homebrew stove

Nothing unusual in feeling groggy (as usual) – so normality pervades… We all went out to see Jack’s classes end of term/end of school play yesterday evening. It went on until past 8:30 (so they were all late to bed). It was a good do & entertaining. I got a couple of bits on my camera, but the sound is not so good & Esme kept coming over to sit on me, so it’s a little shaky from time to time. Still – it’s a record. It’s quite a momentous time I guess… It’s going to be a funny last couple of days for him, but he is also looking forward to what comes next. He had the induction day at school last Friday & I took him (& Leila & our Esme on the bus in the morning. Ben (from his class) also got the bus, but he was so quite of voice that when he tried to talk to me I couldn’t hold the conversation. I also had Esme to deal with who was very much into jumping about on my knee & generally larkng about. As I’d sad (half joking) to Leila – Esme was a long for entertainment value: she entertained & distracted like a good un. We made it to the school in good time & I left Jack at the gates while I scurried away to Tesco’s (to relieve my pressured bladder). Unfortunately half way there I realised I’d neglected to give him lunch money, so had to double back. They were being counted in the hall when I went back in with Esme on my shoulders & I was only nominally embarrassing as I was not questioned by supervisors, I was not in ‘after time’ & parents were still arriving. Dropping a pound coin to have it traverse the hall to a spot under someone else’s chair was not entirely my fault. Jack survived. He said that he had a brilliant day & as i say – he’s looking forward to his new school. His day was slightly marred later by being told off for playing with fire – a charge he denies (wasn’t play – he was making a stove). The joys of Youtube had provided him with ‘bush skills’ involved with making a mini stove from a drinks can, some insulation & lighter fluid (urban ‘bush’ skills, surely…) Having picked up 1 drinks can at lunch he was determined to get things started. Unfortunately the base of 2 drinks cans are required so he used an ordinary tin can for the base. As the principal of the thing relies on sealing up the accelerant in an absorbent substance so that the heat of the sealed tin makes the accelerant evaporate & burn hotter through small holes in the sealed tin….. it didn’t work how he liked. Jack was a little grumpy, but essentially he was undeterred & louise detected this & decided that this thirst for knowledge needed assuaging I was entrusted to try the next day.
Picked up a couple of ‘healthy’ lemonades in cans from The Bear the next day when I took Esme & Eve into town with me to get the paper (& rice biscuits & charity shop sundries) on Saturday morning. we set about making it for him in the afternoon. Trying to get the bases of 2 drinks cans to slot together was … a little frustrating, but I managed it in the end & then trying to get it to work was a little bit of trial. Not enough ‘wick’ in the ‘stove’ maybe? Stuffed in some more cotton wool. Eventually hints from Jack made me realise that it needed to be of a critical heat for it to actually pick up enough to become a stove, rather than a candle, so held some matches to it & it eventually kicked off. Burned quite fiercely & was able to boil water before it petered out. Quite impressive really: Jack satiated… well, aside from wanting to find anything that burned for a bit until I said i would buy some more lighter fluid at some point, as Spraymount or anything else was just being plain dangerous.