Haha my on-off switch is a liter of water 
. when this thing gets going there is virtually no smoke or sparks even without a pot on it, and with the grill attachment is like grilling on a webber grill over charcoal
thats why i say you would probably get a little leeway on this
Usually open fire is forbidden here everywhere within a range of 300ft to woods which makes it impossible to use where it is actually worth camping. 
That’s the disadvantage of a small highly populated country. I can guarantee you if I fire up that thing, half an hour later a couple of seniors taking a walk will feel disturbed and call the cops on me. No leeway in Good old Germany, here is everything within rules and order! :Sp
That kis 3r33s module looks nice!
No markings on your module? That’s are shame. I also have some whith part number and one without any hint what it might be. A little annoying I think.
you can pick them up for less than a buck a pop in bulk (10+ pieces), and are fairly easy to modify the output. they have a very wide input range also.
i got i think 12 of them. havent actually used one yet, but have a few projects i want to do with them
and no, no markings on the peltier module... i should look up the model wine cooler i got it from and search if i can find any info
Not in California. 
well I was just making a burner to go in my solo stove set. same style as the other ones i make, sealed pressure burner design. i used 24oz twisted tea cans, so they are bigger than the rest i make usually, but i put 2x the holes in it. usually i will put 6-8 holes, i put 16 in this one
put in the same 1/2 oz fuel that i always do when testing them, put the same splash on it i always do when testing them...
lit it, and it popped the two halves apart and splashed flaming alcohol on my hand and lighter... never had that happen before. dont know what caused it this time.
waiting for it to cool off, then I will bring it outside with a grill lighter for round two lol
moral, these things can be dangerous. be careful
edit: round two went without any excitement. set up with the alcohol burner in the solo stove with a trangia mini pot. half oz of fuel and probably a quarter oz just to prime it and it did not bring it to a boil. did 8 jets on the outside of the lip and 8 inside. i think if i did all 16 on the inside it would have made it a lot better. the outer jets flames were just hitting the stove and minimal heat from them were going to the pot
Glad you’re OK, Pulsar.
I like fire. My idea of “playing in the snow” is to build a fire. If it ever snows here!
Meanwhile, helping someone else recycle their trash is almost as good as recycling your own. IMNERHO, of course.
In High School we “went backpacking” and I carried one of those brass, gasoline-fired jobs which nestled into its own “pot”… With the Al bottle of gasoline loading down the pack, the extra parts that didn’t fit (like a pot handle), and all that, it turned out to be easier and more productive to just build a fire and leave the brass wunder-lump at home. Long gone, no pun intended.
Many years later, and now I don’t “backpack” but I spend a lot more quality time in the woods these days. And I like to cook.
I took some old paint, clam chowder and soup cans to make a M.I.D.G.E. ‘twig’ stove — it was very satisfying, but mine was very crude. It did boil a can of water, though, so it’s probably worth doing well. You’ll need a lot more twigs than you think, but nothing too big to break — the size of a #2 pencil is a bit too big (in mine) to work right. My cans burned through pretty quickly, but I’m assuming with nice cans that point would be forestalled somewhat. They’re also a major PITA to reload in use!!! Bring hot-item-holding tools and burn cream!
That being done, and being in a “Ford camping” crowd (see what Henry Ford did for camping ) we don’t really want for “carrying capacity”. So no real need to scrounge twigs onsite for fuel. (PS: If you do try a Midge, try charcoal!!) So I built one or the other of the alcohol-fueled beer-can stoves. No way to recall which, but it was the usual “can-with-holes-over-can-with-fuel” deals. If you’re a hater, denatured alcohol works well, but for me, I’d have to carry “the good stuff” in case we decided on a “cold camp”. (denatured = one less option and I hate losing options if “survival” is a concern) It dawned on me that I really don’t want to carry alky, gas, acetone, whatever in the woods with me. It also dawned on me that I could build a fire locally (assuming adequate “squaw wood” lying about, which is almost always the case) & start it with a lot less alky than the stove needs, and get a lot more cooking done. The first time you tip one over trying to balance a pot on it, you’ll see what I mean by both those last comments.
(Edit: I just read your last post. I can’t imagine why you’d want to light one and then pull it apart, but that’s why I keep the alky in my drinking flask, not burning on the ground!)
After all that, I’m pretty sold on the “three big rocks and scrounged wood” plan for fire. If you don’t try to build a space beacon, and strive for “efficiency”, it’s no problem at all to build a fire, cook food, let the fire consume the last of its fuel, cool, then bury (ONLY when cool to the touch, please!!! Don’t be stupid!!) the evidence so the next guy isn’t bothered by your mess.
That works in a temperate, woodland environment, but YMMV, of course. I can only tell you what works for me.
Dim
I did not intentionally pull it apart. I am assuming somehow the alcohol had pre-vaporized and combusted, causing the two halves to blow apart. Was an exciting experience to look and see my hand and lighter engulfed in flames 
This in no way is going to stop me from building and using alcohol stoves, just more aware what can happen when lighting/using them.
I have had one small one I made jet up with huge flames and sounded like it wanted to launch itself into orbit before, but it quickly burnt through its half ounce of fuel with really no excitement
My mom and her husband are preppers, and they have no camp stove, so I am going to get them a Solo Stove and an alcohol burner for xmas. I am going to try a few homemade ones first and then compare them to a Trangia burner to see if I can make something more efficient and safe. The bulk of their goods is rice and freeze dried goods, so this set up should be fine for them
One of the best designs we have used for alchohol is based on the Mini Bull Bios Stove. A friend of mine has built a die so he can press the cans perfectly for building a similar design DIY, and it works like a charm.
yeah, i have a bunch of those bottles ready to go for experimenting. but that style wont work good for what i am trying to do right now
the one i made last night was 2-5/8" tall. and the space in the solo stove from the grate to the pot supports is 3-3/4". I think i am going to try and make the next burner 3" tall with about 10 holes on the inside of the lip, and 10 on the top of the lip and see how that works
also need to figure out an easier way to preheat the larger burner from the 20oz cans with less fuel. almost thinking i will be better off just including a trangia burner with the solo stove for my mom
I mis-read your earlier post. Sorry.
