Finding the best setup for a DIY wood gas stove.

I’m on a quest to make a really nice wood gas burner from tin cans. The first version has been built and improvements for the next one are already noted.

Wood gas stove from tin cans

I follower roughly the instructions in this video:

All good, it works. Though I think the wood gas stove can be made more efficient with minor alterations. I created a schematic of the wood gas stove to illustrate the different points of influence. So while planning your own wood gas stove, consider these 5 elements:

  1. The bottom of the inner can must not have too much holes. Too much air intake from the bottom means that the burning is not optimal.
  2. The holes in the bottom side of the outside can need to be big enough for good air intake.
  3. The holes on the top side of the inside can need to be rather small and close to each other than big and far apart. My can had big holes on the top and it caused the non optimal concentration of the burning wood gases.
  4. The holes on the bottom side of the inside can need to be medium sized rather than small or big.
  5. The inside can must be shorter than the outside can. If not enough of space is available, the stove will not burn efficiently. My first iteration needed to sit on a layer of small stones, to keep the airflow sufficient.

I will keep updating this post along the way as I keep iterating over the concept of a wood gas stove.