DIY cheap camp stove 🏕🔥

[tboatrig]

I remember making these in outdoor school in yhe early 90s they called them a hobo stove.

[Dualhammers]

To create a cheap camping stove you need an angle grinder and another stove

[Grimenoughtomaketherobotcry]

While at the dollar store, you could also pick up some plastic cat food can covers for when it's completely cooled.

[stgermain]

When made those in Girl Scouts in 1969 when I was 8. Although we used the coffee can (with air holes punched in) as a stove. You could put several tuna cans in the stove and put the plastic lid on to keep them dry.

[Mia-yqmx]

I remember my Dad teaching us this when he would take us on camping and fishing trips when I was really young. Looking back on it he taught us so much, and had a way about it that always made it fun. So the lessons stuck with me. He's gone now, but I think about him often as I teach mine so many of the things he taught me. RIP Dad you were a real one. I was lucky to have had you as my dad.

[keifrir]

When I started going camping in Boy Scouts my Mom showed me how to make a great stove set up. Got a big tuna fish can. One of those 3 cans in one size. Put 4 pieces of 1/4 inch rope into the card board. 1 in the center.The other 3 go near the outside edge in a trip angle. Now you have the amount of heat you need. Get a #10 coffee can. Using a piercing type can opener make a few (4 or 5) holes on the tube section just below the sealed end. I used a log the size of the open end to make a few air intake holes. Starting 1/2 inch from the open rim space the holes about 1/2 inch apart going til you get past the height of the can. I think I put 6 rows in mine. Light the stove. Using cooking oil you can fry eggs, burgers, etc...on the top of the can. I eventually made a grate from a piece of expanded metal. Just used a vise to bend a rectangle to the size I needed. I f it's raining, snowing, etc ... These are really handy. My Scout Master was an ex Marine DI at Parris Island. Big smile when I told him my Mom told me how to make this. These became parts of our "possible" bags.

[Rizlawizard]

Just buy tuna in sunflower oil and once you eat the tuna, just stuff the cardboard in. The sunflower oil will work as the wax. Also if you slightly squeeze the can the lid from the same can can be made into the cross at the top.

[robertprice]

We made them in Scouts. I used a planters peanut can because it has a plastic lid. I carried one in the Army because it was an easy way to make a cup of coffee anyplace.

[MtnBadger]

One thing... Do *NOT* pour off the "excess." Keep as much wax as will fit into your new "stove" (large fire starter, tent heater, etc.). The more wax you pour back out, the faster the burn and shorter the life of the "stove."
I've made a *bunch* of these (sans this type top grid), can portion, only as additions to survival kits, car emergency kits, back packs, etc.. They're great for everything from starting a larger fire and putting it out for next time to cooking to warming a small tent as they give off a lot of heat/light and burn very hot yet last a *very* long time, especially if you just use them for short periods at a stretch. It just takes a little patience to strip down the cardboard and slowly fill the container with wax, letting the bubbles escape until it's filled solid.
Trust me...
I have them in car road kits, light survival packages, etc.. They're cheap & easy to make and take about as much room as a can of chewing tobacco (or... Tuna fish!) 😉
It's keeping as much wax in there as possible that's the secret. That burns as well but lasts *much* longer than just the wax soaked cardboard, that's key. You want as much fuel in there, as possible. The cardboard just helps an easier start and even burn across the surface while generating more heat than just trying to light the wax, itself, like a giant wick.
They'll work with the little folding, Sterno style stoves (which pack flat) but last way longer or, just a piece of uncoated, stainless, wire mesh and a couple of rocks/sticks, etc. to hold the screen that can be easily kept in a light pack or even a pocket, you're glove box or wherever. The windscreen works great and can be flattened out for storage, as well.
Just ruff up the top surface of the cardboard with a sharp edge to create a little wax-soaked "fuzz" on the exposed surface, maybe rub a little piece of cotton (ball, scraped lint from cotton socks/shirt, etc.) and drop some sparks on it. Presto. 😊 But, whatever you do and with no disrespect intended, do not pour off any of the wax. Soak in as much as is possible. It will work as well but, for a lot longer, promise. 😉

[ianmurphy]

You can always use birch bark and sap if you run out. Also using a syrup tin allow you to relid it. I edited this comment after a comment below.

[nfiroic]

We call it “Trench candle” in Ukraine. It’s widely used on the front line to cook and to dry clothes

[dangerdm]

LOVE the Wood Thrush singing in the background! They are very shy and hard to see/find!

[GTFBITK]

Very cool. Grandma thought it was wierd that i told her i needed one of princess kitty's empty fancy feast cans.

[clairemcleod]

“Chicken of the sea” … the mind boggles! 😮😂😂😂

[LBCB]

*Always use a lid when boiling water!*
it can help save energy/fuel and makes it boil faster!
🧐🤔🤨🤷🏼
A pot and lid are probably the most important thing in a survival situation!!

[clickytheblicky]

You didn’t need to ruin the tongs, just put a rock or 2 on top of the tuna stove

[ExplodingBlocks]

I never leave for a camping trip without my angle grinder

[alizardnamedyo-yo]

We made these when I was in the cub scouts, but we used a bigger can on top for the stove. We cooked sausages with them.

[screenname]

I make torches the same way. I just roll the cardboard till its the size of a soda can and soak it the same way.
Cheaper wax works best in the winter
Citronella wax goes out a bit easier but repels bugs

[PhantomFilmAustralia]

_"Aaah! My steak's cooked to perfection! Now, where's my tongs?"_