I make these weekly for the homeless to keep them warm. i give them the buddy burner a pair of socks a pair of gloves and a can opener so they can cook canned food from the food bank. It makes me feel good knowing they will live to see another day because of me.
I use the Blue Diamond almond cans to make buddy burners. They are steel with no seams and have a nice fitting plastic lid that keeps them from getting debris inside. Also, you can make buddy burners to suit your needs. The tighter you wrap the cardboard, the bigger the flame will be. However, that also means there will be less room for wax so it won't burn as long. If you prefer to have a slower burn with a smaller flame, you can use less cardboard and therefore more wax. I tend to make several with different amounts of cardboard and wax so that I can choose the one that matches the type of cooking I want to do. If I'm boiling water, I use one with lots of cardboard and less wax. If I am cooking low and slow with a frying pan and don't want to scorch the food, I use one with lots of wax and less cardboard.
Canned chicken cans are bigger and taller, more or less cardboard and wax. The lid can be made into a snuffer with a long Or short metal screw and nut.
I remember making & using buddy burners in Girl Scouts. We always cut across the corrugation instead of with it; roll tight and squeeze it into the can; melt parafin then slowly pour or ladle the liquid wax over the cardboard carefully making certain to fill each hole from the corrugation with the melted wax. I can't say which method is better or if it even matters. Good for you giving these to homeless!! Thanks for restoring my faith in people.
I've been wondering if buddy burners were still around. I made them back in the 50's and 60's when I was in Girl Scouts. They were great ! When learning to batik, I also learned a safe way to melt a lot of wax was ALWAYS to create a small double boiler (can be made from two different sized cans- one inside the other. Always use stones or something between the two so the inner can's bottom never touches the bottom and the water can flow under it) ( Sorry for this run on sentence) the wax wouldn't flash on fire or to use a dedicated, only for this purpose, electric frying pan with good temperature control. Obviously follow all safety precautions dealing with hot wax. Thanks for this great video. Such good memories!
All made from things that would most likely be lying around after SHTF which makes this stove very practical. Could even make some of the buddy burners up and have them ready to use when you need them. Thanks for another great video!
Made a bunch of these Buddy Burners for my earthquake supply living in California. Cheap, simple , easy. Nice job, we didn't put holes in the top, only on the top sides.
In my country 🇨🇴 we celebrate a festive day in 7th December named "las velitas" in English "little candles" and I collect all the used candles next day, I have made a lot of these burners all this years.
Tengo varios de estos, son excelentes, los he usado muchas veces y nunca me han fallado; he cocinado pasta, arroz, café, sopas, etcétera.... Se enfrían rápido.... Manchan un poco de negro, pero ese es su único defecto.... Muy bien video... Saludos desde 🇻🇪🇻🇪🇻🇪
A good can for having the cook top closer to the flame is the 20 oz beef stew or chicken dumpling. A mid 'range' (lol range... fine) is the bottom can of a chow mein two piece or the 28oz crushed tomato can. As close to temp control as you can get. When cooking in the factory can, watch for the plastic cooking off into the food. I put several in a fire to burn it out. Cheers.
I've seen quite a few "hobo stove" videos lately & yours would have to be the easiest/simplest one I've seen. I'm in Australia & lighting fires here is pretty much not allowed for a lot of the time. So a little stove like this where you're not producing sparks or embers is a lot safer & just more practical. For this reason I've always gone straight to my much loved spirit burner but it's always good to have a sensible back up. Thanks 😊
Rolling in some dryer lent or cotton balls will allow this stove to be lit with a ferro rod after its fluffed or just carrying cotton balls in Vaseline separate could also work
The smaller outer can works if you are cooking a small can of food. If you want to cook something in a pan, use a #10 can. It gives you a larger surface to cook with (you can use the lid of the #10 can to make a flap to control the temperature). I leave my cardboard in the burner loose and mix wood shavings from my workshop in between the cardboard for a longer burn.
