How to make a Fancy Feast Backpacking Alcohol Stove

I received my first Fancy Feast stove from Ryan Bozis (aka Major Slacker), who attended one of my presentations in Virginia in Spring 2006. I of course thanked him for it, but given how simple the stove was, I could not imagine that it was better than the stove that I had used for most of my Sea-to-Sea Route hike, an open jet model made from Red Bull cans, similar to the one in the picture to the right.

But then I tested it against my original stove and some stoves I had purchased from MiniBullDesigns.com, and I found that it was the fastest and most fuel efficient of them all. Moreover, it was slightly lighter than the other designs; its simple design meant it involved fewer materials, less time, and hardly any expense; it doubled as its own pot stand, which helped to simplify my whole cook system; and it did not require any pre-heating. I have been using this model since Summer 2006; I used the same stove for my entire 7-month Great Western Loop hike.

Key Specs and Advantages

Weighs just .3 oz (about 10 grams)!
Costs about $.50 for the cat food can with tax, and $3-$5 for the hole punch.
It will never clog, and there are no moving or delicate parts that can break. Even if it is accidentally squashed, there is a chance that it can be re-shaped and used again.
Serves as a pot stand, which means you'll have one less thing to carry.
Burns denatured alcohol, a cheap and widely available fuel that can be purchased at hardware stores (in the paint department), gas stations (HEET gas-line antifreeze), and hiking hostels. You can also use Everclear, or grain alcohol, though this is more expensive. Denatured alcohol can be stored in plastic bottles from Platypus or any drink company (e.g. Pepsi).
Uses about .6 oz of alcohol to boil about 1.5 cups of water, depending on your pot, the starting temperature of the water, and the efficiency of the windscreen. The water will boil within 5-7 minutes.

Disadvantages

Because the stove is only 2.5 inches in diameter, larger pots may not be stable enough. In this case, it might be better to substitute the Fancy Feast can for a larger can, like a tuna fish can.
Because this stove is a side-burner, smaller pots (e.g. 600 ml mugs) may not receive enough of the flame. In this case, it'd probably be more efficient to make a top-burner model instead.
It does not have a simmer feature, i.e. there is no control over the flame output. This will not be a problem if the extent of your backcountry cooking skills is boiling, which is the only thing necessary if you are content (like I am) with meals based around angel hair pasta, couscous, dehydrated and freeze-dried foods, potato flakes, soups, etc.
There is no OFF switch. The stove will burn until there is no more fuel to burn, unless it is smothered with a pot/mug, dirt, or water. It is extremely difficult, though possible, to blow the stove out.
It is not as fast as a white gas or canister model. If eating dinner 2-3 minutes earlier is important enough to you that you are willing to carry at least an extra half-pound, by all means... Personally, while I'm waiting for the water to boil, I stretch out, look at tomorrow's maps and guidebook sections, put together tomorrow's food, or finish setting up my shelter.

Necessary Supplies

3-oz Fancy Feast cat food can, or another can of the same size. I can usually find the Fancy Feast knock-off brand for $.39 at my local grocery store.

1-hole punch. A standard hole punch is adequate, but an arts & craft model that has a bigger reach is easier to use. With my pole punch I can punch holes 2 inches from the edge of a can or paper sheet, whereas with a standard hole punch I'd be limited to about .75 inches.

Marker. Its color and tip style do not matter.

Butter knife, spoon, pliers, or anything else made of metal that has a hard, round edge.

Tape ruler. If you want to be a perfectionist, you might want one. I have never used one; I eyeball it instead.

Step by Step Directions

Watch the video!

1. Remove the cat food and wash out the can.

2. Flatten the sharp edge that was left by the lid with the end of a butter knife, in order to avoid being cut.

3. Mark 16 evenly spaced tick marks around the lip of the can. If you are a perfectionist, this is when you would use the tape measure. I don't think the tick marks need to be perfectly evenly spaced, so I just eyeball it, like I would in cutting a pizza. "Cut" the can in half, then fourths, then eights, and finally sixteenths.

4. Just below the lip of can and using the tick marks as a guide, make 16 hole punches. Avoid breaking the tin between the holes by keeping them far enough apart - about one-eighth of an inch.

5. Below the first layer of hole punches, make another 16 hole punches. The middle of the bottom holes should be directly underneath the 1/8-inch gaps between the upper holes.

The Windscreen

Alcohol stoves are more susceptible to wind than conventional backpacking stoves, and therefore a good windscreen is a critical part of the system. I make my wind stoves from aluminum foil (e.g. Reynolds Wrap), which is cheaper than making them from broiler pans or purchasing commercial windscreens like those from MSR and BackpackingLight.com.

To make the wind screen, do the following:

Cut a length of foil that is about 3 inches longer than the circumference of your pot. When your windscreen is placed around your pot, leaving a half-inch gap between the two, you want the ends of the windscreen to overlap by 1-1.5 inches.

Fold the sheet of aluminum foil in half length-wise.

Double over all of the edges in order to increase durability and proneness to tears. Before you double over the last edge, smoothen out the windscreen in order to get all of the air out. If there is air inside the windscreen, it will expand when heated and blow out an edge or part of the windscreen.

Operating Instructions

This stove is extremely easy to use. Pour denatured alcohol into the stove, light the alcohol with a match, wait 20-30 seconds for the fuel to warm up, and then put your pot on top of the stove.

I typically boil slightly less water than my meal actually requires but optimum consistency/texture. Once the food has absorbed all of the water I boiled, I then add non-boiled water until the correct consistency is achieved. This has a few advantages: I use less fuel, I never end up with "couscous soup," and I do not have to wait for my dinner to cool becuase the non-boiled water cools it down enough to eat rightway.

Variations

The 3-oz Fancy Feast stove is ideal for a 1-person cook system with a ~1-liter-ish pot. Personally, I use a .9-liter Evernew titanium pot, which has a 5-inch diameter bottom. If you plan to use a larger pot, and you are concerned about the pot being unstable on the 2.5-inch diameter Fancy Feast can, you can follow the same instructions as above but substitute the Fancy Feast can for a larger can, like a tuna fish can.

I have never done tests to prove it, but it's reasonable to think that the number of hole punches affect the heat output and the fuel efficiency of the stove. With more holes, the stove probably burns hotter and less efficient. With fewer holes, the stove probably burns less hot but more efficient. The optimum number of holes is probably a function of the pot (its material, thickness, and shape), the quantity and starting temperature of water being boiled, and the performance of the windscreen...in other words, too many other variables to make this sort of testing worthwhile.