Make Your Own Sterno
Make Your Own Sterno
Since I live in Florida, Hurricane season is as good a time as any to do an annual gear check. I always change out my stored water at the very beginning of hurricane season. This ensures my water storage is never older than 1 year. I recycle old juice bottles and fill them with tap water that I can run through a Britta filter if I need to drink it. At some point after that, I deconstruct my Bug Out Bag and reassess the contents. I change out any canned goods in my bag that are nearing expiration and replace them.
When we start to see storms, I check my “Bug In” gear. After our last big storm Wilma, I invested in a camping stove and several disposable propane bottles. That was 6 years ago. 2 of the bottles were light so I hooked them up to see if they still had gas.
They still worked, but leaked out the remaining gas when I unhooked them. The rest had a little rust on the bottom so I sprayed them with a coat of galvanize paint.
Rather than replace them for around $10, I remembered a trick my old Scout leader, Mr Yager taught me. You can make your own Sterno with left over candle wax, some coiled up cardboard and an empty tuna can.
I used an empty soup can to melt the wax in the double boiler to keep me out of trouble with Mrs. Prepper Recon. I then used my multi tool to evenly pour the hot wax into the tuna can and over the card board; this will effectively waterproof it.
It is pretty easy to construct a stove out of any materials you may have around. The homemade Sterno should burn around 45 minutes to an hour. It is not as clean as Sterno brand Sterno, but I am manufacturing this for a hurricane or TEOTWAWKI. Always use a pan or foil, and never place meat directly over the flames as it will be covered in soot.
Resourcefulness is a key tool in survival. Let us know how you prep on a budget.
Happy prepping!
this is great. my son made these in boy scouts when he was young. thanks for the refresher course. gotta make some of these.
Prepperrecon- great post. I think I’m going to try an extra large one with a #10 can!
Great Idea!.
Now how come they didn’t teach us that in girl scouts??
Be sure and use a double boiler to keep from starting a fire, better yet do it outside.
I did the same thing in Scouts! I would make the cardboard a little tighter though. I used a type of hobo stove and cooked that way. It was great!
Yes, it will boil just as fast as Sterno.
Very cool. Got to try this! Thanks. Does it get hot enough to boil?