Stoves, Heaters and Fuel
Stoves
Stoves are an essential tool you will need in a disaster or grid-down scenario. The most economical method is to get a camp stove that uses propane and is rated for indoor use.
Every landlord and municipality has varying regulations about use and storage of Propane. Those may affect your choices.
Planning
Stove Usage
Heating water (dishes, bathing) and for treating drinking water (boiling)
Cooking - Warm, fry / preparing food. For Group 3 foods like dry beans will need longer cook time (more fuel)
How many people will the stove support?
Do I need one or two burners?
One is good for 1-2 people. If you have a family, consider 2 burner stoves or (2) one-burner stoves
Burner Size: How big of a pan or skillet can the stove accommodate per burner; and if 2 burners, knowing the distance between the burners on the stove will indicate how big of pots you can put simultaneously on the stove. Since most of these stoves are for camping they tend toward smaller spaces/being compact. Alternatively there are some built for outdoor cooking for large groups that are more like a gas cooktop, but typically these are outdoor rated.
Generally propane and butane are safe to burn indoors. Gas and Propane ranges are in homes all over the world. However, a burner may not be burning the fuel as well as it should, so we always recommend you crack a window for ventilation during appliance usage. You can also consider a carbon monoxide meter if you have concerns (make sure it is batter and plug in so it works during grid distruptions).
If your planning horizon is for a 4-week grid down event, then you will want to do some math to determine how much fuel you would need for that time. Depending on the BTU (British Thermal Units) used by the burner (7-12,000 btu/hr depending on the stove) will run for different amounts of time depending on the burner setting is (low vs. high) the burner is.
A 16oz Propane canister holds 21,700 BTUS of propane, so would last a bit over 2 hours running a 10k btu burner on high. Butane BTUs are similar, but the cans are typically 8oz is 10,600 btus, but is half the size of the 16oz propane cylinder. You'd need 2 Butane 8oz cans to every 1 propane cylinder.
A 20lb propane tank holds about 4.5g of propane and weighs 29.5lbs when full. It holds 345,000 btus and will run a 10k burner for ~34 hours. If you assumed you will run the burner 1.5 hrs a day (34/1.5) = you'd get about 22 days of stove usage. 2-20lb tanks would give you plenty of run time and would provide ample safety margin for your month planning period. Grid down for an extended period means you may not be able to get propane from the normal sources after the 22 day period, so you might need 2 tanks, or a 30lb tank.
Heater Usage
Propane heaters (rated for indoor use!) burn a lot more fuel than a stove. So if you have to heat with propane (esp in a cold climate) to keep you and pipes from freezing, you'd probably be wise to size up. A 100lb tank (4'x14.5" diameter - and heavy) holds 1.722 million btus and would run a 10000 btu propane heater continuously for about a week. (Don't forget a long hose for the heater in addition to one for your stove). If you are in an apartment and can place the tank on the balcony and run the hose thru the window, this could be preferable but you may want to obscure the tank.
More information on tanks/sizes: https://learnmetrics.com/propane-tank-sizes/
Fuel Types
Propane is widely available in different size cannisters and tanks. Butane tends to be packaged for smaller one-burner stoves. For smaller events or small groups, butane is fine but the costs can rack up fairly quickly.
Propane cylinders come in many sizes
16oz - these are the small green or black bottles typically used for camping trips. Post covid the cost of these have gone up a lot. However, if you are short on storage these could make sense. They often are not reusable or refillable, and will be tough to obtain in a pinch. You can get small refillable 5lb cylinders. Lots of choices.
BBQ sized cylinders. 5-20 pound cylinders (20 is very common) contain 4-5 gallons of fuel. As with everything, the larger the cylinder the heavier it becomes, so particularly if being used indoors portability is a question.
Larger tanks (20lb) will probably sit on the floor, so you will need a 6 to 8' extension hose to connect it to your stove. Longer can be better as they don't kink as easily and tend to be more pliable.
Small one-burner stoves are quite light by design and the hose may push the stove around (twist it) - so a brick or something heavy can be used to hold the hose in place once attached. (Based on experience - you'll have to sort it out yourself).
Propane cylinders (20lb) are 45-65$ depending on where you buy them from. Some come with a 'fuel gage' which IMO can be very handy in determining refill timing or how much you have left remaining. The fuel is around $4/gallon. Budget $75 to $95 for a full 20lb tank. These tanks are good for 10 years and propane, as a fuel is far more stable than diesel, gasoline or kerosine, so this is a longer-term investment. 20 butane cannisters would cost the same amount. Buying in bulk is by far the cheaper alternative over time. But it takes space to store.
Smell: Propane has a stinky odor added during manufacturing so you can smell leaks. If you smell something odd, put your nose a foot or 2 away from couplings (hoses to something else usually) and fan the air toward your nose. If you smell it stronger, you should check your connections.
