From Flu Wiki 2

Forum: Butane Stove Question

14 October 2006

Kenpofemme – at 17:28

Hi again! I hope this question isn’t an annoying repeat but…has anyone used the simple butane stove that runs off the cans that look like hairspray/shavecream in packaging? I can get one for about $20 and it seems to be an ok indoor(with CO2 detector in kitchen) cooking option. Does anyone know if the cans can be stored in the house? They sell them in the store but I am leery of storing a bunch in my basement if they have a tendency to leak or otherwise be a danger. As always I am deeply appriciative to all of you that participate in this wonderfull forum!

NauticalManat 17:43

Kenpoefemme

Do not know about any tendency to leak, but that was one of my first preps a year or so back. 10,000 BTUs, boil 2 cups of water in three minutes or less, built in piezo-electric ignitor, each can will last at least an hour or more at highest setting, probably twice as long at lower setting, also make a slightly lower output one of about 7800 BTUs which should last even longer. Burns very clean, no visible smoke or smell. Safety built into the stove includes a spring loaded cut off of the gas when you switch to off, and makes it easy and quick to remove the aersol type canister quickly and a notch to insert correctly into the stove. Watched a friend get his Steak Diane cooked at tableside one night and Eureka!, perfect backup cooking/heat. Box of 12 cans of fuel can be bought inexpensively, mine from King Butane, think they were $22 bucks plus shipping. Comes in a plastic case, very lightweight. I was concerned about fuel storage, as I do not have any outbuilding, but in basement or garage under they do not seem to leak or corrode. If we have a fire am in trouble, but have two big extinguishers, one near the butane/Aladdin lamp oil. Safety aside, they work well, are cheap and are my backup after the woodstove, which I obviously do not want to crank up in warm weather, but which is great for cooking on when going.

Prepping Gal – at 17:54

Haven’t used mine yet but have the stove and plenty of cans (stored in shed outback for safety). My plan is to use this if electricity & natural gas is off or it’s too cold outside for using the natural gas bbq. I will start things off on the butane stove and then move them to the “magic heat” stoves (diethylene glycol) to simmer. These last up to 6 hours but my test showed it takes too long to boil. Also have 2 kerosene heaters and while they recommend you not use them for cooking I may use to keep water hot. Then my next level would be fireplace/outdoor oven/firepit cooking if I’m reduced to wood/charcoal only. As you can see I’m planning for various scenarios of which most is not tested or not tested to my satisfaction.

Tall in MS – at 18:24

My observation is that large quantities of butane canisters line the shelves of just about every outdoors store and department store outdoors department, in reach of children and vulnerable to shopping carts careening down the aisles. I’ve never heard of an incident involving even one canister, much less a chain reaction.

I wouldn’t be overly concerned about indoor storage of butane canisters other than ensuring that those constructed of metal are not allowed to rust.

That said, my supply of several dozen canisters is secured in an outbuilding. There IS a tremedous amount of energy stored in those small packages.

Kenpofemme – at 19:08

Thanks folks. I think I’ll get one!

LA Escapee – at 19:29

The authors of “Apocolypse Chow” recommend butane stoves as the only ones safe to use indoors.

Dr Dave – at 19:38

Kenpofemme, if you check the online camping outlets like www.REI.com you can get more information on all sorts of stoves, including propane and white gas. You may also discover that the butane stoves are really meant for occasional use by backpackers. They might be too expensive for daily use.

Think about acquiring at least two stoves that are sturdy enough to use every day. Coleman makes a lot of really sturdy stoves with one, two, or three burners and available in either propane or the much cheaper white gas camping fuel. The propane stoves can be used indoors, but the white gas stoves must not.

I have 6 stoves. I have 3 single burner camping stoves (1 propane, 2 white gas), an oven (propane), a big two-burner (white gas), and a turkey fryer (propane). I also have 2 small grilles 1 propane, 1 charcoal or wood.

My inventory of fuel should last 1 hour per day for almost years.

Meserole in FL – at 20:34

We bought a butane stove last year for hurricane season, and it was a godsend! We were boiling water & soup for the whole neighborhood, yet still had plenty of fuel - and we had just one case of the canisters. I would highly recommend them. Several of the neighbors have since added them to their hurricane kits. They are very easy to use and very efficient.

