Creating a Soda-Can Stove

The cheapest, lightest, most reliable stove you'll ever carry—the soda can stove! I like to call them MacGyver stoves since you can make them youself out of soda cans. Others call them Pepsi can stoves since they feel Pepsi cans are best suited for the task, but I don't notice any difference among all sorts of cans I've used. Drink what you like best. Coca-cola, Pepsi, Root Beer, or perhaps just plain beer. Any kind of can will do.

I've carried these stoves during my thru-hike of the Appalachian and Florida Trails, and I plan to carry them additional thru-hikes in the future. I've never had one fail on me, they're dirt cheap, and you'll be hard-pressed to find something lighter. And heck, if you're a gourmet chef in the outdoors, bring two and get a little two-burner action. You can even use them to bake food such as pizza or cookies—both of which I've done in the backcountry. (I didn't say it was easy to do, just that it's possible!)

Supplies You'll Need

Most materials you'll need you probably already have. The one thing you might not have is a high-temperature tape that won't burn when you use your stove! You can find it in any decent hardware store. It's designed to be used on flues or mufflers or something—I don't really know. But it's made of material that won't burn or melt. A roll should cost under $10, but you can probably make a hundred stoves from a single roll. You don't need much!

• soda cans — a minimum of two are required, but a few extras for mistakes, simmer rings, and such could be useful
• ruler or measuring tape
• scratch awl or other sharp instrument
• heavy-duty x-acto knife (or something similar)
• Sharpie
• scissors
• high-temperature tape

Step 1: Create Burner Holes

Poke holes along the bottom edge of one of the cans with the scratch awl. Some people say smaller holes are more fuel efficient. Some people like bigger holes since it burns faster and hotter. I like 'normal' holes. The number of holes isn't especially important—just so long as they go around the rim more-or-less evenly. I typically poke two holes on opposite sides, then two more holes halfway between the original holes. Then four more holes between those first four. And then another eight holes between those first eight for a total of 16 holes.

Step 2: Create Main Opening

Cut out the bottom of the can you just poked the holes in. The can is fairly thick here, so it needs to be a sturdy instrument to do this. An X-acto knife would work, but use one with a heavy-duty blade on it. I'm using a knife from a Speedball kit for carving rubber stamps. Use whatever you have available. If the edges turn out particularly jagged, you can file them down now. (Or later, doesn't matter to me!)

Step 3: Cut Out Stove Top

Measure up 15mm from the bottom of the can and cut. This will be the top of your stove. To get an even cut, I mark a point at 15mm, then keep a Sharpie steady on a table while turning the can around against it. A clean, even mark completely around the can every time! It's easier to get a clean cut if you first do a rough cut to get the end of the can separated, then a second cut directly along the mark where it needs to be.

Step 4: Cut Tabs on Stove Top

Snip the edges of the stove top several times to form tabs. We'll be fitting the top of the stove into the bottom of the stove and these little tabs help insure it fits! I make eight evenly spaced snips around the stove top, to a point just below where the paint on the can stops.

Step 5: Cut Out Stove Bottom

Now it's time to grab a new can and cut out the bottom of it. Don't poke holes in it or cut out the bottom like you did for the top of the stove. This time, measure 25mm from the bottom of the can and cut. If you want to get wild and crazy, you can make your stove as tall or short as you want by adjusting this measurement so it's 10mm shorter than the final height you desire for the stove. For your first stove, stick with the standard 25mm. Measure, mark, and cut.

Step 6: Cut Out Inner Wall

And now, the inner wall. Take the left over remains of one of the two previous cans you cut up. If you didn't mangle them too badly, you can cut out an inner wall from one of those. Otherwise, you'll have to operate on a third can. You need to cut out a strip that's 35mm wide. (If you're going crazy and making your stove shorter or taller, measure to the desired height of your stove. In this case, our stove will be 35mm in height.)

Step 7: Size the Inner Wall

Size the inner wall in the stove bottom. You'll cut halfway through the strip on each end on opposite sides of the strip where the ends will lock together. When you lock the ends together, make sure the ends of the strip are inside the loop. It's self-locking and more stable that way. I've put a red X with the photo that shows the incorrect way to lock the ends of the inner wall.

