Rokitman, I have made 8 so far, I am looking for a way to have them simmer instead of a full flame.
I have an alcohol stove that has a simmer ring, I am looking for something similar for the wax stoves. What are you using? If anything at all.

 

In the book "Rough it Made Easy" by Dian Thomas, she makes these buddy burners too. One addition that she had was that she used the lid, that was on the can, attached a handle made of coat hanger and used it as a damper lid.

Using it this way only allows some of the contents to burn, thus decreasing the heat. You can adjust it easy enough too.

 

Made these up a while back. I used 8lbs of paraffin wax to make all of them.
Before:

After:

30 buddy burners.

 

Yep, look just like mine!

 

They have no wicks..? Do they need them?

 

Don't need wicks, just light the cardboard.

Wicks do work in them too, but not necessary.

 

No need for them. The cardboard and the wax do just fine.

 

Try buying old candles at garagae sales and thrift stores for your wax this is a whole lot less expensive than buying wax blocks.

 

Also check with churches after Christmas and Easter services. They often throw out the little single-use candles that the parishioners use.

 

I waited until I saw the wax on sale at the grocery store. I walked the canning aisle every week for months until I saw the sale price I wanted.
I have been making these things since I was a young boy.

 

The larger Sterno cans burn for 2.5 hrs so wax stoves are much cheaper!

 

I tried making these a couple of years back, using corrugated cardboard and old candles, and they worked like a charm, besides being really cheap. Even now there are two of them in my car kit!

 

hi bro ... i make these all the time ... might wanna use a little less cardboard or shorter pieces you get less heat but they last longer ... also to refill them just put a candle on top while its burning .. it will melt and refill the can

 

Ah! My brother made some of these in Boy Scouts! I'm going to have to start hanging on to the tuna cans and cardboard to make some of these. In a sudden emergency when we have no power, we'd have no source of heat for cooking. We at least have mild winters here, so we won't be desperate for a heating source for the house.

Now, is it best to use the tuna fish type cans, or can you use deeper cans (like, say, baked bean cans or whatever) with the same results/longer burn time/whatever? Just curious, because we use the bigger cans too, and it would be a good way to reuse them.

Also, what material did you find to burn the best/longest/most cleanly?

 

bigger cans dont burn as well when the fuels lower the oxigen down inside gets lower and they burn cooler.

I have gotten ten pound bags of broken candles at the junks store for as Little at 1.87

a two to three pound bags of nicer candles for around 2.95 but I have also seen candles for 4.95 a dozen at the thrift store so find a good one to shop at.

 

Expanding even further with this concept, I'm making a large one using the tin that cookies come in. The tin is 7" diameter at 2.5" deep which makes it large enough for a good sized skillet. But this is going to take a lot of wax so using store bought parraffin is not cost effective so I need to hit some yard sales! You can also fit 3 of the cat food can size inside as another option!

 

You really don't need a stove that big. You just need to concentrate the heat upwards. Build a stovetop to set over the buddy burner.

Also, you can always add extra hot wax in if your buddy burner goes out. No need to let the cardboard burn up.

 

If you take a #10 can and cut a small door in the "front" and use a hand-held juice can opener to punch some smoke/air holes in the top rear, you can use the bottom as a cooktop stove with a little buddy burner underneath. We did this in Girl Scouts. Worked fine.

Oh one last thing is save the lid of the tuna can because you can use it to temper the heat if your stove gets too hot. Use tongs or twist a piece of coat hanger wire around it.

 

I would also suggest looking into candle making supplies online. For the most part I pay between 1.25 to 2.00 per pound for my candles by buying from online suppliers. Its alot cheaper and you can also get moulds, wicks, colors, and other supplies.

 

Look at this thread - might help you with the Sterno question ~ http://www.survivalistboards.com/showthread.php?t=44646&highlight=sterno

 

Thanks for the info everyone...

I made my first buddy burner tonight. I used the cardboard from toilet paper rolls and some left over candle wax.

It took me about 60 seconds of constant flame using a bic lighter to get it started. And when it did start, it was a very small flame and barely lit.

I let it burn for a bit and the flame did get bigger, but there's no way I could have gotten it lit if there was any breeze at all.

I'm guessing that I filled the can too full of wax and needed to leave a little of the top of the cardboard "unwaxed".

I suggest if you're new to this, to light your buddy burners and get them going a bit before trying them in an emergency.

Has anyone else had this problem or anyone have any advice?

 

I leave about a quarter to half inch of cardborad sticking up but coat it in wax! I can light them in seconds! I even tried lighting some with a firesteel using cotton laying on and in between the cardboard and it works good too! I did find out that if you use candle wicks instead of cardboard, it will only burn for a short time before the wicks fall over so you cannot just let them burn indefinetly! It's really fun experimenting with them!

 

I made several with bacon grease. They light easy but stink much worse than you would think.

 

I'll take your word for it.

Thanks for saving me the time (and smell).

 

If you buy candels to burn and freshen up your home in stead of burning the candle by lighting the wick...try simmering it in a candle pot. Once the smells is all gone the wax will still be there. Now the wax will be odorless and ready to go.

 

I got a cookie tin with a lid that will hold four buddy burners, made a collapseable grill for it and now I can actually use a frying pan on it. Everything fits in the tin when not in use! hard to find metal cookie tins as most cookies come in plastic containers nowadays!

 

Another trick for making them easy to light is to break off a couple of stick matches and shove them in the center before you fill them with wax, then you can either light the match or if you are without fire jut strike the match in the can. If you put the matches in before you fill them it will also water proof the match.

 

Another trick for making them easy to light is to break off a couple of stick matches and shove them in the center before you fill them with wax, then you can either light the match or if you are without fire jut strike the match in the can. If you put the matches in before you fill them it will also water proof the match.

I just thought of this too. My next one I'm going to add a bunch of matches to it. I want at least one burner that is "sure fire" in a wilderness survival situation.

And like you suggest, the wax will help waterproof the matches. I think I'll have 4-5 strike anywhere matches, then tear off a pack of paper matches and add all of them in the cardboard. If I can't get that lit in a survival situation, I deserve to freeze.

 

Has anyone tried to make one of these with Bee's Wax. Paraffin is derived from petrolum, so I am wondering if anyone has tried it with a renewable natural wax?????

 

Sterno makes a fold up stove that the buddie burners fit into real nice, it's small, lite and fits nicely into a backpack. I've had one for probably 40 years and it works great.

http://www.sterno.com/retail/pages/stove.html

 

I've never heard of these. Could you provide the steps involved? I'd sure like to see if I can make some. if they're cheaper than the Sterno cans it would sure be worth it. I've been wanting to buy a case of Sternos but kept holding off due to the cost.

Thank you ... Robin

 

Think of a cardboard cinnamon bun with wax for icing.

Here's video showing how. Just remember that on the second pour of wax that you don't fill it all the way. Leave about 1/8th to 1/4th an inch of cardoard left to light on fire:

 

Has anyone tested these indoors? I wonder if they smoke alot as the cardboard burns?

 

They don't smoke too much while they are burning, but when you put them out they smoke alot. Maybe put them out outside?

 

Howdy all

I made some like these years ago. they were called hobo stoves back then.
it is still in my footlocker

filman