Filling Origo Canisters--Loren's "Hole-y Soup Can" Method, Version 2.0

I've got an Origo-type non-pressurized alcohol stove. (It's a Cookmate, which is an identical clone.) Quite a while back I adopted Loren's method of filling the canister using an empty metal soup can with a 3/16" hole drilled in the bottom. Instead of holding the canister at an angle and trying to pour the alcohol from a bottle directly into it without spilling anything--the normal way to do it--with his method you simply put the canister on a flat surface like your counter (or in the sink), set the soup can on top, and pour a slug of alcohol into the can. The small hole slows the rate of flow so the wicking material in the canister can keep up with it.

The only thing I didn't like is the method for determining when the canister is full. You still need to use the conventional method of tilting the canister at an angle to see if alcohol starts to well up in the indent in the rim around the canister's center. If you don't check periodically while doing a refill you can overflow the canister, which wastes alcohol and requires draining out the excess. So I came up with another method that lets me fill the canisters really fast and accurately in one shot.

First, I bought a cheap battery operated digital scale from Harbor Freight, like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/digital-scale-95364.html It has a very low profile and fits in a little cranny above the cabinet behind my stove that was mostly useless to me anyway.

So, armed with this scale I set out to find out how much the canisters weigh when they are totally full as well as bone empty. A full canister weighs 1950 gm. (68.7 oz.) and one that is completely empty weighs in at 850 gm. (30 oz.). To fill a canister all I do is whip out the scale, turn it on, set the hole-y soup can on it, and then press the "tare" button to zero out the added weight of the can. Then I set the canister and can on the scale and pour alcohol straight into it until I get a reading of 1950 gm. I can pour the alcohol as fast as I like into the can and, once I hit the 1950 gm. reading, I stop pouring and just wait for the soup can to drain at a nice and safe rate into the canister. Done! No need to stop part way through to tilt the canister over the sink to see whether I'm getting close to full.

I can also, if I like, weigh the canisters to see how full they are and whether they are close to needing a refill. But that's not usually necessary because when the canisters first start to get low you can sense a slight degradation in performance, and at that point I just fill them both.

This "upgrade" is certainly not essential but I think it makes filling the canisters easier. Plus, it's so much fun that sometimes I'll just top them off because it's such a hoot.

(If any of you decide to do this, I'd suggest weighing your own canisters just in case they differ slightly from the weight of the ones on my stove.)

Great idea, though I abandoned alcohol stoves long ago in favor of propane-Magna-off-the-pushpit cuisine. (I think this concept works with propane bottles too.)

No need to wonder any more how people running meth labs get their start!

tenders said:

Great idea, though I abandoned alcohol stoves long ago in favor of propane-Magna-off-the-pushpit cuisine. (I think this concept works with propane bottles too.)

No need to wonder any more how people running meth labs get their start!

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If your experience is with *pressurized* alcohol stoves "from long ago," note that the non-pressurized Origo stoves are completely different animals in terms of safety and performance--vastly superior in every way.

As for the "meth lab" comment--I suppose it never hurts to broaden one's skill set. :0

And this '3.0' procedure...

This procedure has evolved over time and proven itself safe and reliable for use with our Origo:

* portions of a 1-gallon can are transferred, with a funnel, into a sports water bottle with easy open/close top

* The 'water bottle' allows the Origo canisters to be filled, or pretty darn near, safely, even in the most active sea state.

* That said, we've never 'filled' the canisters, instead choosing to add for the anticipated need for that day or 2

* this 'procedure' has worked for either stove top and/or oven canister

* most use is stovetop for coffee and the occasional 'Jiffy Pop' popcorn snack (yes, Jiffy Pop, less than 90-seconds with a smell that tantalizes!)

wonder if there's a 4.0 lurking!

Grizz said:

This procedure has evolved over time and proven itself safe and reliable for use with our Origo:

* portions of a 1-gallon can are transferred, with a funnel, into a sports water bottle with easy open/close top

* The 'water bottle' allows the Origo canisters to be filled, or pretty darn near, safely, even in the most active sea state.

