Hobo Stove

Here's a rainy-day project that takes very little in the way of time, money, or materials and provides you with an extremely handy bit of gear that will last you for a very long time even if you use it.

I read about this particular hobo stove in Backwoodsman Magazine several months ago and had to give it a try. I was a bit surprised to see just how much light and heat it generated after getting it lit--an exercise the first time.

Here's what you'll need:

• An empty can


• A piece of cardboard


• Some candle nubs or squares of paraffin

You should also have a double boiler or some other means of melting the wax/paraffin away from a direct flame.

And here's how you put one of these together:

1. Begin melting your wax/paraffin in a double boiler, on a hot plate, or in a can immersed in a pot of hot water


2. Make sure the inside of your can is nice and clean


3. Cut the cardboard (perpendicular to the corrugation so you have "tubes" coming from top to bottom) to just tall enough to fit inside the lip of the can and just long enough for the two ends to butt up against one another inside the can


4. Once the wax/paraffin is melted you can assemble the stove


5. Put the cardboard in first


6. Pour the wax/paraffin into the middle of the can. It will saturate the cardboard and begin to wick up the "tubes."


7. Don't fill it to the top. The wax/paraffin will cool and contract a bit but if you cover the tops of the "tubes" you may have a much harder time getting this stove going.


8. Once cooled, you can add a bit more paraffin/wax if you'd like but you've got a nice weatherproof little stove/lantern that will provide you with hours and hours of light and heat that was built from scraps you probably had laying around the house.

Now, a couple of caveats:

1. Anytime you're working with open flames please BE CAREFUL! Don't burn the house down.


2. Remember, paraffin IS flammable so handle with care.


3. This stove should be placed on a secure surface as it will be full of melted wax/paraffin after burning for a while.


4. Lastly, I've noticed a bit of a smell when burning pure paraffin so if that smell offends you may want to try using unscented candles as the source of your wax.

The first time I lit this stove it took a bit of effort to get going. I believe it burns some of the paraffin vapor so it took some heat to get enough melted paraffin to get the flame going all the way around the cardboard. Once it got going, however, it was easy to relight. The neatest part of this project is that you can refill the stove with more wax/paraffin once it burns down a bit. I'm trying to rig up a pot stand that will allow me to use this as a heat source for cooking in addition to providing me with warmth and light.

Thanks for reading,


B