Great video. I seen a lot of alchohol stove videos and coffee cams to cook on. This one was the best. First video I seen where they alternate the holes in top. Thanks for sharing
I'm not really sure if this is bad or not, whenever my buddy burner gets low, and I want to make another one I just melt the wax over the flame of my existing burner and make another one like that. Is this bad/dangerous to do?
Pretty cool. I'm starting to experiment around with making tin can stoves and the like. I think I'm going to add this to my list of things to try out. Thanks much!
An excellent project in that we have all the bits & pieces to make. We challenge our young troops in bushcraft and outdoor skill so that emergencies such as earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic activity, and related infrastructure damage will not be a crisis, only a setback for them. There will be some happy young campers testing this out very soon. Watching you from our "secret retirement" location in Bulacan province on Luzon island in the Republic of the Philippine islands.Thank you for the post. We will hit the subscribe and like buttons next
Ok I’m kind of obsessed with this now. I’ve got tuna cans a plenty but getting a larger can has proved to be challenging. I just had a can of that keystone or whatever it’s called pork but I couldn’t clean it enough to want to save it. So question is what’s got good large cans - I haven’t seen coffee in an actual can in 100 years. Also I’m a little unsure about hacking into the can idk. I’d love to see more detail in that for sure. Glad I found your videos I enjoy these! I was telling everybody about the bucket berkeys!
Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it! Yea I definitely have to keep my eye out for the slightly larger cans. I end up saving the big tomato juice cans I buy because they're the perfect size for all sorts of things.
@@GreatLakesPrepping ahhhhhhh ok we have people that don’t eat tomatoes here so I’ve been missing out on some good cans I will post to FB see if anybody would save them for me
Let me tell you what I did..... I went to my local pizzeria and asked for the cans they get the tomato sauce in. They gave me a ton ! Any restaurant you go to would probably accommodate you easily.
Same issue here in the Philippine islands. A few products are available in #10 cans. Fruit salad comes to mind. The reason I have very few of these cans is that the product is loaded with sugar, something I avoid. If our YaYa wants to make a dessert at holiday time that includes the canned fruit salad, I stake a claim on the empty can well before the event.
I put some cans aside to do this , but haven't yet . After watching you I had a couple thoughts . First put some bacon in the pan , and maybe use the candle wicks in the tuna can , as a wick .
Have you tried removing the solid wax / cardboard from the can to use like a fuel puck? I do that with a mixture of wax and chainsaw chips and store them for future use.
I notice you cut the cardboard parallel to the air spaces which makes it pretty hard to roll tight. Been there done that. What would happen if you cut it in the other direction? Chicken cans are bigger than tuna cans. Do you think they would work better or worse?
My comment was intended to encourage people to think for themselves. One answer is not necessarily right for all. Test out your options and decide for yourself. @@audreydoyle5268
Rather than cut out the slot for the burner. Make a single cut about 1inch deep, then two cuts in the opposite direction to create two doors that are opened outwards. This will make it more stable. Apart from cutting the olded edge the rest can be done with a decent knife.
I've always known about these for a good long time and always wanted to make me one. My question is a thing of debate I've heard many talk about. Some say pack it with cardboard and put the wax over it. Than some use less to maybe half the amount of cardboard and pour it over the cardboard slits but also fill the can up with wax as well. I was just wondering if you ever tried it with less cardboard and how well did it work?
Hi Joe. I've pretty much only ever made them like this. I'm not sure what more wax + less cardboard would do. My gut tells me it would burn slower and less hot. The cardboard needs to act like a sort of wick that goes top to bottom and across the whole surface area...I would think.
We also used oaktag if we didn't have cardboard. It's basically the thinner board - same stuff manilla ( sp?) Folders are made from. Sometimes called tagboard ( not sure about what pigments might be in the colored versions of this sort of board) you need more than with cardboard, but you can fold it over to thicken it a bit or not roll it super tightly. It would be a great way to use old file folders. It worked fine.
Bacon fat ( or any other meat fat) also works in place of wax. Just melt it and saturate your cardboard as shown. No bad odor. Try and see for yourself.
need advice on the bottom cut for space insertion of tuna can. I do not own a dremel so need to use tin snips. My current pair are unable to get past the lip. What should I buy for a better pair of snipes please and thanks. Gotta be cheaper than a dremel.....