You should try that with burning Nylon someday. NOT! It sticks to your skin and if you try to brush it off, it sticks to that skin too. The scars last at least 45 years. Don’t ask how I know that…
I don’t know your parental units, but I’d wager something you built for them that “works okay” would be Much Better than buying them one that “works perfectly”…
OTOH, engulfing them in flames might not be so well-received… 
Not knowing your stove, the “Penny Stoves” use a wee coin to prevent vapor buildup…
Just to throw in one last two cents: “Preppers” expect to find themselves in the most-dire of circumstances, agreed? That probably means that relying on a specific, manufactured fuel is likely to leave you quite cold someday… The M.I.D.G.E. stove burns anything that will pyrolyze; and can be built with simple tools in the field… Just suggesting…
(If I may add a PS: I would have to say the “husband” is the Lucky One in your group, for finding you and your Mom… Let him pick the Lottery Ticket numbers!!)
The distance from the base to where the ring of holes is around the upper perimeter is critical to the design, as is the number of holes. That is more critical than the height of the stove itself. The reason is you’re trying to create the perfect distance for the vapourized fuel that travels up between the stove walls before it is being forced out the holes as jets of flame by the PSI you created when you primed the stove. The friend I speak of probably built about 30 stoves while trying to find the perfect combination of heights, holes, etc., but as he has a die it’s pretty easy for him to crank them out now. The best cans for that design BTW, are the stadium cans.
I will be getting them a Solo Stove to go in the set as well, the alcohol stove is just a backup just in case. Yes, I would rather not set my mother on fire at this point of life haha...
I have a burn on my hand from a plastic straw that I had got when I was about 12, 16 years ago. And yes, I had to peel that chunk of plastic out of my hand and it did not feel good.
I would prefer to make them the alcohol burner for the stove, but if it takes 2 times the fuel to function, I would rather just give them a tried and true Trangia burner in the kit.
Looking back, I think the mini explosion may have been due to the cold alcohol from my basement vaporizing when I put it in the warmer burner from upstairs. But, I would like to minimize any risk of my parents getting hurt from this. Luckily I did not get any 1st-3rd degree burns from last night. Had a few spots that were sore last night, but no visible damage this morning. Almost felt kind of like a sun burn in a few spots on my hand
This is not an open jet design, it is a sealed jet design like the penny stove, so there is no internal wall. The reason for me wanting to make it taller is to get the jets at a more optimum distance to the base of the pot with out any sort of extra base or stand for the burner. I am probably going to have to make a dozen or so to find the optimum height of burner and jet placements for this application. I may actually need to experiment with the diameter of the jet holes also. Larger hole = less pressure and smaller flame height. But also more jets will do the same and have more surface area of flame on the base of the pot.
I got a few months left before xmas, so hopefully I will figure it out by then
A wick like the one wrapped around the bottom of the stove TSellers showed would help.
Hey, thats a good idea! I wonder how some fiberglass fire blanket would work for that... Might be woven too dense, but I will give it a try
I was going to mention that wick. Mine has it and I do use it, however I have come to favour another method that makes the wick optional. I discovered that Amrit Scotch is an amazing Scotch for the price. The metal lid on the tube it comes in makes a perfect dished base for that stove. Not only does it make the base more stable, you can use it as a primer cup as squirt the alchohol into it. I’ll post some pictures when I get home later. (I have told my spouse that the only reason I have to buy that Scotch is to get the lid from the tube.) That same friend that made the die also knows where to get some of that wicking material, and I was wondering if the UV Glue that Fasttech sells would be good for holding it on?
I should also mention I made my own windscreen from titanium sheet that works very well (there is a guy in Utah that sells it by the linear foot that I bought some from, if anyone is interested I could try and find the info). I used to clip the ends of the windscreen together with magnets, but as they lose magentism when they get too hot, I now use clips. I also have the more expensive Mini Bull M4 stove, but I am finding that my preferred stove is now the simple Bios with the MSR Titanium pot, Amrit Scotch lid, and titanium windscreen. I also use a Varga titanium folding woodstove as a windscreen with both the Bios and the Mini Bull M4 stove, it is convenient but adds about 100gr over my other windscreen.
I really don’t like to mess and fiddle around when I am doing some serious multi day trips. We have played with lots of designs over the years such as the penny stove, etc., but it would appear that Mini Bull really prefected the design with the double wall concept. The downside to that is to make one yourself you really need to make up some sort of die and use a hydraulic press, but if you do, you can now start to make them at any height you want. For example, the height of the Bios stove is not quite tall enough to fit inside the Varga Titanium folding woodstove so that the pot will sit on it, so you have to shim the stove. I’ve asked my friend to make me one that is just the right height and am keeping my fingers crossed.
i have to get one of those solo stoves for my next camping trip
I like the Solo Stove a lot. I am hoping in the near future I can perfect the alcohol burner for it. Its not really needed, but a nice back up just in case. Plus, playing with alcohol stoves is fun too 
Really hope in the next few years I can get out in the woods more. Ever since we had kids we barely go camping, and when we do it is car camping or up to the hunting cabin. Would like to get a kayak and do some multi day river trips down the Kennebec river to Fort Popham sometime soon