Posted: 12/8/2008 12:45:17 PM EDT
|
Setting up for cooking doesn't have to be a complex process. I just heated up a quick MRE entree for lunch using a few inexpensive tools.
The cooking vessel is a stainless steel drinking cup, 4-3/4" tall x 2-7/8" wide at the top. I drilled holes on either side 3/4" down from the top to hold the handle. The handle is a coated metal thing I found somewhere, so I suppose it could be made out of any strong heavy gauge metal wire. It's curved around and bent at the ends, and creates a 7" handle which doesn't get hot. I'm using S-L-X Denatured Alcohol, which burned clean. The utensils are MicroBites 5-in-1 that I bought at REI. The alcohol pop-can stove was home-made by a friend of mine. I decided to do this in the kitchen because of the porcelain sink, better lighting and lack of flammable materials. However, it could be done just about anywhere. I used the MicroBites spork for stirring, and ended up not using the LMF spork at all. 
All of the ingredients for a desktop cooking adventure. 
Food in the cup, being held over the flaming stove (hard to see flame in the light) 
There. See? Flames. The stainless steel heats quickly, and the food on the bottom can burn if you don't stir it up enough. Fortunately, it cleans easily. 
[i]Starting to get hot. 
Since I had access to more ingredients, I added buns and cheese to make a (very) sloppy joe-style sandwich. I also decided to add a measuring-cup shotglass to my mini-cooking kit. 
Here's the shotglass wrapped in a paper towel in the bottom of the (now empty and washed) cup. 
The pop-can stove nests on top of that in the cup as well. 
Back to basics. Alcohol, stove, cooking vessel, handle and utensils. Fast to deploy, compact to store, easy to clean, lightweight to carry. Stainless steel drinking cups: here, or you can use a regular stainless steel canteen cup. MicroBites utensils are here or here. |
––but it's a well done, nicely documented write-up.
|
I have always wondered how it would work to just put water in the container being heated and drop the rolled up MRE entree into the hot/heating water to warm it up with less mess.
It looks like an interesting improvisation. Are there any instructions here about making an alcohol stove? Denatured? |
|
Quoted:
Are there any instructions here about making an alcohol stove? Denatured? Click here. Yes to denatured alcohol, no to Coleman fuel. For a nice, easy-to-pack and -use container, buy the yellow bottle of HEET in the automotive section at China Mart. Four 12 oz. bottle cost me less then $5 yesterday. Also, you could go here and get 10 brass Swedish military stoves, plus windscreens and, big plus here, fuel bottles. They don't have the fitting pans anymore, but frankly, I just use the burners and fuel bottles. |
|
There are several places that have instructions on how to make those pop can stoves.
I believe ZenStoves is the one my friend used. There's also this Instructables which steps through the process with pictures. Also Building a better POPCAN Stove which used a different technique. But by far, my favorite provider of these stoves is a local guy who makes them in his garage and sells them on eBay. I've met him. He's good people. His username is peak14494 Thanks for the nice reviews. The next time I make mac 'n cheese with bacon with my pop-can stove, I'll document it. Actual cooking is a little trickier, and I've learned that it's better to have two stoves - one actively burning and another waiting for when the first one burns out - when cooking things that need a cook time longer than ten minutes. |