A beverage-can stove, or pop-can stove, is a do it yourself, ultralight, alcohol-burning portable stove. It is made using parts from two aluminium beverage cans. Basic designs can be relatively simple, but many variations exist.
Total weight, including a windscreen/stand, can be less than one ounce (28 g). The design is popular in ultralight backpacking due to its low cost and lighter weight than commercial stoves. This advantage may be lost on long hiking trips, where a lot of fuel is packed, since alcohol has less energy per gram than some other stove fuels.
Of the available fuels, methanol delivers the least energy, isopropyl alcohol delivers more, butanol is hardly ever used, and pure ethanol the most.[1] Denatured alcohol and rubbing alcohol are frequently used for this purpose, as it often contains a mixture of ethanol and other alcohols. All but isopropyl alcohol burn with a smokeless flame; it can provide both light and heat.
- ^ "Energy Content of Fuels". galileo.phys.virginia.edu. Archived from the original on 2021-05-06. Retrieved 2017-06-22.