Where did the penny idea come from?
I just wanted an efficient stove that I could make on the trail. And, having used an Optimus 8R pressurized gas stove for years, I knew that sealed self-pressurizing stoves often overheat and/or burn slow at the end when heat is needed most – they can also be very dangerous. After messing around with jet and center hole sizes, making low and no pressure stoves (similar to the newer Vargo), using the bottom of two cans (like Photon Stove), using a crimped burner as a double wall (like Pepsi Stove), and spaced jets to simulate an air jacket (like Cat Stove ), I realized that a center hole of any size would alter jet height during the burn. One day, looking for a low-tech way to regulate pressure, I dropped on a penny and that was it – the perfect solution. The six 1/16″ jets that I was using turned out to provide the perfect pressure combination for optimum jet height and simmer. Later, when I first saw the shape of the Heineken can, I knew it would could provide the lid, base, proper je
