Learn how to build woodburning cookstoves for your campsite, homestead, or backyard with these DIY rocket stove plans.
I fashioned my first rocket stove out of three cinder blocks, a couple of chunks of paving slab, a rusty can, and a brick that I dug out of an industrial dump beside the Kalamazoo River. It was free, DIY, and as ugly as could be. My second rocket stove was made from the same materials, and wasn’t much prettier. But when it came time to feed a hungry crew of guerrilla gardeners, both stoves lit easily, burned hot, and used only a few sticks of wood apiece!
My experience isn’t surprising because rocket stove designers aim for nothing less than radical efficiency — the best of these stoves burn minimal wood and produce little ash, smoke, and excess heat. Rocket stoves achieve their efficiency with do-it-yourself simplicity rather than intricate engineering or expensive fabrication.
This, too, is by intention: Ianto Evans and Larry Winiarski designed the first rocket stove in the 1980s for woodstove cooks across the developing world, where inefficient use of fuel wood often contributes to massive deforestation and pollution.
A well-made rocket stove improves on the inefficient fuel consumption typical of conventional wood stoves by emphasizing an efficient combustion process that reduces excess emissions.
A rocket stove’s central “elbow” design is fundamental to its efficiency. Similar to traditional fireplaces, a rocket stove chimney, often called a “combustion chamber,” creates a draft, but the elbow moves the cooking surface upward (away from the fire and coals) onto the chimney’s vent. While this placement would cause problems for traditional stoves, the rocket stove produces minimal smoke.
Rocket stoves pull an ample, oxygen-rich draft from below a fuel shelf into the horizontal section of the elbow, over hot coals, through the burning sticks, and up the combustion chamber to the cooking surface. A key feature of this design is the inclusion of a heat riser, which helps maintain high internal temperatures and prevents premature heat loss.
Pros and Cons of Rocket Stoves
Pros
Fuel-Efficient and Low Emissions
Rocket stoves burn small twigs and sticks with high efficiency, using up to 90% less wood than traditional fires. Their near-complete combustion produces minimal smoke, soot, and harmful gases like carbon monoxide. This reduces the amounts of smoke released into the environment, making rocket stoves more sustainable.
Off-Grid Ready and Emergency-Friendly
Requires no electricity and functions well in remote areas or during power outages. Ideal for cooking, boiling water, or heating with minimal resources. An efficient rocket stove is especially useful in these settings for its reliable and consistant heat production.
DIY-Friendly and Long-Lasting
Can be built from low-cost or salvaged materials like bricks, clay, or metal, yet remain durable for decades. Also available as commercial models for plug-and-play use. DIY rocket stove technology allows anyone to build a highly efficient cooking solution with common materials and basic tools like tin snips.
Portable or Scalable
Small versions are lightweight and easy to move for camping or mobile use. Larger systems–like rocket mass heaters–can heat entire homes by storing warmth in thermal mass (e.g., cob or stone). Rocket stoves can be scaled up or down depending on the desired application, from efficient cooking stoves to full home heaters.
Cons
Requires Constant Attention and Small Fuel
Needs frequent feeding of small-diameter sticks and twigs. Doesn’t support large logs and may require splitting or prepping wood beforehand.
Surface Can Be Hazardous
The stove body gets extremely hot during use, posing burn risks–especially in households with children or pets.
Limited Cooking Capacity in Small Models
Most portable versions are only suitable for cooking one pot at a time, making them inefficient for large groups or batch cooking.
Bulk and Complexity in Large Installations
Rocket mass heaters require significant indoor space, chimney venting, and sometimes structural support–unsuitable for small or temporary living spaces.
While all rocket stove designs use the same basic elbow template, creative makers continue to push the limits of performance and efficiency with improved chamber insulation, more efficient fuel use, and higher burn temperatures. Enhancing the heat riser and refining airflow paths contribute to even more efficient combustion processes. Have you wanted to discover how to build a rocket stove for your own homestead or back patio? Here are five rocket stove designs that anyone with basic DIY skills can make.
