[at-l] Alcohol stove making at the Ruck?

[lbooher at pure.net (Leslie Booher)]

This reminds me so much of the "buddy burners" that we made in PE in high school.  After several of us had set fire to the school yard using them, though, the teacher was fired.  Too bad.  Anyway, it was basically two cans, a big one and a small one.  The big one had breathing holes cut out of the sides near the end that was closed.  There was an opening cut up from the open end, too.  I'm just remembering this, so don't quote me on this.  The smaller can, and it may have been a tuna can, but I don't think so, was cut down most of the way around, but there was a strip left to bend down into a handle.  We filled the smaller can with torn up milk carton pieces---milk cartons being made of waxed cardboard back then---lit it, then flipped the big can over it.  There may have been a third can to make the pot, which sat on the closed end of the big can.  I've often thought that this could be put to use as backpacking stove by burning wood, but there are so many nifty stoves out there now that why bother?  The grandfather of some of my friends used to use one of these many years ago to make coffee on the side of the road when he was traveling.

Tin Man, does putting the pot directly on the tin can stove cut down any on the efficiency of the heat?  It was my understanding that a space of 1" to 1?" between the top of the can and the bottom of the pot made for the most efficient heating.  It was an oxygen thing, I think.  Jim?  You got any input here?

anklebear

"You don't have to know anything about the outdoors to hike the A.T.  It's sort of idiot proof."   Emiko Fergusson