Don't forget the stone can absorb water so that can reduce the effective fuel capacity. Try baking it to remove any water content first, then soak it in fuel.

You'll want to place something metal under the stone so fuel cant leach into the ground surface. The other stoves tested have fire retardant material protected by the metal tin. That's why the pizza stone went out first.

All of our family members have a folding Esbit-style pocket stove tucked away in their gear. I am not a fan of hexamine for use by the youngest of our troops. We do use an assortment of liquid alcohol burners, and gravitate toward spill-proof designs in the event of a tip-over. In the early days, we purchased bulk gel alcohol fuel from a local hotel and restaurant supply shop and packaged it in recycled dish detergent containers. It was dispensed into assorted aluminum bottle caps (olive oil for example) and small tins for the youngest family member to practice with. We shied away from alcohol cubes because they are all imported and expensive when import fees and VAT are added on. They also have a very short shelf life even if stored in the refrigerator. Not a great emergency storage fuel. We appreciate the information in this video. This is something I wanted to try and your DIY is a perfect fit for what we do at family practice sessions. While watching, my thought was why do the bricks have to be round? I noticed that you also made up some rectangular "fuel sticks." When you start with a rectangular brick, why not simply cut squares or rectangles to fit the recess in the stove where a hexamine tablet would normally sit. I do agree that most folks will be happier, in the long term, with a liquid fuel burner, or if they live where other fuel types (alcohol cubes, genuine hexamine) are not going to break the bank, use them. Finally, a look around your channel to determine the content you offer, and two of your excellent videos have convinced me to whack that subscribe button after pressing the like button. We perceive that your preferences for gear and experimentation align well with what we do. We always appreciate learning from the "the other guy's" perspective. Watching from our "secret retirement" location on Luzon island, Bulacan province, Republic of the Philippine Islands.

@InfoZhedExplore

5 ай бұрын

Hi, thank you for the kind observant comments and I appreciate the sub. In answer to the question regarding shape. The bricks need to be soaked in alcohol so my thought was to shape them to fit in a container so that when fully saturated can simply be tipped out with minimal wastage. That way a person can avoid getting alcohol everywhere. So any shape and width is possible. From my experience it’s a lot of work and they are not very efficient but fun to tinker with 👍

The issue with the pizza stone stove here is that the original designer designed it as two small thinner pucks so that it was the ideal height for setting a pot directly on and balancing out all the factors for producing ideal heat output. Simply cutting a random thickness puck, and one at that, does not represent what the original does. What I'd like to see, is a tester that looks at the original kit, manufactures pucks that are exactly the same, and then does the test against the other alcohol stoves

@InfoZhedExplore

5 ай бұрын

Hi, I researched the original and they are the same depth as the ones I made plus or minus a couple of millimetres. The idea was not to exactly replicate the original. The intention of the video as with most of my creating projects is to inspire others to make their own. Thanks for the input 👍

This info beats the hell out of paying $40 for the pill bottle "stove" . I use a beef stew tin with holes for oxygen . Far better for placing pots on and a far better wind screen than what comes with the pill bottle stove. Thanks for your video and all the best.

@InfoZhedExplore

3 ай бұрын

Glad it was useful for you 👍

The reason is because in some places is ilegal to travel with alcohol stoves. And this 'pill' pass as a whisky stone ice cube. So you can trabel with it and make alcohol gel (for hand sanitizer) and that's not s problem. Unlike a traditional stove.

I made a bigger size for my ghille kettle two good size ones work really well

@InfoZhedExplore

6 ай бұрын

Maybe, I should go large 👍

Burn time is irrelevant. Only boil time or efficiency (how little alcohol required to boil)

If you put water in your cup it will sit on top of your big pill and the other alcohol stoves just fine. (Oh... if you put the big pill into the bottle with alcohol in your pack you will have it all charged up ready to cook when you get to camp) Doing an alcohol stove cook test with no pot of water on top delivers no useful data. Any alcohol stove must be tested with a pot of water on top (with stand, if necessary, ) to discover the time it takes to heat up water.

