Google homemade alcohol stoves on the Internet and you will find a plethora of websites with passionate designers and excellent tutorials. The last two summers of backpacking I have used the same cooking system I made using Andrew Skurka’s Cat Can Stove online tutorial with an aluminum foil windscreen. Last spring with the help from PCTer Wandering Dot, I modified her unique design and added a homemade windscreen made from metal roof flashing. It is fashioned similar to the Caldera Cone, but is shorter and nests inside my Evernew .9L pot.
To make the windscreen I bought a 10 foot x 12 inch roll of roof flashing at Home Depot. Using heavy-duty scissors, cut the metal using a paper template I copied from Wandering Dot’s upper part of her design, then using a hole punch added air holes.
It worked fantastic and I wanted to share my homemade set-up for those of you that might be interested.
Advantages: Very sturdy, simple, lightweight, fits inside pot, holds the pot in place on top the stove, protects flame from wind, and adds fuel efficiency
Complete Stove: Fancy Feast cat food can stove, metal windshield, Evernew .9 L titanium pot with handle and lid, 8 oz. Kirkland water bottle with NyQuil plastic cup to measure fuel sealed in a zip lock baggie, Mini Bic lighter, small square of aluminum foil to set stove on, small square of Sham Wow towel, total weight 7 ounces
Fuel: With 8 ounces of Heet fuel (yellow bottle from auto stores), I get nine, 2 cup boils. I only use hot water for dinner, so if I am really careful and it isn’t really cold temps, 8 oz could last 6 or 7 days.
Additional Info: I originally made a pot cozy that also fit inside the pot, but found it was not essential. Finding the right layout for the template is the hard part, the metal cone must flare out and have holes placed strategically for the stove to work efficiently.
If you would like to make your own windscreen here is a copy of my template.
The pics were taken on trail a couple of miles south of Crater Lake. Have fun!
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love love love it! I will adapt my system and have a reply in coming months. I’ve still been using my $10 system from my ’11 hike. But my Walmart aluminum grease pot is too big and alum freaks me out. I want titanium AND a more proper drinking mug…. we’ll see what I come up with! Love how your windscreen fits beneath the handles, I feel like that adds stability with the pot sitting on the cat can. I liked my cone as a pot-stand b/c I knew it was SOLID. but again- extra weight!
This is exactly what I have been looking for! I have that lovely evernew 0.9 pot and hate that the cone doesn’t fit into it, I’m aiming for a 2012 thru and things like this are great to find. Any chance I could use your template?
Hello Maya,
Here is the PDF for the Template. If you have any questions, let me know. Good luck on your thru-hike!
Rockin’
Hi Maya,
I’d love to get the template from you. I like my Jetboil but am looking for something lighter, and had already settled on alcohol/Fancy Feast but don’t like my own al. foil windshield. Thanks
Lionel
Hello Lionel,
I added a link for the windscreen template in the above blog post for better reference. Thanks for your request.