Step 8: Trim the Inner Wall

Trim the inner wall. You can cut a small bit off the ends of the strip off to save a tiny smidgen of weight, but it's very important to cut three small notches about equal distance around one side of the strip. This allows the fuel to flow through the inner wall to the outer wall.

Step 9: Putting the Pieces Together

It's time to put the three pieces together. Start by placing the inner wall in the stove bottom, with the notched ends down. Then fit the top of the stove on, tucking the 'tabs' you snipped earlier inside of the stove bottom. A couple of hints to get that top on—it's not as easy as you may think! The sharp edges of the 'tabs' tend to get caught up when putting in the top, so curve the tabs slightly inward before you begin. You can see I've done this in the second photo below where it gives the top piece a ruffled look. The last bit of the top is hardest to squeeze in, so use a knife or some other thin object like a shoehorn to get it pushed in. Check that the inner wall is fitting into the grove of the stove top properly. Work the top on slowly and evenly, and eventually it'll all fit together like a puzzle.

Step 10: Taping It All Together

The stove should stay in one piece due to nothing more than the friction of the pieces, but it's not very secure like this. Use the high temperature tape to keep the stove together permanently. Depending on the width of the tape, you may have to cut it in half like I did. Then wrap it around the stove, securing the top and bottom of the stove together.

Step 11: Create a Simmer Ring (optional)

This optional simmer ring comes in handy if you want to bake yourself a treat or if a recipe calls for the food to simmer. It's made from the top of a soda can. Take off the tabs, then cut it out to just where the can curves downward the length of the can. Leave a little too much, then trim a small bit off at a time until it fits snugly over your stove.

Step 12: Create a Snuffer (optional)

This snuffer, when placed over a stove, will help you put it out. In general, I recommend just letting whatever leftover alcohol simply burn off. Once, while trying to conserve fuel, I tried to put the flame out, knocked the stove into my lap instead, and lit my crotch on fire. Really, let the alcohol burn off! But if you absolutely must conserve fuel, use this optional snuffer. It will starve the stove of oxygen and snuff out the flame. Usually a little oxygen still gets in so you have to tap the lid (not with a finger!) or pour water on it to get the flame completely out, but it will work.

Warnings aside, create the snuffer much like you did with the simmer ring, but use the bottom of a can instead of the top of it. Cut it too high, then trim off thin slices until it fits snugly over the stove.

Using the Stove

To use the stove, simply pour denatured alcohol into the main opening of the stove, filling the stove about halfway, and light it. Be careful—in daylight, the flame is completely invisible. You'll hear a 'puff' as the gas ignites, however, and when you hear that, get your hand away. This stove burns about 10 to 15 minutes. Denatured alcohol can be found in any hardware store, often in the paint section.

To use the simmer ring, you can aim and throw it on the stove, hoping miraculously that it falls right into place, snug and firm. Most likely, you'll need a stick or utensil to move it into place after your toss misses. Don't put the simmer ring on for the first couple of minutes after you light the stove—it tends to put the flame out if the stove hasn't fully warmed up first.

Not included in these directions is anything about a pot stand. You can't set your cooking pot directly on this stove—it's much too small and will snuff out the flame as soon as you do. You have a couple of options, however. You can use small rocks set up around the stove to rest your pot on while cooking. Advantages: no weight in you pack. Disadvantages: you need to look for rocks whenever you cook a meal. I use a small bit of rat wire (chicken wire or whatever you prefer to call it), looped in a circle (not unlike the inner wall), then tied together with twisty ties (make sure they have a metal wire in it so it doesn't burn away the first time you use it). The pot should rest about one inch above the stove while cooking.

The first couple of times you use the stove, things sometimes burn that you wouldn't necessary expect to burn. Such as the paint from the aluminum can, or the gummy substance along the edges of the tape. The tape might become a bit loose after the first couple of times you use the stove. Fuel might leak from one of the tabs in the top part of the stove if it's not completely tucked into the bottom part of the stove or covered securely with tape. It's part of the break-in period, though. It's normal and nothing to worry about. Resecure the loose tape, the paint burning off will go away, and don't use your stove on any surface that you don't want to burn by accident.

The stove is primitive and takes a little practice to get used to it, but it works. Have fun!