So.. My second attempt at a meths stove.... and it still doesn't work.
Takes 50ml of meths, jet holes are from a 2mm drill bit, bits cut round the rim to allow for air to enter. Took about 5 minutes after lighting before I could put a pan on it without it going out. Then stayed alight for 24 minutes but only got the water to 84'c.
Any pointers? Guess smaller jet holes. Never used a meths stove before so not really familier with how they work. Do the always need 5 minutes to warm up?
Is that a single wall stove? If so, your 'jets' are way too small, you need two rows one about 10mm down from the top edge and the other about 5mm below the first and both sets about 10mm diameter. If it's a pressurised double wall .... there could be all kinds of reasons it's not working.
Ah... Just taken a better look at the ones you sell and the one made by techno mail further down. What I notice now is that the holes don't go all the way through I.e. Neither of them are single wall. Thought it all seemed a but simple. Considering mine is about 20g, yours at 8g is very impressive. I'd better get cracking on some kind of insert I guess or I'm gonna be having to haul a jetboil round with me.
Pressurised double walls can be tricky to make and take a bit of tuning. Making a semi-pressurised single wall from a can similar to what you've already used is pretty straight forward and should give decent results.
If you want an efficient high output twin wall stove then the best thing is to do what I did and buy one of Stu's. I imagine he has a shed full of prototypes as getting the hole sizes, spacing and number right is quite an art and varies depending upon the volume of the stove. Getting the windshield right also makes a big difference, again, Stu's come with a template. I should say I'm in no way connected to Stu, just a satisfied customer. I make most of my own kit, tarps, luggage etc. and there is a satisfaction from getting it right but sometimes it's just easier to buy it
I am thinking of one of stu's as a backup option. Gonna force my kids to start drinking Red Bull to get me lots of thin cans for some double wall experiments. Sure a couple of cans each before nursery / infant school couldn't harm....
On that topic, but slightly away from stoves, I was walking my daughter to school when a mother pushed her daughter (same year as mine so only 6 or 7) out their front door to walk to school on her own while shouting at the daughter to get herself a red bull on the way to school as they haven't anything in for breakfast
Here's one a made a few years ago. Its a double wall pressurised one made from American aluminium beer bottles. Its like a White Box. I watched a few online tutorials and spent many, many happy hours polishing off the paint, measuring, cutting and drilling. The hardest part I found was pressing the two sections together to get the top of the bottom section to fold over an seal the top. I used a car jack chocked up under a rafter in my loft. I made dozens of them - most sputtered quietly, didn't put out enough heat or threw flames three feet in the air. Two worked well, this one and the one I stepped on a few years back. For performance its about the same as Stu's 22g stove, just bigger and heavier.
What I want, what I really really want, is a top burner stove around 50g that can store enough meths for 3-4 burns with a screw top and snuffer cap, so a cross between a 22g BB stove and a Trangia. Anyone?
I've been up in the loft and whilst there dug out my cat can stove.
It weighs 5g on my scales. I used it with this ally billy.
The flames are quite wide so worked better with a wider pot. The lid is also myog out of the bottom of a pie dish. The pot was on sale mountain warehouse for 99p. It does weigh 107g with the lid.
I had to buy the cat food to get the tin as I don't have a cat but if you can get a tin for free and a pot on sale it is possible to be set up for cooking and have change from £1
I went over to one of Stu's with a ti mug as it fitted in my half depth frame bag but the above worked OK. I used to have to bodge a windbreak from stones or kit and a propper windshield would be better.
