This home made backpacking stove requires no heat time, burns well at high altitudes, performs in temperate weather conditions and better yet, it is easy to make.
Tools You Will Need:
Scissors
Drill
1/16" (2 mm) Drill Bit
Wire Cutters
Parts You Will Need:
A.) 2 Aluminum Soda Cans - You know where to find them.
B.) One Wire Coat Hanger C Found in your closet.
C.) 1/4 cup of Perlight. - You will find this in the gardening section of most hardware stores and home centers. It is white, flaky and very lightweight. Price can range between $1.50 to $2.00 per bag.
D.) Denatured alcohol - Found in most paint departments or boating supplies stores. Usually costs about $3 to $4 per Qt.
E.) Heavy-duty aluminum foil
Let's get started!
Stove Top:
First cut the coat hanger to remove the part that would hold the hanger on a rod in your closet. You now have a piece of large gauge wire that looks similar to the letter U. Bend both the open end and curved end down to form legs. It will look something like this /======\
Wind Screen/Heat Reflector:
Cut a piece of heavy-duty aluminum foil and shape it into a bowl twice the width of an aluminum can. This bowl is going to hold your burner and sit under the stovetop. It will screen your burner from the wind and create a heated dead air space focusing the heat on your pot.
Making the burner:
1.) Base of the burner - use can number one and cut about 1 1/2" to 2" off from the bottom. Fill this piece with Perlight just a tad over half full.
2.) Top of the burner - use can number two and cut about 1" to 1 1/2" from the bottom.
Turn this piece over so that you are looking at the bottom of the tin can. Carefully drill 20 to 25 holes around the flat part between the lip on the well section and the rounded edge. Now drill 5 or 6 holes in the center of the well section. Starting at the bottom (the rough edge), make 8 vertical cuts up to but not over the rounded edge.
3.) Slowly press the top you just made "into" the base you filled with Perlight. It should fit snuggly. I use a small board to press because it helps to make it even.
4.) Pour the alcohol thru the holes filling the stove about half full and place it inside your aluminum foil windscreen.
5.) IMPORTANT: The key word here is "carefully". Light the burner by slowly moving a match over the edge of the burner. If it does not stay lit, tip the burner up a little to leak some fuel into the rim and light it again.
Place the coat hanger you shaped into a stovetop over the burn, put your pot on the stove and your cooking!
A few helpful cooking tips:
1.) Use rounded bottom pans. The flame from your stove will move more easily up the sides of the pot resulting in more surface area being heated.
2.) Use tight fitting lids. I cant stress enough how important a tight fitting lid is. I would say it is close to critical if you want to maximize the efficiency of your stove. If you have a tight fitting lid, the contents of the pot will heat faster and you use less stove fuel.
3.) Blacken your pots. Blackened pots absorb and retain heat much faster than shiny ones. You can blacken your pots at home by painting them with flat black stove paint or black barbeque grill paint. Both come in a spray can and can be found at your local Wal-Mart and most department stores.
Diy make your own homemade backpacking stove