Hi Meg. It looks like the average snips cost around $15. For a few dollars more, you could get a cheap rotary cutting tool (similar to Dremel). Here's one for $23 amzn.to/3U7ASIw Obviously a stronger one would work faster, but I suspect this cheap one would still be easier than snips. You could also try using a thin metal file or small hacksaw blade to get through the lip, and then use your snips from there.
Better than paying fifty dollars for a , star fire camp can....... I learned how to do this when I was a very young little girl in Girl Scouts. Exact same method. You can also just use sticks underneath for small fire. I always just used a lightweight small skillet on top to cook my food. Depending on what your fixing.
Eh, it's not like I'm roasting meat over the open flame. The flames heats the pan; the pan heats the food. As far as I'm concerned, plastic fumes aren't infusing into my food.
Not so sure this is the "right way"!!! We always purposely made them with the perforations in the cardboard running up and down. Not only is it easier to get it to roll, but the holes make the wax wick better, and it's also easier to get wax to the bottom of the can as it will pour into the holes. With the way you rolled the cardboard it's very hard to totally saturated the cardboard fully, both inside and outside.
Crisco would be better and easier than rolling carboard and melting candles. Fill the can then cut down a candle to size and bury it in the center of the can to use as a wick.
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I make these weekly for the homeless to keep them warm. i give them the buddy burner a pair of socks a pair of gloves and a can opener so they can cook canned food from the food bank. It makes me feel good knowing they will live to see another day because of me.
Bless you!
U r only an instrument, God allows them to live to see another day.
God bless you,Sir!
@@Isayah_613lunatuc
God bless you...what you do warms their bodies and hearts
I use the Blue Diamond almond cans to make buddy burners. They are steel with no seams and have a nice fitting plastic lid that keeps them from getting debris inside. Also, you can make buddy burners to suit your needs. The tighter you wrap the cardboard, the bigger the flame will be. However, that also means there will be less room for wax so it won't burn as long. If you prefer to have a slower burn with a smaller flame, you can use less cardboard and therefore more wax. I tend to make several with different amounts of cardboard and wax so that I can choose the one that matches the type of cooking I want to do. If I'm boiling water, I use one with lots of cardboard and less wax. If I am cooking low and slow with a frying pan and don't want to scorch the food, I use one with lots of wax and less cardboard.
Great insight on how to use these stoves efficiently. Thank you for posting your observations.
frito bean dip cans also have a nice lid, slightly deeper and wider than a tuna can so a lot more burn time
Canned chicken cans are bigger and taller, more or less cardboard and wax. The lid can be made into a snuffer with a long Or short metal screw and nut.
Omg, we learned about Buddy Burners when I was a Girl Scout nearly 60 years ago!
Watching this was a time warp treat. 🙂
I remember making & using buddy burners in Girl Scouts. We always cut across the corrugation instead of with it; roll tight and squeeze it into the can; melt parafin then slowly pour or ladle the liquid wax over the cardboard carefully making certain to fill each hole from the corrugation with the melted wax.
I can't say which method is better or if it even matters. Good for you giving these to homeless!! Thanks for restoring my faith in people.
I particularly liked your intro. Straightforward and to the point. Clear. Concise. Well-spoken.
Thank you Susan!
I've been wondering if buddy burners were still around. I made them back in the 50's and 60's when I was in Girl Scouts. They were great ! When learning to batik, I also learned a safe way to melt a lot of wax was ALWAYS to create a small double boiler (can be made from two different sized cans- one inside the other. Always use stones or something between the two so the inner can's bottom never touches the bottom and the water can flow under it) ( Sorry for this run on sentence) the wax wouldn't flash on fire or to use a dedicated, only for this purpose, electric frying pan with good temperature control. Obviously follow all safety precautions dealing with hot wax.
Thanks for this great video. Such good memories!
Cheap and effective, tried and true for years. Good job, man. Thanks, Paul J.
Thanks Paul!
