Building Ducky's Ultralight Stove. 56k no bueno.

[closingresponse]

I've been interested in Ducky's stove for quite a while now. I've built a few beer can stoves, but haven't been impressed due to their very thin walls.

Here is Ducky's post about his stove.
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=77949
I'm by no means taking credit for his design, only showing the process I went through to build a Ducky stove for myself.


Let's start.
I purchased two Venom energy drinks today. (This is what Ducky uses) On sale for $1.29! These are a much thicker gauge aluminum than you find on other beer/soda/etc cans.
I took some paint stripper and poured it into an empty tin can and let each bottle soak for about an hour. Washed off the paint stripper and used some 220, and then 400 grit sand paper to get rid of remaining paint and to smooth the finish.



At this point, I haven't dumped or consumed the contents, it's still full.
I started by scoring around the can about the height i wanted for my stove. Used a utility knife to run around the can a few times. Used a roll of tape to make sure it was even all the way around. I did this on the concrete on my garage floor, need a level hard surface for this one.



Done!!


I used a pair of angle cutters, starting from the top to remove material to get closer to the scoring line. If I had a bandsaw this would have been much easier. But in the PAW we won't, so I just used angle cutters and pliers.



Got the top off, and now just continuing down closer to the scored line. In my experience, I get the best results when I remove all extra material but leave only about a half inch of material above the scored line.



After you get to the point of only an 1/2" or so left before the line, use the angle cutters to cut just a hair above the line.



Start pulling the excess material around the can, and it should separate right at the line you cut with the utility knife. It's like opening up a can of Spam!
TAKE YOUR TIME! Slow and safe is the best way to not screw up the can and ruin all of your work so far.
After that you'll have one half of your Ducky stove! The pictures below are right after I finished removing all the extra material. What I'll do next is rub the edge on a piece of 220 sandpaper to get rid of any burrs and sharp points.






I'm going to do the same for the 2nd bottle and I'll continue the rest of the assembly tomorrow. I'll update with more pictures as I go along.

[closingresponse]

Well I lied in my above post. I didn't use the same method again, I decided to take the easy route on this 2nd bottle. So I took my Makita miter saw and used that to chop the second bottle. This took about 15 seconds, and about another minute or two with some 220 grit sandpaper to get the cut nice and clean and to take off the sharp edges. Much easier than the above 'by hand' method.
But I do recommend doing it by hand at least once to get the method down. I won't lie, it takes time and is a mild pain in the ass.



Later this afternoon I'll continue working on this, and hopefully finish this up and post the rest of the build.

[closingresponse]

Well I screwd up the bottom part of my stove, so i need to go buy another one, and chop and sand it before I can continue. I should have waited until it was completed before posting this thead.

Hopefully in a few days i'll get it completed.

[Ducky]

This is great!!!
I have never thought about using paint thinner to remove the paint. Dough!!! *Slaps forhead*
I agree that cutting the pieces in half can be a major Pain in the @$$ if you dont have a ban saw. I tried several different methods before upgrading to the ban saw. giant pipe cutters, pliers ect..
The best "low tech" method I have found is to use a hack saw blade. Take your time when doing it this way thought and only cut one edge of the can at a time. Make sure to follow your line the whole way around. You would be amazed at how easy it is to be dead on your line on one side and end up way off on the other side.

I have a 4 day weekend coming up and I will try and build one and do a step by step as well.
I still sell these if anyone is interested. It has never been my intention to keep my construction methods a secret, Im simply selling the convenience of not having to build it yourself.

[closingresponse]

Thanks for the post Ducky!

I screwed up the 2nd can, and I haven't had a chance to go get another to finish the stove yet. Life is getting in the way of my stove making!
Hopefully I'll have this finished and updated over the weekend.

The paint stripper worked fairly well, but I still had to do a bit of sanding to get all of it off, but it wasn't too bad.

I would have to say that buying one of these premade is quite a deal. This isn't hard to make, but does require a bit of time and practice. When I first made a beer can stove like this, I ended up going through a whole 12 pack of emtpy cans before I got it right. The easy part was 'emptying' the 12 cans.

[jehicks87]

interested in seeing how this is put together.

[secondechomatt]

I made a couple using ducky's directions. The easiest method I've found to cut them is to use an angle grinder. I suppose a miter saw would work great as well!

to add to this, I got an esbit cook set on sale for 6 bucks. drilled out the rivet that holds the fuel container in and used it VERY successfully this weekend with the alcohol stove.

[Ducky]

Ok here we go.
I wasnt able to get to the shp to build this one so i had to do it the low tech way. On the tailgate of my work truck lol.

First mark the bottles.
I use an altoids tin and a sharpie to measure the height, If you want a deeper stove just use a taller measurement.


once we have the two halves cut the next step is to flatten the bottom half.
This is done so that when the two halves are pressed together the center dishes dont touch.


