MAKE: PROJECTS

Wood Gas Camp Stove

Make a simple tin-can stove that costs 99 cents, runs for free, and
sequesters carbon as you cook.

By William Abernathy

480

395

Difficulty: Easy

Difficulty: Moderate

366

Nearly half the worlds population cooks and heats using solid fuel, much of it burning up
in pits that have seen no improvement since Homo erectus first tamed fire.
This is not a small problem: inefficient cooking fires waste fuel, impoverishing both the

planet and the person burning it; they inject startling quantities of soot, carbon dioxide,
and worse greenhouse gases into the atmosphere; and they injure and kill the families
who use them to cook and stay warm.
You can build a simple example of an appropriate technology that addresses all these
problems: a biomass gasifier camp stove. It sounds more complicated than it is. Charring
wood or other natural solid fuels releases gases that burn quite nicely. If youve ever
watched a campfire closely, youve seen little jets of smoke erupt from the wood ahead of
the flame. If conditions are perfect, a smoke jet catches fire and turns, briefly, into a tiny
geyser of flame. A good gasification stove recreates these conditions reliably, generating
smoke and moving air to produce these little fire geysers on demand.
There are many designs for efficient camp stoves, and gasification is only one way to
boost the efficiency of a cooking fire. The wood gas stove in this article is an elegantly
simple gasifier design called a TLUD stove (for top-lit updraft), also known as an inverted
downdraft stove. If you dont care how it looks, you can build it with a can opener, a
punch, and a big rock. This design, which Ive adapted from one I first saw on
Instructables, is built around a 1-quart paint can. It easily boils enough water for a small pot
of tea or a bowl of noodles, using nothing more than a fist-sized charge of scrap wood.

HOW IT WORKS

This TLUD camp stove works in batches: fill it up with twigs and woody bits, and light it
from the top. As the fire burns, it makes a layer of hot coals, and as this burning mass
descends into the can, it becomes starved for air. Enough oxygen comes up from below
to keep the embers alight, but not enough to sustain a flame.
This charring layer slowly descends, releasing flammable gases as it goes a process
called pyrolysis. The hot gases rise to the top of the camp stove, where they are met by
an inrush of preheated air and, if all goes well, combine completely with this air in a clean
secondary burn that consumes the methane, soot, and carbon monoxide produced by the
primary combustion.
When a TLUD is dialed in, its lovely: a layer of smoke hangs over the coal bed like a fog,
and appears imprisoned by a gauntlet of inward-facing flame jets that rush in from the
edges of the stove. While the stove is gasifying, its remarkably clean: theres little or no
smoke and only a faint odor, reminiscent of diesel or creosote. It leaves a trace of soot on
your pot, compared to the heavy blackening an open fire imparts. And when your camp
stove is done gasifying and the flame jets go out, clean charcoal remains in the stove.
This residual charcoal is a fringe benefit: not only can you use it for gunpowder (see
MAKE Volume 13, page 54), but you can cook with it a second time in a clean-burning
charcoal fire. You can also throw it into your compost and bury it. Called biochar, this
buried charcoal enriches the soil and actually makes your carbon-neutral biomass fuel
carbon-negative.

WARNINGS!
This camp stove produces and consumes carbon monoxide, a deadly poison. DO NOT
EXPERIMENT WITH THIS STOVE INDOORS! Use it only outdoors.
Your stove will get hot. Using it on a wooden bench will leave a scorch mark. Use it on concrete,
a tile you dont care for (thermal shock may crack it), or on dirt you dont mind scorching.

PARTS
Food can, 19oz, steel Commonly used for baked beans, chili, and pineapple chunks, these
cans snap neatly into the top of the quart paint can. The critical dimension, the lip of the can,
must be very close to 3-3/8". Do not remove the bottom.
Chicken or tuna can, 12oz, steel to make a standoff that keeps the pot from smothering the
flame
Chicken or tuna can, 12oz, steel to make a standoff that keeps the pot from smothering the
flame
Scrap wood, 1-1/2"1-1/2"7" (or longer) for a backup block, to keep the cans from denting
under the drill, or spinning and hurting you if the drill bit grabs.

TOOLS
Saw (table or hand), or router
Computer, printer, and drilling templates download from makeprojects.com/v/27
Caliper, ruler, or tape measure if youre not using the drilling templates. Electronic, dial, or
Vernier calipers will work.
Machinists dividers with layout dye or a Sharpie marker; and woodworkers marking gauge or
machinists surface gauge if youre not using the templates
Prick punch
Hammer
Electric drill
Step bit, 1/2" Its safer and cuts a cleaner hole than twist bits, which grab and tear sheet metal.
Can opener
Tinsnips
C-clamp
Half-round file
Vise

STEPS
Eye protection

PROJECT STEPS
1. Prepare the backup block.

2. Mark the 1qt paint can.

3. Punch 12 o'clock mark.

4. Divide, scribe, and punch bottom of can.

5. Drill the 1qt paint can.

6. Mark and drill the 19oz food can.

7. Drill the bottom and snap cans together.

8. Mark and drill the standoff.

9. Enlarge the hole and smooth edges.

10. Start the Wood Gas Stove

11. Add the standoff, and get your ramen on!

ADVERTISEMENT

Step #11: Add the standoff, and get your ramen on!

