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[at-l] Hikenet's hexamine furnance..

At 10:28 AM -0400 6/26/98, Nicole Markee wrote:
>My boyfriend, ever the tinkerer, is tired of listening to me going on and
>on about stoves.  (Yes, I do this at home too.)  He's ready to build me
>one, I think.
>
>Has anyone here made a carbide stove?  He quite familiar with things that
>burn, having been naughty and curious 12 year old at some point in the past.
>
>He's not sure if carbide will be bad for hiking in some way (burns too hot,
>bad in cold temps, whatever), so I said I'd ask here.
>
>-Nicole
>


Carbide can be dangerous. If somehow it gets in touch with water it can
cause a fire and will leave a caustic residue.

Calcium Carbide + Water --->  Calcium Hydroxide (Quicklime) and Acetylene.
The reaction
is so hot, the acetylene goes on fire.

I use Hexamine Tabs and a thermal convective current to heat up a bowl of water
in 3 minutes.

Hikenet Hexamine Furnance Design:

                            vent hole
                       -------===-------   Aluminum foil & Alumimum sheet cover
                        \              /
                         \            /========= handle
                          \          /
            V shape bowl   \        /
                          | -------- |   http://members.aol.com/hikenet
                          |          |
                          |          |
      Dryer Aluminum ---> |          |
      Vent Duct           |          |
                        Y |   ====   | Y   ====  are the hexamine tablets (
qty 2 )
                        Y |  XXXXXX  | Y   XXXX is an upside down strainer
                        Y |  XXXXXX  | Y
                        YYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY   YYY = Bowl with holes on top and
bottom
                                                 sides


I put that set-up in a bowl that has holes to allow air in/out but also
serves as
a wind screen and holder to make a little hot water from "above" flame.



The strainer allows the hexamine pellet to burn on all sides
simultaneously. This put a large heat output directed at the bowl.

There are holes along the top of the alumimum vent and /\ shaped vents cut
along bottom. This allows a strong convective current through the duct and
acts like a turbo charged booster or a controlled blowtorch.


Kathy, my wife, gave me an old strainer from the kitchen and I cut off the
handle,
the duct was leftover and the Bowl I put it in has the holes about 3/8 inch
up from bottom and I use that "hot water" to clean off the cooking pot's
bottom.

Cheap, and fast. Setup time is less than 30 seconds with boiling hot water
in total
time of 4 minutes. Takedown time is 15 seconds and the duct opens and I just
wrap it over the bowl. Zip, zip... hot water in a flash. No nozzle to clean,
no heavy cylinder to carry. Works in freezing weather.


Tom "Bear Bells" Caggiano





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