I'm always trying to improve on gear. Heineken cans being a rare item and being talked about on many forums made me think on how the Fosters can could be improved upon. After many trial and error episodes I managed to perfect a methode of adding ridge lines to the can. Ridges like corrugations add strength. We see the ridges in our food cans at the grocery stores. That's what gave me the idea to put them on the Fosters can. I put the ridges on 1 at a time with a DIY machine of sorts. No CNC machine in my home:-)


Watch the Video
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Edited by zelph on 10/03/2011 16:59:44 MDT.

And when can we expect such a fine creation to be available for sale?

yes you have saved me from the never ending search for a Heineken can many thanks

I don't actually see a link...am I missing out?

You just click on the photo and it links to his photobucket page with a vid =)

totally strong idea, zelph!

Edited by cwayman1 on 10/03/2011 18:42:37 MDT.

These are awesome! $12+3shipping

Ridged Fosters Pot

Looks like he's going to be making a mini version similar to Tinny's Questionable Mental Health QMH solo pot but one with ridges. That's going on my Christmas list for sure!

looks great. I guess you aren't going to show how you did it. Why did you put this in the MYOG area if you aren't showing how us how to make our own?

What happens to all the beer? :) That's a hefty amount of calories for the purpose of making a light-weight cook pot... Drink all that beer and the weight savings of the can will be negated.

Those look really nice! I've used my bead roller to put ridges in my cans before but my tooling is a bit too big and the look isn't terribly professional. Looks like you've got the ridges set small enough that it doesn't deform the material too much. Did you make your own tooling or did you use a different technique altogether?

The beer feeds the organisms in my septic tank. It all gets dumped directly into it. There are a few of us that don't drink. :-)

I was thinking of introducing these cans in the "gear deals" forum when I get back from a week long camping adventure. I've introduced them to those that are tuned into my bplite.com site. They liked them and wanted some to be made available. I'm ok with that. Did the youtube video to show them what they look like.

Just wanted to share with you the project that I've been working on.

The reson for starting a new thread here was to show that there is a way to improve a product that is out there being used as a light weight pot. Add ridges. Just as we show tarps and packs can be improved upon we don't show our sewing machines used to make the improvements. Research and development is an expensive process.

I knew I saw a DIY method of rolling beads somewhere recently, it took me a while, but I finally remembered- http://www.instructables.com/id/Tiffin-Box-from-Tuna-Cans/?ALLSTEPS

Not exactly the same but the method could me modified for people to ridge their own beer cans.

After all, this is a MYOG forum, not a "advertise the stuff I make so others can buy it" forum... No offense to the OP, it is a really great idea. I just think that if you are going to post something in a MYOG forum, you should be posting how you did it so others can give it a try too if they don't want to shell out $15 for an empty can of beer.

BM

For those with experience with these can pots - is this really worth such a premium over a non-ridged pot? I can get a 12 pack of the Fosters 25 oz cans for $20. Right now I'm using a titanium pot, but have been thinking about switching.

Is the can plus the strength and durability added by the ridges equivalent to 9 non-ridged pots and 225 oz of mediocre beer? It seems I could get more use out of 9 non-ridged pots than one ridged one, but I'm open to hearing some real-world experience.

Yes, that's the site that I got my idea how to do it. Not exactly like that but close.

You make it your way and we make it our way.

I didn't come in here advertising these for sale.

I appreciate your insight.

Make the ridges just like you see it done on www.instructables.....it works. Thanks for helping out here with the instructions.

Dan, I didn't read through the whole thread before I asked about the tooling you used. No worries, you've worked out your glitches and it looks nice, congrats.

The instructables link looks like it would work too, but for those interested, just google "bead roller", and you'll see what tool to use. You could most likely pick up a cheap one at Harbour Freight or Busy Bee Tools.

Even better search "diy bead roller" and there are lots of nice cheap solutions :)

I got one of these the other day and was thrilled to learn that my Caldera Cone (GVP) fit it perfectly. It was a little harder to get it on because of the additional ridges, but wasn't a big deal. The trick was aligning the top of the cone with the area on the Foster's can where I wanted the cone to hug it before actually closing the Caldera Cone.


I don't use the caddy because of it its weight, and so the added strength that the ridges provide to the can will really help to protect my cooking system.

Great idea to improve strength. I wonder if you could find a way to manufacture vertical ridges. I think vertical ridges would improve strength and would have even better heat transfer properties. I would pay a few bucks for a can with vertical ridges.

Making vertical ridges would be easy. Making the horizontal ridges requires the tools.

--B.G.--

This is a great idea and one that could still generate income from those of us that don't have the time/inclination to make a setup ourselves, even once the technique is shown. The beer can is certainly improved by it.

"The beer can is certainly improved by it."

I certainly intend to empty more beer cans as raw materials for test.

--B.G.--