Better Sterno Alternative

How you pack for the outdoors depends on how you spend your time exploring nature. Packing light seems to be a common goal among campers, hikers and survivalists. Most also agree that having a compact way to cook and boil water is preferred. I will show you a pocket sized piece of survival gear that will surely be included in your next adventure.

Step 1

The items you will:

Small tin container (altoids tin)

Wax

Cardboard

Disposable container for melting wax  

Comments

[dadoffour]

I loved this idea. I minimized the size, using a min altoids tin and dryer lint. Took a bit to get it lit, but once it was burning it burned great!

[dadoffour]

One thing I forgot to say. Do NOT tape over the holes in the altoids can to fill it all the way....the tape will fall off and as the wax remelts while the candle is burning you'll have a big mess to clean up!

[marccase]

I've been experimenting with my own camp cooking stoves and have found that wax tends to be sooty and leave a hard to clean residue on the underside of my cooking pots, this is a real problem since they nest inside one another. Does anyone know how sooty this kind of stove makes your cookware?

[Tim Temple]

When you use an Altoids for a candle, put some scotch tape in the back over the hinge holes first. That way you can use the whole 2 cm of room.

[KwartzKitten]

Wow, what an easy idea, and I bet a few of these in your pack could last a good while. I wonder though, how is the best way to put it out, and can it be lit again?

[teawrecks]

The best part is that you put it out by shutting the lid. And yes it can be re-lit many times, depending on how long you burn for.

[le-Sid]

Love it! I,m gonna make one for my next expedition ^-^

[CasCom98]

Can this be lit with a firesteel or do you need matches/ligher?

[bpaul3]

us hoboes call this a "squat candle"....

[Lt.Greg]

Tjesse - Nice ibble - I've seen it before but its always nice to teach things like this to new people. I have a question however - how do you know that this burns hotter than an alcohol stove? Do you have empiracal evidence, or is it hear-say?   Not trying to be smart just wondering if its been fact-checked.
Good job though,
Thank yoiu
GM

[tjesse]

Lt.Greg, thanks for showing enough interest to comment!
I can't say that I have found hard data on this, however, I do have experience with both sterno and "buddy burners". Sterno is not the greatest way to bring water to a boil but it can be done, as many sterno fans will tell you. I have not done any side-by-side comparisons, but from my experience this can be a hotter stove as stated in the instructable. "It will last a few hours and CAN be hotter then sterno...". This is a homemade stove so testing against a commercial product is difficult because of different cardboard to wax ratios and even the types of waxes and cardboard. I make this not because it is better, rather, but because its more economical and fun. So to answer the question... hear-say.

[Lt.Greg]

Hi sir- thanks for the come-back. I'd say you sound like you might be an engineer, except that you didn't give the "Average rated BTU's" in your original ibble! LOL!

Say, I tried this once before and didn't get it right, maybe you can give me some advice. Just how much of a gap should I leave between the cardboard slices? I think I packed it too tightly and couldn't get enough wax into the spaces. You mentioned the idea, but can you expound a little more about what the "proper ratio" of wax to cardboard might be?

Again, nice job, thanks
Greg

[xfirexstarzx]

On average, beeswax has 19,000 Btu/lb, paraffin wax has 18,000 Btu/lb, Ethanol has 11,570 Btu/lb. Theoretically, wax is one of the hottest fuels you can burn. The problem is that it doesn't burn as fast as you would need it to in order to compete with an ethanol stove.

[tjesse]

I'm no engineer but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night. I don't put space between the cardboard. The corrugation has enough spaces in it for the wax. It takes a minute to get to a good temp, I would try lighting the one you made again. Even if it is tightly packed it should work the same just not last as long. The wax, just like in a candle, controls the flame as well as fuels it. If the wax is curing before it soaks in to the cardboard you can try heating the whole thing on the stove. I posted a pic in the comments.

[blodefood]

"space between the cardboard"

This makes sense to me now. I tried making one a while ago but gave up because I just got shooting flames that went dangerously high. I didn't use a lot of cardboard and there was plenty of space between.

