Fire Quicker more durable ethanol stove

A while back I made a pretty convincing ethanol camp stove out of a coke can.

It worked well and looked like this when it was running.

Ive used it a bit since then and its definitely a practical addition to any backpack.

The problem is its starting to show signs of aging. The can expands and contracts, and there is now a crease where extra gas flows giving an uneven flame.




In my model (also not my design) I used an inner sleeve with holes at the top to let the gas out. The result is that the trapped ethanol (spirit/alcohol/methanol) between the outside wall, and the inner wall boils the spirit, and creates a gas jet that looks a lot like a normal BBQ burner.

One of the problems was trying to get the top of a coke can to fit into the bottom of a coke can. Its tricky because (of course) they are the same size. It can be done, but involves gently stretching the outside one and it takes a lot of messing about.

Now Im being pretty fussy here. The little burner works really well, but it did tend to leak fuel around creases that formed in the join between the top and the bottom sections.

Someone on a Stirling engine forum pointed me towards a different method of making one. This method involves no holes, but it just encourages those creases that mine developed by itself, and I think it might be a winner.

Theirs also used a drink can, but I think it might make a more robust version if I used a tinned food can.

So, to start with, I peeled a normal, every day food tin.

The first step was to trim it to size.

I needed the top to fit into the bottom, so the first thing to do was punch a hole in it to enable a cutting tool to get in there.

I used that mystery tool that pocket knives have.

Probably a leather working tool or something.

Who knows, just punch a hole in the can.

Next jam in some tin snips or something to make a nice cut to separate top from bottom.

My tin snips are stupid, so I ended up using scissors.

This isnt the best way to use scissors, so dont do this at home unless you actually own the scissors.





One very good method of cutting a tin can, is to just tear it by grabbing a ragged tail of tin with a pair of pliers and twist. If theres a groove to follow, it actually makes a pretty straight cut.

As I said, I ended up using scissors to trip everything to it was nice and neat.

I made the inside sleeve (the one on the left), slightly taller than the other so the pot could sit on the rim and let the gas escape from the gap between the outside sleeve.

I bent a series of grooves in the base of the inner sleeve so that they would allow the flow of gas, and also allow the inside sleeve to fit inside the outside sleeve.

This was simply a case of grasping with pliers, and twisting them to the left, and slightly down toward the centre.

Next I inverted the inside sleeve and carefully positioned the outside sleeve over it so that I might press the two together by stamping down with my foot.

Which failed completely.

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More Bigger and Better

The pipes are buried to keep it neat

Expansion is already planned for

This is a settling tank.  I have stubbed out for future expansion.

Waiting for the Uniseals and the next Bunk feeder to arrive. 

Cherry Tomatoes in abundance!

Bunk feeders are on the other side of this IBC system.
Can you believe it, there are three IBC tanks here?

I really like these bunk feeders.
Ill be using a hard plastic which will stay afloat by means of sealed PVC pipes for my raft.
Its called the GM Raft!
This will allow even more air to circulate around the roots.
Take a look at this link and the idea from Giorgio

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More Greenhouse Fun

Small Green House Plan from North Carolina Cooperative Extension

Ive learned a lot from stuff posted online about how to create hoop houses. Probably the most useful document to date is "A Small Backyard Greenhouse for the Home Gardener" from the North Carolina Cooperative Extension. The instructions give you a 14-foot long greenhouse that is 12 feet wide and 6 feet high.

But I dont have space for a full-up hoop house. Ive been messing around with powerpoint, trying to figure out how to fit a 300 gallon tank and six 50-gallon grow beds into an 8-foot wide space in the minimum length. I think Ive got it:

Ill talk about the aquaponics layout later. For now it is sufficient to say that I should be able to fit everything in a 8 foot wide by 14 foot long footprint.

Instead of PVC pipe, Ill be constructing the body of my greenhouse out of 1/2" Electric Metallic Tube (EMT) conduit. Conduit is pretty inexpensive, running just over $2 for a 10 length. Its stronger than PVC, and I can bend it to the shape shown above.

In fact, Ive figured out the "recipe." Conduit benders can be had for ~$30, and are marked for bends of standard size (10, 22.5, 30, 45, and 60 degrees). If youve not used a conduit bender before, know that the "center" of even a shallow bend will be 1-2 inches offset from the start of the bend. Many benders will have a mark that shows the location of "the exact center of a 45 degree bend." No matter what angle you bend, the center will be pretty close to that 45 degree center mark, so position your tubing accordingly.

1. Mark the pipe in the middle (5) and make marks 8", 21", and 34" from either end.
   
2. Bend the pipe 22.5 degrees at the 5 mark. [From this point on it is useful to get a partner who can hold the pipe so the rest of the bends are in the same plane.]
   
3. Move the conduit bender to the 8" mark and make a 60 degree bend.
   
4. Move the conduit bender to the 21" mark and make a 10 degree bend.
   
5. Move the conduit bender to the 34" mark and make another 10 degree bend.
   
6. Flip the pipe and bend the other side (60 degrees at 8", 10 degrees at both 21" and 34")
   

When youre done, your ten foot pipe should look like this, and the distance between the two leg-stubs should be 8 feet. Or at least, when I did this, this is what my pipe ended up looking like:

This shape minimizes height delta between the edge and center of the structure, provides strength along the roof "faces," and gives a peak at the center to help shed snow. For a 14-foot long greenhouse with frames every 2 feet, youll be making 8 of these "tops." If they dont lay flat, you can do some "correction" with the conduit bender.

Next, create 16 EMT "legs" by cutting 10-foot lengths in half with a pipe cutter or hack saw. These legs will be connected to the tops using EMT set-screw couplings. Position the set screws so they face the inside of the frame, so they wont snag the plastic sheeting youll be draping over your structure.

From this point you can pretty much follow the instructions for the North Carolina hoop house from the top of this post. But instead of a wide, short semi-circle, your greenhouse will be only 8 feet wide and about 7 feet high. Also, you will be installing a simple door in each of the two end walls, so you can access the beds on either side of the fish tank.

Two last points - I plan to screw three 14-foot lengths of EMT to the frames with EMT 2-hole straps and zinc sheet metal screws. These will serve as a ridge pole and lateral stiffeners. Also, since part of the location where Im putting this is brick patio, I plan to connect the greenhouse to a support under the fish tank. I figure 300 gallons of water (2,400 pounds!) is enough to keep the house from "shifting."

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Making smoked foods Frenched luxury cut ribs

I thought I was pretty clever when I came up with cutting ribs so that ever second bone was removed. I called it "luxury cut ribs". This is always enormously popular with people at a BBQ.

But now I think Im even more clever.

Cleverer.

I frenched every rib, but at opposing ends.

Luxury cut, but with a handle.

A genuine meat popsicle.

Bam!

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