So I caught this on this guy’s blog today and had to share.  It is great thinking in a situation where the SHTF and you would have to improvise.  This is something you can build, and modify for cooking or heat if you need to.  I am going to build one shortly and test it myself…

This was an exercise in swiftly constructing a very cheap yet useful semi airtight stove, with minimal tools: a screwdriver and rock to punch out the vent hole and a hack saw to cut the electrical conduit.

I saw two others on the web but none had a top cooking surface. Smoke escapes better when it’s tilted up in the rear.

The conduit was bent into a ‘U’ shape, shoved into the ground, and wired to the mailbox. The other length holds up the 2″ gutter flue. I did add some wood screws along the bottom edges to help seal up air leaks. The total cost was about $35 dollars.

WARNING:  Do not use a galvanized mailbox.  The zinc will give off toxic fumes with heat.