Mini Alcohol Stove. by DenseJungle
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This is a tutorial on how to make a Mini Alcohol Stove!, which is pocket sized so can be taken anywhere with you. This is a great item to have when, hiking camping or just to have to add to your collection of DIY items!, We hope you enjoy making this Alcohol stove as much as we did! Enjoy!
 
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Step 1: Step 1.

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Materials you will need ...
1. Aluminium cans x2. (empty)
2. Some fibre glass.
3. Scissors.
4. Sharpie Marker.
5. Ruler.
6. Thick book ( Preferably Argos catalogue, to rest pen on. )
7. Sharp knife.
8. Thumb tacks.
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c3ralki1l3r says: Feb 27, 2013. 6:08 PM
i put this stove over another stove to ight it and it had amazing flames!!! also if oyu use a 7up can its will burn into white :P.
scrapedfire1256 says: Jan 6, 2013. 3:06 PM
A pic of the finished product would be nice.........
Xthinker says: Feb 12, 2012. 5:35 PM
I made this, thought it was really cool. My dad says mine looked really professional. We also tried it with lemon extract and it worked great! The instructions were really helpful. For anyone else making this, you really don't need the fiber-glass.
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Roshy10 says: Oct 28, 2012. 4:42 PM
I think the fiberglass is used so that you don't spill flaming liquid everywhere if you do knock it over (some how) just an extra safety precaution.
mr.shorty8 says: Jun 13, 2012. 9:41 PM
this is to Xthinker
mr.shorty8 says: Jun 13, 2012. 9:39 PM
ok so if i make one of these do i have to use alcohol if not what else can i use and instead of fiber glass what do i use? thanks if u can reply
Xthinker says: Jun 14, 2012. 8:54 AM
Well like some of the other comments say, you can use cotton, but im guessing most fibers should work. Yes, you do have to use alcohol, but alcohol is in lots of things, hand sanatizer, extracts, and many other things, just check the ingredients.
james4 says: Jun 11, 2012. 4:26 PM
Yours does look professional.I bet you put time into that.
Ivan_291 says: Oct 5, 2012. 9:11 PM
can u use a sponge
benedicto_jr says: Aug 13, 2012. 5:10 PM
I built mine using 2 cokes. No fiberglass at all. Just 3 spoons of alchool and it burned for 40 minutes. The secret to start ir is to put an extra spoon of alchool below the stove (I used a metal dish for it) and burn it. After some seconds, the alchool inside the stove starts to vaporize, firing the stove and everything works well. Very simple and efficient. I will make another one and put everything on youtube, of course givving the credit. Thanks.
swimmer95 says: Aug 11, 2009. 3:55 PM
how do you lite it
bde cock says: Apr 6, 2012. 6:06 AM
try using... a lighter ¬_¬
chokapi says: Apr 24, 2012. 10:17 AM
That's funny.

Actually, these kind of stoves usually require a priming tray, or, a metal tray, with a lip, at least two inches wider than the stove. When you fill the stove and cover the filling holes with a penny, (important step! it may flame out,) add a bit of fuel (HEET works best, IMO,) and light the fuel in the tray with a lighter, a match, or a striking steel. It will flame up. Don't freak out; it will burn and boil the HEET. When this happens, the HEET will begin to evaporate quickly through the jets. The flame from the priming tray not only heats the fuel, but provides an ignition for the fuel coming through the jets.

Stove.

Now, cook something! Actually, this stove is best for boiling water. So, rehydrate something for a warm, satisfying meal.
acurri says: Jul 25, 2010. 8:40 PM
I am wondering the same thing!
DenseJungle (author) says: Aug 14, 2009. 2:22 AM
lighter match bbq lighter
smelly210 says: Apr 9, 2012. 1:18 PM
8)
harry88 says: Mar 19, 2012. 6:07 PM
great project, i made mine with cotton at first but then found it best not to use anything inside it also it helps to enlarge the holes and put a coin on the fill hole. as well i found it will burn for approximately 10 minutes full on rubbing alcohol.
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clax1227 says: Sep 3, 2011. 3:56 AM
sooo, would fiberglass or cotton work better?
TTB1992 says: Dec 27, 2011. 11:42 AM
use fibre glass.

due to the high temperatures inside the stove, the cotton will degrade into carbon. It will have no effect whatsoever. what you can doe is leave the fibreglass out. it works just as well.
myckro says: Feb 18, 2012. 11:15 AM
Actually cotton would work and not degrade into carbon... Since the flame only burns in the outside and the heat is not enough to burn the cotton... This is from personal experience... I used one for a whole week to cook on and then opened it....
TTB1992 says: Feb 24, 2012. 12:17 AM
I actually found that out a few hours after i posted my comment, which completely contradicts my own statement.

