Preparedness for when

sb44

Can anyone tell me how to use one of these please? I thought it would be a good addition to my SHTF box.





I picked up a boxed, unused one this morning from a charity shop for £1. It was with the intention of just using the stand with a couple of plant pots as a heater should the shtf and we have no power in winter. However, it seems from googling that the little burners run off meths. I just assumed you used tea lights with them when I picked up the box. Anyway, there are no instructions with it and I can't find any on the web and I haven't got a clue how to use meths.

There is no indication where it came from but it looks like the kind of thing you would probably buy from Lidl/ Aldi.

Just had a closer look at the burners and there is a yellow wadding type of material (looks a bit like loft insulation), covered by a bit of metal and holes around the outside of the burner which you can close off.

Do I just pour a bit of meths onto the wadding and light?

Not my pics by the way.

nuatha

sb44 wrote: »

Do I just pour a bit of meths onto the wadding and light?

You do,
The upside down spoons shown on the box are snuffers.
I've used something similar to keep food warm, rather than actually cook on it - suspect you'd want a wind shield to try to contain the heat.
On a similar note the alcohol gel stoves used to keep chafing dishes hot in the catering industry might be a useful shelf stable fuel. (sold as sterno in the US, can't think what the UK brands are)

Frugalsod

I wonder if our government are planning something like this if things deteriorate?

http://blogs.ft.com/beyond-brics/2014/05/29/belarus-plans-to-bring-back-serfdom/

[Deleted User]

We have a little single burner exactly the same as those that we run on meths under our fondue pan, I think you'd be able to heat things up very successfully over one of those. Our fondue pan is a cast iron one with a thick bottom and the fondue still manages to burn and stick at the bottom, so it might be useful to have either a heat diffuser or to make dishes with more liquid in than the fondue which is very thick, and gets thicker as the heat evaporates off the liquid. The burner runs for at least an hour when we have a fondue, which should be plenty of time to cook a stew or soup if you cut the ingredients small enough, hope that helps, Lyn xxx.

In fact I often see the fondue sets in charity shops and at boot fairs complete with the meths burner as they seem to be very much out of fashion these days and are very cheaply priced. It would actually be a very useful addition to the prepping equipment and just the thing to heat up ready made tins. I think you can get bottles of meths quite easily in places like Robert Dyas, I have an idea that they might even sell them in Wilkos, certainly in camping shops and hardware shops, worth a consideration?

sb44

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

We have a little single burner exactly the same as those that we run on meths under our fondue pan, I think you'd be able to heat things up very successfully over one of those. Our fondue pan is a cast iron one with a thick bottom and the fondue still manages to burn and stick at the bottom, so it might be useful to have either a heat diffuser or to make dishes with more liquid in than the fondue which is very thick, and gets thicker as the heat evaporates off the liquid. The burner runs for at least an hour when we have a fondue, which should be plenty of time to cook a stew or soup if you cut the ingredients small enough, hope that helps, Lyn xxx.

Can you tell me how much meths you put in please? Is it just up to the level of the perforated metal covering the material?

Ta.

[Deleted User]

Hi sb44 He Who Knows says you don't want 'free' liquid and should fill it so the sponge /wadding is soaked but not swimming. In his words 'stop just before it won't take another drop' and experience will tell you how much that is, good luck! He says you can also get meths in B&Q!

sb44

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Hi sb44 He Who Knows says you don't want 'free' liquid and should fill it so the sponge /wadding is soaked but not swimming. In his words 'stop just before it won't take another drop' and experience will tell you how much that is, good luck! He says you can also get meths in B&Q!

That's great, thanks for your help.

I see that Wilkinsons also sell it and it is a bit cheaper than B&Q as well as being a few miles closer, so I will call and get some during the week and give it a try (outdoors!).

[Deleted User]

Let us know how you get on with it sb44, the top part of the burner, the metal outside ring with holes in it and a handle is also the flame regulator and should move to cover or partly cover the holes and make the flame higher or lower, should have said that before, have a play and get to know how yours works, there's an art to it!

sb44

MrsLurcherwalker wrote: »

Let us know how you get on with it sb44, the top part of the burner, the metal outside ring with holes in it and a handle is also the flame regulator and should move to cover or partly cover the holes and make the flame higher or lower, should have said that before, have a play and get to know how yours works, there's an art to it!

Can't wait to have a play now.

May be worth using when we have a bbq to make some onions etc for the hot dogs.

Perplexed_Pineapple

You can use bio-ethanol that is sold to use in outdoor heaters in place of meths in a Trangia stove and I suspect it would work in one of those too. You can get it from B&Q and it's cheaper than meths.