Tis The Season!

Cyndi Valerino
by Cyndi Valerino
4 Materials
$1
2 Hours
Easy
Tis the season! Hurricane season, that is. In less than a month, Hurricane season starts. Being a Floridian, I've lived through and dealt with hurricanes my whole life. Here's how it goes... As a youngster, you don't even have a clue. As a pre-teen, you're excited because you'll probably get a day or two off from school. As a young adult, HURRICANE PARTY! As a parent, you know you have take measures to protect your kids. As an old lady, you freak out.
I've only had to evacuate twice in my life. Once as a child, and ... last year. Irma. Hurricane Irma was not kind to us. We were without electricity for almost 3 weeks. We tried to prepare, but by the time we realized how serious it was, everything was gone. Gas, food, batteries, plywood, sterno... all gone. My bad for not taking it seriously to begin with. It was rough I tell ya, rough. Not gonna happen again. I am already stockpiling food and batteries. There is plenty of sterno available right now, but why buy what I can make? I'm going to show you how to make an emergency cooking source. And all you need are 4 items that you probably already have, and/or can get for free. Ready to get ready? Let's go!

All you need is a tuna or cat food can, some cardboard strips, wax and wicks. You can use crayons, or old candles. I used old candles. You can also use old candles wicks. If you don't have any or want to get any, that's ok. They're not 100% necessary, but definitely makes them easier to light.
Cut 6-7 pieces of corrugated cardboard in 1 3/4" x 10" strips. You want to cut them so the little holes are facing up. They should be just a smidgen larger than the cans depth.
Start rolling the strips, as shown. When you run out of strip, overlap the next one and keep rolling.
Keep rolling them, keeping them as tight as possible. Which isn't going to be tight. But keep them as tight as you can.
When it seems about the diameter of the can, check and see. If it fits right in , add another strip. If you have to wedge it in and use a little force, then that's perfect.
Next, get the wax ready. You don't need a lot, but the cardboard will need to be saturated. I used an old, large candle ...,probably close to half a pound.
Boil water and put the wax in a can. Put the can in the boiling water until it melts.
Stick some wicks in the cardboard. I used 4 pieces. This isn't completely necessary, but it is much easier to light. You can just light the cardboard, or lay a match on top of it all, but this is easier.
Once it's melted, pour it in cardboard can. I highly suggest doing this on newspaper or foil. That's it. Let it set completely. When it's set, you can scrap off wax from the sides.
I bought this little single burner stand. The flame goes underneath, and the top will hold a large pot of whatever. Probably water for coffee!
But this will work fine, too. I plan to have both handy.
So... I am doing what I can, as cheaply as possible. Hope you don't need this tutorial, but it's good to know. Thanks for looking!
Suggested materials:
  • Cardboard
  • Wax
  • Wicks   (eBay)
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 4 comments
  • Wendy Wendy on May 15, 2018

    You are definitely prepared!

  • GeorgiaBulldogsFan GeorgiaBulldogsFan on Feb 03, 2021

    When I was in Girl Scouts, many moons ago, we made these! I believe we called them “buddy burners”. I’m taking a nostalgic walk down memory lane. Hadn’t thought about these in years. This is definitely something that could be used nowadays, especially during hurricane season. I just might prepare a few for us to have on hand this year. Never know when you will need them for sure.

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