Ok so Im looking on the net how to make a pop can safe and I stumble across this guys blog that has a lot of interesting DIY shit.. one of the things was the infamous pop can stove, something that I have been meaning to try but haven't yet.

I figure I will postpone my pop can safe and take on a new more flammable one, the stove.

It looks pretty easy and Ive seen it before so I go outside and start making it.

The fuel I used was denatured alchohol and I begin filling it up.

I light the alchohol on the top part and wait for the fuel below to start boiling...

DANGEROUS PART OF THE STORY BELOW:

within about 30 seconds of me lighting the alchohol, the whole fucking thing explodes less than a foot next to me, getting burning alchohol on my fucking legs and face! Meanwhile my patio is on fire and so is the bark and plants off the patio... I get the burning off my face hella quick, just a split second or so.. im just a lil red... my legs were burning too but I couldnt see the flame, I had on shorts but I managed to smother it with seat cushions..

ok so now im not on fire, but my patio is and theres a lot of little fires in some dead leaves and shit... thank God I was by a hose I thought.. i had forgotten that if you put water on a alc. fire it just aggravates it... i spray the hose and now its catching even more shit on fire!! now im panicking and dont know what to do.. I managed to just spray the fuck out of the fires so they had no oxygen..

result from stupid fucking pop can stove:

ipartially burnt patio,

burnt face,

burnt legs,

black spots in my backyard,

shit stains in my pants..


***

I dont fucking know what i did wrong.. i followed the directions to a T. This shit is dangerous.. i dont reccommend it.

Perhaps I should change my name to BURNT Toastman.

Fuck.

Aren't you supposed to use rubbing alcohol in those things?

That could have been your problem.

Do you remember the link to the DIY blog?

Glad you're survived as a lesson for us. ;)

I was planning on making one of these tomorrow.

yeah, heres the blog:

http://how2dostuff.blogspot.com/

theres actually some good stuff there... aside from the almost murderous pop can stove. i seriously would not reccommend trying this..

as for the other stuff on the blog, have fun

Aren't you supposed to use rubbing alcohol in those things?

That could have been your problem.

No. Rubbing alcohol is something like 30% water, and burns shitty cause it leaves water behind as a residue.

I don't know how you messed it up man, I've built 3-4 and they all have been fine. Did you fill it up with insulation? Then when you're lighting it, put it on an upside down can, get denatured alc. in those ridges, then light that to get a flame going around the stove. Then the alcohol inside should start creeping out and catch fire from the side burning.Voila!

Tell us exactly what you did and I bet we can figure it out. Sounds to me like you had no insulation.
Great story btw, quite entertaining!

Boiling the fuel for vapor?

That sounds really dangerous, i wouldnt even try this.

No. Rubbing alcohol is something like 30% water, and burns shitty cause it leaves water behind as a residue.

They do run on rubbing alcohol, or so they claim. Haven't verified this personally, but they do recommend a higher percentage rubbing alcohol.

Fuck.

Hope you heal up alright. I got to can stoves through a link i found in the DIY forum here, i'm pretty sure, but you can get yourself one of these stoves pretty cheap on eebaye. I've heard good things about them - dont know what went wrong in your case but these are pretty solid.

source here: http://www.m4040.com/Survival/Camping.htm

on eebaye here: http://tinyurl.com/3zl5yh

Edit: I dont have a stake in or endorse either of these sources, just passing on info. Good luck. :D

Did the metal rupture, or did it just spray alcohol everywhere? Either way, it sounds like the holes were too small. The pressure couldn't escape fast enough, and kept building up.

Our NZ monthly HandyMans magazine had a writeup on the Can Stoves last month.

Our NZ monthly HandyMans magazine had a writeup on the Can Stoves last month.

The Shed?

I made one of those. It had heaps of tiny holes and just one bigger hole as the filling hole. No insulation or w/e inside though.

Used meths in it and it worked fine except that ignition of it. Had to use a small gas torch to heat it up and light it.

No. Rubbing alcohol is something like 30% water, and burns shitty cause it leaves water behind as a residue.

Huh? What we call "rubbing alcohol" here is 99% isopropanol.

You mentioned making a can safe, does this help?

http://www.videojug.com/film/how-to-make-a-secret-safe

Edit: I have made one of those stoves before and like someone else said did you put insulation in it?

I can almost guarantee that it's from the filler hole not being properly covered. When the top popped off, the pressure released, and the remaining fluid instantly vaporized.

I suggest using a screw instead of a penny, you may have had enough pressure to cause the penny to "jump" and from there it all went downhill.

I looked at the guys instructions to make the stove and they are way different to the ones I followed.


the one I made had that whole top part with the penny cut out, and a length of can bent inside with notches cut into it.

kinda had to explain...
but it works and has never exploded on me

It looks like this one
http://www.trailjournals.com/images/gear/canstove2.jpg

They do run on rubbing alcohol, or so they claim. Haven't verified this personally, but they do recommend a higher percentage rubbing alcohol.
Huh? What we call "rubbing alcohol" here is 99% isopropanol.

The rubbing alcohol I first used to power my stove was 70% isapropanol, and it did not work at all. Distilled alcohol [i think thats what i ended up using] worked excellently, though once it flared up crazy big and shot up 2' flames for a few minutes. Haven't tried it since...

I looked at the guys instructions to make the stove and they are way different to the ones I followed.


the one I made had that whole top part with the penny cut out, and a length of can bent inside with notches cut into it.

kinda had to explain...
but it works and has never exploded on me

It looks like this one
http://www.trailjournals.com/images/gear/canstove2.jpg

^Thats the one i thought he was talking about.

I tried making one with super glue to stick em together, but i couldnt push em down fast enough....i failed basically

Almost

http://www.munkiihouse.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/sad-face.jpg

A friend of mine almost burned down his brand new house with one. It melted.