Global Warming Sorcery.
Captain they are so primitive they are communicating in memes!
That’s not the real problem Mr Spock, They can’t see the obvious!
her3es a meme i created by mashing up some pictures from the internet. Have a good look at that chart.
Aluminium can stove photograph
Firstly I know my North American readers will say you spelled it wrong, and while you may be right in that in your area its spelled aluminum. But according to IUPAC its been officially Aluminium for the last 15 or so years.
We are of course talking about the 13th element on the periodic table witch has low density and low corrosion rate due to its propensity to form a protective oxide layer.
Aluminium will however corrode markedly if it is left in a salty environment such as a salt spray zone near an ocean or salty lake.
I should talk more extensively about Aluminium as a material at a later date.
We live in a throw away society where things are made to be used once and then destined to become land fill. The humble aluminium can is one such product.
However we can change the game and turn a low cost one use item into something much more useful and possibly life saving depending on the situation.
Water is of course essential for life, 3 days without water and its likely that you will be dead, close to dead, or if miraculously resuced at the last minute you may suffer from life long health effects.
Water is a great mobilizer of materials and living things some of these living things will be very harmful if you drink them.
If you find water of unknown quality you will need to be cautious.
Straining water even with a cotton shirt will remove most suspended material (dirt etc) but will not kill pathogens.
Boiling water after it has been strained will kill most pathogens and make water much safer to drink.
It not appropriate or possible to make a fire in ever possible location you might be so a small cooker is a great option to have.
You could buy a propane/butane gas cooker but they are expensive by comparison require large gas canisters and are in themselves somewhat bulky and fragile.
So there is a niche for a cheap to make cheap to run cooker for boiling water or cooking food.
I made an awesome info-graphic and I’ll add it here. it may be better to download the image or open it is a separate window to see it in its full glory.
It described the manufacture of one of many designs of the aluminium can stove.
pic
Aluminium can stove info graphic
Manufacture notes
1-Remove all of the paint from the can with sandpaper.
2-Empty the can.
3-Put holes into top section. (thumb tack or drill)
4-Cut out the circular section around the ring pull. (razor blade)
5-Cut into 3 sections. (razor blade or tin snips)
6-Cut center section.(razor blade or tin snips)
7-Flange out the sharp edge bottom section slightly. (screwdriver shaft)
8-(optional) add glass wool between bottom and center sections.
9-Put top section inside bottom section.
Fuel
this stove runs best from pure alcohol.
Pure alcohol is quite hard to obtain. the pureset from of alcohol is methylated spirts.
methylated spirts is about 96-99% Alcohol.
the rest (1 -4%) is made up other impurities (like methanol) so that is is toxic and/or unplesant to drink.
Methlyated spirits is quite cheap at about $2-3 per litre making this a very economical fuel.
Use
pour fuel into the center section of the stove and light.
it may be easier to light the stove with a match or piece of paper or dry grass rather than a lighter.
during day time the flame may be difficult to see.
once light the stove cannot be easily extinguised and the flame heat is not adjustable.
Different sotves produce different ammounts of heat and this may be a way of controlling heat.
multiple stoves may be used together to produce more heat.
Why is this item important.
It shows that useful things can be made from commonly available low cost items.
It introduces people to making things for themselves.
In many situations the ability to boil water to sterilise it maybe a life saving device.
The material
Aluminium does not readily corrode except for in a very salty environment.
(such as in the salt spray zone of beaches)
Aluminium may begin to corrode when place in contact with other metals for extended periods of time.
Aluminium melts at 660C, so its unlikely to melt during normal operation.
the thickness of Aluminium in cans makes them quite fragile.
A sturdy container is recomended to prevent the stove being crushed in a backpack.
Alternative designs
there are many alternative designs to the can stove.
Each have their merits in terms of use and ease of construction.
For some people constructing these is a serious hobby.
precautions
It may seem like a mundane item but it’s extremely useful if you have a good pair of scissors.
Stainless steel is key here, durable, rust proof, sterilizable, retaining edge for extremely long periods of time.
For things as basic as cutting your fingernails and toenails to small craft projects these come in handy.
Of course because they can be sterilized in boiling water and/or bleach they can be useful for medical purposes ( medical knowledge not included).
A good medical kit will include scissors of some kind but its worthwhile having a pair of scissors for general use.
As pictured the scissors should have a small screw in the pivot point this is so they can be tightened if they become loose.
I have had these scissors for almost 20 years, a testament to how durable stainless steel really is.
Stainless steel scissors
An important concept is life is to recognize resources and know what uses they can be put to.
There is not waste resource, just a wasted resource opportunity.
So what is in wood ash?
Wood ash makes up 0.34 to 1.8 percent of the weight of dry wood burnt in its production.
So 10kg of wood burnt will produce at least 34 grams of dry wood ash.
Wood ash is a good thermal insulator if it is kept dry, the small air pockets in it allow for it to have this insulating property, once it becomes damp or wet these air spaces collapse and do not return upon drying.
Wood ash is:
about 25-45 % Calcium Carbonate ( CaCO3)
About 10 % potash (K2CO3, KCl , K2SO4)
about 1% Phosphates (PO4¯³)
The temperature and duration of the fire will influence the composition of the wood ash.
For example ta higher temperature will reduce the Calcium carbonate to Calcium oxide and make any resultant Lye more alkaline.
Wood ash is also used in odor control in composting especially if it has a high char content.
By adding water to Wood ash, Lye is produced, an alkaline mixture of Calcium and potassium hydroxides, thought the calcium salts will precipitate as it is not very soluble in alkaline solutions.
Lye is commonly use to reduce acidity in soils
Lye is also used in making Soap
Lye can also be use to clean clothes directly by in doing so you are relying on the oil in the clothes being turned to soap during the washing process.
So it will be a lot slower and you will have to heat your water.
The 12 Volt car adapter is a very popular source of DC power so its worth knowing more about its parameters.
12V adapter. positive and negative contacts labeled. Red arrow shows direction of rotation for access to the fuse under the positive contact.
20-25mm in diameter and 50mm long.
Positive contact at the tip and negative contact on the side.
The negative side contacts are usually attached to springs to hold the device secure.
Frequently one of the negative side contacts may be not electrically connected and simply to help hold the device in place.
Under the positive contact there may be a spring and a fuse, which is normally a 2Amp fuse.
Some adapters in this format may support 24 volts as some truck electrical systems are 24 volt.
This is an interesting movie.
A clever mash up of short film segments to explain a few important points. Hopefully some of it will be familiar.
Contains footage of animal and human cruelty!
It starts with the ways people can be conditioned to act, even against their own better judgement.
The Solomon Ash experiment.
Normative conformity, the pressure to conform is stronger than the desire to state your own belief, the fundamental flaw in open outcry democracy.
People can feel pressured into doing things that they think are wrong
It follows on to the conclusion we are all simply being farmed, just like the way we farm animals and plants.
I have looked into how long this has been going on and as far as I can tell this happened this started with the first societies that developed settled agriculture in the fertile crescent.
It seems that not long after people started farming they themselves became farmed.
I guess its not such a large logical leap to put a fence around a cow and ‘own’ it than to put a fence around the farmer and ‘own’ the farmer.
Further on it talks of political systems as being nothing more than farm management systems.
We end with the premise that only option for a human society is one based on the non aggression principle, fairness and voluntary participation. Which I think sounds reasonable, but what would such a society look like and operate?
DIO real skills 
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