DIY stove choice for summer NZ trip

[andrewa]

I need some help choosing a DIY/simple style stove for NZ next Jan over a 10 day trip.

Main use will be boiling water for breakfast coffee. Might possibly get used for cooking a noodle dinner if it's raining, and we don't catch any fish (about 2% chance of this--- our primary purpose of the trip is fishing, and over 7-8yrs we have had a good catch rate, to the extent that we now only take 2 pkts of 2 min noodles for a 10 day trip, living on trout the rest of the time)

Previously used Kovea gas stove with one (lasts ~7-8 days), and "a bit" 250g cylinders (we have normally carried 2 of these, "in case", but I'd like to reduce weight).

Made a pepsi can stove today, and tested it with a Snowpeak 600ml mug. 25mls of metho took 8 mins to boil 500mls water, with Ikea cutlery holder windshield . That's about 300mls metho for 10 days, with the potential to use wood as well in the Ikea thingy. There is normally heaps of firewood available. We would average 2-3 days of rain per trip. I'm thinking it just isn't worth carrying the Kovea for this sort of trip

Also have a "preferred" Evernew 1400ml flat bottom billy (~6" diameter). Wondering whether this may be better , perhaps with a "supercat" stove, and a cut down Ikea thingy as windshield/potential wood stove.

Aiming for everything to fit inside itself. The Snowpeak 600ml with closed cell foam pot warmer fits nicely inside the Ikea thingy, with a windsheild as well.

If the Ikea thingy could be usefully cut down to fit inside the lower Evernew billy, and still provide a windshield/wood stove base,support for metho stove - pepsi or supercat, I'd probably rather take the larger billy.

?any thoughts??

AA

[corvus]

AA,
At the risk of appearing thick how do you cook all of those Trout you catch and how do you vary it ?
Trout every day for 10 days Breakfast Lunch and Dinner would be as nice to me as the equivelent of Deb ,Surprises Peas and 2Min Noodles that some take on the OLT IMHO
corvus

[andrewa]

We BBQ trout each night, with a variety of herbs and spices - eg Kafir lime and wasabi ; Moroccan spice mix; Mixed herbs; Cajun spices..... (Are you forgetting my post about the minimalist BBQ grill made from coat hanger wire and an old aluminium ski stock???....I was quite proud of that post).

Lunch is biccies and cheese, capsicum, cucumber, salami, and chile mango chutney. No fish, unless we have sushi.

Breakfast is muesli and coffee. Again no fish.

Trout every day for dinner gives you the *&^%$#@! after 4-5 days (from the oil in the fish), but a 4-5 lb trout BBQd at night is a pretty good meal! (nothing like Deb, Surprise Peas and whatever).

Back to what I want to know. How lightest to heat my coffee???

AA

[corvus]

c

[andrewa]

Thanks, Corvus....................as useful as a 9kg gas cylinder in a backpack!

I thought you were opinionated about stoves..............

AA

[ninjapuppet]

The lightest all in one system would be a caldera keg. http://www.traildesigns.com/stoves/caldera-keg-systems

I hear these large beer cans are becomming rare even in the US, but these guys still got plenty.
During octoberfest I bought a 1L beer can but the shape was all weired and not clyindrical inside like these kegs, so i adbanded the idea of making one myself.

Theres the keg Fosters, and a keg Heineken with subtle differences. I went with the F and my weights are:

Green fosters can 24
fosters lid 7
caddy bottom 41
caddy top 47
caldera cone 38
cozy 7
12-10 stove 15

so 179g all up.

[ninjapuppet]

having said that, I dont use the caldera keg, because you cant cook inside it. its only for boiling water, so I usually end up taking the Mountain Laurel designs titanium pot+caldera set

http://www.mountainlaureldesigns.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=113


its about 159g with pot, lid, cone and stove. This doesnt require a caddy like the keg, so you have to take a separate bowl / plates if you dont want to eat out of the pot.

I have replaced the 10-12 stove and replaced it with a starylite stove, because the standard caldera stove requires 2 tent stakes to prop up the pot. this little one has built in pot stands so you dont have to fiddle with tent stakes.
http://www.woodgaz-stove.com/starlyte-stove.php

[corvus]

Back to what I want to know. How lightest to heat my coffee???

AA

Why not use your coathanger grill as an UL heat source to boil your billy as you will be using a wood fire to cook your Trout every night, cant get any DIY lighter than that
corvus

[Moondog55]

Given your needs I would opt for the simplest HOBO stove assuming the billy fits inside and pick-up the A10 empty tin when you get over there.

[andrewa]

Moondog,

What is an "A10 empty tin"????

A

[Moondog55]

Wow I thought every-one new the can sizes.
Sorry
An A10 is nominally the largest tin size available and holds 3120millilitres, used to hold catering quantities of tomatoes baked beans and such like
An A-10 is 180mm tall and 158mm in diameter

I use them as I have a 2+ litre billy that fits neatly inside and the tin both contains the fire and acts as a windsheild.
if I could get the hang of posting pictures here I'd post a photo.

Using dry wood I can usually get a billy boiling in about the same time as using my MSG X-GK. all you need is a top-end spanner to cut the air holes an old knife to cut the feed hole and a nail to punch the little holes to put the tent pegs through and a couple of steel tent pegs to hold the billy above the flames and if you cut the wood feed hole big enough you use a cat stove inside it if wood isn't available or too wet to burn

[Moondog55]

OK I found the button

HOBO stove with 2 litre billy

IMG_3098.JPG (259.6 KiB) Viewed 86746 times

[andrewa]

Ahhhh! That's what an A10 is! got it.

I'm going to have a fiddle with the Ikea cutlery holder, and the many empty cat food cans we have at home.

A

[Moondog55]

If you have a bigger billy I have discovered that an old (Empty) paint tin makes a good one for a 3 litre billy and comes complete with a handy carry handle. I like these as I can get all of my brew-up gear inside as well, i use a big cup and my teas and sugar fit inside the cup a spoon and extra aluminium foil and extra tent pegs fit between the tin and the billy.
I often replace the rigid handle with a loop of lighter stainless steel wire too and always carry spondonicles

[mattmacman]

Bit late now, but a tuna can with some holes drilled in the side works well, just plonk the pot on top taking care of the pot stand problem and creating the pressure necessary for the stove to function well.

[andrewa]

Tried the tuna can, and found that my version needed the stove a little above it to get the flames to shoot out properly. The most efficient of mine was a coke can stove. Anyway, it worked beautifully with the ikea cutlery holder and windshield. Used approx 20 mls metho to boil 500mls water. Wouldn't go back to commercial stove for that sort of trip.
A