So I caught this on this guy’s blog today and had to share. It is great thinking in a situation where the SHTF and you would have to improvise. This is something you can build, and modify for cooking or heat if you need to. I am going to build one shortly and test it myself…
This was an exercise in swiftly constructing a very cheap yet useful semi airtight stove, with minimal tools: a screwdriver and rock to punch out the vent hole and a hack saw to cut the electrical conduit.
I saw two others on the web but none had a top cooking surface. Smoke escapes better when it’s tilted up in the rear.
Click for larger image
Click for a larger image
The conduit was bent into a ‘U’ shape, shoved into the ground, and wired to the mailbox. The other length holds up the 2″ gutter flue. I did add some wood screws along the bottom edges to help seal up air leaks. The total cost was about $35 dollars.
WARNING: Do not use a galvanized mailbox. The zinc will give off toxic fumes with heat.
Burned once, the galvanized shouldn’t give off any further fumes. It’s not a now and forever thing.