I loved being a boy scout! Whether it was camping in the wilderness, learning new survival skills, or even just roasting some marshmallows or cooking a foil dinner by the fire, my four years in boy scouts provided some of the most enjoyable experiences of my young teenage years. Yes, boy scouts helped me gain that excitement for learning how to use what I have to better my situation. It was that excitement that led me to today’s post.

Did you know that you can use an empty Honeyville can to make an emergency stove? It’s actually pretty simple, and today I’m going to show you how you can take a few simple tools and within minutes, have a fully functional stove that can be used in any camping, backpacking, or emergency situation that you encounter. First, lets go over what you’ll need.

Materials:
1 empty Honeyville can with lid
1 pocket knife can opener
1 set of wire cutters
1 QuickStove Fire Starter (or any other firestarting material)
I camping/backpacking frying pan or pot

Directions:
Start by removing the label on your Honeyville can.

As you can see, I used an empty Honeyville Freeze Dried Pineapple’s can for our stove, but any Honeyville #10 can will work.

After the label has been removed, take the pocket knife can opener and begin to punch holes in the side of the can, just above the bottom of the can. Punch the holes around the entire circumference of the can, evenly spacing them as you go. These holes will allow the smoke to exit the stove while burning.

After you are done punching holes, take the old lid of the can and wire cutters and cut the lid on four sides.

Make the cuts evenly apart, as if you were cutting four slices of pizza, and only cut about a quarter of the way in.

After each part is cut, bend each side in and the flaps over with the wire cutters or a set of pliers until it makes a box.

This box is what your Fire Starter will sit on.

After your box is made, return to the can and make two cuts on the top of the can with the wire cutters, about a quarter of the way down the can, evenly.

Once the two cuts are made, bend the piece between the cuts out and cut it completely off. This will allow a place in the stove for air to circulate in.

With the holes punched, the box made, and the place for air cut out, you are now ready to begin cooking with your stove.

Light your Fire Starter with a match or lighter. If you use the QuickStove Fire Starter (available in our Honeyville Retail Store Locations) you’ll find that the starter is simple to light and begins burning within seconds!

Place your can over the starter and allow to warm up. We found that with our stove it took around 5-10 minutes before the top of our can was warm enough to cook on.

Take your camping frying pan (or any frying pan that fits on the can) and begin cooking your meal! For our demonstration we decided to cook up some delicious Honeyville Ova Easy Egg Crystals.

Cooking time varies depending on what type of meal you are making. Our eggs cooked up in about 12 minutes on the stove. Make sure you also pick a flat, even surface to put your stove on or else you might find a few uneven hot spots on the cook top.

When you are done you can push the can off with a stick or other object and use the fire starter to build up a fire for warmth. The fire starter should burn for a few hours after your meal is complete.

Not only is this a super easy and fun project to make, it’s quick too! All together this project took around 15 minutes to make. That’s perfect, especially if you find yourself in an emergency situation, or maybe just need a fun project idea for family night. Make a few of these and stick them in your food storage pantry for future camping trips or just as a precaution. You’ll be glad you did!