Buddy Burners

[Brosia]

somewhere in my internet travels, people were talking about these buddy burners for emergency warmth or to use as fuel in your hobo stove.

So I decided I should make one.



Supplies:
Roll-type can opener
Tuna or catfood cans
Cardboard or wood chips (not sawdust)
Candle wicks
Paraffin
Double boiler

Procedure (refer to picture for examples):
Using the regular can opener remove the top from the can.
Fuel type:
Cardboard - cut into strips only tall enough to reach the top of the can. Fit the strips in the can in smaller circles until the can is full. OR
Wood chips - Fill can with wood chips, compressing as tightly as you can. Don't use sawdust as it doesn't burn as long.
Fit a wick in the center of the fuel.
Melt paraffin in a double boiler, never directly over heat.
Pour paraffin into can until it fills and covers the fuel, let cool several hours.


Somewhere else, someone suggested that you should not use tuna cans, as they are lined with some sort of plastic compound and could be toxic. So I decide, I should use the empty gel (alcohol) containers that I use in my gel fireplace (like sterno cans) It's meant for burning.

So I cut up the cardboard, tiny snippets everywhere. I cut up some old dollar store candles, chips of wax flying everywhere. I safely melt the wax, then drop the container of melted wax, spilling hot wax everywhere.

But eventually I fill up the container and have the coolest little buddy burner (sorry, I don't have a camera to show it to you).

And then I realize, in case of emergency, I could have just used the full gel container and saved myself the grief. :rolleyes:

[Diesel]

let's see some pics!

[Big_Saw]

Still a good resource, though...good post. ;)