Pepsi can stove

...Or any other soda can stove for that matter...

Pepsi can stove is an alcohol stove. You can build it at home in less than 15 minutes. Go for it if you look for something extremely small, light and cheap. Don't plan on this stove if you look for something durable with strong fire to boil your water in no time.

I made many pepsi can stoves over the years. It comes in many versions. The version here is usually referred to as open-jet. Its working principle is similar to the o-mighty Trangia. The stove got duoble walls. The alcohol is boiled and its steam runs through the jets at the top. It got a main chamber to fill the stove with alcohol.

The holes in my stove are on the top. You can make the holes on the side of the burner. This will enable the stove itself to be a potholder (the pot can seat on the stove without closing the jets). I'm not a great fan of this side-burner method. The stove is too small to support big pots and the flames are too wide to use a narrow pot…

Which brings me to another point…

The Pepsi can stove must come with a potholder. I also advise you to use some sort of windshield. The windscreen isn't a must though. The stove will work fine without it, but since you want to save fuel and to finish the boil in reasonable time, I really recommend using some sort of wind blocker. Both the potholder and the windscreen can come in numerous forms. I cut mine from baby formula cans.

pepsi can stove instructions

A simple step by step plan

1) Cut the bottom of the can. I did it with a can opener. You can open it in any other way, It doesn't have to be a nit cut.
2) After the cut
3) Make jets. Any hole smaller than 1mm will do. I do it with a simple nail and hammer. You can drill to get more accurate results. There should be about 24 holes. In this part, if you'll do the holes on the side of the can, you'll get a sideburner.
4) Mark a line 30mm from the edge of the can. This part will be the burner of the stove.
5) Cut roughly 1cm from the line. It will be much easier to be precise later on the line you draw. I do it with simple scissors.
6) Cut exactly on the line. Again, it works great with plain scissors.
7) The burner should later fit into the bottom part. To enable this, bend the edges of the cut inside. I use needle nose pliers. Just cramp it around the can.
8) Eventually, it should look like this...	pepsi-can-stove-pot-holder-windscreen
9) Now, the bottom: make a line 20mm from the bottom of another can.
10) Cut it just above the line.
11) Now cut it precisely on the line.
12) On one of the cans you used, draw two lines, 40mm apart.
13) Cut it.
14) Mark two line, as seen in the picture, 160mm apart. Cut the lines.
15) Fold the piece of aluminium and slide the slits one into the other.
16) Cut in 3 or 4 places to enable the liquid to move from the main chamber to the doubled walls. The size and shape doesn't really matter, just keep it 2-3mm big. I cut it triangle shape with scissors.
17) Place the inner wall inside the bottom of the stove. It should fit perfectly to the notch in the bottom of the cut can.
18) Gently and slowly, locate the burner in place. The burner should fit into the bottom part. The inner wall should fit well to the burner. It might take you a few attempts to get it right.
19) Press the parts together to get the stove in one piece. That's it!	pepsi-can-stove-pot-holder-windscreen
20) Fill it with alcohol, light it and once the flames are out of the jets, you can start using the stove. Preheat might take a minute.
21) In case of a leak... This might happen if the burner tweaks too much. Cut a piece of aluminum from one of the can you used, use high temperature silicon to glue it on the leak. It works perfect and you get additional strength to the stove.