“When I was in Alaska, 45 years ago, we were told to keep at least TWO cans of STERNO and a STERNO stove in the car in winter.”
I have enough Sterno and several sterno stoves so I can cook for a year.
I read this article a couple of months ago and made the setup to try it out. I used 4 tea candles and 2 pots just like he did,with the tea candles inside of a meat loaf pan that I lined with foil so it wouldn’t get ruined. I placed it in my bathroom which is about 8x8 with an 8 foot ceiling and put a thermometer a couple of feet away. After about an hour the pot was nice and warm but the room temperature hadn’t budged. The tea candles also didn’t last 4 hours but they did last over 2, close to 3.
Bottom line is that it will work. It won’t warm a room but it does make a nice hand warmer. Since I had the thing set up I actually did use it as a hand warmer while I was watching a movie one evening and it was okay for the money. If you have all of the items already available like I did it’s worth a try. I wouldn’t go out of my way to buy and make one though.
Check your cans. Shake them. If the slosh they are still good. If the don’t, or if they rattle, the alcohol is dried out and will not work.