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How to Make Fuel Capsules for Camp Stove

How to Make Fuel Capsules for Camp Stove

portable gas stove with coffee-pot image by Georgios Alexandris from <a href='http://www.fotolia.com'>Fotolia.com</a>

Camp stoves come in a variety of styles. You can create your own fuel capsule for a camp stove using materials found around your house and in hardware stores. A homemade stove canister is also refillable, a feature many store-bought capsules do not have.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Making a Fuel Capsule

Things You’ll Need:
  • 2 aluminum soda cans
  • 1/4 cup perlite (found in gardening section)
  • Denatured alcohol (found in paint section)
  • Scissors
  • Drill
  • 1/16" drill bit
  • Wire cutters
Step 1
Cut one of the soda cans 1 1/2 inches from the bottom. Cut the other can 1 inch from the bottom.
Step 2
Drill holes in a circle around the bottom edge of the short can. The holes should be between 1/2 and 1 cm apart.
Step 3
Fill the taller can half full with perlite.
Step 4
Make vertical incisions every inch around the edge of the shorter can. Do not pass the lower edge of the can when cutting. Insert the inverted shorter bottom into the upright taller bottom.
Step 5
Fill the can half full with alcohol. Passing a flame over the drill holes should cause the can to light. If it does not light, tip the capsule slightly and allow a small quantity of alcohol to spill into the rim. pass the flame over the alcohol to light the capsule.

Tips & Warnings

 
You can mold a wire coat hanger into a shape that will hold a pot over the capsule.
 
Use caution whenever you are tending an open flame in the wilderness or any other environment. Do not place stove in a position where it is likely to blow or tip over.

Article Written By Jim Jansen

Jim Jansen has been writing articles since 2005 and has been featured in publications such as "The River Watch," and also contributes to Trails.com and LIVESTRONG.COM. He has a Bachelor of Arts in professional writing from Michigan State University. Jansen specializes in outdoor recreation and environmental topics.

Write for Trails.com

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