I'd hoped to write a report on these much sooner, but ended up flat on my back with the flu for the better part of ten days. I just managed to get to the PO to pick up my new Minibull, which is about the size of a shot glass, has a remote fuel reservoir, a simmer ring, and weighs in at the heft of a couple of butterflies. Tinny, chief designer and metal cutter over at Minibull is, in New England terminology, "a character." He wears a stove-pipe hat, lives off-grid with a wind generator he made from parts from the dump, and seems to be very interesting and completely irritating at the same time. His alcohol stoves have a small but deeply disturbed following. There's the "Choke Hazard," the "Gnome" and others. While his original production was devoted to pop-can types, later models lend themselves to simmering, baking, and more advanced cooking techniques, all while having no moving parts at all.
I have some Starlyte stoves, with a simmer ring run a very long time. I have a few others too, like the 12-10 stove. Duane
Tinny is a clever and eccentric man, amusing and talented, irritating to some. In his present endeavors he is harmless, bringing satisfaction and stimulation to many. I just hope he doesn't run for president, given that his small army of fanatical followers would probably guarantee his success, and then what? Would we be better off, or worse, or just a toss up?
Thanks @Canuman, given me some food for thought. Some of those look like mini Turms. @Marc You could probably fit one of those in the gassifier base, a neat idea if they are controllable. Not sure I'd be happy shelling out for one of these just for the tank and burner. https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B0...6932972&sr=1-24&pi=SL75&keywords=lixada+stove Prompted a little by the new Turm tourer thread in Fettling.
I probably have read some of his works, as I was an avid scifi reader in my younger years. Why do you ask, does it seem to you that I am writing science fiction?
@Simes , the Lixada alky stove is cheaper on Aliexpress! Works OK, tank is detachable but I have not tested yet for leaks. I bought it to make the occasional cup of coffee in the shed or when away with the car, so this feature is not very important to me. Best regards, Wim
Hi @Wim, I tried looking there before and was unable to find it. Not that I wouldn't like one for use anyway. My feeling is that a 'Turm' type burner assembly would be an interesting addition rather than a wadded type in the application I'm looking at. @presscall, do the Turm wicks act as remote 'wadding'? Again speculation here as we've discussed before elsewhere. (ccs passim) The Lidl alcohol burner as far as I can tell doesn't have the wadding as in a Trangia, which is probably why they are as bad as they undoubtably are. Am I missing something or are there already gravity fed meths burners for Trangias.
Concentrated technological strength of Japan .......... ultimate alcohol stove ......... LOL ......... He ought to get a job in an auto body shop.
I am some one who follows Tinny. I have far more of his stove then I care to admit to. Lol An unusual cgaractor? Definately. But I can say he is a true gentleman to deal with. He has often added extra spare parts for nothing. The newer wick stoves actually need quite a bit of machining. It's a nich market and he does well out of it. Hats off to him. I learnt a tremendous amount from his stoves. The firststove I got was the elite. When i got it , I put some meths in. Lit it then put a massive pan of cold wayer on it. Expecting a boiling pan of water in a few mins, all I got was the stove went out! Since then I can nowboil, fry, bake, steam on an once or two of meths( yes only for one person). They have taught me a great deal about the mechanics of flames and stoves. Dif fuels and their charactoristics.
I didn't mean to impugn Tinny's character in any way. I've never met the man face-to-face, but he is noted to have strong opinions on some topics. Here's my new Turbo Gnome, with an appropriate object to demonstrate scale: It should also be noted that these little stoves are not at all expensive. The Turbo Gnome with remote is $25, whereas a non-remote model is under $10.
Hi @Simes , the shop at Aliexpress where I bought mine still has them, at 39.99$ and free shipping. Their name is TOMSHOO but they no longer sell it as a LIXADA stove so use "alcohol stove" as search and you'll find it there. Best regards, Wim
We'll, every day is a real learning day around here isn't it. Here I was happily thinking ok Trangia, pop can DIY, old Turm (or similar), SBP or pressure adaptions, while all the time there is a dark secret lurking out there. Or did I just miss the threads where these have been discussed.
Here's the stove's components: Clockwise from top left: 1. Main burner. Filled just below holes with carbon felt. 2.Remote fuel reservoir. Looks to be about 60 ml. 3. Silicone hose to connect 1 and 2. 4. Simmer ring. 5.Rubber band made of bicycle inner tube.
As to the kettle test: I boiled ,7 liters of tap water (two good mugs) in a little over eight minutes. The stove needs some sort of pot support, so my handy Trangia base was pressed into service. Tinny also sells pot supports formed up out of wire mesh. As with practically any other non-pressurized alcohol stove, some sort of windscreen would be necessary out of doors. It's no expedition stove. For melting snow or other heavy use, it would be best to look elsewhere. It's about par for the course regarding boil times and fuel use compared to many of the other alcohol burners I've tried. The level of power is very good for its tiny size -- I honestly don't see how one would make a practical stove in a much smaller format. It is well built -- Tinny's craftsmanship is careful. It looks and feels like a quality piece, not something cobbed up out of junk.
I can be so f#####g slow at times. http://www.roundhouse-eng.com/spirit.htm I have two of these sitting in stationary engines......... Design has been around for as many years as model engineering has existed I suspect. This is definately.the hit head here moment. I'm sure the carbon fibre mat is available somewhere, I need to send some to my Father.
