WAYWO: Soda Can Stoves for Go Bags/Camping

by ArrrghIsle

Community

(This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026 Sunday, Feb. 15, 2026 at 12:41:12pm PST

Completed Soda Can Stoves on Thermal Isolation Pads

I re-evaluate my personal Emergency Packs/Go Bags and supplies every holiday season. I have also made and given away a number of base-level Go Bags to others over the years.

I will admit to getting a bit freaked out by the absolute craziness that Trump & Co. have shown. I felt that I would not only need to do this with my packs but that I should make more for others. I already have three requests for Packs.

Some things that I make yearly are Soda Can Stoves. I have ones for myself that I’ve used for years. Previously, I hadn’t provided these for the Packs I give away. I realized that I not only needed to make a bunch but that I needed to make everything more complete. And this goes for my own gear too.

There are a LOT of videos on YouTube and instructions for making these all over the web. The difference here is that I have created templates to make it a lot easier for anyone to do this.

This diary will do two things:

1. It shows the work I have put into these.

2. It is also a HOWTO. You can download the templates needed from this diary to make your own. I am hoping that the instructions below are detailed enough.

Soda Can Stove Templates for both 16oz and 7.5oz cans

Download the image above.

To print this image at the correct scale in a LibreOffice Writer document:

Create a new document.
From the Menu, select ‘Format’, ‘Page Style…’.
Set the Orientation to Landscape.
From the Menu, select ‘Insert’, ‘Image…’.
Click on the image on the page to select it.
Right Click on the image and select ‘Properties…’
Set the Width to ‘11.00’.
Set the Height to ‘8.50’.
Click the OK button.

You can now print this off and everything will be at the correct scale.

If you save this document, you’ll have it in case you want to make more. I actually used this method exactly for this with these instructions starting at Page 2. You can also export directly the document as a PDF which would make it easier to share.

I created the image in Inkscape which is an Open Source vector drawing program. You can also import the image into Inkscape and set the Document Properties to 8.5” x 11” in Landscape orientation.

I don’t require attribution.

I am sure that both MS Word or whatever it is that you use on a Mac have similar capabilities but you’ll need to research it. I don’t use them.

It is important to provide Thermal Isolation between the Stove and the ground. You can accomplish this by taking aluminum foil and covering a 3”-5” piece of cardboard or wood and then placing the Stove on it. I have some that I made shown later in this diary with full descriptions in case you want to make your own too.

The process for using 12oz and 7.5oz cans are virtually the same. The biggest difference is the number of Pinholes in each can type.

I’ve made and used 7.5oz Soda Can Stoves and they work well. But, I’ve decided that I will stick to 12oz Stoves for myself going forward. Being slightly bigger and with more Pinholes for flames, they work better heating larger pots.

Now that you’ve printed it, cut the templates for the size of stove you’ve chosen to make.

I make and give away a number of these every year. You CAN cut the cans using a utility knife and scissors. But I made some Soda Can Scoring Thingies to both make cleaner cuts and speed the process.

Remove/Twist the tab off from the top of the can.
Cut the small rectangular piece and use it to make your first pinhole mark .5” from the top of the can with a fine point Sharpie.

Tape the appropriate 1.25” strip around the can and align one of the vertical marks on it to the pinhole mark you just made. Mark with the Sharpie at each vertical mark on the paper strip.

Use a Pushpin or small brad to puncture the can at each Pinhole. Wriggle the Pushpin around in the hole to widen it a bit.

For cutting the can with Scissors: Flip the can upside down and slide the paper strip down so that it and the top of the can are both resting on a flat surface. Using the Sharpie, draw completely around the can at the now top of the paper strip.
Turn the can back right side up. Tape the appropriate 1” strip and slide it down so that it and the bottom of the can are both resting on a flat surface. Using the Sharpie, draw completely around the can at the top of the paper strip. Slide this paper strip off the can.

Note: This a dangerous part. You want to use extreme caution with the utility knife. A protective glove is recommended for the hand holding the Soda Can.

Using a utility knife, place the blade inside the groove in the lid of the can. Carefully puncture through the groove and continue all around the top until it can be removed. If the top is has small bits that are still connected, cut them with the knife. Don’t try to rip the top off by pulling and twisting where there are still connections. This can cause problems later.

The method I use for this is to puncture the can and get the blade through to .25” to .5” and then pull the blade back out. I then reposition the point of the blade to end of the previous cut and press the blade through again. I continue this until I have completely cut the lid out. This works better than keeping the blade in and trying to rip through the top of the can. It is also safer.

Cutting the Soda Cans using Soda Can Scoring Thingies:

The key thing about this is that you are NOT trying to cut through the can on the first go. You want to score around the can until the utility blade breaks through.