All made from things that would most likely be lying around after SHTF which makes this stove very practical. Could even make some of the buddy burners up and have them ready to use when you need them. Thanks for another great video!
Making them ahead of time is an excellent idea. All prepping done before you need it is wise.
Made a bunch of these Buddy Burners for my earthquake supply living in California. Cheap, simple , easy. Nice job, we didn't put holes in the top, only on the top sides.
Groovy video man, reminds me of the ’60s when we were making these as hippies.
I forgot how awesome buddy burners are. Such good memories of burning pancakes! Great video thanks
In my country 🇨🇴 we celebrate a festive day in 7th December named "las velitas" in English "little candles" and I collect all the used candles next day, I have made a lot of these burners all this years.
Ahhh. You took me back to my Girl Scout days. Thank you.
Tengo varios de estos, son excelentes, los he usado muchas veces y nunca me han fallado; he cocinado pasta, arroz, café, sopas, etcétera.... Se enfrían rápido.... Manchan un poco de negro, pero ese es su único defecto.... Muy bien video... Saludos desde 🇻🇪🇻🇪🇻🇪
awesome designe. One thing i have learned though is cas today have bpa issues so it is debating if you want to eat from the can itself heating it up.
When you cut for the hobo stove, if you cut it narrower then you need it and bend it in so you have no sharp edges. It makes it easier for travel.
Nice job, thanks for sharing. Ideal for those odd outings, campings that I never got to go
A good can for having the cook top closer to the flame is the 20 oz beef stew or chicken dumpling. A mid 'range' (lol range... fine) is the bottom can of a chow mein two piece or the 28oz crushed tomato can. As close to temp control as you can get.
When cooking in the factory can, watch for the plastic cooking off into the food. I put several in a fire to burn it out. Cheers.
I've seen quite a few
"hobo stove" videos lately & yours would have to be the easiest/simplest one I've seen.
I'm in Australia & lighting fires here is pretty much not allowed for a lot of the time. So a little stove like this where you're not producing sparks or embers is a lot safer & just more practical.
For this reason I've always gone straight to my much loved spirit burner but it's always good to have a sensible back up.
Thanks 😊
Thanks friend. This is basically the exact same way we did it all those decades ago in the Scouts.
Rolling in some dryer lent or cotton balls will allow this stove to be lit with a ferro rod after its fluffed or just carrying cotton balls in Vaseline separate could also work
I love this thank you!!! I'm going to make one for each of my kids for christmas!
The smaller outer can works if you are cooking a small can of food. If you want to cook something in a pan, use a #10 can. It gives you a larger surface to cook with (you can use the lid of the #10 can to make a flap to control the temperature). I leave my cardboard in the burner loose and mix wood shavings from my workshop in between the cardboard for a longer burn.
One of the coolest things we made in scouts. Mine was an old coffee can.
Great video. I seen a lot of alchohol stove videos and coffee cams to cook on. This one was the best. First video I seen where they alternate the holes in top. Thanks for sharing
Thanks Frank!
I'm not really sure if this is bad or not, whenever my buddy burner gets low, and I want to make another one I just melt the wax over the flame of my existing burner and make another one like that. Is this bad/dangerous to do?
Great job...I've made a few of these now and I put the can with the candel's in a pot of water and boil the water and candel's will melt..
Pretty cool. I'm starting to experiment around with making tin can stoves and the like. I think I'm going to add this to my list of things to try out. Thanks much!
An excellent project in that we have all the bits & pieces to make. We challenge our young troops in bushcraft and outdoor skill so that emergencies such as earthquakes, typhoons, volcanic activity, and related infrastructure damage will not be a crisis, only a setback for them. There will be some happy young campers testing this out very soon. Watching you from our "secret retirement" location in Bulacan province on Luzon island in the Republic of the Philippine islands.Thank you for the post. We will hit the subscribe and like buttons next
Thanks Jack, I'm glad you found the video helpful.
I think even I could make this, thank you!!!
I like the buddy burner. I'm going to make some. Thank you.
Gotta to try this on the weekend
We Girl Scouts made those too. They really work!!
