heat. Really shouldn't be any different than a can of sterno.
I've tended to go full circle on this stove thing. I went through a phase of homemade stoves and came back to Esbit....or my favorite, cook fires, which require no fuel to carry and only the bare definition of a "stove". Problem is, that definition changes depending on where you hike. Cook fires leave no trace if done right.* If it's really cold/wet out, gimme a NOVA or Svea (or whatever makes big heat fast) and none of this mamby pamby alcohol/esbit stuff!
<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />



*So those unfamiliar with 'cook fires' don't freak out, they are made using tiny twigs no bigger than a popsicle stick and fueled as you cook, burning out when done cooking, and all that's left is a bit of white ash. Basically the same idea in a tin can wood stove.
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#86267 - 01/09/08 10:14 AM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: Dryer]
Earthling Offline
member

Registered: 02/22/03
Posts: 3228
Loc: USA
Paul, you and FinallyME make good points.

I think a small useful alky stove has merits for certain trips; as do larger canister type stoves, and small 'cook fires' have their place where permitted. Where permitted is the big note IMO. I'm concerned about newbies, and frankly, most anyone, myself included, making cook fires in uncertain conditions. If there is a hint of a breeze the ex-fireman in me says 'don't strike that match you fool! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />'; and I end up eating cold rather than risk a brush fire. Every region has it's own danger zone for fire, and hopefully folks who go backpacking carry enough common sense in their backpacks to be cautious with fire if they choose to light one.

I recall being in a campground in Shendaoh NP a few years back; I saw a large church grouppacking up their 3 adjoining campsites to leave, and thought to myself i'll go scrounge their wood when they go <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" /> So I walked up to use the bathroom until they left. I noticed they morning had been especially gusty/windy, and that they had used campfires for their breakfast. As I walked back down along the road and got closer to the first site I noticed, even in bright sunshine <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> that the wind had reignited the fire in the fire ring <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" /> I put it out, and walked to the next, same thing <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />, the next <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />. I walked over and got the campground host and showed the fires to him and he remarked, "some folks just don't understand the hazard of making a campfire", and noted which group had been there so he could contact them to let them know what had occurred after they left. These were'nt small cook fires they were logs! Agasht, I put them all out with water, then trucked the wood over to my place where I enjoyed the wood for the next 4 days <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Moral of the story is do not under-estimate the smoldering fire to be out unless you know it to be out. Water or sand, not topsoil, puts out a fire. If you can't pass your hand through the ashes it ain't out! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Whew, glad to get that off my mind......

About them alky stoves...We know alcohol will burn whereever it's squirted so that's a given. Using an empty votive candle metal tin to hold alcohol and a few tent stakes to suppot your pot is all that you need to heat water. Beyond that it's how fast you want it heated, and the quantity of water to be heated that needs to be reckoned with. A windscreen helps heat faster by concentrating the heat, and diminishing the dispersion of the heat. Slower burning fuel lasts longer but can take longer to heat your water.....and the circle continues <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
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#86268 - 01/09/08 01:25 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: Earthling]
finallyME Offline
member

Registered: 09/24/07
Posts: 2710
Loc: Utah
What !! I make good points !!! I obviously need to try a little harder. <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif" alt="" />

Great point on the neccesity of putting out completely your fire. I was never a fireman, but my dad always told me that I have to be able to put my hand inside it and feel it cold, not warm, to be able to call it out.
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#86269 - 01/09/08 02:24 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: finallyME]
Earthling Offline
member

Registered: 02/22/03
Posts: 3228
Loc: USA
Having worked as a volunteer fireman, and a Forest Service Fire Fighter(State); I can attest to the fact that most people are benign when it comes to the matter of whether they understand if a fire is out or not. Most often that is why those services are called out <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

You do make good points Kudos <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
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#86270 - 01/09/08 05:44 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: Earthling]
CamperMom Offline
member

Registered: 01/04/02
Posts: 1228
Loc: Eastern MA, USA
Hey!

Even the pros screw up from time to time. Our town's former firechief was greatly embarrassed when his "debris" fire got away from him and the department had to come put out the blaze.

