ultra light pot stand for alcohol stove

I already have an alcohol stove, but I needed a way to securely hold my cook pot at the correct height.

I searched the internet for pot-stand designs, but most shared the same flaws.

1. Most folding wire tripod designs allow the pot to easily slide off. This is because the base of the pot rests on narrow supports, with no barrier around the sides of the pot to prevent sliding and tipping. A smooth metal pot resting on a smooth metal tripod provides very little friction to hold the pot in place. This is especially troublesome for tall narrow pots, resting on even narrower pot stands
2. The designs that are more secure and stable usually only work for one pot of a certain size. Some of these are cylinder or cone shaped sheet metal designs that double as windscreens. They work great for one pot, but cannot usually be used for any other pots. This means the user needs to have a separate pot stand for each pot in their collection.

Like most ultralight backpackers, I have one pot that I use most, and a few other pots that I occasionally use when I'm with a larger group. I wanted one pot stand that would work with all of them, but that would also be fitted to my main pot in such a way that the pot would not slide around.

What I settled on was a triangular wire frame with small bumps that hold the pot in place. The bumps are spaced to loosely hug the base of my pot and prevent sliding. Larger and smaller pots can also be used as well, although they will not be quite as stable because the fit won't be perfect. Larger pots rest on the bumps like a typical tripod design, while smaller pots fit inside the bumps with a bit more room to slide around.

Step 1: Materials

This is a very inexpensive project if you can get your materials as cheaply as I did. Shop local for the best deal. You can buy all this online, but it' ridiculously overpriced and you pay a lot for shipping. If you have a local bike shop and a hardware store, you should be able to find all this locally.

Materials:

• 3 stainless steel bicycle spokes.
  • I used 16 gauge
  • (I paid 60 cents each for these at my local bike shop)
  • You might want to buy a few extras to practice bending. they're very cheap.
• 1 foot of 3/16 inch brass tubing
  • (about 1 dollar at the local hardware store)
• 1 medium sized steel binder clip (basically free)

Required Tools

• heavy duty pliers. two pairs preferable. one should be needle nosed.
• heavy duty wire cutters (your pliers may have built in wire cutters)
• Scissors or tin snips
•  

Highly recommended tools (mostly for making a bending jig, which is hugely helpful getting accurate bends.

• mini tubing cutter (I paid $3 at the local hardware store)
• electric drill and assorted drill bits
• flat wooden block (a 2x4 about a foot long works fine
• small wooden block (any thin flat wooden piece with a straight edge is fine. about 2"x4", at least 1/4" thick.)
• a few wood screws
• 1/8 inch (approximately) metal rod
  • for bending wire around. Drill bits work fine for this, and they fit conveniently in the hole you just drilled.

Comments

[OldShotgunYoungShooter]

Very nice and clear instructions!!

[SgtHawk]

Thanks very much Professor,
I see your point on the stability. I probably will build a couple now that you have given me the itch. I might just better end up with pot specific stands.
Best regards.

[SgtHawk]

Most excellent job, Professor,
I sometimes use a 2.25inch diameter aluminum can like a16ounce beer bottle which is very hard to keep stable. But I sometimes also use the good old kmart grease pot which has a large diameter. How do you think your design woud work if I made each secting about one inch wide but had about 9 sections so I could use 3, 6 ot 9 sections as required?
Also have you ever played around with windscreens? Have you ever played around with a relective insulated windscreen skirt that goes from below the flame to above the pot lid with only 3/8th inch clearance between the pot and the skirt?? Got any ideas on that?
Thanks for your time.
Regards,

[Professor-Mousedude]

I think using lots of small segments would be less stable. A triangle is a very stable shape, but a 9 sided shape, with hinges at each corner, would be hard to use. But the only way to find out would be to try.

I use a windscreen. Just thin aluminum, not insulated. It extends about half way up the pot. Any higher and it would interfere with the handles.
http://www.antigravitygear.com/anti-gravity-gear-classic-wind-screen-6.html

[kifany]

A very beautiful idea

[RayKenn]

Nice job on the instructions - Thanks