It works better to drag the Thingie around the can rather than trying to rotate the can. Dragging the Thingie around ensures that the scoring occurs at the correct height. I usually do two scoring runs on both the tops and bottoms before I cut through and then try to separate the centers of the cans from the ends.

Separating the centers of the can from the ends

Cut the center portion of the can all the way through vertically. We’re going to use this to make the Inner Wall.

Place the appropriate Inner Wall cutout on the center section and draw around the edges with the Sharpie. It can be a bit difficult holding the center section flat. Mark where the notches need to be. Cut out the Inner Wall and then cut the notches.

Cutting the Soda Cans using scissors:

Note: This a dangerous part. You want to use extreme caution with the utility knife. A protective glove is recommended for the hand holding the Soda Can.

Using a utility knife, make a vertical cut in the can vertically between the two circumference lines that you drew. From here you will use scissors to cut the can near to the two circumferences that you drew. You do not have to cut exactly on the circumference lines at this point. It will be easier to do that once the three cut parts of the can are fully separated.

Methods for fitting the Upper Stove part over the Lower Stove part:

The top part of the stove will not fit over the outside wall of the lower portion because they have the same diameter. There are two ways to get them to fit:

Pinch/Crimp the edges of the bottom part at least 8 times around the top edge of the lower Stove part with a set of needle nose pliers. More and smaller crimps are better. You want the crimps to go no more than a third of the way down. This will allow the top part to begin to slide over the bottom part. This method will almost guarantee success.
Place the top part over the bottom of a FULL soda can at a slight angle and press. This will stress the can to stretch. Don’t press too hard or it becomes difficult to get back off. Do this again with another portion of the top part’s edge and continue until you’ve done this all around the top part. Finally, press the top part down on the bottom of the FULL soda can evenly. It may take a bit of work to get to this point. And you may need to redo some of the above stretching.

Option 2 was my preferred method but there may issues. I have noticed that some cans these days are ever so slightly thinner than those of yore. Using this method may split the aluminum of the top part of the can and waste all of your work up until now.

You are now ready to put the pieces together.

Put the top part over the bottom part. And SLOWLY begin to press them together just a bit. You’re checking that they fit and that you have made enough crimps in the lower part. You also want to ensure that none of the crimps are too big. If they are then the two parts won’t seat properly and there will be a bulge in the side of the stove.
Pull the edges of the Inner Wall together and slide it through the center of the Stove Top. You should be able to press the Inner Wall until it fits properly inside. If you twist the Stove Top as you press it and the Stove Bottom together, the Inner Wall should seat correctly inside.
This is the point where you may need to make some adjustments. For instance, you may need to take the Stove apart and add some more crimps to the Stove Bottom.

Finish pressing the top and bottom together. I use a piece of plywood to do this on a flat surface. This makes it easier to keep things even.

The final thing to do is to take the needle nose pliers or a screwdriver and use them to flatten out the rough edges of the top part’s hole that you cut out with the utility knife. Just stick the tool in the opening in the top of the stove and run it around the inside edge.

Your Soda Can Stove is now complete and ready to use. Take it outside. Fill it with your chosen fuel and light it.

Note that the flame may be blue and hard to see. Be careful. Also, these are the instructions for the stove only. You will still need a pot stand and a windscreen for the kit to be complete.

You can use 91% rubbing alcohol as fuel. But HEET in the yellow bottle works best.

These types of Stoves require Thermal Isolation from the ground for them to work best. Previously, I was simply using a piece of cardboard that I had aluminum foil wrapped around. I decided that this needed to be upgraded.

I laser cut some 68mm circles out of 6mm thick plywood. This was the thickness I had at the time. You could also use 3mm thick plywood. I painted these on one face and the sides with exterior paint.

I then glued them to either aluminum cut from the center of some soda cans or to a sheet of silicone. Both should work equally well.

Thermal Isolation Pads — both Silicone and Aluminum

Completed Stoves on Thermal Isolation Pads

There is one final part needed for the stoves. I will be making some combo Pot Holders/Windscreens out of some stainless steel tins. I had hoped to have them ready for this diary but it was not to be.

I’ll start work on them this week. And if there is interest, I can post those builds in another diary.

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Notes on aluminum cans — I tried using cans of Trader Joe’s Seltzer Water(s). All of these are so very thin-walled. I was unable to get one decent stove from these. I either had the splitting seen below and/or the crimps in the Stove Bottoms becoming too big and keeping the Tops from seating properly.

The TJ’s cans are just not suitable.

The green cans in the images above are from Giant Foods Seltzer Water(s). They seem to still be thinner than the cans from name brand sodas that I had used until Summer 2025. I had a couple of fails with these. But they work on the whole.

I am wondering if companies have made their cans thinner because of Trump’s tariffs….