Working on the stove...

So I have been working on one of my components to my bushcraft kit. The stove. I have based the design on Ravenlore's Mulit-purpose cooking kit. The basis of the stove is that it can be used with multiple types of fuel. The main fuel of course is wood, since it is all around and this type of stove uses a lot less wood than a campfire. In some places where fires are banned, this type can still be used. But I wanted to work and test it out with other fuels as well since each has its own pros and cons. So other than wood, I was working on Meth-Alcohol, solid fuel, and an idea my brother gave me: charcol. (not a lot ... just a couple as a backup situation. 2 or 3 should work but will have to test)

I will have more information for everyone including pictures of the whole kit and such later. Last nights work was on creating a new alcohol stove that I could keep in my cook set. Everyone has probably heard of the pop can stove, (and I have been using them for a couple of years now) but I wanted to try something bigger that worked well when I left the stove at the bottom of the stove pot, instead of mounting it halfway up the can. Simplicity is the name of the game here people!

I tried using beer cans to start, but I found that the amount of space on the inside of the can will drastically change the efficiency of the stove. After playing around with a couple of different cans and hole punching scenarios, I ended up using 2 of those "ginseng drink" cans.

One thing that I think I learned was that the less holes punched for the gas to come out and burn, the harder it is to keep the thing lit. The more holes you punch the hotter it is but the faster you use up the fuel. It's all in finding the balance, my friend.

So after playing around in the shed (when I should have been sleeping) I think I got one that works. I will be testing it out down in New Hampshire when I make it down for the training course with Mors Kochanski in a week! *insert embarrassing dance of joy here*


Here is a couple of pictures of the stove with the alcohol stove lit.















Once I have completed the stove/cooking kit I will get some pictures up of it so you can see how it turned out.

Thanks for reading,