Safely Using Gasoline For An Improvised Cooking Fire

[CharlesHarris]

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.