As the fire burns down past the side jets, blow down on the coals to start pyrolysis. Try to get a
uniform coal bed all the way around the can. Once you see good coals with fire floating on top, put
the standoff on the stove, rim up.
If you see an orderly column of flame rising with no smoke, youre gasifying! Put a pot of water on top
and get your ramen on.
When the fire goes out, youre done with this charge. You can pile another charge on top, but you
may need to relight it. To save the charcoal for reuse or sequestration, pour in some water. To reduce
it to ash, leave it for another half hour and itll burn away. When youre done, the standoff nests neatly
between the other 2 cans for easy storage.
You can experiment with changing the intensity and duration of the flame by changing the size of the
hole on the top of the stove. The standoff lets you choose between a 2-1/2" hole or a wide-open top
simply by flipping it over. You can add old can lids with different-sized holes cut in the middle to
throttle the flame higher or lower.

WILLIAM ABERNATHY

20 Comments

MAKE

Share

Recommend 1

Login

Sort by Best

Join the discussion

Richard Holmes

2 years ago

Wait, what? You're cutting a 3" deep slot into a 1 1/2" x 1 1/2" piece of wood?
15

Reply Share

ccouden > Richard Holmes

2 years ago

Measurements are updated. Sorry for the confusion!

wabernat

Reply Share

2 years ago

Richard: I do not know where these errors came from, but I suspect there was an issue with the
fractional characters. The slot in question is 3/8" wide by 5/8" deep.
I will bring this to the attention of management...
Good catch. Thanks.
--William
2

Reply Share

Fergus Gallagher > wabernat

2 years ago

That 32" wide food can is a bit surprising too!

2
Alex

Reply Share

2 years ago

Well, with a Led lampen you can make some kind of stuff similar
1

Reply Share

Johnny Gnash

2 years ago

Is this a variation on a rocket stove? This stove certainly looks nice and looks to be compact and
lightweight.

lightweight.
1

Reply Share

wabernat > Johnny Gnash

2 years ago

Rocket stoves burn the fuel directly and maintain a high temperature to ensure complete,
efficient combustion. This design works by charring the fuel and igniting the smoke. Both
designs have their pros and cons.
With no insulation, this TLUD definitely wins on weight!

Jim Wayman

Reply Share

a month ago

Excellent stove and plans, thanks! My first test boiled 2 cups of water in a stainless steel GSI cup
no lid in just over 10 mins.... second test using the same pencil size wood about 1" long boiled 2
cups of water in 5 mins! I used Optimus Terra cup with the fins on the bottom and used the smaller
pan for a lid. I boiled 2 more cups of water still using the first load of wood fuel (filling the can and
starting a fire on top of the wood). The stove fits perfect in the Optimus cup set.
I did drill more on the bottom side if the inter can.

see more

Reply Share

ukdiveboy

a year ago

I used this design as a template, but as I was too lazy (cheap?) to go buy a paint can I scaled back
and used to regular household beans cans.
- http://www.webooma.com/hobo/
@Ruaridh If you want to try this in England, the smaller of the "tins" I used was a Heinz Baked
Beans tin (16oz). The larger is 22oz.
Works great. It am amazed at how much water you can heat with very little wood. A great efficiency
boost over an open fire.

see more

Reply Share

Derek Tombrello

a year ago

I am just curious... where did you find cans of these sizes? My local hardware store doesn't sell
empty quart cans, and the food cans in my local grocery stores (as well as my well stocked pantry)
are only 15 ounces (for the chili, beans, etc cans) and 5 ounces (for the tuna).

Reply Share

AlphaGenesis > Derek Tombrello

a year ago

to get the can to build the stove go to a paint store and tell them you would like to buy a new
unused quart paint can. hop this helped...

Ruaridh

Reply Share

2 years ago

Does anyone know the equivalent UK sizes for paint tins and food cans, or would someone be able
to give me the dimensions of them separately, I just don't want to approximate it and find it doesn't
fit.
Thanks

Reply Share

paul beard > Ruaridh

2 years ago

I would guess the same physical sized cans/tins exist, just with different volumes. The
crucial dimension is 3-3/8".

Reply Share

Ruaridh > paul beard

2 years ago

Ok thanks, that dimension should be on the outside of the food can, but on the inside
rim of the paint can, am I cor

Reply Share

paul beard > Ruaridh

2 years ago

A 540 ml can is perhaps what to look for. And then measure the outer rim of
the food can, and the inner rim of the paint can, as you deduced.

Reply Share

Ruaridh > paul beard

2 years ago

Ah ok thankyou

Reply Share

Ruaridh > Ruaridh

2 years ago

rect in thinking that thanks

Reply Share


paul beard

Reply Share

2 years ago

I made one of these this afternoon: took an hour or so, plus USD2.99 for the paint can (local
hardware store vs big box).
https://www.flickr.com/photos/... and the next one in my stream (Flickr is down at the moment but I
had that one cached) show what mine looks like.
Looking forward to trying it out. A handful of dryer lint, maybe some wax-infused cardboard as
surefire starters, but it doesn't seem to need more than that and does it ever get hotwow.

Reply Share

Bogeyboyz

2 years ago

Is the 19oz can supposed to be the same height as the 1qt can, or should the 19oz can be shorter
to allow the airflow through the bottom holes on the 19oz can?

Reply Share

wabernat > Bogeyboyz

2 years ago

The 19 oz. can is shorter. It should press-fit nicely in the underside of the paint can's interior
rim creases, which will keep it above the bottom rim of the paint can. The 19-oz. can gets
some standoff from the ground, but not enough to prevent charring if, for example, you set it
up on a park bench.

Subscribe

Reply Share

Add Disqus to your site Add Disqus Add

Privacy