The Penny Stove System

by Jack Flintstone
(California)

Almost as soon as I saw a penny stove on YouTube, I was assembling materials to try it out. I made a dozen or more within the week of varying sizes and I was impressed how well they worked. I will not go into construction here, just go to YouTube for that, but I wanted to share how I made it into a cooking system that works for the backpacker. The problem I had was how to package it in the pack and what to use for a grill. The stoves themselves are quite tough when assmbled, but elegantly integrating them with a reliable grill took some trial and error. The best solution I found was the one pictured here. Total cost of the cook stove system is about $7-10, is compact, hot, reliable and weighs about 4 ounces. Not bad. The only parts of the system not shown in the pictures is my plastic-pour-spout-fuel bottle and the penny.

The green carry carry - grill base, is a Swedish(?)or Swiss gel fuel stove sold on Sportsmansguide or Cheaper than Dirt for about $5. I use the gel stove first, which lasts a good while, and when the gel burns out it becomes part of a new penny stove system. The penny stove used here is made from 7.5 ounce soda cans. The soda can diameter is just under the inside diameter of the Swiss stove, making for efficient storage and grill to flame height. To use the stove, place small pebbles or sand under the stove so the flame holes are just above the rim of the can. Install grill top, light the stove and make coffee. Or ramen. Whatever. This stove will go about 10 minutes on a full fill up. Plenty of heat to make a pot of coffee. The grill is tough and because it nests on the can it keeps its shape well. The grill pops right off so you can kill the flame with the lid when necessary. Components cool fast. Packing up with residual fuel in the stove isn't a big deal because the can seals tight.

This is how I made the penny stove work for me. This setup is cheap and makes great gifts for your band of brothers.