Cooker, meths or petrol.

[AIRWOLF]

Spurred on by Xander's thread cheep and light camping stove I had a go at the 'coke can' cooker.

using methelated spirits.

Had to pre-heat base well before it would light, but burned cleanly.

Heated water ok.


Using unleaded petrol

Lit easier than meths, but burned very sooty.

In no time the pan was black with soot, and had soot in the water.

I hid the pan in the garage before the wife saw it.

I think holes need to be smaller to use petrol (I'm an optimist)

[fatowl]

I think these "coke can" burners are meant to burn alcohol aren't they? It's meant to burn cleaner than petrol.

[The Taffia]

If you put a small amount of water with the meths it will prevent the build up of soot.

[Zenarchy]

I think holes need to be smaller to use petrol (I'm an optimist)

I think you need to be very careful burning petrol as it can give off nasty emissions and deposits that can pollute the food (not to mention what it'll be doing to your lungs etc) if it isn't burned properly under high pressure (some people seem to think it's still an issue for those proper petrol stoves when they're used with unleaded that I think operate under much higher pressure - though other people swear by them ofcourse).

I'd guess a little can stove like this wouldn't be suitable for burning petrol. I know the trangia's aren't (which are more or less what this is) and are meant to burn meths, or ethanol/alcohol. When you've got an explosive gas like petrol vapor in a flimsy can like that, I'd be worried there might be a risk of explosion as well. Not completely sure if that's the case, but I'd be careful as if the venting and pressure isn't exactly right (and maybe that would be effected by environmental conditions as well), then you could perhaps end up cooking over what's essentially a petrol bomb. I wouldn't try reducing the size of those holes until you've done a bit more research (or burning petrol at all in it myself).

[Zenarchy]

skip forward to about 3 minutes!

[AIRWOLF]

Yes, meth's is the way to go if your going to actually use this stove to cook on, but that means carrying a bottle of meths , so it's just as easy to carry a small bottle of gas and a mini gas stove.

But we carry a big tank of petrol with us anyway, so this would be the most convenient fuel to use .

As for the dangers of breathing petrol emissions, I think a little stove used occasionally in the middle of a field is not such a big risk

As for the danger of explosions !! , c'mon guy's where's your spirit of adventure

Wait till Hudders and Squirrel get going with it

Just don't pitch your tent near them at the national

[Zenarchy]

As for the dangers of breathing petrol emissions, I think a little stove used occasionally in the middle of a field is not such a big risk

I wouldn't confuse the emissions you might get from that with the sorts of emissions you'd get from a car or bike (or a specially designed petrol stove). As far as I know, there'll be a lot more of them (as well as residues that might pollute your food) as it's free burning and not under such compression to ensure the fuel is more fully used.

Unleaded petrol has some nasty chemicals in it as far as I know, that you wouldn't want to breathing for too long, or perhaps worse, eating/drinking if what you're cooking becomes polluted.

As for the danger of explosions !! , c'mon guy's where's your spirit of adventure

Rather you than me. Petrol doesn't so much explode (like gunpowder), but burn very quickly as shown on that clip. If the can does blow up you might find yourself covered in flaming liquid rather than just charred eyebrows and a shocked look. I'm not sure if there'd be enough petrol in one of those to be a problem really, but I'd be careful.

[HUDDERS]

How about an industrail one, 5gal drum

INSTEAD OF YOUR POXY COKE CAN

[AIRWOLF]

How about an industrail one, 5gal drum

INSTEAD OF YOUR POXY COKE CAN

Typical , Zen's giving us all some informed advice for our safety and well being, and all you can do is come up with silly childish ideas !!
































p.s.
Have you got some big cans ?

[HUDDERS]

You just got to have a sense of adventure with these little projects and think of the bigger picture