• Primer Pan
  • This is a great accessory for your alcohol stove. It provides a secure base for the stove and allows the stove to attain full temp for cooking in only 15 seconds instead of 90. A good item for cold weather starting. To use: -Place stove on Primer Pan and add desired amount of fuel to stove. -Put 1/4 teaspoon or about 15 drops of denatured alcohol in the primer pan. -Place cooking pot on the UNLIT stove. -Light the alcohol in the Primer Pan. That's all there is to it! Why it works so well: In normal light-up and operation, you light the fuel in the stove and wait for it to reach full temperature before setting the pot on the stove. This is because the stove is heating the alcohol in the outer chamber of the stove from the center outward. It takes about 90 seconds this way and you should hold the pot about 2 inches above the stove to avoid wasting the BTUs. With the Primer Pan, the fuel in the outer chamber heats up from the outside inward thus reaching operating temperatures much faster. You will have a hotter and larger than normal flame at first but it will settle down when the Primer Pan alcohol is consumed.
• Fuel bottle
  • Perfect companion for the alcohol stove. This fuel bottle has a flip-up pour spout and is just about perfect for a 3 day/2 night solo hike.
• MSR-style windscreen
  • This is a definite improvement and upgrade for your stove. Made of the same material as the MSR Whisperlight type of screen yet only 4 inches high to make it more suited to alcohol stove use. The edges are rolled to make it safer to use and it's only half the cost! The windscreen will fold flat for storage or you can wrap it around the fuel bottle.

Arrival [return to top] The kit arrived undamaged on September 19, 2005. Inside the shipping box I found a clear plastic bag containing the set, a small box containing a bonus Tin Man stove, and a hand-written thank-you note from George “Tin Man” Andrews of AGG. The plastic bag contained a product label for the set, the fuel bottle with a small measuring cup on top, and another small bag containing the primer pan and folded windscreen along with 2 sheets of warnings and instructions.

Description [return to top] AGG has some of the best, most detailed photos of gear I have seen on a website. Any details I may have missed in my descriptions should be readily answered by simply visiting their site. Overall: This set is basically a group of 3 individual AGG items bundled together at a discount. However, it is a group of items that anyone with an alcohol stove and a pot should be able to use. The safety and usage instructions for the stove, along with the Hold Harmless Agreement, take up two full letter-size pages, as I would expect from anything that uses open flame.

Primer pan: The pan, which measures 3¼ in wide x ¼ in high (83 mm x 6 mm), is constructed of uncoated aluminum, which is slightly heavier than that used in soda cans. It includes lips along the inside and outside edges of its ring shape, as well as three ‘feet’ pressed into the bottom (see photo) that keep the majority of the pan from contacting the surface on which the assembly is sitting. The safety and usage instructions for the pan are on one side of a 4¼ x 3 in (11 x 8 cm) slip of paper. They include placing 15-20 drops of alcohol in the pan after setting the stove in place, something made possible by the spout on the fuel bottle.

Fuel bottle: The fuel bottle, which has an 8 oz (240 ml) capacity and measures 8 in tall by 1¾ in wide (18 cm x 5.5 cm) with the cap on, is made of fairly rigid transparent colored plastic. The screw-on/off cap has a flip-up spout. The bottle has enough flex in it to allow squirting – or dripping – of the alcohol in a fairly controlled manner.

Windscreen: The windscreen, which measures 23 in long x 5 in high (58 cm x 13 cm), is constructed of uncoated aluminum sheet, which is slightly heavier than that used in soda cans. Both ends of the windscreen are folded over about ½ in (1 cm), and can be slipped together to form it into a ring that is a little larger around than a large (2 qt/L) pot. When the ends are not connected, the windscreen can be coiled to fit inside a pot or cozy, or wrapped around the fuel bottle. As it is taller than most of my pots, I will likely wrap it around the bottle.

Measuring cup: A 1 oz (30 ml) clear plastic cup is included in the set. It is sized nicely to fit over the cap of the fuel bottle, and is marked in English, metric, and pharmaceutical scales (it is a standard medication cup).

Stove: The Tin Man stove, which measures 2½ in wide x 1½ in high (6 cm x 4 cm), is of a relatively standard design – as standard as “homemade” soda-can stoves can be, I suppose. It is an unpressurized design, with an inner wall and a series of small holes drilled around the perimeter of the stove. There are no slits cut to aid in the joining of the two sections, and a strip of foil tape sealing the entire joint. According to the web site the stoves are also sealed with a high-temperature epoxy, although this is not apparent from visual examination. The bottom of the stove is engraved with Tin Man’s signature, “AntiGravityGear”, and the model and serial number of the stove. The stove also comes with a measuring cup, which I find to be a nice touch.

First Impressions [return to top] I got exactly what I was expecting based on viewing the AGG website. I also must commend Tin Man and the other folks at AGG for their continued – and significant – support of outdoor programs and conservation efforts.

Field Information [return to top] Our Boy Scout troop camps monthly, generally in the wooded areas of southeastern Pennsylvania and the Pocono Mountains. Almost all of these outings include a minimum of 2 nights of camping, with temperatures expected to be from lows around 30 ºF (-1 ºC) to highs around 90 ºF (32 ºC) during the 4-month test period. Elevations will range from sea level to approximately 1,000’ (305 m). Our new Scoutmaster has added monthly hikes to our schedule as well. My fiancée and I, who between us have 3 First Class boy scouts (ages 14, 14 and 15), are also looking into additional camping without the scouts, and there are possibilities of some AT section hikes in Pennsylvania with my son as he works towards the Hiking Merit Badge.

Things I am/will be looking for: Ease of use. This would be for all of the various components. Interchangeability. Do the components work well with the different cook sets I have? Cleanability. This refers to all components. Packability. I generally carry a cut-off 1-gallon plastic milk jug, which serves as a wash basin. I try to carry my cookware inside this basin, to have all kitchenware in the same place. Safety. Do I need to worry about fuel leakage?

Things I like [return to top] Light. Small. Convenient. Things I don't like [return to top] The windscreen is taller than any others I have and won’t fit inside my smaller pots, but it can wrap around the fuel bottle. The primer pan, due to its inner lip, is intended mostly for beverage-can type stoves. It will require additional care to use with my Trangia stove.

Backpacking Background [return to top] My family started car/trailer camping when I was about 5. I spent 17 years in the Army Reserve fine-tuning my packing methodology – when I got out, I was down to a fairly respectable 75-80 lb (34-36 kg) load in my ALICE pack. Advancing age, arthritic knees and a car accident have led me to seriously rethink my gear choices, experiment with tarps and hammocks, make some of my own gear, and take a closer look at my ‘toys’ with an eye for multi-use and light weight. I now have a sub-30 lb (14 kg) 3-season load, and should be able to reduce it to 20 lb (9 kg) – before food, fuel and water – without much more effort.

Thank you for your time. Chuck Kime a.k.a. Fuzzy

Reviews > Cook Gear > Cooking Accessories > AntiGravityGear Stove Accessory Pack > Chuck Kime > Initial Report