Propane Storage: We are not an experts, but based on our reading, recommendations for storage are: Store Outdoors, and not in an enclosed building like a garage and < 140 degrees f. If you live in an apartment you might have restrictions, in which case Butane and Chafing fuel may be your only option.
Chafing Fuel, Denatured Alcohol
Chafing fuel is used to heat trays at banquets. There are some small stoves that use these as a fuel source (see Vesta below). Based on Youtube testing, single cans will barely boil water, so this device may be sub-par for boiling water. The Vesta uses up to 3 chafing (aka "Sterno") cans at the same time.
Propane cylinders always have room in them to allow the gas to form as it goes from liquid to gas states. This process actually requires heat. As a general rule, the small tanks (16oz) perform very poorly anywhere close to 35f (2c) and will not work below freezing. Larger tanks have much larger surface area but still might be restricted in flow depending on the temperature. From a practical standpoint a coleman or butane small canister may not work for a stove if you are using it outside on the patio in cold temps.
Equipment
Stoves
Stove types are shown here and are readily available at many online retailers. Check customer reviews for more information.
The Vesta Heater/Stove uses Chafing Fuel, up to 3 at once, and you can cook on it as well as use it as a small space heater.
Coleman Triton
Coleman Fold n Go
Gas One Butane
Fuel
20lb Propane tank with fuel gage.
16oz Propane Canister
Butane Fuel 8oz
2hr Chafing Fuel
Safety
If you have not used a stove or these fuels, we recommend you do a test run (setup) someplace outside and away from structures and if outdoors when it is not overly dry.
Crack a window while using any combustable fuel in an enclosed space.
Fire extinguisher - keep one or two handy as a matter of general safety.
Propane: Smell Gas?
If you smell gas, turn off the appliance / tank and let the fumes dissipate without using any flame or electricity until the gas is diluted. You can sprinkle water on connections to see if one needs to be tightened and track down the leak. Follow manufacturer safety instructions!
Kidde CO Monitor Alarm
Propane & Kerosene Heaters
Rated for indoor use, these can be a good option for keeping the edge off if the heat is out.
Kerosene does not burn as clean as propane - you might get slight soot build up on walls/ceiling. But its low volatility is a plus.
K1 Kerosine ONLY!!
Mr Heater "Buddy" propane 4k-9k BTU
Vesta Heater / Stove
Chafing Fuel. There are 4 or 5 different fuels used in the cans, all having different properties. If you are going to prepare food, do not use Diethylene Glycol (DEG) chafing fuel as it has toxic properties and you don't want the fumes in your food. This is not a concern if just warming/holding temps in a tray - for that it is fine. Gas One, Chafer King, Royal Oak, Fuul, have DEG. Sterno Green, Fancy Heat Ethanol Green but only burn 2 hrs; Methanol Blue burns 2.5hrs. Luminar burns up to 6hrs (Propylene Glycol?) which can be purchased in bulk.
Do your research if you decide to go this way. Link: https://www.webstaurantstore.com/guide/502/chafing-fuels-guide.html
Mr Heater 30k BTU Indoor, Oxygen sensor
Sengoku Kerosene Heater 23k btu
Fuel under Pressure
Butane and propane are gas under pressure. Neither like being overheated - like a house fire - or punctured. Keep that in mind when choosing a storage location.
Kerosene is a fluid fuel that is not under pressure and is low volatility fuel (fumes are low and don't catch on fire).
Monitor kids and pets around stoves and heaters!
Grid Down Cooking
You didn’t come this far to stop
If you have never worked with one of these stoves, the following videos will give you some idea how they work.
PLAN B: You may run short on fuel so you will need a Plan B in case this happens. Camp Fires, rocket stoves (hand-made, manufactured), solar cookers, are alternatives. In this case the fuel changes to items you can burn (paper, twigs, chopped wood). Tools: Paper grocery bags, newspapers. Matches. You might need an emergency hand saw and a hatchet or axe (or both). Dry wood (wet does not burn well and smokes). Use some caution as hungry neighbors may spy your vittles and take off a-runnin.)
The Provident Prepper - 30 Days of Preparedness: Top 5 Grid Down Cooking Methods
This channel is full of solid ideas. In this video they cover different 'grid down' cooking methods with pros and cons of each. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJgDrwdunec
Rocket Stoves
City Prepping: Ecozoom / Versa Review Rocket stove
This channel is full of solid ideas. City prepping makes the case for a good rocket stove (Plan B). 5 mins. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFzueCHVfDU
HomeStead Corner: 2 Minute Emergency Rocket Stove - Affordable Cinder Block Rocket Stove. 11 mins. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4qwTTvMCOBk
EcoZoom Rocket Stove