DIY Ultralight Alcohol Stove

Here’s an easy DIY project to start off the new year.  It’s a DIY Ultralight Alcohol Stove – perfect for anyone looking to lighten their bug out kit or go ultralight with their hiking gear.

DIY Ultralight Alcohol Stove

DIY Ultralight Alcohol Stove

Let’s be honest:  most of prefer our food to be warm, especially during the colder winter months.  While that may be a luxury during a survival situation, for now we can indulge.  And I’m not talking just at home either.  I’m talking about the type of heat you can take with you in a ultralight & inexpensive little package that you can build yourself.  Say what?  Don’t worry, it’s a really easy DIY project and require just a few common tools.

Items Needed for your DIY Ultralight Alcohol Stove

• aluminum bottle – I got mine at Goodwill for .99
• hack saw – something to cut the aluminum bottle with
• drill – makes spinning the drill bit a lot easier
  
• 1/16″ drill bit – perfect size for the stove’s jets
  
• masking tape – for marking the jets on the stove body
• ruler – for making perfectly spaced jets
• file – both round and flat
• fine sandpaper – for that finishing touch

Builing Your DIY Ultralight Alcohol Stove

First thing’s first.  Get all the materials together.  This will make the build go smoother and a lot more enjoyable. Also, there isn’t a specific bottle you need.  You can use just about any metal bottle, as long as it has smooth sides, a narrow neck, and appears large enough to suit your needs.  Remember, a large portion of any DIY project is to be flexible and creative.

Recycled aluminum bottle for the stove.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words.  I did one better. Instead of writing out a detailed step by step instruction, I decided to make an instructional video.

Below is a picture of the finished alcohol stove.  As you can see, sanding the tiny burs off the side of the stove body gave it a dull finish which I like better. From handling it, it appears to be sturdy enough to get several years of service.

DIY Ultralight Alcohol Stove – finished product

DIY Ultralight Alcohol Stove – top view

One of my concerns during this build was to make sure that the stove base was wide enough to sit on the heat exchanger of the Optimus Crux Weekend pot.  The reason for this is (1) if the stove wasn’t wide enough, the stove would essentially sit inside the heat exchanger.  This would have forced me to make the stove taller so that the jets could clear the heat exchanger (by at least 1/2″).  That would, in turn, require me to press fit an additional 1/2″ of  the aluminum bottle and I wasn’t sure if the sidewalls were strong enough.  Second (2) reason was that the wider base would add to the stability of the stove.

A closeup of the heat exchanger on the Optimus Crux Weekender pot.

On a side note:  if you’re planning on buying a cookset, give the Optimus Crux Weekender a look.  The heat exchanger is awesome!  With the included isobutane stove, this set brings 2 cups of water to a boil in under 60 seconds (at sea level)!  I didn’t believe it either and after testing it, I can confirm it’s true.

Stove just wide enough to fit on the heat exchanger.

With the stove sitting on the heat exchanger, the jets were just far down enough to cause the flames to hit the heat exchanger at the peak of the flame.

DIY Ultralight Alcohol Stove in all its glory.

All in all, this project took about an hour and I have to say, it was super easy.  The hardest part of the whole project was looking around the local Goodwill for a used aluminum bottle.  I hope this article helped.  Good luck building your whole ultralight alcohol stove!