DIY Rocket Stove for Camping
John Fischer packs his portable rocket stove every time he hits the trails outside of the German city of Stuttgart. By designing a detachable feeding tube, combustion chamber, and grill grid, he produced a rocket camp stove that packs down just like his tent.
This design is a great example of DIY rocket stove technology applied in a compact, efficient cooking stove.
Materials: Large pressurized canister; 4 pieces of scrap metal for supply shaft; insert tray; 2 metal legs; 2 nuts, washers, and bolts; bolt with pointed head; short cable.
- Empty a pressurized canister completely and measure its length and diameter.
- Fashion a square supply shaft from scrap metal so the elbow “crook” allows for 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch on either side, and so the shaft is approximately 1/4 of the canister’s overall length.
- Cut off the canister’s top, and cut a hole the size of your wood supply shaft in the side. You may need tin snips or an angle grinder for this step.
- Fashion a supply-shaft insert, such as a cut HVAC vent cover or grilling tray, and place it into the vent at the bottom of the shaft to allow unobstructed airflow.
- Use nuts and bolts to fasten 2 support legs to the supply shaft’s end to create a slight feed angle and to correct for uneven terrain.
- Weld a long bolt with a pointed head to the bottom of the tank for added stability.
- Form the grill grate by notching 2 pieces of angle iron to fit together at a 90-degree angle.
- Cut the bottom corners of the grate to seat it within the combustion chamber.
- Paint the entire stove with high-heat paint.
- For additional stability, add a notch to the top of the feeding tube and to the corresponding side of the combustion chamber. Measure a short cable to cross that gap and secure with crimped cable ends.
See detailed steps with photo and video support.
‘Space Shuttle’ Cookstove
With little more than a welder and some scrap metal, Muhammet Sel fashioned a handsome rocket stove in Turkey. He’s dubbed the finished project the “Space Shuttle” because of its color, but also because of its impressive heat production. The design of this wood burning cookstove incorporates a 1-inch insulation sleeve, which Sel fills with soil. This design optimizes the creation of heat while minimizing premature heat loss with strategic insulation.
Materials: 60-inch-long, 4-by-4-inch pipe; 29-by-4-inch, 16-gauge sheet metal.
- Cut a length of 4-by-4-inch square pipe into 2 equal sections at a 45-degree angle. One of these will serve as the supply shaft and the other as the combustion chamber.
- Cut a flat shelf for the supply shaft that runs along the pipe’s length to the short side of the angle.
- Weld the shelf to the supply shaft to partition off approximately 1/4 of the pipe for airflow.
- Weld the supply shaft to the combustion chamber to form a 90-degree angle.
- Attach a bottom plate that extends 1 to 2 inches beyond the combustion tube’s sides.
- Cut a front plate to fit around the supply shaft, and attach.
- Cut a back plate and 2 side plates that will fully enclose the combustion chamber. Attach.
- Fill the insulation area between the combustion chamber and the plates with soil or sand.
- Cut a top that encloses the insulation space, but leaves the combustion chamber clear.
- Smooth all of your welds with an angle grinder.
- Attach 3 or 4 solid bars with flat tops for cooking support. These bars should allow enough airflow beneath the cooking surface to maintain the draft.
- Apply a coat of high-heat paint. This project highlights the power of building nice rocket stoves that outperform many conventional stoves in both form and function.
Cinder Block Rocket Stove
Colleen Codekas’ take on the straightforward cinder block stove includes a sturdy foundation that would be at home in any backyard, fishing spot, or campsite. To cook on this utilitarian design, load wood into the vertical block’s top core (opening) and cook on the front core of the horizontal block.
Materials: 4 concrete pavers; 2 cinder blocks; brick; grill grate.
- Arrange 2 concrete pavers into a “T” to form the base of your stove.
