coke can stoves

“I was trying to settle down to a tasty meal prepared on my homemade coke can stove a couple of weeks ago on Assateague, but alas, I could not get the dern thing lit. Almost burned my fingers off with my Bic lighter. I've used it several times before, always with 70% isopropyl alcohol. It was kind of cold out. Was that the problem? Should I be using a different kind of alcohol? Anyone else have a similar experience?

ps-I'm new here, and to Delaware. Any outdoor activity folks in the First State out there?”

“Alcohol is hard to light when it's cold. It's not the actual liquid that burns, it's the gas. When it's cold the alcohol doesn't vaporize as easily. When it's cold it often helps to keep your fuel inside your jacket so it stays warm before you light it.”

“Welcome. Go here to find TT'rs

http://www.frappr.com/trailtalkers”

“Warming the alcohol will definitely help but 70% alcohol is 30% water. Try 95% and you may get better results. Look for it at a drugstore, harware store or buy HEET.

http://www.goldeagle.com/heet/year_round_usages.htm

You can also ask this guy!
http://www.datasync.com/~wksmith/
last edited: 12/29/05 8:39:05 PM”

“You see this is something I hardly get. Settlers and old day trappers carried huge amounts of weight and did long distances like we do today. Then people started reverting to really odd tools, i.e. pop can to cook with. I am sorry, sacrafice the ounces and take a trusty superfly and a can of gas. Works wonders, plus years down the road when you do not develope some sort of funky cancer from aluminum poisoning, you will thank me.

:)”

“Get denatured alcohol from the hardware store. Its super cheap. burns much hotter.Just follow precautions.”

“The white gas won't poison you??”

“Living will kill you.”

“I can think of a lot of reasons not to use a coke can stove. Cancer is not one of them.”

“jackstraw beat me to it...use denatured alcohol, it has a higher alcohol content...keeping your fuel warm will help too”

“If your stove doesn’t work in the cold, try wrapping a wicking material around the outside of the stove and prime the stove with the wick. The wick will help raise and maintain the internal temp high enough for burning even as the priming burn dies out.”

“Denatured alcohol is best for sodypop stoves. It was 40 degrees mornings on my hike and it lit fine.”

“http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts22.html

low exposures over a long period of time can effect your health. Especially if you are eating out of an item made of aluminum. Small particle intake over time will cause health problems. Go get a MSR cooking bowl that is light weight!”

“what are you talking about USA?

your own link says the opposite of your point.

Very little enters your body from aluminum cooking utensils
Low-level exposure to aluminum from food, air, water, or contact with skin is not thought to harm your health.

How likely is aluminum to cause cancer?
The Department of Health and Human Services, the International Agency for Research on Cancer, and the EPA have not classified aluminum for carcinogenicity. Aluminum has not been shown to cause cancer in animals.

How can families reduce the risk of exposure to aluminum?
The most important way families can lower exposure to aluminum is to know about the sources of aluminum and lessen exposure to these sources. Since aluminum is so common and widespread in the environment, families cannot avoid exposure to aluminum. Exposure to the low levels of aluminum that are naturally present in food and water and the forms of aluminum present in dirt and aluminum cookware is generally not harmful. The best way to reduce exposure to aluminum is to avoid taking large quantities of soluble forms of aluminum such as aluminum-containing antacids and buffered aspirin”

“i'm confused, exactly how to you ingest aluminum from a pepsican stove?...i can see pots, pans, and utensils but a stove doesn't come in contact with your food”

“i think it's just some low grade trolling, thrifty”

“To make it properly, it should definitely be a PEPSI can, not a Coke can.”

“a Dr. Brown's cream soda, or CELERY!!!”

“Thanks for the advice folks, now another question. My stove is great at making shtuff like rice and oatmeal, but kind of stinks at making pancakes. Has anyone rigged up a flame-spreader-thingamajig for one of these bad boys?

Rush - I'm a diet coke with lime girl, thus a diet coke can stove.

Blackclap - I feel like I get some cool points for making it myself”

“i've never used mine for actual "cooking"...just boiling water...i usually use my pocket rocket if i'm actually gonna cook...it's hard to adjust the flame on a alcohol stove...i have seen some on ebay that come with different tops that make different size/shaped flames”

“I have cooked pancakes on my can stove, just have to hold the skillet above the flame with one hand so it doesn't get too hot too fast. BYW scrambled pancakes are pretty tasty.”

“How are those pocket rockets anyway? I was thinking of getting one.”

“I took a 24 ounce beer can...drank the beer....cut out the middle of the bottom of the can (just like you make the pepsi can stove), and then cut the can down to size where it fit right over the pepsi stove.

I needed to work with it a little more to perfect it, but result was that the pepsi stove never "primed" and just burned in the middle chamber. I didn't try it, but I was thinking you could probably cook pancakes over that heat.”

“Thanks chappy, the first sounds like fun”

“chappy...they're a great, cheap, light weight all around stove...i have heard of some people having problems at really cold temps or really high altitudes but i've never done either so i'm not sure”

“the only problem with cold is heating up the can to vaporize the alcy, but I made an alum. wind break to put the stove and stand in. It is just large enough to put my cookset in/on so the heat stays in and heats up the sodacan good to get it going.”

“I use heavy duty aluminum foil for a windbreak. I double it over and fold it to where it just fits around the cook pot (walmart grease pot). I can then fold up the foil and pack it with the stove and pot stand (contruction mesh) inside the pot.

I figure the windscreen is good for several trips before it rips or tears.”

“I use the Cobra can stove and it has a priming dish from a tuna can, so no problems lighting it. I also use a windshield made from an oven liner. They are heavy grade aluminum and can be bent repeatedly without breaking.
michelep You need to try to find a pepsi product can because they are differently made than others. Look at the bottoms of the cans. There is something about the pepsi can that makes it work correctly. The Wings alchy stove site mentions it I believe.”

“Try 200 proof Wild Turkey in the stove. Better yet drink the "Bird" and use white gas.”