Simple and good to know. Thanks.
I made these, and they're great
Wasting brand new candles is a bit silly, just use waste cooking grease, bacon fat and old used candles 👍
Nice 👍🏽
Awesome and epic video thank you so much for making it ❤️👍
Ok I’m kind of obsessed with this now. I’ve got tuna cans a plenty but getting a larger can has proved to be challenging. I just had a can of that keystone or whatever it’s called pork but I couldn’t clean it enough to want to save it. So question is what’s got good large cans - I haven’t seen coffee in an actual can in 100 years. Also I’m a little unsure about hacking into the can idk. I’d love to see more detail in that for sure. Glad I found your videos I enjoy these! I was telling everybody about the bucket berkeys!
Thanks for the comment, I appreciate it! Yea I definitely have to keep my eye out for the slightly larger cans. I end up saving the big tomato juice cans I buy because they're the perfect size for all sorts of things.
@@GreatLakesPrepping ahhhhhhh ok we have people that don’t eat tomatoes here so I’ve been missing out on some good cans I will post to FB see if anybody would save them for me
Let me tell you what I did..... I went to my local pizzeria and asked for the cans they get the tomato sauce in.
They gave me a ton !
Any restaurant you go to would probably accommodate you easily.
Same issue here in the Philippine islands. A few products are available in #10 cans. Fruit salad comes to mind. The reason I have very few of these cans is that the product is loaded with sugar, something I avoid. If our YaYa wants to make a dessert at holiday time that includes the canned fruit salad, I stake a claim on the empty can well before the event.
Those cans are getting harder to aquire, pizza place is a good suggestion
I put some cans aside to do this , but haven't yet . After watching you I had a couple thoughts . First put some bacon in the pan , and maybe use the candle wicks in the tuna can , as a wick .
Great setup
Have you tried removing the solid wax / cardboard from the can to use like a fuel puck? I do that with a mixture of wax and chainsaw chips and store them for future use.
Food cans have coatings on the inside that heat will transfer into the food if you cook in the can.
How do you think think cans are packed? ( under hi heat) 😂
@@Bucky1836 240f when packed. Flames will vaporize the inner coatings. Your choice if you want to poison yourself.
You would just die from shock to see how many idiots cannot make these correctly on youtube. Thank you for showing us all how its really done.
Thanks 👍
I notice you cut the cardboard parallel to the air spaces which makes it pretty hard to roll tight. Been there done that. What would happen if you cut it in the other direction? Chicken cans are bigger than tuna cans. Do you think they would work better or worse?
So you're saying cut perpendicular to the air spaces? Probably fit more wax in, leading to a slightly slower burn
My comment was intended to encourage people to think for themselves. One answer is not necessarily right for all. Test out your options and decide for yourself. @@audreydoyle5268
love this channel
For a large tuna can, 1 3/4" fits inside perfect with about 1/8" lip on the can.
This type of stove is easy to make and does a good job, just know that there are alot of pesticides in some cardboards so be careful.
Cool.
Rather than cut out the slot for the burner. Make a single cut about 1inch deep, then two cuts in the opposite direction to create two doors that are opened outwards. This will make it more stable. Apart from cutting the olded edge the rest can be done with a decent knife.
great video.
Thanks Sonia!
Your very welcome
Hi I've just subscribed to your channel. I will definitely try this buddy burner out. Cheers mate 🇬🇧
Alcohol stove is easy to make out of pop cans and bottle of Heat fuel additive gives you a stable and long lasting form of cooking
My buddy burner was a little different, no holes in the top, only around the edge of the top and around the bottom.
Can I use cooking oil also
I've always known about these for a good long time and always wanted to make me one. My question is a thing of debate I've heard many talk about. Some say pack it with cardboard and put the wax over it. Than some use less to maybe half the amount of cardboard and pour it over the cardboard slits but also fill the can up with wax as well. I was just wondering if you ever tried it with less cardboard and how well did it work?
