# Soda Can Alcohol Stove



## rabbithutch (Jul 23, 2012)

I didn't know where else to put this and trust the mods to put it where it belongs . . .   including the toilet. :yahoo:

I use briquettes kinda often even though I have an MES40 and the AMNPS.  Mostly I use Kingsford stuff because I can buy it on special and have enough for a year.  Years ago, I bought a Weber chimney charcoal starter.  I used it happily for years with the newspaper collar but was always put off a little because of the paper ash getting into and onto things.  I was reading a forum about hiking and camping and ran across a lot of talk of making stoves for burning isopropyl alcohol using aluminum soda cans as the material.
I found several YouTubes that 'splained the process pretty well.  Here's one, you can search for others. Soda Can Stove.

I started making these little stoves just to use to light briquettes in my chimney starter.  I found that you can buy a pair of pint bottles of 70% iso alcohol at Sam's Club for less than $4.  I pour about a half inch of alcohol in the stove and light it off with a match (very carefully) or a propane lighter or torch.  I then place my loaded chimney over the stove and let the alcohol light it.  The chimney makes a great windscreen.  No muss!  No fuss! No residue of ash or smell (which charcoal lighter fluid is known for) and very inexpensive.  Also great for starting a charcoal fire at the park or wherever because the stove weighs about as much as 3 or 4 paper clips and a pint bottle of alcohol will last a good long time.  Small, lightweight, cheap, efficient.

I found that when I need to light just a few coals for a modified Minion fire requiring me to invert the chimney the little stove isn't close enough to the briquettes to work as quickly; so I saved a 28 oz tomato can and keep it with the chimney and the stove.

Hope this tip is found useful by someone.


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## biteme7951 (Jul 24, 2012)

Cheaper alternative is denatured alchohol from the hardware in a gallon can.


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## plj (Jul 24, 2012)

I've used a soda can stove for many years, perfect for heating a can of soup/stew & a hot cup of coffee for lunch while deer hunting.

Those little suckers put out a LOT of heat, I'm sure it would work very well to start up the chimney, good idea!

Denatured alcohol is excellent and tends to be cheapest if you use a lot.

I use DryGas (yellow bottle) because you can get it everywhere and it's in conveniently small portable bottles, no storage required because at the end of the week I just dump the last ounce or 2 into my gas tank.


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