Sunday, November 7, 2010

Stove in a Can

Stores for 5 yrs and burns for 6 hours

Supplies:
  • 1 new quart size Paint Can with lid (can be purchased at ACE, Lowes or Home Depot)
  • 1 roll Toilet Paper (cheap kind and NOT jumbo sized)
  • 1 bottle 70% rubbing alcohol (Isopropyl not ethyl)
  • 12 oz can (chunk chicken type) with holes drilled in and vents cut around bottom, or #10 can w/vents (we used a #10 can)
  • paint can opener (free from Lowes or Home Depot)
Directions:
  1. Remove cardboard roll from inside toilet paper and discard
  2. Fold toilet paper to fit inside the paint can
  3. SLOWLY pour rubbing alcohol over toilet paper until covered.
  4. Cover tightly with lid. Tap it down with a rubber hammer and it won't leak.
The first page of this PDF is a printout of the Stove in a Can. You can cut the bottom off and glue it to your can for future reference.

Here you can see how the stove (the small can) can fit inside a #10 can.

Your cooking pan will fit right on top. Make sure your #10 can has enough holes for ventilation. The PDF pictures shows a 12 oz can used for cooking.

Snap on your lid from the #10 can and it can hold your matches and a small paint can opener. You'll need the paint can opener to get your stove open.

Make sure you hammer down your top with a rubber mallet. It will create a seal, so the alcohol won't leak out of your stove when it's being stored.

5 comments:

woodducksys said...

Along with the lid opener, seal some strike anywhere matches or a match book to keep in the #10 can.

Rhonda said...

Someone I knew taped a coin onto each of her can heaters to open the cans with.

Anonymous said...

If you leave the cans filled, they may rust over time. I did this, put the date filled, and then opened them every few months to test. Some had the alcohol evaporate (bad seal job?), others were not completely filled with the alcohol but still worked. In aby case, these work very well and burn a fairly long time on small amount of fuel. One thing i did was use an extra, drilled a 1 1/2 inch hole in the middle. Reduced the amount of burn and makes the flame last longer. Can be used for heating since it does not create noxious/poisonous fumes.
It is also best to use 90% alcohol, less water content.

Unknown said...

True but I've seen 70% rubbing alcohol more readily available

Unknown said...

Any suggestions as to the top plastic lid availability? What fits a #10 can?