Need a cooking grate for camp cooking?

The distance of charcoal from the pot or food may mean the difference
between dinner in hours or minutes.

This instructable shows you how to
make a durable, custom-sized bbq grate from simple tools in a few minutes.

I needed a grate for my Charcoal BBQ Shichirin and another for holding
up sticks in my Metal Can Rocket Stove.
(Instructions for making the metal can rocket stove
/ gasifier / charcoal stove in step 3)

Step 1: How to Cut Steel Coathangers

(The cut edge of the coathanger can be sharp, so take care wear eye protection and hand protection.)

You will need:

pair of pliers
coathanger
thick protective gloves

Choose the length that you need then grab the pliers at that point.

With the other hand bend the hanger several times - the friction will weaken the bending point and snap off easily.

Use this method to remove the hook from the coathanger.

Step 2: Decide on the Design

I needed a circular grate for the Charcoal Shichirin and a
rectangular one for the Metal Briquette & Wood Rocket Stove.

First, I formed a circle then joined the ends with thinner aluminium wire.

Lay out the horizontal pieces in height order.
Bend over the circle with pliers.
Use thin wire to space evenly across the shape.

For the Rocket Stove grate I bent a rectangular shape
and secured the horizontal grates with the thin wire.

TIP: To prevent rusting dry steel grate well and oil after cooking.

Step 3: Metal Rocket Stove in an Hour?

Originally, I cut a 20 litre oil can into half to make a gasifier for one end and a rocket stove for the other.

Eventually, I was able to fry a few onions by rearranging the elements to cook with wood and briquettes.

Materials you need

Large can made of durable metal
Wire cutters
Pliers
Thick protective gloves (garden gloves are great)

I cut the large 20 litre oil can in half.

One side would be a rocket stove with the already hexagonal
opening and the other a gasifier to be used on a specifically
designed bbq with wide holes below the ash grate.

Step 4: How to Cut the Edges

Punch a hole with a nail halfway through the can.

Use the tip of sharp pair of scissors to further open the hole.

Now its easier to cut the can in half.

Cut a seam around all the edges about 1cm apart all around raw edges.

Bend over for a neat finish with pliers and hammer.

For the Rocket Can Stove, remove the bottom,
Cut a circle at the opening and press under raw edge then hammer flat,
Cut a door to allow the draft in.

The design I made is not scientifically correct (according to
Larry Winiarski instructions) but seems to cook rather well anyway!

For the Gasifier can also remove the bottom totally
and cut a circular opening to sit the pot on.
Place on barbeque which has special removable grates in the design.
Place the metal cutlery holder where the ashes fall later.

Step 5: Assembling the Cans for Cooking

To use one can as a Gasifier I lit some briquettes, paper and wood in a
metal cutlery holder and placed it at the bottom of a barbeque
(specially designed with a ash remover and adjustable large
holes to allow a rocket-stove style draft in).

This lit quickly and burned fiercely as it was a windy day.

The Rocket Stove half was placed on the ground.
I placed a small, aluminum foil tray initially to
collect ash from burning sticks.

Finally to fry a few Spanish onions in a cast-iron pan,
I lay the metal cutlery holder on its side,
filled it with briquettes and wood resting
on the grate.

The draft blew through these briquettes which had
been cooking an hour already and were now white
and ashed over andburned to a dull red heat of
around 100 degrees celsius. (hand over fire test)

This is how cooking Sesame Red Bean Ball with
metal cutlery combustion chamber
and Charcoal Shichirin turned out:

Step 6: Cooking With Full-sized Metal Can Rocket Stove

Later I stacked both halves of the cut oil can together to cook both as a Rocket Stove
and Charcoal Cooker - surprising results - no soot at bottom of my cast iron
frying pan!

The can was extremely hot to touch and bbq briquettes took just a few minutes
to heat up and turn ashy white. I used just four bundles of newspaper rolls to finally
get the briquettes to glow red and catch fire.

After cooking dipped the briquettes into water and dry
in hot sun to use again next time.

So far, its the third cook with these bbq briquettes, I'm
amazed how long they last.

ps. (Reheated pizzas on the rocket stove tasted different and
fresher than the gas stove - not sure why??)