We bought another butane stove for our preps, in case one breaks or we want to bake something in the Coleman oven while we’re cooking something else too. We did have the canister backups in the house because of the extreme heat outside, but now that it is cooler, we have moved them outside to the patio shed. I was nervous with them in the house.

Anon_451 – at 20:55

Dr Dave – at 19:38 You are a man after my own heart. I have 2 2 burner Coleman stoves, A separate Coleman over, A Propane BBQ and a normal Grill. We also have a wood burning patio pit which I have set up to except a grate for cooking and have one of the Coleman stove type ovens I could use on it. Cooking will be do able. Workload on DW may not be so I will have to watch her stress level.

Dr Dave – at 21:50

Anon 451: thanks for the compliment. One more bit of advice for Kenpofemme. Show everyone in your household how to fuel, light, cook, clean up, and store each one of your stoves. You never know who will have to do the cooking if you become ill.

Anon_451 – at 22:15

Dr Dave – at 21:50 Good point. I have trained all who will be in the house how to use everything, to include the 12 year old. I have taken all except the 12 year old to the shooting range and they have been taught how to fire the 12 Gage and the 45. The family could survive if I was down.

15 October 2006

Dr Dave – at 08:29

For those of you who have small, lightweight, backpacking stoves, you probably know already that most of these stoves are not strong or stable enough to handle more than a closely attended 1 quart saucepan. However, as long as they do no have to bear the weight, they can easily be used with big, heavy kettles. Here is what you can do:

Place your stove between a pair of 8″ x 8″ x 16″ concrete blocks. You can get these from a home improvement store. Place a section of steel grille onto the blocks. Oven rack will work in a pinch, but a barbeque grille is stronger. Secure the grille to the blocks with uncoated wire. Now you can safely place large kettles on the grille and take full advantage of the power of these small stoves. For additional stability, and for a wind break, get another block and build a three-sided enclosure.

If your stove burns either propane or butane, you can use this setup indoors on a countertop or a sturdy table. If it burns either white gas (Coleman fuel) or regular unleaded gasoline, you should use it outdoors because of the carbom monoxide hazard.

Michigan Mom – at 08:36

We use an old burner grate taken from a gas stove placed on blocks to heat larger pots-woks great and is very stable.

I’m-workin’-on-it – at 13:03

Dr Dave – at 21:50 To add to what you’ve said, not only instruct everyone else how to use equipment, but write it down in big enough letters that it can easily be read with a flashlight in the dark & laminate it. With my ADHD brain, you can tell me something today & by tomorrow I can have convinced myself something is just opposite the way you described it……”turn this first then switch that switch” becomes “switch this switch first, then turn that” as easily being the thing you said do. And then my house might explode! :-(

So someone who’s sick or just dog-tired months from now might not remember what you told them today.

KimTat 16:10

just got back from sportsman and they have butane stoves for 19.99 and the fuel for $2.50 each. Also this should go on a seperate thread but they had the excaliber dehydrater on sale for $59.

Urdar-Norway – at 17:39

they are fairly safe, note that they should not be stored in a cellar in lagre quantities, since the gas is heavyer than air and will not escape if theres a leak. Keep away from heath and allways store them the right way standing freely, The concave bottom is a safty device that makes canisters jump from a dangerously heath source.

KimTat 18:13

Thanks Urdar-Norway – at 17:39

Urdar-Norway – at 18:19

I go for kerosene/lamp oil/parafine multifuels burners, they are just as safe but you get more heath on smaller storage/money. Kerosen is used in milions of homes around the world for a 100 years, but propane burners are easier to operate for anyone. just turn on, light.. On a kerosene burner you need to preheath etc, takes some practise, but when it works nothing beats it :D

KimTat 18:29

Urdar-Norway – at 18:19 Like most everyone here I have several options, I have propane cook stove, propane indoor heaters, propane of course, lanterns that use oil, lots of oil and spare lantern parts and wicks, matches-gobs of matches,candles with globes, wind up darn near everything and 3–15 w solar panels, deep cycle batteries-need more, inverter. I haven’t gotten kerosine supplies yet—its a wait and see budget thingy. the Butane info was cool and thought it might save more of my propane for heating with since it gets really cold here.

Dr Dave – at 18:40

KimT, if you live in the USA you will discover that ounce for ounce propane is half the cost of butane and is more widely available, either in bulk or the 16 ounce cylinders. Save the expensive butane for outdoor cooking when the temperatures are below 0 Fahrenheit. By the way, you are really smart to have multiple sources for light, heat, and cooking.