- Lay 1 cinder block horizontally and stand another, vertically, on the pavers. Stand a brick on-end on top of the horizontal cinder block’s midsection. Square the joint.
- Stand 2 pavers on their edges on top of the base cinder block’s sidewalls. This should form an “H” when viewed from above.
- Top the “H” with the final cinder block.
- Place a grill grate across the top.
This example uses common materials to build an effective and accessible rocket stove, perfect for a DIY enthusiast.
Learn more about the Cinder Block Rocket Stove.
1-Hour British Brick Stove
Ravi Deo spent about an hour building this sturdy rocket stove in his suburban London backyard, but only because he wanted it completely level. If you’re not as particular, you could be grilling in a half-hour. This permanent setup is sure to be a hit at backyard cookouts. Despite the simplicity, it offers efficient cooking stove functionality with minimal effort.
Materials: Concrete paving slab; bricks; metal lath; grill or oven grate.
- Set a concrete paving slab (17 inches on each side or larger) so that the top is at ground level.
- Arrange bricks in a horseshoe shape on the slab, and lay metal lath on top.
- Add a second horseshoe layer, sandwiching the edges of the lath between the layers.
- Add a four-sided layer of bricks on top of the second horseshoe for the chimney base.
- Continue to add layers, alternating seams, to build the chimney to full height.
- Lay an old grill or oven grate on top.
Learn more about the British Brick Stove.
Homestead ‘Popcorn’ Stove
Fred Erdmann’s rocket stove is a real “found materials” piece. The build begins with a popcorn can that, when filled with sand, gravel, or soil, provides more than enough insulation for full combustion. Erdmann’s rocket stove produces enough heat to boil vegetables or seafood on cold, wet nights at his coastal Washington-state homestead.
Materials: Large metal popcorn can with lid; 6-inch-diameter metal elbow; 6-inch-diameter stove pipe; metal screws or high-heat metal epoxy; grill grate; 3 or 4 legs.
- Cut two 6-inch holes into the popcorn can — 1 in the side for the elbow and 1 in the top for the stove pipe.
- Attach elbow to stove pipe with metal screws or high-heat metal epoxy.
- Fill the can with an insulation material (sand or soil).
- Fasten the lid to the can using metal screws or high-heat metal epoxy.
- Fashion a grill grate to lay across the hole in the lid.
- Cut a strip of metal, wrap the top lid, and fasten to form a wind block. (Optional)
Rocket Stove Safety Tips
- Use Only Outdoors or in Well-Ventilated Spaces: Rocket stoves produce smoke and carbon monoxide–never use them in tents or enclosed areas.
- Place on a Fireproof, Stable Surface: Set the stove on stone, bare dirt, or concrete. Avoid grass, wood decks, or uneven ground to prevent tipping or fires.
- Burn Only Dry, Natural Wood: Use dry twigs and branches. Avoid wet wood, trash, or plastics, which create smoke and toxic fumes.
- Maintain Safe Distance and Supervise Closely: Surfaces get extremely hot. Keep children and pets away. Use gloves and long tools when cooking.
- Keep Water or Fire Extinguisher Nearby: Always have a way to put out stray sparks or embers. A jug of water or small extinguisher works well.
Rocket Stove FAQ
- What is a rocket stove?
A rocket stove is a super-efficient, wood-burning stove that uses a vertical, insulated combustion chamber to burn small wood pieces at high temperatures with very little smoke. - How does it work?
It creates a strong natural draft that pulls air through the fire, ensuring complete combustion. This results in less fuel use and cleaner exhaust. - What can it be used for?
It’s ideal for cooking and, in larger designs (like rocket mass heaters), for space heating. The mass version stores heat and radiates it for hours. - What fuel does it use?
It runs on small sticks, twigs, and other dry biomass–making it extremely fuel-efficient and accessible. Avoiding inefficient fuel like green wood ensures optimal performance. - Is it environmentally friendly?
Yes. It reduces smoke, fuel use, and emissions–making it cleaner than traditional wood stoves or open fires.
