ROCKET STOVE
Fire, Heat & Cooking · Build Sheet
The Self-Reliance Library
C06.S3.N01
selfreliancelibrary.com
Boil a pot on a handful of sticks. Burns hot, burns clean, uses little wood. Build it from bricks or a tin can in under an hour.
⚠ OUTDOORS ONLY. Real fire makes carbon monoxide — invisible and deadly indoors. Never use in a tent, shed, or any enclosed space. Keep water or sand close to put it out.
1
Fuel shelfsticks slide in low
2
Burn tunnelfire at the elbow
3
Chimneypulls the draft up
4
Pot restgaps for exhaust
1 Rocket Stove Airflow
- Air feeds in low, under the fuel.
- Fire burns hot at the elbow of the L.
- The tall chimney pulls a hard upward draft.
- Fast air = hotter, cleaner burn = less smoke, less wood.
- Listen for a soft roar — that's good draft.
2 Basic Layout — Brick or Tin-Can
~16 BRICKS · L-TUNNEL
TIN CAN + INNER TUBE
- ▸ Chimney should be about 3× taller than the fuel opening is wide.
- ▸ Pack the gap in the can build with ash, sand, or dry soil to hold heat.
3 Do This / Not This — Fire Path
DO
- Thin dry sticks, fed low
- Air gap under the fuel
- Feed little & often
- Gaps left around the pot
NOT
- Tunnel stuffed full
- Fuel flat on the floor
- Thick or damp wood
- Pot sealed flat on top
FIX: smoky & lazy → clear the tunnel, feed less, build the chimney taller.
selfreliancelibrary.com · C06.S3.N01