Posted on 07/25/2013 11:18:34 AM PDT by virgil283
Cool device. I’ll keep my smaller Coleman though. No EMP or battery worries. ;)
Yes, I would think the shelf life is indefinite, but it is always best to verify.
How long can I keep Sterno® on my shelf?
It is recommended replacing Sterno® gel product 2 years after purchase. Always replace cover when not in use. Sterno® is made partly of denatured alcohol which evaporates from prolonged exposure to air.
http://www.sterno.com/faq_gels.aspx?kwid=1&descid=2&pg=faq_gels.aspx
For an alcohol stove use Heet.
You can make a stove that weighs half an ounce from a soda can.
Forget the “penny stove”, Tetkoba is a master builder.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fbHHQrh9m58&feature=c4-overview-vl&list=PL4BA305BB19EAB1C5
His other videos are informative as well.
The problem about wood being wet is not getting it to burn, its about drying it out. The water in the wood requires so much heat to vaporize that when the caloric cost of the vaporization of the water is put in the balance the wood is not of value as fuel. If its just wet on the outside wipe it off.
That scratches it off my list then, perhaps that is why I never invested in the stuff. (Having learned and forgotten about the shelf life)
I have one of those that is over 40 years old and still works great.
Build yourself a rocket stove, then use all the free fuel around you.
Mine is about 20 yrs old. It has been through 3 hurricanes, I don’t know how many camping or fishing trips, and still works fine. I only use the white gas because it lasts forever and I can just leave it in. The dual fuel will burn unleaded gas if you can’t get the other. I expect it will outlast me.
Don’t let the naysayers get you down. I have a variety of stoves for survial use and I bought up 10 of these last year for $1.00 each at Dollar Tree.
Used a couple of them to make bacon and eggs and a few other meals to test them out. Yes, as some others say there are better (often more costly) solutions, but I find these easy to use and self contained. You can refill with denatured alchol. Don’t use regular rubbibg alchol.
Explore some of the other suggestions by some of the others if you are making a survival or emergency prep. Having more than one solution is always a good idea.
I’m SOOO glad its not just us, although I think you have us beat. We have 8 or 9.
I have 3 that are “mine” that range from a single burner that is simplicity itself (gets used on the sailboat a lot), to a two burner with an oven (camping trips with the grand kids).
The oldest backpacking stove I refer to as “the bomb”. I keep throwing it away and my husband keeps retrieving it - it was his first backpacking stove.
At least if the electricity goes or we’re forced to abandon civilization, we’ll eat.
Denatured alcohol is the best. Take a cat food can and poke small holes around the top with an ice pick. Make a stand for your pot out of wire mesh and use tinfoil as a windscreen. One oz of DA will boil two cups of water. Use a small cough syrup measuring cup to measure the DA. It’s cheaper and burns hotter and more consistant than the gel. Only put in the amount of DA you need and just let it burn dry.
I made some alcohol stoves out of beer cans. Works great with DA in it. 1oz. will do a lot.
It sure doesn’t beat C-4
I have used DA with a crushed coke can and cooked food while backpacking. I just wanted to make a positive post about someone trying to prep.
We all started somewhere and many times found better ways of doing it. But to get good at it, you must first start as the poster of this thread did.
If I knew how old your husband is, I would try to guess which was his first stove, if he is very mature, then I would guess a Svea 123.
Yeah, have you actually tried to make his 2012 models? Way too much work, and his potstands are an ever present (if minimal) danger if you fall onto them.
Zenstoves.net , and simpler soda can stoves and marine grade denatured alcohol, are an easier bet, and easier to replace.
As to the origin poster, the finished used cans are extremely useful for making alcohol stoves.
2012 models... you mean the ones with the tubes? Yeah. Didn’t really work out too well. JB Weld smells REALLY bad when it burns. And that smell lingers.
I use msr whisperlight (white gas) and msr rocket pocket (iso-propane). Rocket pocket is super quick and easy, but the spent fuel canister is a waste. Whisperlight not as easy but fuel is refillable. The internationale model will take anything, whitegas, gasoline, I thnk the latest will even take an iso-propane canister.
The extreme light weight of the alcohol stove is appealing. My builds are nowhere near as good as this Tetkoba guy.... yet. The older I get the more I like ultra light.
Understood. I am a stove-a-holic. I think I have made 20 different kinds. My absolute favorite is one I made combining the cat food can concept with a JetBoil boil pot I bought for 2 bucks at a flea market. The guy had lost the stove part of the JetBoil and it was dented which I fixed with a small hammer. The can, the stand, the foil wind guard, my DA container, all fit inside the boil pot and the black lid holds it in. The heat sinks in the bottom of the boil pot make the water boil so quickly it conserves the DA to the max.
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/69056?productId=1154053&subrnd=0&qs=3016887_pmd_google_pla
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