CamperMom

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#86271 - 01/10/08 09:34 PM Re: Altoid stove Instructions [Re: Earthling]
oldranger Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
I absolutely agree with you about the dangers of open fires. In extreme conditions, probably a canister stove is the safest type of stove.

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#86272 - 01/10/08 09:55 PM awesome! [Re: cheap]
cheap Offline
member

Registered: 01/06/08
Posts: 46
I boiled 1 1/2 cup of water in 5 minutes with an aluminum foil windscreen!
That is awesome!
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#86273 - 03/11/08 06:11 PM Re: awesome! [Re: cheap]
Buster_Martin Offline
member

Registered: 01/15/08
Posts: 89
Loc: Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
Quote:
I boiled 1 1/2 cup of water in 5 minutes with an aluminum foil windscreen!
That is awesome!


I'm sorry to bump an old thread, but I'm having some difficulty and was wondering if anyone had any advice. I made an altoids stove a few weeks back and have been having zero luck getting just about 1 cup of water to boil. I am using perlite, yellow heet, and recently added a windscreen. I'm using a thin stainless steel bowl to boil the water in, but all I get are just a few bubbles in the water before the flame goes out. I even tried relighting it right away but the water still didn't boil before the flame went out a second time. Any hints? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" /> This is getting frustrating and I was hoping to use this in early April down in Georgia. Thanks in advance for any help!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />
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#86274 - 03/11/08 06:32 PM Re: awesome! [Re: Buster_Martin]
Dryer Offline

Moderator

Registered: 12/05/02
Posts: 3591
Loc: Texas
I posted the instructions for the 'dryer altoids stove' on this website, in the 'make your own gear' section.
Did you follow the directions exactly (assuming you got the plans here)?

I use the small Altoids tin, with aluminum screen, and perlite. You'll see my pot boiling water in the pictures. The height to the bottom of the pot is only about 1".
I use denatured alcohol, bought by the gallon at Home Depot. The full size Altoids tin is too big and wastes fuel.
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#86275 - 03/11/08 07:11 PM Re: awesome! [Re: Dryer]
Buster_Martin Offline
member

Registered: 01/15/08
Posts: 89
Loc: Camp Hill, Pennsylvania
As near as I can tell...yes. When I first made the pot stand I was probably about 2ish inches above the stove, but I figured that might have been the problem and it's been at about the 1" mark for some time. The only real difference is that I was using yellow heet instead of denatured alcohol because everything I've read says it's a great option for fuel. Would you recommend the denatured alcohol over yellow heet, or haven't you tried both options?

Thanks for the quick reply, by the way!!
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#86276 - 03/11/08 07:13 PM Re: awesome! [Re: Buster_Martin]
Paddy_Crow Offline
member

Registered: 11/08/04
Posts: 2285
Loc: Michigan
Try something other than the stainless steel bowl. Depending on what type of stainless it is, it can have a fairly low thermal conductivity. If you can't boil water with an aluminum pot, you pretty much know it's the stove.

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#86277 - 03/11/08 07:41 PM Re: awesome! [Re: Buster_Martin]
DTape Offline
member

Registered: 11/23/07
Posts: 666
Loc: Upstate NY
IIRC Heet is methanol which has less BTU's than ethanol. Denatured alcohol is ethanol (mostly). If Heet isn;t working, try denatured.
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#86278 - 03/11/08 08:35 PM Re: awesome! [Re: Buster_Martin]
Dryer Offline

Moderator

Registered: 12/05/02
Posts: 3591
Loc: Texas
Both DTape and PaddyCrow are right....denatured burns hotter and a stainless bowl tends to draft the flame up the sides and away from where you want it.
My pot (the one in the picture) is in fact, stainless, but very thin metal, wide, and shallow. Being wide it captures heat well, and not much flame licks up the sides.
I found it in a Walmart "stainless cook kit". Kept the pot, use the rest for car camping.
I've boiled plenty of water with that stove, as well as cooked eggs, and even fried potatoes in olive oil. It works about like Esbit.
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