Emergency Camp Stove

[dbradyh]

This could come in handy during an emergency:

http://www.realfarmacy.com/how-to-turn-a-beer-can-into-camping-stove/

[MikeA]

I've seen several variations of these but that one sure looks easy to build.

[Steve H]

Always a good option.

[jladdsmith]

Wow on the timing of this post.  I'm a bit of a goober on these things...have built about 20 different types in the past couple of weeks.

I've gone crazy fancy with these trying to make a better pressurized stove and have come to the realization that simple=better, and this is one of the best simple stove designs. 

Will add that anyone wanting to make one of these stoves not use regular rubbing alcohol- it burns smelly and sooty.  The very best fuel you can get within reason is "HEET" in the yellow bottle- sold as gas line antifreeze.  $3 for 12 ounces- about a dollar more than rubbing alcohol and burns much hotter and cleaner. 
 

[Bfish]

yellow Heet is mostly methanol.  Rubbing alcohol comes in varies grades.  I don't think you will noticed much of difference between HEET and 91% isopropyl (only a couples quarters more than the low grade).  Of course denatured alcohol works too.  My favorite is some white dog but have a hard time burning it. 

[jladdsmith]

Yup.  Edited cause I sounded like a dick.   

[bd]

It seems like a nifty gadget, and it's probably fun to make.  But in a true "emergency," the odds of me having the stuff to make one of those AND the alcohol fuel for it seem pretty slim.  If I am prepared enough to have a beer can, pocket knife, scissors, hole puncher, and alcohol fuel, my advance preparation will probably just include bringing a real camp stove.

In an "emergency," the thing to know is how to build a fire.

bd

[gaspergou]

...although my old camp stove was normally the cause of emergencies.

[I still wonder how long it took the folks reviewing satellite imagery at NSA to figure out what that mystery fireball up in the hills of western NC was a couple years back!]

If it was an emergency and I needed to get warm and/or dry fast, I wouldn't be messing around with a stove.

[jladdsmith]

My use for these is primarily for use as a heater rather than as a stove.  Favorite so far is simply two can bottoms compressed together with a good amount of fiberglass insulation as a wick.   It's about the thickness of a hockey puck, weighs nothing and is adjustable (sorta). 

All you need is two cans, scissors and a pushpin.  I drill a 3/8" hole in the middle of one of the bottoms, cut the cans with one being about 1/8 inch longer than the other, stuff it with plenty of insulation (white Johns Mansville seems to be better than pink) and compress the cans together.  You can round out the top part on another can bottom to make it a little easier to mate to the bottom.  Then poke 4 holes on the angled part of the can as it comes up to the rim. 

Pick about an eighth of an inch of insulation out of the center hole.  The top can should be slightly longer and extend down just past the rim of the bottom (just past the label).  Then take the back end of something round and hard like a ratchet handle and burnish the edges so that it makes a seal. 

The MSDS sheet on HEET says that it's 99% Methyl Alcohol and 1% proprietary additive.  I think they do this so they don't have to pay taxes on alcohol.  Maybe not.  Also, I just found that a bottle is less than $2 at Walmart.  This should be a safe heater in confined spaces like a tent as it should only put off CO2 and water, from what I understand. 

What I like about this design is that 1) the center wick flame puts off yellow light and burns slow.  2) it won't spill or really pressurize with heat. 3) you can adjust it by obviously pulling more wick out or by not lighting the side burners.  To light the side burners you just tilt it so that the center flame lights them.  You can snuff these out by quickly putting your finger on the holes.  It doesn't hurt. 4) it won't blow out with wind, but a quick puff will snuff it.  5) The holes unlit do not bleed off fuel.  6) you can poke another four holes and easily use this to boil water. 

I JB welded an aluminum tube on the bottom so I can shove it into the sand for bank catfishing at my dad's place.  Where I sit it's a pretty steep incline and this brings the heater up where I need it.  Also I've used it in a shooting house to keep it positively toasty.

An ounce of HEET will burn on low for about half and hour and about 15 with eight burner holes and the center flame running.  Could have made a video in the time this took to write up, but there are tons on youtube, just not for this specific design.  You can make one in less than 5 mins.  Mine looks like a shorter version of this with less holes.  Also the center flame burns about 1/4 the height of this one.  Just right.