I have used DA with a crushed coke can and cooked food while backpacking. I just wanted to make a positive post about someone trying to prep.
We all started somewhere and many times found better ways of doing it. But to get good at it, you must first start as the poster of this thread did.
Understood. I am a stove-a-holic. I think I have made 20 different kinds. My absolute favorite is one I made combining the cat food can concept with a JetBoil boil pot I bought for 2 bucks at a flea market. The guy had lost the stove part of the JetBoil and it was dented which I fixed with a small hammer. The can, the stand, the foil wind guard, my DA container, all fit inside the boil pot and the black lid holds it in. The heat sinks in the bottom of the boil pot make the water boil so quickly it conserves the DA to the max.
http://www.llbean.com/llb/shop/69056?productId=1154053&subrnd=0&qs=3016887_pmd_google_pla