How To Turn Soda Cans Into A Portable Camp Stove

photos – SensiblePrepper

There are a lot of excellent sources for you to be able to cook or heat your food. But did you know that a soda can can be used in a survival situation?

You can easily improvise this portable camp stove by using just a couple of tools that are probably available in your home (or you can just buy them) and follow these instructions:

Materials:
– 2 soda cans
– Sharpie marker
– 1-inch thick block of wood or magazine/book
– 1/2 inches thick block of wood or magazine/book
– Heat resistant sealant
– Fiberglass insulation
– Scissors
– Nail and a hammer
– Denatured alcohol
– a penny

Steps:
1. Place your sharpie marker on the block of wood (1inch thick) with marker tip touching the side of the 1st soda can then turn the can to mark your leveling points.

2. Take the 2nd can and place the other block of wood (1/2 inch) on top of the other then repeat step 1.

3. Cut the 2 soda cans using the mark as a guide. Discard the upper part of the cans. It’s important to trim out the sharp edges down to make it clean. Be careful not to cut yourself during this process.

4. Using your sharpie, mark some holes in the center and around the bottom of the can.

5. Take the nail and place it on the marks (black dots) and hammer it through. Repeat in all the black dots around. Be sure not to crash the can while hammering.

6. Crimp the edges of the other can (the one w/o the holes).

7. Take the fiberglass and pack it inside the larger can (the one with the holes). IMPORTANT – unlike the video presenter, ALWAYS use gloves to handle fiberglass and also, always wear a dust mask!! Cannot overemphasize! You really don’t want to breathe fiberglass particles which can easily become airborne, or get fiberglass splinters, which are very unpleasant.

8. Bring in the lower section and stick it using the gasket sealant. Leave it 24 hours to dry.

9. Pour in some denatured alcohol into the center holes. Light it up and place the penny at the center. Wait for a few seconds then the fire starts up.

Here’s the full video:

How To Make An Awesome Water Candle

image – Crazy Russian Hacker

An excellent survival kit should absolutely include some emergency candles. But what if your kit lacks these?

In this super-simple tutorial, you will learn how to create an amazing water candle using only the following:materials:
– glass container
– cup of water
– clear plastic
– birthday candles (or simple candle wick string)
– scissors
– torch oil or vegetable oil

Steps:
1. Take off the wax from the birthday candles. You will only need the candle wick.
2. Pour in some torch oil and some water into the glass container.
3. Cut out a circular piece (size of a penny) from the clear plastic and make a hole in the middle.
4. Insert the candle wick into the hole of the plastic. Then put it in the glass container.
5. Light up the candle wick to start a fire. And you have a water candle.

Here’s the video tutorial:

How To Make A Matchless Survival Fire Kit

image – Grant Thompson

Think of an instance where you need to build a fire and matches are unavailable. What will you do? Also – matches are sometimes unreliable especially when it’s windy – and when wet they probably won’t start a fire.

In this tutorial, you will acquire a basic survival skill which is starting a fire. There’s a little bit of chemistry involved. You will need two chemicals – potassium permanganate and glycerin.

Potassium permanganate is a powerful oxidizing agent and a vital chemical to the world of medicine: It is on the WHO Model List of Essential Medicines, the most important medications needed in a basic health system. Dilute solutions can be used to treat canker sores (ulcers), as disinfectant for the hands, a a wound cleaner and for fungal infections of the hands or feet. Add the tiniest bit possible to a jug of water to kill anything in it (research this before you try).

It can burn skin and will also heavily stain skin, clothing or paper so be very careful in handling it.

Glycerin is a non-toxic product – often found in moisturizers for the treatment of skin problems and irritations. It too is easily obtainable online and we’ve included Amazon links below.

Add a little glycerine to “Pot Perm” and you get a brief hot fire – great for outdoor fire starting (be careful). It’s a great addition to any wilderness first aid/survival kit.

Materials:
– 2 small water resistant containers (something the size of a water bottle cap will give you enough)
– Potassium permanganate (click to see / buy on Amazon)
– Glycerin (click to see / buy on Amazon)
– Dry leaves/twigs

Steps:
1. Put the potassium permanganate and glycerin into the two separate containers. Seal them securely. This kit will come in handy every time you will go outdoors or camping.
Reminder: Never place these two chemicals in one container because that’s just asking for trouble. The potassium permanganate is powerful enough of starting the reaction.

2. To build a fire, carefully pour the grains of potassium permanganate on a flat surface (a rock or a piece of wood).

3. Push a little indentation into the center of the potassium permanganate grains to make a mini-cup for the glycerin.

4. Place neatly the glycerin on top, just right in the center.

5. Wait for a minute and you can start noticing that it slowly builds a smoke. Make sure that your dry leaves are ready because the heat will continue to build rapidly until it turns into a flame.

6. Cover the flame with the dry leaves on top and you can see how quickly the fire starts to build. Leave a little gap at the bottom for air to get in.

Super survival tip: If you don’t have glycerine, you can use antifreeze or possibly even sugar-saturated liquids such as liquid honey or syrup.

Here’s a video tutorial: