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As a boy scout, I was instructed by a WWII vet to fill a small 6 oz. tuna can halfway with sand or dirt. Place the cutout lid back into the can, slightly compressing the dirt. Pour one fluid ounce, (about 30ml) into your "stove", then light it by hovering an ember on the end of a long stick about an inch (2.5 cm) above the "stove" without actually touching it. This rig burns just long enough to boil a half canteen cup (500ml) of water to prepare one freeze-dried entrée, make instant soup or coffee.

In Europe during WWII American GIs used K- or later C-ration cans. Our Scoutmaster specified tuna cans because their larger diameter and shallow depth made a more stable cooking surface and it also nests inside a home-made coffee-can Hobo Cooker, included in our kit. See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hobo_stove The scalloped edge of the lid produced by cutting out using a military P38 can opener, Boy Scout pocket knife or Mil-K-818 provides sufficient venting. If using a rotary hand-operated an opener, cut eight to ten small notches around the edges of the lid with tin snips or wire cutters.

This was often the only cooker require in the desert during the way,..I have a photo of my dad using one somewhere,...age old trick, still works well, but is often wasteful,.. you need enough to keep your fire going to cook your food, if you put it out it has usually evaporated by the time you need it again,.... so you do need a constant [ good ] supply of fuel to last a few days

On a recent camping trip i expermineted with wax using the same principle.

I found it quite hard to get going, but i wonder if i used petrol first as per the post, then i could use wax chips to keep the whole thing going for longer?

(25 September 2013, 08:18)Binnie Wrote: [ -> ]On a recent camping trip i expermineted with wax using the same principle.

I found it quite hard to get going, but i wonder if i used petrol first as per the post, then i could use wax chips to keep the whole thing going for longer?

Wax can't hold a flame properly. It is a brilliant fuel, but it does not turn into a gas at a temperature that allows for complete ignition. With petrol, the liquid doesn't burn properly, it's the gas that burns best, which is why a petrol can thing can burn so well. The liquid turns to gas at room temperature, or outdoor temperature, so you can easily ignite it. Wax needs a wick to get it to melt and become a proper combustible.

Yeah but what i did was have a container of red hot sand, and dropped some wax on it,

held a flame against it and managed to get it going.

the sand is the "wick" but it wasn't perfect, but i carry some wax in my kit for fire lighting.

I do have a small "survival stove" i made from an empty pellet tin, some wax and some cardboard, it also works quite well.