SuperCat Alcohol Stove
One of the easiest designs for Alcohol stoves you can try out is the SuperCat stove, in this article I cover how to make one and how it performs.
What you will need to make this Alcohol stove is the following:
- Hole punch (1/4 inch, 6mm)
- Cat food can
- Safety can opener (optional)
- Marker and ruler
This stove is very easy to build and assemble by popular design by John Woods, and that is why it is such a hit for hikers that are curious about alcohol stoves. And preferably have a cat, or somebody in their circle that has a cat. I have got a couple friends and family that have cats, so once in a while I get a delivery of cat food cans for my projects with alcohol stoves.
The only specialty tool you will need is to get a hole punch, these you can pick up quite cheaply at a hobby store, DIY stores like Hornbach, OBI, Gamma / Praxis, or Home Depot in America. And many other places. I even seen them in my local supermarket Netto in a seasonal product lineup. If you keep your eye out, or just order one online from Amazon. You can find them very easily.
You can do without the hole punch and instead use a church key, knife, or other way of making a hole in soft aluminum. But a hole punch makes for a easy and neat way to get this stove build.
Construction of the SuperCat stove
First step, open the cat food can and take out the contents. I.e. feed your cat.
Second step, take a safety can opener and cut off the top ring of the can. This makes punching the holes easier.
Alternatively, you can crimp the little lip on the inside of the can with a pair of pliers to keep the top part intact.
Third step, make holes in the stove with the hole punch close to the top. You can be scientific about this, and try out more or less holes. Or to make two rows of holes. I tend to go for a single row with fewer holes for a less aggressive flame pattern. Since I dislike a pot engulfed in flames. In this specific example I go for:
I did a total of 12 holes, with about 1.5 cm space in between them.
1 cm from the top rim down.
Total weight at the end: 6 grams
Using the SuperCat Alcohol stove
The SuperCat requires a preheating time, and is therefore at a disadvantage with other Alcohol stove designs. After putting your fuel in the SuperCat, you need to give it around a minute to preheat until you can see the Alcohol start to boil inside the stove. At that point you can pot your pot directly on the stove to begin cooking.
Always make sure before lighting it that it is on even ground, and your pot is not at an extreme angle on top. This stove has a risk of tipping over, and due to not having any wicking material inside, if tipped over, it can quickly turn very dangerous. So have your water bottle ready, and think twice before using it in a dry grassy field for example.
This stove also works best with wider pots, the Tomshoo 750ml pot for example has the flames licking up on the sides. And makes for less efficient times.
As with any Alcohol stove, use a windscreen for best results. Even in a light breeze.
I went ahead and also made a smaller SuperCat type stove from a leftover deodorant can I had in my pile, and tested it out as well. You can also make a SuperCat stove using the bottom of aluminium beer bottles, or other containers. Also works for example with Tuna cans.
Boil times and fuel efficiency
I did three tests with the SuperCat stove which you can see the results from down below in the table. Two tests with my Esbit cook set, and one with my Tomshoo 750ml pot. Esbit being made from aluminium, Tomshoo with Titanium.
On all the tests I used 2cl of “Brennspiritus”, or alcohol fuel you can easily get here in Germany in any supermarket. Its not as clean burning as Bio-Ethanol or hot as Methanol, but does the job.
| Stove & Pot | Bloom (seconds) | Pot on (seconds) | Boil time | Out at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SuperCat with Tomshoo pot | 38 | 54 | 7:25 | 8:00 |
| SuperCat with Esbit pot | 38 | 40 | 5:55 | 7:10 |
| Tiny SuperCat with Tomshoo pot | 44 | 53 | 7:10 | 7:15 |
*With the Tiny SuperCat I’m being generous with calling it a boil, but bubbles where starting to get going.
For my money, which was nothing but my time since I got the cans for free, and already had the tools. I will stick to other Alcohol stove designs out there. Since I dislike the aggressive flame pattern they have, and they are not suited for smaller diameter pots. Which I like to use for most solo outings or day hikes.
The SuperCat stove is also not very windproof, while using a windscreen, I saw huge flareups that rose a good hand width or two over the windscreen and pot. That makes me much less excited for this kind off design compared to others. Like the jetted type stoves, which are way more stable and calm during use.
Other Alcohol stoves options
You got a lot of choice and options for homemade or DIY Alcohol stoves, and the SuperCat stove design is just scratching the surface of them. I invite you to take a look at my other articles on Alcohol stoves, and encourage you to try out a couple of them to see what works best for your needs.
They are all very cheaply made, or using exclusively recycled material that you find next to the trail or in town. For the hiker on a budget, or the hiker that likes to play around with DIY gear they are a great creative outlet.
My two favorite Alcohol stoves at the moment are:
Beer can Alcohol stove | Open Jet
Which is yours? If its the SuperCat, feel free to disagree with me down in the comments.
Happy Hiking and Hike for Purpose!
Frank
I'm Frank, the main guy and owner of this website. Loves hiking, gear and bushcraft. And can get quite nerdy about them. In the woods several times a week preparing for my next hike. Always searching for another hill, which is quite difficult in the Netherlands. That's why I search around several countries. More about me on the about page.
