2015: Post 52 – Alcohol Consumption during Christmas

Lately I've had alcohol on my mind.. must be the Christmas Season...  Okay, I really don't drink much - I've had just one one drink so far this Christmas.  I've actually had alcohol stoves on my mind.

There are all sorts of alcohol stoves that you can purchase or make yourself.  I found a very simple one to make out of a pop can and decided to give it a try and picked up some Methyl Hydrate to use for fuel.

I read that these pop can stoves will boil a couple cups of water in five or six minutes, depending on variables like wind, air and water temperature, use of a wind guard, and of course, how well the stove is made.

Okay time to test my pop can stove creation...

I filled my camp stove kettle with tap water.  I think I probably had more like three cups of water but I did not measure it.  I lit the stove and within seconds there was a plume of mostly blue flame and I put my kettle on...

I turned off the light hoping the

flame could be seen better

I had started my stopwatch to time how long it took to boil.  Just before nine minutes was up I had a full rolling boil.  There is just something about watching water boil over an open flame.....

Unlike my MSR Whisperlite stove, an alcohol stove cannot be turned off... you simply let the excess fuel burn off , or snuff out the flame...

... and then pour the unused fuel back into the fuel container.  

I could have let the little bit of fuel left in the stove evaporate, but instead I simply burnt it off...

So there it is; a new stove to try out the next time I go camping... or maybe out in the shed when I want a cup of tea or coffee...

Oh, and I did make another shorter version of this pop can stove, just to experiment...

 ... but I did not bother to see how long it took to boil the water.  It really makes no difference to me if my water takes five minutes or ten minutes to boil... if I am camping I will just busy myself with sitting and taking in the view while I wait.  

I think I will likely get a 'proper' alcohol stove though.  I do have my eye on a titanium one that has me intrigued... 

I do hope you all had, and are having, a very Merry Christmas...