I've heard of multiple versions of this concept. You can theoretically make it out of any cans. Soda cans, beer cans, soup cans, etc. I went with beer cans because they have thicker metal than soda cans and are the approximate size I wanted. The 12 oz Heineken can is appealing because of the bands around the can.


Making and assembling the stove is very simple and quick.

Take three cans.




Cut in half.



First can - Burner, cut approximately half an inch from the bottom.
Second can - Cover, cut to the bottom of the lower band (0.75 inch).
Third can - Fuel holder, cut to the top of the lower band (1.25 inch).





It is recommended to mark your holes with a Sharpie prior to drilling, but you can eyeball it and probably be fine.



Take the first section (0.50 inch). If your Heineken 12 oz can has stamped numbers on the bottom, try to sand it out as much as possible. Take a penny and put it in the center of the section (it should be acting as a bowl to center the penny). Hit it with any hard object. It should leave a slight indentation. Mark three or four holes within the indentation (ie covered by the penny), and drill them out with a 1/16th drill bit.



Drill six equally distanced holes just outside the ring at the very bottom of the can. The drill holes should be touching the outside base of the ring. Again, use a 1/16th inch drill bit. Once you complete the drilling, remove the bit and insert it into each hole. Bent towards the center of the can section.

Make 12 crimps on upper part of the first section (where you made your cut to section the can). Make them roughly equal, approximately three quarters the depth of the section. Drill a 1/16th hole in each crimp. Placement does not need to be exact.



Now sandpaper all locations that you made cuts. You want smooth edges. You want to avoid being cut, and you also want crisp fitting.

Insert the first section (the burner) into the third section (fuel holder). See picture if you can't figure out the proper orientation.



How to test:

Pour denatured alcohol into center of the interior ring. Let completely drain. Cover intake holes with penny. Refill the interior ring until it reaches the very top of the ring. If some spills over, this is fine. Ignite carefully.

Watch the flames. After the initial burn, the flame should seperate into the six individual jets. If they don't and it is one giant fire, you don't have a tight fit between the burner and fuel holder sections. You can try removing the burner and bending into a better shape. You can also leave the burner in place and use epoxy along the edge.





I'll be dorking around with the design and probably posting the modifications at http://revdisk.org/blog/?p=115

I want to play around with the jet locations/sizes and overall size, verses time/temperature charts.  Need to make a digital thermometer that outputs temperature readings.  Time to fire up the soldering iron. 

Ahhh the venerable Penny Stove.  Love it!


-T.

Plan on making a couple different models, all with different fuels.  I plan on gathering the data using a fiberglass coated thermocouple (-150 to 800°F) and a MAX6675 chip (on a breakout board into an Arduino because I'm a wuss). 

For any non-geeks, a thermocouple is when you slap two wires of two metals together, run voltage through it, and measure the changes in voltage to determine temperature variation.  Because of the extremely small variation in voltage, it can be a pain in the neck to determine.  Unless you cheat by using a specialized chip that does all of the hard work for you.   And further cheat by using a general purpose board with pre-written code for said chip.  Takes it from being a very problematic task to being trivial (set two screws, plug board into another board, fire up a utility on a PC).

Oddly, I noticed no one has done so.  "It'll boil X amount of water in Y time."   uhm.  k.  I prefer a chart with accurate data.

I love my MSR multi-fuel stoves -http://www.amazon.com/MSR-Whisperlite-International-Liquid-Fuel-Stove/dp/B000BBS49C - but for getting by when you do have a supply of rubbing alcohol (especially when you have to "fire up" inside somewhere) - that's a great way to do it.

I love my MSR multi-fuel stoves -http://www.amazon.com/MSR-Whisperlite-International-Liquid-Fuel-Stove/dp/B000BBS49C - but for getting by when you do have a supply of rubbing alcohol (especially when you have to "fire up" inside somewhere) - that's a great way to do it.

Careful, isopropyl alcohol does leave soot.  Denatured methylated alcohol does not.

Love it!

I've been thinking about using a "Progresso" brand soup can. They're pretty sturdy. It'd be a little harder to work with and form, but it may be worth the extra work. What do you guys think?

 

Tin snips or a Dremel cutting wheel could do so quick enough.  There are a lot of designs out there. 

Good info - thanks for the pics!  Looking forward to the test results. 

Turn can upside down (open hole facing bottom).  Drill a ring of 12 mid-sized holes just below the opening.  Drill 3-6 mid-sized holes near the non-open base of the can.  Drill a large number of very small holes in the non-open base.

Make a plate slightly larger than the opening.  Drill a large number of very small holes in the plate. 

Grab either drip irrigation stakes or steel tent spikes (the simple ones, with a curve on one end and the rest being straight).  Feed it through the can and the holes with the curve being on the bottom of the can (to hold it off the ground) and the ends being about an inch over the can (to support your pot and create a small gap).  Drill holes in the cover plate to match the stakes/spikes. 

Sand the holes/edges/whatever as necessary. 



It's a Top-Lit UpDraft wood gasifier stove.

I like that! Thanks RevDisk! 

It just so happens I have several of those steel tent spikes from an old "Eureka!" tent that had to be put out to pasture after years of good use.