We’ll show you now a step-by-step video tutorial of how to make a penny can stove. It’s very inexpensive and very efficient, perfect for camping, hiking and survival. Going on trips into the wild seems like a lot of logistical stress. You have to pack a lot of things in order to get the most basic of things. What if we tell you that starting a fire, catching a fish and cooking could be all taken care for with something as simple as a soda can? Quite hard to believe, we know, but a few everyday soda cans could be the right material for making a DIY stove, a DIY fishing device and even light a fire. This way of handling common issues on trips will prove very handy on your packing and logistics. Not to mention you would be giving nature a helping hand, cleaning the forest or mountains of littered soda cans. Watch the video tutorial for further detailed instructions and your next trip into the wild should be a lot more stress-free. Don’t forget to share the advice if it helped you have a more exciting adventure!
Materials:
- Two Aluminum Cans
- Scissors
- Hammer
- Nail or Punch
- Sanding Block/ file
- Sharpie Marker
- Fiberglass insulation
- Heat resistant sealant
- Two surfaces to mark your cans
A couple of years ago I got the stovie bug and built a several of dozen alcohol stoves. There are hundreds of websites and videos devoted to the things. I found a couple I liked. The penny stove was ok. Given current flight restrictions, carrying any kind of fuel can put you in prison. To me the significance was that I could go virtually anywhere and have a camping stove if I had a knife, could find a Walmart, buy 2 cokes and some yellow Heet or denatured alcohol. A revelation was one design that only required one can and a pair of Leatherman pliers. You can find the materials on any roadside, cut and twist it into shape on a picnic table. My favorite used a single Dollar Tree aluminum spray bottle. Really sturdy and only a buck. Ramen is extra.
I like that you found a way to do it without needing an actual sealant like that. Grandaddy taught me a slightly different version of this for emergency situations, where you might not have tools or glue. Cut an unopened can of soda in the middle, trim it up, and stick the bottom into the top. The unopened soda will hold the fuel. It isn’t air tight, so it doesn’t burn as well or as long, but like I said, this is an emergency tactic. Also to note, in the event of like a lost in the woods kind of situation, while rubbing alcohol won’t burn for nearly as long, it will burn for a very short while, and can be used as a fuel to start any fire, and is something that is usually in a first aid kit. Alcohol swabs will flare up really nice to catch the tinder.
Thanks for the info on the penny burner. I don’t understand the need for the penny.
I would like to be put on your mailing list.
Thanks
Ken
The penny and the hole it covers acts like a pressure release valve so the stove “cant” explode.
no. how would you fill it without the center holes? and the penny simply blocks them to keep those holes from also burning.
I believe it’s to keep the flames only coming out of the jets
how do you get it to light if your in the wilderness with no lighter? hmmmmm
watch the video about building a fire…
i tire of having to correct these FAUX experts about this. i have made and used these for DECADES. the mistake he made can be fatal. the TOP MUST GO OVER THE BOTTOM….. NOT INSIDE the bottom. as shown when pressure builds the LIQUID FUEL can be forced out. ALSO do not use fiberglass filler… IT BURNS….use STEEL WOOL or my favorite STAINLESS SCRUB PADS… not only does it NOT BURN but the metal fillers transfer heat and keep the alcohol heated…. alcohol stoves are notorious to get going in very cold weather.
i bet i have written this in a dozen or more FAUX expert articles.
ps. here is an old blog of mine about trangia stoves ( that’s the type stove this article is about ) which has a good addendum about different alcohol fuels. all are not the same and some are deadly.
you could use a drill to make the holes?
the fiberglass works ok but a stainless steel scrub pad or even steel wool works better. the metal helps heat the alcohol which is important to increased performance.