Here is my mini keg wood gas stove. Perfect for camping trips, over landing, and power outages. The best part is that most of this is just junk that would have gone in the recycling, and the fuel it uses is all over the ground.

THIS IS FOR OUTDOOR USE ONLY. The buildup of deadly gasses indoors can be fatal, so please do not use this inside for any reason.

Supplies

The supplies pictured in the intro are, one empty mini keg, and empty tuna can, and an empty tall can that fits on top of the tuna can. I used a baked bean can. You also need a nut and bolt, and a fan grille. (I found this one on newegg that is the perfect size: https://www.newegg.com/p/1YF-01FX-00P45?Item=9SIAAWSGPT8435 )

The tools are just a drill, some bits, a unibit, and a hole punch.

Step 1: Drill Holes in Everything

The main fire goes in the tall can. Most of the vent holes are drilled in the bottom, but I put a few on the bottom of the sides, so the fire can keep going if ash clogs the bottom.

The tuna can is the easiest, just used the hole punch to punch holes all around the walls of the can. Drill a hole in the center that your bolt fits through.

Getting the lid off the keg takes the most work. I used a drill bit and drilled around the edge. Once I had drilled it enough I wrapped a hacksaw blade in duct tape and gave it some elbow grease. If anyone has a better way to get the top off let me know, please. The last step is drilling vent holes. Using the unibit I drilled 6 holes on the top and bottom, for a total of 12 vent holes. The vent holes are about one cm, or3/8". Drill one last hole in the center of the bottom just like the tuna can.

Step 2: Optional Rust Protection

It took me a few days to get the top off the keg, and once that metal was exposed it rusted almost instantly.

First hit any rust with Ospho. This stuff stops rust and leaves a paintable surface.

After the Ospho does its thing, wipe down the inside of your keg with something like acetone or alcohol, tape off your vent holes, and spray the inside with high heat spray paint. Let the paint dry.

Step 3: Attach the Base

Now you just screw the tuna can onto the bottom of the inside of the stove using the nut and bolt. I added a thin washer between the can and the keg to preserve the air space between the two, and to prevent the tuna can from deforming.

The fire can rests on top of this now stable tuna can base.

Step 4: How a Wood Gas Stove Works

After lighting the fire and placing it into the stove, the fire burns differently than other fires. It only really smolders in the can, and ignites at the top of the fire can. As the fire smolders it off-gasses wood gas. The top vents drilled in the mini keg introduce enough oxygen for these gasses to ignite.

The intake of the fire can being on the bottom is also intended to promote cooling airflow to the bottom of the mini keg so that it does not burn the surface it is used on.

Step 5: Light It Up!

The large can can now be loaded with dry sticks and used to cook outside. I like to add a little paper with a squirt of lighter fluid before loading sticks in the can. This way you can light it from the bottom and place the can in easily without burning your hands. If the fire dies out before catching you can spray a bit more fluid on top, but be careful to light the fumes at the top which can cause a little flashover fireball. Once the fire is started you can place the grill on top and cook.

Step 6: Don't Be Discouraged

Your stove may not work the first time you use it. This is the second mini keg stove I have built, and on the first one I had to add many vents and drill many holes before I got it burning right.