So there you go: Use cotton!
Thanks Myckro!
Xthinker says: Feb 13, 2012. 7:38 PM
Word of advice,DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT tap the stove, if you don't have the insulator the alcohol will splash all over the place, it will catch on fire and burn like crazy. I cannot stress this enough DON'T touch the stove well it is burning.
ajena says: Dec 2, 2011. 9:42 PM
can we use normal vegetable oil or hair oil and also can we use cotton rather than using fibre glass
fmurillo gomez says: Nov 27, 2011. 2:59 PM
hey what other material can i use instead of fiber glass
ilpug says: Oct 4, 2011. 10:11 AM
ok, cooking on fiberglass insulation is a terrible idea. use cotton balls. Please.
AnotherNewbie says: Oct 2, 2011. 7:28 PM
Fibreglass ... what exactly is its purpose? How long will it last; i.e. after 'x' number of uses, it would need to be replaced or does it simply go on indefinitely doing what it does? Thanks for anticipated response - and for a great Instruct!!!
shadow07 says: Jul 21, 2011. 1:39 AM
Meth, denatured alcohol, methylated spirits, same thing. Nice project...
aarsenault1 says: Jul 10, 2011. 7:25 PM
You can also use Denatured alcohol.
tangey says: Sep 13, 2009. 1:43 PM
i need to know what kind of alcohol every other thing is clear to me but i need to know wat alcohol
R4Man18 says: Sep 19, 2009. 11:19 PM
any will do but most like to use Denatured Alcohol for many reasons. its fairly cheap stuff. (From Another Instructable) Denatured alcohol is the best choice for most alcohol based camp stoves. This can usually be found in the paint section (as a paint thinner) of a hardware store, and seems to burn slightly hotter and cleaner than Heet. I don't know if this is found under this name outside of the U.S. In the U.S. "denatured" means "poisoned." This is regular alcohol that has had poison added to it so people can't drink it, thus it does not get the alcohol tax, making it cheaper. (Still runs roughly the same price as Heet though.) Wont link the instructable because its another way to do this.
Philip J Fry says: Jun 21, 2011. 11:31 PM
In Australia, it's sold as Methylated Spirits, it's basically ethanol, with a little bit of methanol added, to make it undrinkable
ravenjoey44 says: Jun 4, 2011. 2:29 PM
what kind of fuel can you use? can you use rubbing alcohol or char coal lighter
backyardpyro217 says: Jun 1, 2011. 11:11 PM
wouldn't this wear out/break quickly? from my experience with throwing stuff into campfires, flames aren't good for the strength/shape of aluminum drink cans
day-veed says: Oct 23, 2010. 1:12 AM
Does anyone think that fine steel wool will work? I live in a tropical country so we don't need any insulation. (I think)
unominame says: May 23, 2011. 1:27 PM
If you used steel wool with Alcohol it would would rust.
Try using an old t-shirt and then use the alcohol. It should work just fine.
eharris3 says: May 22, 2011. 9:14 AM
It would have been great if you climaxed the instructable with a picture of it actually working.
rfisher2 says: May 11, 2011. 10:24 AM
Made my Hobo burner last night, breakfast in the morning. Eggs, chopped potatoes, and sausage links. Made the resovoir a lil larger for more fuel, harder to light but once its going, its a burner. Thanks for this instructable.
medicoboomstick says: Mar 31, 2011. 8:57 PM
What about sanding the can before you even open it. That way the pressure of the can will keep it from getting all dinged and dented. I have gorilla hands, so this was an issue for me.

'Oh no, another Bud Select! For science, foe science"
mhajzsó says: Mar 21, 2011. 11:05 AM
I made my about an hour ago. I haven't tried it out yet.... Oh and i left out fiberglass.. i thought i won't need it, then i started reading the comments after i made it, and now i know that i msut have fiberglass in it... how can them out of each? Or should i try adding fiberglass trough the holes with a pin?
acurri says: Jul 25, 2010. 8:39 PM
Can you please tell me how to light it?
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