Preparedness for when

[Deleted User]

prepareathome wrote: »

so I have bought a ghillie kettle ( after due deliberation I went with that, it was the whistle that won me over) and a dutch oven.

I have (and use) a dutch oven, it is so good for just needing a tiny amount of heat to simmer a casserole, so is money saving in use. Food also tastes better somehow. PAH is yours cast iron? Mine is, so very heavy, I just clean mine with hot water and a scrub, rinse and that`s it. Also very good for making real bread in the oven, just get it very hot first then plonk the dough in and put lid on. Bread is superb

re propane gas, when burnt the products are water and carbon dioxide (not monoxide). To get the CO2 you need complete combustion ie plenty of oxygen. If there is not enough then that is when they can be dangerous. Same with paraffin and the like. I would never ever burn barbeque fuels in the house but will use my gas (gaz make) cylinders and stove, with the window and door open.

Paraffin candles also need ventilation

meme30

ginnyknit wrote: »

Meme, where did you get your weed burner from? I have been looking for one for weeks, saw them last year and didnt buy one and regretted it ever since!

Got it yesterday in L*dl £14.99

born_blonde

I got one of these last week http://wildstoves.co.uk/rocket-stoves/stovetec-wood-charcoal-combi-rocket-stove/
It burns well on very little wood and boy does it get hot.
I've made chilli and braised a brisket on it so far.
It uses sticks and it took 6 for the chilli and about 12 for the brisket.
Outside use only though.

meme30

born_blonde wrote: »

I got one of these last week http://wildstoves.co.uk/rocket-stoves/stovetec-wood-charcoal-combi-rocket-stove/
It burns well on very little wood and boy does it get hot.
I've made chilli and braised a brisket on it so far.
It uses sticks and it took 6 for the chilli and about 12 for the brisket.
Outside use only though.

Really impressed by this demo. I like the fact that it's light and it looks very stable compared to a Kelly Kettle when using it with a pan.

born_blonde

Its very stable, I've used large cast iron pots on it and not a wobble.
I like the fuel efficiency and the fact that you can use sticks you collect from the hedgerow rather than charcoal you have to buy.

nuatha

SpikyHedgehog wrote: »

And Val gave me the answer on the next page - might not get a 2 burner stove then, as cooking outside in bad weather would not be easy as theres no shelter from wind.

I'd go for two separate burners, more flexible. Windbreaks are easy to construct, in the hills I'll use random stones to build a little wall round three sides of my stove, in the garden there are some old bricks that would do the job. A friend has a metal windbreak fashioned from a catering tin (flattened) and some tent pegs.

I appreciate Val's warning and certainly echo the need for adequate ventilation, I have used the flat stoves in the kitchen when I've needed to and will do so in future.

mardatha

I used one of the wee cannister bistro gas thingies for a few winters in powercuts and they were fine, but then I got a Calor gas cooker, much more sensible for where I live. Big black gorgeous Cannon, runs on propane and we use the big 47kg cylinders that last us 7 months. Anybody can have a Calor gas cooker if they get it done by a registered fitter. Google Cannon LPG cookers.

nuatha

valk_scot wrote: »

Ah, the old paraffin stoves, I remember them well! We've still got ours, relic of the days we used to strap it and the Force 10 onto our bikes and go away for weeks on end. It's horrible how much our old tent, stove and bags weighed compared to modern kit...my lad has a two man Vango Tempest that weighs just under 3kg, a Trangia that weighs less than my old fuel bottle and a 3-season sleeping bag that weighs less than a bag of sugar. And that's just DofE kit, not for anything extreme!

I still have my little brass primus and its red tin. I did get rid of the suitcase paraffin stove a few years back - it weighed as much as much as your lad's Tempest.
I remember, fondly but with aching shoulders the old canvas Force 10s and the weight difference when they launched a nylon version (at 6.4Kg).
I presume the DofE still includes wild country which is potentially as extreme as you can get in the UK.

I think the two main issues with the suitcase stoves are (1) people buying really cheap gas cylinders for them, with poor quality connectors that you could eaily cross thread and which subsequently leaked and (2) using pots and pans so wide that the edge overhung the cylinder and deflected the flame onto it. Scarey stuff!

Scarey stuff indeed, and warnings that I will bear in mind and pass on to others.

Caterina

valk_scot wrote: »

Has anyone seen the trailers on the National Geographic Channel for a new telly program, Doomsday Preppers? It starts next week apparently though I'm not sure yet what date and time. Sounds like compulsory viewing.

I saw this posted somewhere on the forum, the full Season 1 episodes are on YouTube, I only watched a bit, looks interesting but very, very far out (gave me a serious case of prepping envy!).

Edited to say, unfortunately I won't be able to watch the new series, until it goes on YouTube, as we just got rid of Virgin an are now on Freeview.

prepareathome

Kittie yes dutch oven is cast iron, never considered anything else as want it to last. I already have a cast iron frying pan which weighs a lot but fantastic which I could easily use outdoors as well - the proper one with iron handle. I was very lucky got that from freecycle, a bit rusty but soon sorted that and its all seasoned and deep so could do more than just fry in it. I plan recycle most of my oven casserole sets which are pyrex when dutch oven arrives as will use it instead.

I use the flat camping stoves for nearly 2 years as my main cooker - should have been a year, we were getting a new kitchen fitted and cooker packed in and as I was going to have a wall mounted oven and separate hob did not want to spend out money for what I thought would be a year on a new cooker. I used to change the cartridges outside or at least by back door but with the dogs my back door is always open so plenty of ventilation into kitchen. I used two of them for everything you would cook on a hob, including home made soups that would have to simmer for a hour or so. As my cookers had always been gas I was used to cooking on naked flame if someone who is all electric were to use it, it would take a bit of getting used to, not just remembering ventilation but being careful with the flame so as not to set fire to yourself or anything (eg if you used a tea towel if you used one to take pan from the camping stove).