I use a solid 2" pipe plug to hammer aginst to flatten the bottom. I use wooden dowel on the other half.
This process involves a lot of "flip it over, hammer a little. Flip it over, hammer a little"
Be paitent, go slow.


Next you mark and drill your holes. I like to use 12 holes and im not sure what the exact measurment is between holes. LOL I use two notches on an old key to mark out my holes.


Next is a crucial part. Flaring the edges.
The top half needs to be flared out and the bottom flared in. This will make it much easier to mate the two halves. And it will alow the bottom half to curl once it is pressed together compleatly(more on this later)


NEXT
Deburr the burn holes on the inside.
This is important because if you do not do this then when you press the two halves together the inside piece will catch on the unDeburred holes and cause "difficulties"


Make sure you use some sort of lubricant when assembling them.


I find that if I place the halves between two pieces of wood and hammer them down that I get more uniform pressure on the halves. This helps to prevent it going together crooked and making one side bulge out.


Once they are pressed together you should have a flared out lip on the bottom.


Just take this lip and roll/rub it on your piece of wood untill it wraps around the bottom.



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[Ducky]

Now that we have it all together we need to redrill out the burnner holes.
This needs to be done becasue if you have done it correctly the inner wall will have curled in and covered the holes.


So now we have a functioning stove.
Its just ugly
and thats not cool with me, so its off to the air grinder/buffer.
BEFORE

AFTER


I decided to go ahead and offer this stove up to the winner of the Mock Bug out contest. I really like the idea of a minimal gear bugout. Unfortunatly I will not be able to partake in this excersize but I will be able contribute to the Prizes.
As an added bonus I tryed my hand at stamping some letters in this stove. Its kinda crude and in no way profesional but all in all i think it turned out alright.


So there you go,
Hope this helps anyone out who decides t omake one of these for themselves.
If you would rather just have one show up on your doorstep already made Drop me a PM

[Jamie]

I dig on this stove design, especially with the addition of the ZS on the bottom!

Thing is...it is 47.83 times harder to make than the cat-can stove, weighs more, and I don't think it's more efficient by much/any...

Jamie

[Ducky]

I Used to use the Cat Can stove. You are correct, it is definetly easier to make and it dose weight quite a bit less.
I would have to dissagree on the efficiency. The Cat can design is not a pressurised design whereas mine is. A pressurised stove will generaly burn hotter and more efficiently.
Also they are less susseptabul to the wind. As with any alchohol stove you need a windscreene and this will solve some of your problems, but no matter how hard you try and how crafty you get, the wind will find its way in there once in a while and mess things up.
Also is my stove and a Cat can stove were put in a steel cage Deathmatch together im pretty sure Mine would kick the ever loving crap out of the Cat Can.

[AwPhuch]

Question:

Would a coil of cardboard soaked with wax in that thing work as well?

[LBB]

What does this stove run on?

[Jamie]

What does this stove run on?

Alcohol...ethanol or methanol...I use Heet (yellow bottle, blue label) most of the time.

Jamie

[closingresponse]

Question:

Would a coil of cardboard soaked with wax in that thing work as well?

It wont' get as hot, and those are only a one use type thing (until you refill it with cardboard and wax...) Plus the amount of soot they put off is freakin horrible.
The alcohol is much more efficient.



Ducky... You stole my thunder!!
Great addition to the thread tho! I've been so busy I haven't had a chance to finish my build . Hopefully I'll be able to this weekend.

[Ducky]

No No, No thunder stealing here. LOL
Maybie my posts will give you some tricks when finishing yours. I look forward to seeing how it comes out.

[closingresponse]

No No, No thunder stealing here. LOL
Maybie my posts will give you some tricks when finishing yours. I look forward to seeing how it comes out.

I'm really hoping to be able to do it this weekend.
Started a new job yesterday so things have been really busy in my work life, and in my personal life.

[ninja-elbow]

Minor Necro - and Woods already reviewed Ducky's stove in anohter thread.

Just wanted to note I bought one of Ducky's stoves last year and it works great. I'm taking it out on a small overnighter this weekend and it will be my first time using it as a primary stove. OMG... no JetBoil

One fill gives about 15 minutes of burn time (not sure of he actual amount of denatured alcohol, but I fill it until it pools in the dished area a small amount). I set it up in one of my Esbit stoves and usually use my Zebra Brand 12cm pot. Boils 2 cups of water in about 5 minutes with wind screen.

[mark9atq]

Having something hot to drink and eat can make all the difference after a day of running for your life
from packs of zombies. Knowing as many ways as possible to get conventional or unconventional heat
sources up and running is just another skill.

The wind problem for alcohol stoves has a neat solution called the Caldera Cone - its a
combination wind screen and pot suspension device for alcohol stoves made from thin
aluminum roof flashing.

DIY instructions for making one to fit your cook pot on youtube - same amount of work
as making a pop can stove.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VerP7-aiEBw

In a pinch 4 or 5 tea candles will fit under a cook pot to supply heat.