Camp stove

I made a new stove last night. Actually, I made two, but the first one had a pretty big hole in the side and I didn't think I would be able to salvage it. The second one worked! I made what is known in backpacking jargon as a penny stove. It's made from two aluminum drink cans. I followed the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qj7PIhjPLxA&feature=related. This is only part one of a two-part piece. There are TONS of ways to make these little portable stoves, this is just the one that seemed easiest for me to do with the materials that I had on hand. I got a good clean burn yesterday, and this morning I decided to take it to the next level and try to heat some water on it. Success! I didn't get a boil, but I also had to physically hold the pot above the flames, and my arm kept getting tired, so I had to put it down a few times. I think it would have come to a boil if I'd had a pot stand. Not wanting to waste a pot of steaming hot water, I made myself some hot chocolate :) I am going to have to make a few modifications. I need a pot stand, as I said, and I need a priming pan. A priming pan is a small bit of metal that sits under the stove onto which you pour a little fuel to help get the stove started. The video I watched seems to suggest a soup can to function as a windscreen/pot stand, but it seems a little too tall. I'm going to try and use a tuna can because I feel like it would serve both as a pot stand and a priming pan. It is shallow enough to keep the pan close to the flame without putting it out, and wide enough to accommodate all the parts of my mess kit without them tipping over.

I am going to try to bang out another stove today, but this time I am going to use this tutorial: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ec_12nWU4XU&feature=related. The advantages of this model: not pot stand or priming pan required. Disadvantages: according to the creator, once the pot is on the stove, the flames direct up the sides and are less efficient for heating. I'm going to try both and see what I get.

Also, I have been using HEET, which is methyl alcohol. You can find it in the automotive section of stores. The only reason I am using HEET is because, for some reason, we had three bottles of it in the laundry room. It's only methyl alcohol, and many hikers use it. I'm not sure how the cost compares to denatured alcohol, which is the other common alcohol fuel. I'm just using it because it's here.