[Lt.Greg]

I was also thinking - warm up the tin and cardboard a bit, so the wax doesn't solidify before it reaches the bottom of the tin and has a chance to saturate the wick.

[xenobiologista]

Other option: if you have a pot big enough you could pre-soak the cardboard strips in the melted wax. Pull them out and let them cool down enough to handle. Then roll them up and stuff them into the tins.

[twilap]

Thanks for re-introducing this idea to folks who are new here. Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts have been making these for years to take on camping and survivor trips!

[voyageur10]

Nice work! I was volunteering in Belize for several week at a place without electricity and with a very limited supply of everything! We would make similar candles using the stubs from our old candles, we used toilet paper wicks though, this looks like a MUCH better solution. Thank you good sir!

[colinj]

These are also great for starting a wood fire in the rain. Place the can of cardboard/wax underneath your wood (teepee or log cabin, your choice) and then light it. A tuna can version of this will burn long and hot enough to get your wood going.

[PhotoMaster]

I call this idea "brilliant"! As a person who likes to camp, I love the idea!

[jray4]

So... Did anyone try the crayola wax method? I'm curious if they'll work as well.
I suppose the dollar store's candles would be just as good!

[jreynolds8]

you used a stove to make stove? why not just use the stove you have?

[ksharp2]

He didn't use a stove to make a stove, he refers to his creation as a camp stove - which it is. Unless you meant the use of paraffin, but that's a fuel source not the stove itself, besides which, his use is explained. Did I miss something entirely?

[tjesse]

You didn't miss anything, some people don't read the instructables before commenting. I did assume he was joking to avoid pointing out the obvious.

[tjesse]

Lol... Good call. That's a conundrum!

[cmcgann]

This is awesome. I just made one with your instructions, and it is very neat. I will make more as soon as I have more supplies. I can't imagine being lost without one.

[tjesse]

That's great! We would all like to see a pic! Being short on supplies is a good thing, it can inspire you to find different things to use. Tuna cans are a favorite in the hobo community. I'm glad everyone likes this, I really believe this is a must have in a survival kit.

[soundmotor]

I like it! One question, how do you light it? Does some of the cardboard sit above the wax level? (I could not tell from your description.)

[tjesse]

You can light it anywhere, just tilt it and light it. To extinguish it just close the lid. It is somewhat wind resistant so blowing it out is hard. The whole process is really easy.

[soundmotor]

Very neat piece!

[Onlyfittin]

Great stove! In all the years of making buddy burners in tuna cans, using an Altoids tin never crossed my mind. Thanks for moving me out side the box. For melting wax I have a dedicated double boiler. The top part is where I toss all the used candle stubs from church as well as candles picked up at yard sales that are warped from heat or are the large ones that folks burn a couple of times and then get tired of. (A dollar or less can buy a lot of candles as compared to buying wax at the store.) This gives you a huge supply of wax for firestarters (egg cartons, sawdust, wax or dipped one-inch pieces of ceiling tile) and buddy burners like this one. When I'm through with the project I empty out the water in the lower pot and let the wax cool in the upper pot. When everything is dry and cool I put it away until the next time.

[abeaton]

Have you used it in a pumpkin yet? Wouldn't it "cook" the inside? I'm afraid I would set my pumpkin on fire! haha

[tjesse]

No, I haven't tried it yet. I think you might be right, this might be a bit overkill.

[ksharp2]

Only one way to find out... *evil grin*

[abeaton]

Add cinnamon to the inside of your pumpkin beforehand and it will even smell like a pie....a burnt pumpkin pie, that is!

[amesj]

i only have one question how would you cook something on it? would you use the hotdog and stick method? and how exactly could you boil water with it? Great idea by the way. In just want to know how i could use it.

[tjesse]

Thanks!
Think of this more like a gas range in a kitchen and less of a grill. You could grill hotdogs on it if you wanted to, but a campfire would work better for that. This is a sterno alternative so you use a sterno stove or a hobo style stove. Folding sterno stoves are cheap but the fuel is not, so I made my own.

[abryant-kelso]

Would melting crayons work as well?

[bjones39]

yes crayons work.