Mike Brawley Exploring the World!

Alcohol Stoves

Most people into hiking and backpacking only really know about white gas stoves and canister stoves as these are the two most popular types of stoves that you can purchase in almost any outdoor store.  I would like to broaden your horizons a little as there are multiple stove types you may or may not have known about. Solid fuel stoves, wood stoves,  and alcohol stoves to name a few.  There are a few more although if you haven't herd of them already its most likely not something your looking for. For this post purpose I will be talking about alcohol stoves.

Alcohol stoves come in many forms and a majority of them are homemade. They are simple usually with no moving parts. Some are so simple you can make them with a pocket knife and an old soda can. They tend to cook slower and use more fuel then your typical canister or white gas stove.  Alcohol stoves are the stove of choice for long distance backpackers and thu-hikers.   The advantages to an alcohol stove are lightweight, simplicity, reliable, quiet, odorless, availability of fuel, no maintenance, safety, easily transportable fuel, low cost, eco friendly, and you can make them yourself. They also have some disadvantages including reduced output, invisible flame, cold sensitive, and there is no temperature controls. Even if you do not plan on using an alcohol stove as your main back-country stove it may come in useful knowing how to build one in case you find yourself on a trip with a broken stove or no stove at all.

There are thousands of designs for an alcohol stove as you can very the design slightly to fit your particular application. The main designs are Open Flame, Chimney (aka Open Vented and Updraft Stoves), Low Pressure Side Burner, Open Jet, Hybrid Side Burner, and Pressurized Jet. Most alcohol stoves are built off these main design concepts although overall design, sizes, and jet diameter all can very greatly.

The majority of backpackers only need to boil water to make their dinner. Especially when you are new to staying over night most likely you are going to bring freeze dried dinners as learning to cook in the backcountry your first few trips may be a little over whelming. This is the main reason I wanted to write about alcohol stoves. Alcohol stoves are a great way to start taking overnight trips without spending $30-$60 on a stove that you may only use 2-3 times a year.

Now that you have a little history on alcohol stoves I want to talk about two in particular that I think would fit almost anyone's needs.  A couple things I look for when looking for an alcohol stove. No moving parts, after all moving parts means there is something to break. I like an alcohol stove that I can set a pot right on top. The last thing you want is to hike 5 miles back in somewhere to find out you forgot your pot stand. Now time to tell you about two of my favorite alcohol stoves.

Super Cat Stove

Super Cat

The "Super Cat" can very from stove to stove as its a home made stove. This stove is a low pressure side burner that is very easy to make. The stove gets its name from what you make the stove out of a 3oz can of cat food.  This stove is a great solo stove or an additional stove to carry if you would like to take along a second stove for boiling water. This stove is very simple to make and the only tool you need is a quality hole punch that you can purchase form any office supply stove.

White Box Stove

White Box Stove

The white box stove can be purchased or made at home. It is made out of an aluminum Budweiser bottle. This stove is a hybrid side burner stove and is suitable for parties up to 3 people. The stove holds 3oz of fuel and can boil up to 8 cups of water at a time.  I don't recommend making this stove as the tools needed and glue to make this stove would cost more then purchasing one. Whiteboxstoves.com does an excellent job making these stoves with no glue as they machine roll the top for an air tight seal and they sell them for $20.