@InfoZhedExplore

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the suggestion 👍

Great... Thanks for spending the time, I sent off for a brick 25 x 230 x 114, still not mucked about with it yet. But one of your commenttators ( maximussmith, thank you ) suggested using it with a Ghillie, I have the M Kettle so will cut an annulus with outer tailored slope sides and large hole in the middle to keep the flame away from the chimney void and have it directed to the inner skin. Could prove a benefit, but no more than a ring of carbon felt, which will be easier. Seems to me the major disadvantage of Vermiculite is cost and presoak time. Unabsorbed fuel in a not quite leakproof container. With fire felt, just unscrew burner, undo fuel bottle, decant required amount onto felt (spill proof burner,) add a light. I shall continue to tinker. Thanks again

@InfoZhedExplore

6 ай бұрын

Carbon felt would definitely be easier 👍

Each stone is 5/8" tall and 1-5/8" diameter, Flipping the stone, I guess to see if it was still burning, probably reduced its burn time. You can see the wetness under it. You can't see the flame with the stone. Was it mostly blue, mostly yellow? Maybe trying burning it in the dark? Also, the main technical is to place the cup, pot on the stones, either 2 stacked, of 2 side by side for a bigger pan. This removes the huge top burning surface as the container sits on it, the flame supplied by the sides of the stones. This would change the total burn time? How effective? Also, boiling 8 or 12 ounces of water would be more useful information. Would be nice to know if more, less sooting.

There is something wrong with your test. All the stoves were designed for efficiency when the pots are on top of all of them. Your DIY pbss and the trangia must have their own pots right on top of each one. Likewise, the Kojin style stove and the Carbon felt wick stove must have the pots on top of each one at a height best designed for each.

I believe each disc holds a gram of fuel, and just under 2 inches in diameter. And yes it has to be placed on some flat ground disc, ground cover, as I recall they explicitly say touching the ground will suck out the fuel. Also they claim a slower burn placing 2 disc side by side by side, rather than stacking 2 on top of each other. Exactly where do you get this material for the disc?

@InfoZhedExplore

Ай бұрын

Material used is from pizza oven bricks, they are available widely Amazon/EBay etc. Thamks for the useful information 👍

Hold on a minute, it was said there is no benefit ? Can you cook on top of the other stoves directly without it snuffing out? Or do you need a pot stand?

Assume we were not able to find the exact pizza stone you bought, what would be the material name to look for

@InfoZhedExplore

Ай бұрын

Vermiculite Fire Bricks. They are for pizza ovens. To be honest using this material is fun to experiment with but not a viable option compared to other alcohol stoves 👍

@woah-dude

Ай бұрын

@@InfoZhedExplore thanks a lot!

How about a combination . vermiculite puck in a screw top tin ?

@InfoZhedExplore

6 ай бұрын

Interesting idea. Thanks for sharing 👍

An interesting video but sorry to put a dampener on your efforts as this test is so inaccurate that the information it yields is all but useless. I here outline some information which I believe may be more helpful. It is all based on my own extensive testing. 1. Puck size: The guy who came up with this idea must have done some exhaustive testing (as have I !), because his pucks are just about as good as you could make them.Two thinner pucks absorb the fuel quicker than one larger one and will also hold more fuel due to the absorptive nature of the stones. Two 40mm diam. X 15mm deep pucks (2 x 15g dry wt.) will hold approx 19g (or 24mls) of fuel total. 2. When using these stoves It is important that the water container sits directly on top of the stones to achieve max. performance. This is because the main heat from the stones is transferred to the pot and water by conduction. If the pot does not touch the hot stones the only heat it receives is by means of less efficient convection. A lot of heat is lost to the atmosphere. 3. If you use the stones this way you will match the advertised performance. 4. For maximum efficiency outdoors, a windshield, at least tall enough to protect the burning stones (50mm), should be used. In breezy conditions a windshield tall enough to protect the cooling wind from reaching the pot should be used. 5. It is also beneficial to stand the stones on a metal ring or disc which has in itself minimum contact with the ground or other supporting surface. The stones get so hot that any normal supporting surface is likely to be damaged or even burned. Further note: two stones is the most efficient setup for boiling water. One stone will take longer and more than two stones will likely waste fuel. The more stones used will generate more heat and hence produce a quicker boil. Using more stones does not extend the burn time to much degree but only increases the amount of heat produced. The laws of physics dictate that all things being equal a set wt/volume of fuel will only produce the same amount of heat irrespective of the type of stove used. The difference between the stoves is in the way that the stoves utilise the heat produced.

There is something wrong with your test. All the stoves were designed for efficiency when the pots are on top of all of them. Your DIY pbss must have the pot right on top of it. Likewise, the Kojin style stove, the Carbon felt wick stove, and the trangia must have their pots on top of each one at a height best designed for each.

@InfoZhedExplore

5 ай бұрын

Thank you for your input.