|
|
|
|
Contact:
![zenseeker [at] hotmail [dot] com](EmailImage.gif)
aka - Japanese Origami Stove
The Cyclone Stove is a unique alcohol stove design that's popular with Japanese Stovers.
Advantages -
Doesn't need a potstand.
Design uses vortex breakdown to mix fuel and air together.
Easy to light.
Can light without primer pan.
Drawbacks -
Very difficult to construct one that works.
Aluminum versions are very delicate - not forgiving to high heat
Steel Cyclone
There are some Japanese stove builders (Ikaros Blog) out there that have used the art of origami and balance in their stove designs. They trim and fold aluminum cans so that they are able to support the weight of a full pot, and so that incoming fresh air is spun into a whirlwind as it mixes with vaporized alcohol. In order to use the thin walled aluminum cans as pot supports, the upper supports must be long enough for proper ventilation, yet short enough as to not disintegrate from the heat of the stove. Water and/or stones may be added to the alcohol to slow down the burning process. Balance is important, as adding too much water will extinguish the flame, and not adding enough will cause the aluminum pot supports to burn up. It is indeed a "Zen Stove."
A functional and far more durable stove able to survive the heat from pure alcohol can be made out of a steel cans, as shown above. The irony being that iron will survive the high heat from burning fuel, but will slowly degrade with exposure to water (read - it will rust).
Also See:
Yukio Yamakawa (JSB) Number 11 (Japanese) English Translation by excite Babel Fish
Yukio Yamakawa (JSB) Number 15 (Japanese) English Translation by excite Babel Fish
Note - This is just one of many DIY alcohol stove options. For more information on different options visit Zen and the Art of the Alcohol Stove and the Templates page.
Construction
Find a 12oz steel Slim Fast can or another steel can with the same diameter as a 12oz aluminum drink can.
Peel off the label and remove any glue with some Goo Gone.
Print out a template and tape it to the side of your can.
Trim your can down as shown above.
Sanding or filing the edges smooth is a really good idea.
Slightly pinch the column walls inward as shown.
A straightedge will help make straight creases.
Slightly bend the lower folds (red line) inward.
Go around the can several times, and add just a little more bend with each pass until your can looks like the one above.
Use a Popsicle stick to carefully roll the column edges inward. Avoid folding the column in half as you apply pressure on the stove wall.
You may need to use a ballpoint pen or nail to keep a round opening in the very top of each column.
This is what your columns should look like when you are done.
Mark a horizontal circumferential line 30mm from the bottom of the your stove.
Decide which direction you want your cyclone to flow within your stove and drill or punch a hole to the left or to the right (not both) of each column.
The red stove has a clockwise (southern hemisphere) cyclone and the bare metal stove has a counterclockwise cyclone (northern hemisphere).
