Anyone EDC A Stove?

wait, you are drinking the fuel? what are you using? the camping/cleaning alcohol from the supermarket does not smell like I want to drink it even heavily diluted.

 

thanks for clarifying. so the fuel becomes multipurpose and won't smell as bad when you spill some. good idea. I don't drink much, but the other uses are great. I usually carry about 50ml fuel. In what do you carry it? I found a small plastic bottle that contained nail polish remover lately that holds 50ml. but for food-grade fuel I'd like to use a fresh one that is suitable for foodstuff. before I used waterproof containers for analog film which was a little less, butn just enough for two 400ml cups if memory serves me right. I try to not take more than I need to boil a liter of water.

edit: ok, just saw that you were OP and posted pictures of your fuel-flask. makes sense to take some more if you have other uses for it.

looking for something that just slide-fits into a cooker made of a red bull style soda-can. I use a 2-piece DIY model that is designed fully open and and starts really fast. after igniting, you just put your cup directly on the opening and then have the jet holes on the sides. I prefer those over the classic DIY ones with the coin/bottle cap, because they are easily made from any can with just a knife and without a drill or awl and need no potstand and primer-fire and thus boot up incredibly fast. and you can pour the leftover fuel back into the container. huge plus.

 

if anyone is interested in highly efficient, beautiful and clever designed DIY stoves, check out these youtube channels from two japanese geniuses.

https://www.youtube.com/user/LittleBitWorks/featured
https://www.youtube.com/user/tetkoba/featured

they made a ton of different ingenious designs that will make you drop your jaw.

one of the most simple and lightest designs must be this one, the Groove Stove:



I use a variation that is pretty solid, where you use the upper ring of the can as well. but it can't get lighter and easier than this. genius.

forget about the old penny stove. these guys revolutionized lightweight stoves.

I am fascinated by the range of their designs. from ultra simple zen-style minimalist to high-powered works of engineering art, like the rocket and tornado variations. and they keep pressing the boundaries. genius.

I cannot imagine anymore lugging an expensive Trangia kit around when hiking. this is all you ever need. you dont even need to carry the stove. just carry a drink and make it if you need it in less than 10 minutes. it costs nothing and is fun to make. a good example of EDC items that don't have to be expensive at all but reached perfection.

 

the other links point to the youtube channels. just click some videos and watch in awe.
check the tornado type stoves if you want a clean flame that swirls and centers to the middle.
but you will need a pot stand for those:



you want to use the smallest diameter can you can find, so not too much heat does get lost. but you actually might want to lose some heat (see below why). beer cans are good for the long burning classic two wall types with spongy material to soak up the fuel to heat large pots with a potstand. if you want lightweight stoves to cook a cup of water or a small(!) cup/pan, take slim cans like redbull (I hate that stuff) or the slimmest 330ml cans you find in a supermarket. I saw a video where they make a groove stove with aluminium from a very large teacandle

This is Crucial: don't use too large diameters of pans or pots on potstand-less cookers, if you dont have a pressure release. if you have no idea what this is, better read some about it first. if the fuel in the main chamber boils because the device gets too hot, it will build up pressure just like boiling water and will spill just like that, but in contrary to water it will obviously burn while doing so. and it will be obviously your fault if you did not take precautions while testing to prevent that. this is adressed by the people who developed these things. they are experimenting and developing them. so if you like to fiddle around, take precautions. be safe. place everything in fireproof surroundings while testing these things. I did not invent these things, I use them on my own risk with items like shown in the videos, but I tried different cooking vessels and did find out that a big pan needs another type of cooker and a pot stand. these things are designed for minimalist cooking in small vessels, not to cook a family meal in a 5 litre pot without a potstand. so do not try this at home and be safe everyone. and we all know that playin with fire is dangerous, ok? so have an responsible adult around you.


since you know this now, you might also want to have look at the "zero stove" and "crumple stove"- total reduction.

 

because the heat does not get fully trapped under them, so the cooker wont get as hot. ofcourse you want the as much heat as possible under your pot and use a windshield, too, but some has to leave or any alcohol stove with start boiling, building up pressure and spill if there is no pressure release.

I would not recommend using pots larger than the double of the stove diameter with those small collumn stoves. but this is plenty enough for your average one-person pot/cup or a small pan. bigger vessels are hard to balance on these tiny stoves anyway, so with a little common sense you should be safe.

just checked my red-bull-style-can groove stove build like in the video above. this is the lightest thing I have, but I saw that a full 1l steel pot is too heavy for it to stand safe. it is perfect for a 0.5 litre cup or a small bialetti, though (just cooked two espressi on it and will have the third now).

another groove stove I made from a beer can (thicker aluminium and slightly larger diameter), that also uses the top ring of the can is a lot sturdier and supports my cast iron 15cm diameter pan and said 1l pot easily. Used that excessively for camping. I recommend using the designs that use the top ring as well, as the stove will get a lot more solid.



I have even seen a Trangia setup spilling burning fuel once when someone fully covered the top opening with a normal kitchen pan and used a lot of fuel. no common sense involved here. guy wanted to cook for a long time so filled up the cooker to the brim and then blocked the heat inside with an item not intended to be used with the trangia.

 

Esbit folding pocket stove. Small, doesn't leak anything, and always ready for a cup of instant coffee, some tea, broth, or grits. I have other types of stoves but just love the simple little stove not much larger than a altoid tin!

 

As EDC, no. There is a stove in my car kit, and I have a 'quick picnic kit' that also has a stove in it.

The survival part of my hiking bag has some solid fuel tabs, water/windproof matches, and some heavy duty foil. I can form a working cup from most of the foil, and a fuel tab holder out of a little of it. I could drive sticks or arrange thicker sticks or stones to support the makeshift pot. More usefully, the fuel tabs make great fire starters for more functional fires.

 

I EDC an Emberlit TI, packs small and light while providing nice size platform that can support cast iron if need be. I have EDC’d alcohol stoves but think the Emberlit is perfect for my use and carry style.