Pellet Tin Stove

[Adam Savage]

My latest alcohol stove construction. What do you think, any good?

The parts:
1 x .22 pellet tin
1 x Brass bayonet lamp fitting
1 x Tea light holder (steel)
1 x Tuna tin (not needed, but may help contain heat for greater efficiency)

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011665.jpg

As you can see, the lamp holder has slots already, so saves cutting any.

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011669.jpg

Hole cut to accept lamp holder, in pellet tin and tea light holder...

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011666.jpg

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011667.jpg

Tea light holder and pellet tin mounted on lamp holder...

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011670.jpg

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011671.jpg

Retaining ring screwed onto lamp holder, to secure...

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011673.jpg

Tin fastened back together...

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011674.jpg

Tuna tin pierced with old fashion tin opener and "fins" removed...

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011668.jpg

The whole lot fitted together...

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/19052011675.jpg

Hoping the tuna tin mod will help contain the heat a little to save fuel. The tea light holder supports the pot/cup, but the tuna tin offers a little extra topple resistance if needed. Will drill the holes tonight and test her out tomorrow.

[Martin]

I'm reserving judgement till I've seen the test drive. I can't work out how this works. :(

Martin

[Adam Savage]

Well drilled the holes and gave it a quick shake down. The tuna can heat retainer took too much heat from the stove to allow for priming, but without, it worked great. Will seal the two halves of the pellet tin to increase internal pressure, then make a short video tomorrow when I get a moment.

[paul standley]

Loving this Adam, know exactly where you're going with it. I've come to the conclusion that you think like me with stoves. (not sure which one of us should be the more worried really)

Expecting it to work a treat buddy.

Hang onto the tuna can, i've got one just like that (church key holes as well...!) and I'll give you another idea for it.

I'm on a 'no pressure' stove crusade this week... watch this space for a new thread on trash can tinnies...!

Paul.

[Adam Savage]

I'll keep it handy Paul. A complete tuna can works great as a snuff when you have meths left over, I found. Will be looking out for that thread when it lands mate.

[bigzee]

There's something alluring about a freshly washed-out tuna tin that says "use me, use me -look how clean and shiny I am!"

[Adam Savage]

There's something alluring about a freshly washed-out tuna tin that says "use me, use me -look how clean and shiny I am!"

LOL I see that in all cans...well...all metal containers or canisters now too haha.

[Adam Savage]

Well...initial results are pretty poor really. 3m 31s to bloom, 30s from bloom to fully primed, 16m 10s from prime to boil, for 1L of the wet stuff.

Battery on mobile died as I was recording, so missed the last 15 minutes of the event.

The stove used 2 oz of fuel to boil 1 litre, so not an enormous amount, just took too long.

The video I did get will be on my youtube channel shortly and I will post it here when it's done for anyone wanting to see it.

[Adam Savage]

Here we go lol, try not to laugh


http://youtu.be/HYWXNk_x1uw

[paul standley]

Hi Adam, watched the vid. I like the idea of the vertical jets and once going, they give a good flame ring so for what it's worth, here's a few observations...which I'm pretty sure you'd have already though of since the test burn.

Looks like the stove is running cold and needs a kick-start...

If you have any, put a little bit of fibre glass loft insulation in the stove by pushing down the centre hole & out to the sides of the tin. This will help to soak up the meths and increases the surface area of the fuel (coats the fibres) which in turn makes it easier to vapourise at a slightly lower tempurature than normal liquid fuel.

difficult to tell form the vid as I think it's still being processed by youtube so current version is still grainy but if the pellet tin is sat in a pie tray/dish, then take it out of that and place on a square of cooking foil just slightly turned up on the edges a couple of mil. Use that as the external priming tray and put 0.5 ounce of meths on the cooking foil and light that to prime and the fuel inside the stove should ignite as the stove walls heat up from the outside.

Se how it goes...

Paul

[Adam Savage]

The stove is just sat on a chipboard wardrobe door, thought about the priming plate, might have a go with that next. The video seems to have gotten grainy as it was converted from mp4 to avi for some reason. Will dig about in my bits box for some glass fibre, I have some from a body repair kit somewhere.

Thanks for the input Paul, this stove really needs advice to get it to work acceptably lol.

Adam

[Adam Savage]

Oh that bit that looks like a pie tin is the aluminium foil tape around the tin, to seal the lid properly (hoping it would help pressure build up).

[paul standley]

ahh.. yes i can see it's aluminim tape now.

I think problem with the stove as much as anything is the width to height ratios.

Center hole is fairly small diameter but center funnel is tall by comparison and mainly brass so it's possibly not getting much oxygen and it's producing a small flame thats trying to pump heat into the brass as a means to get heat into the liquid fuel to vapourise it.

The stove height to width ratio could also be stopping heat from the center getting to the outside walls so inhibiting vapourisation.

Hence, external priming might be the answer. If not, then we can have another think :-)

One more idea... create a small gap between pot support and pot, maybe 2/3 mm and once running, this will allow possible fine flame ring from top also. a bit of "v" shaped 6" nail laid on it's side should do it as a quick test. Depends on how purist you want to be with the pressurised jet stove principle vs. wanting to boil water...!

[Adam Savage]

I was thinking the same thing with the physical dimensions of the tin, as well as the materials utilised in it's construction. Have a narrower, taller, pellet tin that I may try a Mk2 version with, and replacing the brass lamp holder, with an ali tube of some kind.

As for the burner/pot gap, I'm not usually a fan of this method, but the thought did cross my mind. More testing is on the cards for this fun filled weekend haha.

[paul standley]

Well good luck with mk2.

I've also been on a quest for top jet pressurised stove with integral pot stand and what I was thinking was to take a poundland alu drinks bottle like you already used for your white box clone and to use the top swept curve top section with holes in the swept curve neck pointing upwards, stuff a bit of glass insulation inside and somehow force onto a bottom section so the stove looks like a pottery kiln shape. don't know diameters cus haven't got around to getting hands-on with it yet but maybe a tin can as a base if the interference fit of top & bottom drink bottles is too great.

Would probably need external priming and a collar on the neck top to widen the pot support... or cut a bit off the neck lower down.

Ahhh.. you've got me started now, where's the garage keys...!

[Adam Savage]

haha, I will be looking forward to seeing that. Think I have a mental image of what you wish to achieve. The small hammerite tins are a great tolerance fit for the poundland bottles. Maybe that could help in your project.

http://i1024.photobucket.com/albums/y304/crazysaint22/projects%20and%20equipment/07052011638.jpg

[bigzee]

Here's an idea for another project: setting up a website called "recycledstovecraft.co.uk" ???

[Adam Savage]

Here's an idea for another project: setting up a website called "recycledstovecraft.co.uk" ???

I think Paul would have to be one of the founders, with his stove history. LOL
Good idea though, might do it when i get some free time.

[paul standley]

I think Paul would have to be one of the founders, with his stove history. LOL
Good idea though, might do it when i get some free time.

I think we need a site called "recycledstovecraftsoftladstherapycamp.co.uk"

[Adam Savage]

I think we need a site called "recycledstovecraftsoftladstherapycamp.co.uk"

LOL sounds more like our kind of site