DIY Alcohol Stove-The Open Jet Soda Can Stove

Some time ago I showed how to make a DIY version of the commercially available Brasslite Turbo II-D alcohol stove. You can see that post here. Today I want to show you a DIY version of another commercially available alcohol stove, the Trangia. This design has been around for a very long time, but in case you don’t know about it, here it is:

Start with two regular soda cans.

Cut them down so that one is about 3/4 to 1 inch high, and the other can is a little bit shorter. Here we are only using the bottoms of the two cans.

Take the shorter can, and cut out the center. Make sure that you leave the lip that goes down intact. Simply cut out the smooth concave section from the bottom of the can. This can be done by just running over it repeatedly with a sharp knife. The aluminum is thin, and will eventually cut. Also, drill 1/16 inch holes around the central opening, spaced about 1/4 inch apart.

Now take the remains of one of the cans from which you cut out the original two section, and from the side, cut out a piece that is about 3/8 taller than the tall can cutout you made earlier.

Make slits in the ends, and fold the piece of metal into a cylinder.

It has to be just large enough so that it fits in the tall soda can cutout, and aligns exactly in the groove at the bottom of the can.

Now, take the shorter can, in which we made the holes earlier, and fit it inside the taller can. Make sure the inner cylinder lines up with the grooves of the top and bottom can (the reason why we left the lip on the shorter/upper can). This is the hardest part of this project. Some people like to use a lubricated full can as a die to stretch out the bottom can cutout, but either way, it requires some playing around. The final result should be this.

Put some alcohol it is and light it. At first the flame will be low just like on the Trangia.

In a few seconds the stove will heat up and bloom.

The stove weighs 0.4oz, and burns 12 minutes on 1 ounce of alcohol. It will boil two cups of water in about 9 to 10 minutes. By adjusting the holes on top, you can get stoves with different burn times.