This article was taken from the October 2014 issue of WIRED magazine. Be the first to read WIRED's articles in print before they're posted online, and get your hands on loads of additional content by subscribing online.
Don't want to search for wood to make a campfire? There is a better way: the rocket stove. "Fear not, despite its name there is no thrust involved," says Matt Rhys-Roberts, a permaculture and sustainability expert who has built many of them.
Soup it up You need some 75mm diameter pipe, which could be made from soup tins. Cut two lengths, 250mm and 100mm. Next cut a 75mm hole 200mm along the longer piece. Poke the short piece into the hole, so it sits in without blocking off the chimney piece.
Fix it up Make a flat piece measuring 70mm by 100mm (could be from a flattened piece of the pipe) and slide that into the short length of pipe so that it divides it into two. "The tray supports the fuel while making an air intake below it," says Rhys-Roberts.
Wrap it up Insulate the long piece by wrapping it in rock wool or fitting a bigger piece of pipe around it to make a gap. "This makes it run much hotter, drawing air in under the flat plate, making it efficient enough to need only small sticks to cook your meal with."
Fire it up Sit the stove so that the long pipe is upright, its end blocked by the ground and the short pipe near the bottom. Place sticks down into the long pipe and light them. Then poke more sticks into the top half of the short pipe, on top of the flat plate.
This article was originally published by WIRED UK