* That said, we've never 'filled' the canisters, instead choosing to add for the anticipated need for that day or 2

* this 'procedure' has worked for either stove top and/or oven canister

* most use is stovetop for coffee and the occasional 'Jiffy Pop' popcorn snack (yes, Jiffy Pop, less than 90-seconds with a smell that tantalizes!)

wonder if there's a 4.0 lurking!

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My proposal for version 4.0 comes from something I saw in Christian Williams' Hawaii cruise video. Its called a jiggle siphon tube. I haven't tried it yet but I'm about to. Looks like it should work nicely.

For those of you wondering why this is such a big issue, the viscosity of alcohol is so low that it is very difficult to control the flow when pouring, especially with the boat motion. It can get comical at times.

And by the way, I'm a huge fan of the Origo.

Paul
E29 "Bear"

'Jiggle ciphon' (AKA - 'Safety Siphon' or the localized designation of 'The Whore')

We have had great success with the Safety Siphon* transferring diesel from jerry cans into the tank, @ 2 minutes for 5-gallons, start-to-finish. Quick and easy, without the need to lift and hold the can over the deck inlet.


Overkill for our use with denatured alcohol, 'cuz transferring small quantities is easier with our sports bottle method.


*As to 'The Whore', when transferring diesel, it's "2 jiggles and it squirts", which prompted much laughter, initially, and stuck as a result. It's not a PC vessel...

paul culver said:

For those of you wondering why this is such a big issue, the viscosity of alcohol is so low that it is very difficult to control the flow when pouring, especially with the boat motion. It can get comical at times.

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I've never had a need to fill the Origo canisters while under way, since I've not been at sea for the 5 or 6 days it would take for a full canister to run out. Obviously if someone were crossing an ocean that would be a different story. But using a jiggle siphon for this purpose seems awkward to me--though I can't say I have tried it.

If one did have to fill the canister under way, placing the Origo canister in the sink and then using Loren's soup can method seems like it would work well even in moderately sloppy conditions. I don't see where there would be much spillage pouring into the can from a plastic bottle, and if something did slip it would just go into the sink. But as I say, for my shorter trips this is a non issue.

We pretty much fill ours for the anticipated use during a trip. Never fill it up because the unused alcohol will evaporate before we get back to the boat.

Now about that Jiffy-Pop! We ordered a case online last year (you just can't find it in stores around here anymore). The pans are no longer the foil pie pan but are now a black pie pan (not sure what). We could never get it to pop without burning. Now we use olive oil and Orval's in a saucepan.

Rick R. said:

We pretty much fill ours for the anticipated use during a trip. Never fill it up because the unused alcohol will evaporate before we get back to the boat.

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Rick,
Do you put rubber gaskets on top of the canisters? I find that this takes care of the evaporation issue.

Alan Gomes said:

Rick,
Do you put rubber gaskets on top of the canisters? I find that this takes care of the evaporation issue.

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Great idea Alan! Do you have any photos?

Rick R. said:

Great idea Alan! Do you have any photos?

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No pictures, but all I did was buy a sheet of neoprene rubber and cut a couple of discs out of it. (I think this is what I bought from McMaster-Carr: http://www.mcmaster.com/#8525t33/=14hjrh4 ) I suppose you could go to Home Depot and buy a couple of rubber sink stoppers and they would work fine also. You can buy official Origo gaskets at marine prices but there's no reason to do that.

Covering the tops of the canisters makes a huge difference. With it covered I get no evaporation that I can tell but the few times I left them uncovered the loss of alcohol was noticeable.

After I use the stove I wait about 15 or 20 minutes for the burners to cool and then put the gaskets back on.

As mentioned previously don't fill the canisters up, only enough to get you through the trip. I use methyl hydrate because it's cheap and a 30 ml (1 oz) syringe (no needle) to fill. I also recommend covering the Origos with neoprene discs between usage. I also only fill/use one canister at a time unless I'm preparing a multi course and even then I'll use the butane stove as a high temp element (quick boil).