Hi Joe. I've pretty much only ever made them like this. I'm not sure what more wax + less cardboard would do. My gut tells me it would burn slower and less hot. The cardboard needs to act like a sort of wick that goes top to bottom and across the whole surface area...I would think.
We also used oaktag if we didn't have cardboard. It's basically the thinner board - same stuff manilla ( sp?) Folders are made from. Sometimes called tagboard ( not sure about what pigments might be in the colored versions of this sort of board) you need more than with cardboard, but you can fold it over to thicken it a bit or not roll it super tightly. It would be a great way to use old file folders. It worked fine.
Great idea! Is it possible to make it smoke less?
Bacon fat ( or any other meat fat) also works in place of wax. Just melt it and saturate your cardboard as shown. No bad odor. Try and see for yourself.
Cool thing. Any way to reduce the smoke though?
Probably not by much. Ultimately, this thing is basically burning cardboard.
Make it (carbon fiber felt and alcohol style). They have less smoke.
Without a snip, I can't cut the piece off, may drill more holes in the big can for airflow?
Thats how we did the ones we made in scouts. We didn't have the cutaway, so we put a few small holes near the bottom.
need advice on the bottom cut for space insertion of tuna can. I do not own a dremel so need to use tin snips. My current pair are unable to get past the lip. What should I buy for a better pair of snipes please and thanks. Gotta be cheaper than a dremel.....
Hi Meg. It looks like the average snips cost around $15. For a few dollars more, you could get a cheap rotary cutting tool (similar to Dremel). Here's one for $23 amzn.to/3U7ASIw
Obviously a stronger one would work faster, but I suspect this cheap one would still be easier than snips. You could also try using a thin metal file or small hacksaw blade to get through the lip, and then use your snips from there.
@@GreatLakesPrepping I certainly appreciate you taking the time to answer. I will check out that link!
Better than paying fifty dollars for a , star fire camp can....... I learned how to do this when I was a very young little girl in Girl Scouts. Exact same method. You can also just use sticks underneath for small fire. I always just used a lightweight small skillet on top to cook my food. Depending on what your fixing.
What other fuel will work?
Try soy candles too. Beeswax and soy candles are the healthiest kind.
An alcohol burner would also work with this stove.
Cans are lined with plastic, so you probably shouldn’t heat something directly in the can unless it’s a dire emergency, fyi
Cans are lined with plastic now. You cannot cook in them anymore. You CAN perhaps burn the plastic off the interior then clean and use.
Take care.
Eh, it's not like I'm roasting meat over the open flame. The flames heats the pan; the pan heats the food. As far as I'm concerned, plastic fumes aren't infusing into my food.
😂
@@GreatLakesPreppingthey dont get it 😂
Who needs a "better mousetrap"
Try melting beeswax candles. They are designed the clear up the air quality in your home and help with asthma symptoms. :)
Can I use gulf wax for this? Wife might be pissed but oh well lol
We used to use parafin wax ( the kind for canning). That can be mixed with beeswax.
Sure, you can use Gulf wax. I do. Why would your wife be upset about that? I am a wife, and it works for me.
Can you use lard instead of wax
Lard, cooking oil, beef dripping any fat or oil will work .
Don't cook and eat out of a can,they are lined with plastic,when they are heated the plastic could melt into the food
Not so sure this is the "right way"!!! We always purposely made them with the perforations in the cardboard running up and down. Not only is it easier to get it to roll, but the holes make the wax wick better, and it's also easier to get wax to the bottom of the can as it will pour into the holes. With the way you rolled the cardboard it's very hard to totally saturated the cardboard fully, both inside and outside.
Found that my buddy burners gave off entirely too much smoke😮. Not good for pollution control at all.
Crisco would be better and easier than rolling carboard and melting candles. Fill the can then cut down a candle to size and bury it in the center of the can to use as a wick.
that can of soup has an inner lining. it's not a good idea to cook food in the cans that you buy them in.
Hmm need stove to make survival stove
Made a few of these. Found that they are too smokey and to my mind: unacceptable
They are definitely meant to be used outside, like for camping and such.
Not a good idea to cook food inside a can.. Lot's of toxic stuff in the liner.