KimTat 18:54

Thanks Dr Dave – at 18:40 I just wanted more options just in case. I also have my charcoal grill and dutch oven cooking supplies and the magic heat cans…trying to think of everything for as many scenerios as possible.

Dr Dave – at 19:13

KimT, I am doing much the same. I even have a strategy for cooking ramen with candles. Gasoline, white gas, propane, kerosene, Sterno, paraffin. It’s all good. As Hamlet said, “The readiness is all.” I’m glad to see that you have so many energy sources.

Jane – at 19:28

Kim T, were you at a store or using the on-line catalog? I can’t find the Excalibur dehydrator on-line, only American Harvester.

Prepping Gal – at 20:29

Okay did the test today. Cooked a tortelini/italian sausage one pot dinner in my (not cast iron) dutch oven on the Coleman butane stove on my kitchen counter. Made enough for about 8 people with generous helpings. Worked wonderfully. This butane stove isn’t the backpacking type mentioned earlier but very sturdy and easy to use. It can easily handle a 6 quart pot or more.

I tried an experiment to use my Coleman Oven on the butane stove; bad idea. First of all you need a grill over the burner which I found one that matched the coleman oven BUT the oven and grill hung over the canister compartment which started getting hot so this unit could cause the canister to get too hot and explode. So no this won’t work. However I baked a muffin loaf in the coleman oven (too small for my smallest muffin tin) & with the bbq lid down (after removing the grill) it baked up just fine. I couldn’t get adequate heat unless bbq lid was down; took 5 minutes to get to 425 degrees. So unfortunately baking at this point would be done outside unless I resort to natural gas fireplace which I can switch back to wood (for us is an easy switch). In this case I have a full selection of cast iron cookware. I’ll save the propane cook stove until natural gas runs out and than if I run of propane than I resort to my wood/charcoal outdoor oven. So I’ve got four levels covered for baking but even more important I won’t need to huddle outside when its freezing.

Butane stove is great for indoor cooking as long as you prop open a nearby window. This is a lot better than getting up in the morning and heading outside to cook breakfast; no way. So think indoors vs outdoors when choosing. Also consider warm up/boiling time. Butane was very fast. Look for sales on butane I got it at half price. I also have “magic heat” which will be used for simmering.

Prepping Gal – at 20:31

Sorry if I confuse anyone but my coleman oven experiment didn’t work on the butane stove so I took it outside to my natural gas bbq is what I meant to bake the muffin loaf.

nebraska cats – at 21:23

I have a single burner butane stove that I use when camping for small jobs, like heating water or soups. It is very lightweight and is easy and safe to load and light, basically a two-step process. I intend to buy one for my elderly parents who have a good amount of food stored up, but have no way to cook anything if the power goes out.

Grace RN – at 21:35

Dr Dave – at 19:38

when you discuss prepping, is it specific to panflu or all potential disasters in general?

If I may ask, which part of the country do you live in, if in US?

KimTat 23:19

Jane – at 19:28 I was at the store, I think there were maybe two of them on the shelf. I’m now pooped been trying to reorganize my preps all night long, I’m off to bed soon.

16 October 2006

Fiddlerdave – at 05:16

Do I need to watch for the 16 oz canister stoves to be butane or propane if I want to get one (or several) of the 20lb propane conatiners for a larger supply? I thought to get a case or two of small canisters (my friend is disabled), but a couple of the large 20 lb would fill in for longer time. I hate to hook those big ones to a barbeque grill, the cookstoves look much more efficient than a barbeque grill.

Dr Dave – at 06:42

Fiddlerdave, I do not know if butane is available in the 16 ounce bottles (they are usually much smaller), but 16 ounce propane is widely available. Although I have a backyard grille, I will not use it during a pandemic. I will detatch the 20 pound bottle and use it for heat or for a more efficient stove indoors. Leaving it outside encourages theft. If you want the option of using either 16 ounce or 20 pound propane supplies, be sure that the stove you select is capable of accepting both.

Closed - Bronco Bill04 January 2007, 08:43

Closed to maintain server speed

Retrieved from http://www.fluwikie2.com/index.php?n=Forum.ButaneStoveQuestion
Page last modified on January 04, 2007, at 09:39 AM