Just wondering which alcohol stoves work well with the Firelite-500 pot. I usually just boil 2 cups of water for freezer bag cooking in temperatures from 50 to 90 degrees F. at altitudes of less than 3000 feet. Some of the alcohol stoves I have tried throw the flames too far out.

Jon

Tinny of minibull designs makes a stove called the SSBIT which is designed as a direct replacement for the Esbit tabs. I would also wonder if his new nion 2 would work. I have his old nion and it was my main stove until I switched to the caldera cone system. His workmanship is excellent on all his stoves.

John,

It sounds like you were using a side jet stove. For pots smaller than about 6" diameter you would probably have better luck with a stove with jets on top, or an open top stove.

The pot is about 3 1/2 inch wide X 2 3/4 inch tall. You are probably right about the jets. I tried the Minibull mini-sith which worked very well on larger pots I have tried. Does anyone have a specific alcohol stove that has worked well?

>Does anyone have a specific alcohol stove that has worked well?


Cobra's stove made from Red Bull cans (0.3 oz). It's a small enough top-burner to hit a small pot (e.g., 24 oz. Heineken 'keg') but since it's pressurized it works with my 1-liter pots just as well. If you're looking for a commercial stove set, Sgt. Rock's Ion stove would work well (if a bit slow).

Edited by Otter on 05/24/2007 21:15:42 MDT.

I recently purchased the Atomic stove from Mini Bull Designs. I had the same issue with some of the other stoves, namely that the flame pattern is too wide and wastes a lot of heat. This is a closed top stove, but is jetted inward from the rim on top. This produces a narrow flame pattern that stays completely under a narrow mug. The stove is a little slower to boil than the other MBD stoves, but is very fuel efficient. When filled to it's 2 oz capacity it is advertised to burn for around 20 minutes. It does require a stand, which is a negative compared to other stove options. The included stand is OK, but I'd like to come up with a better solution that is lighter and more stable.

I found that the Nion 2 works well with this pot. It's a cool stove, but requires a pot stand.

On edit I need to correct myself. I meant the Nion 1... I only just ordered the Nion 2. Still, I see no reason why the Nion 1 won't work BETTER with this pot because of the flame control feature.

I love Tilly's stoves but, ironically, seldom use them in the field. I use my own... of vastly inferior construction but loved because I make them myself!

Edited by jjpitts on 05/25/2007 07:25:05 MDT.

Thanks for all the good vibes guys!!! I would use the ssbit and a small hardware cloth potstand for this cup. The whole thing would only weigh 3/4 of an ounce and take up very little space--also the nion#2 would work but take a little longer--and yes the atomic would work but is a little overkill for a pot this small----Tinny--Have a great day!!

You can watch a video of the SSBIT on the store page beside the ad for the SSBIT--www.minibulldesign.com

Edited by tinny on 05/29/2007 19:38:11 MDT.

For the time being, I'm going to experiment with the tea light stove, it seems to do the trick. It is boiling two cups in about 10 minutes on 1/2 Oz. of fuel. Thanks for the info.

Jon

Edited by Jon on 05/31/2007 20:49:32 MDT.

After toying with different alcohol stoves, I have for now, gone back to the pepsi can stove and the V-8 stove. The V-8 has a smaller flame pattern but I have, by using a 1/16 drill bit to drill holes right up on the ridge of the bottom of the pepsi can, matched exactly the flame pattern of the V-8. On a cold weather hike last January and I was so impressed with the alcohol stove performance when my canister stove failed that it has become my main stove when not using the Bushbuddy.