Cooking off the grid

Dan B. · #1 02/27/14, 08:39 PM

I've had an itch to get a secondary cooking source for if SHTF or we just have a "longer term" power outage than a day or two. We currently cook w/ an electric range. But recently I picked a gas (propane) range that I was going to install in the attached garage (to set up a small secondary kitchen) and feed it w/ 20# bottles. After a bit of searching around the web it seems that ranges like to swallow the fuel. I always have 6-7 20# tanks full on site. Regardless, I'm looking for more of a sipper! I have a few Coleman camp stoves...a small single burner and a dual burner. Both work very well.

So, would I be better off selling the range and relying on the Coleman stoves or.......?? Thanks.

vicker · #2 02/27/14, 08:58 PM

I would use my gas stove at least two meals a day and cooked all of my own food and baked occasionally. A 20 lb tank would last me several weeks to a couple/three months. The Coleman will work, but with everyday use will not hold up as well as the range. Make sure you oven will work without electricity.

Annsni · #3 02/27/14, 09:13 PM

Well, I use a propane stove on our sailboat and while we're not using it year round, we use it a lot during the summer when we're living aboard and we don't go through much propane at all. We have 2 10lb. tanks (one hooked up, one a spare) and I think we filled them up two years ago and still aren't through one yet. I'd guess you could get a decent amount of cooking out of a 20lb. tank.

Ernie · #4 02/27/14, 09:13 PM

Something wrong with a campfire?

We have the woodstove for cooking, but also a propane stove that I pulled out of an old RV and built a little wooden stand for. I can hook it up to a big bottle.

Skip the Coleman stoves. Like most things built for camping, they just don't last. They're meant to be pulled out for one or two weekends per year and they can't handle the constant use.

LoonyK · #5 02/27/14, 09:13 PM

Maybe look into solar oven ideas, though would obviously need sun for that, so depends on the area and time of the year I guess.

Dan B. · #6 02/27/14, 09:22 PM

If the power would go out in PA in this kind of weather, a campfire or solar would not really be an option. Tonight it's going to be about 20 below zero w/ windchill. The attached garage (21'x26') where I plan on putting the stove also houses my wood furnace, the pantry and can serve as an extra complete living space w/ immediate outside access. So the stove, while cooking would also provide some warmth.

Thanks for the input.

Annsni · #7 02/27/14, 09:44 PM

For not SHTF kind of situations but instead as an emergency back-up for when you lose power for a few days to a week or so due to storms and stuff, get a butane burner like they use at buffets. I've spoken to many chefs and they've all said they are inexpensive (around $20 on Amazon) and burn cleanly and really well - easily hot enough to boil water and do regular cooking. I believe a case of 12 cans of butane is about the same price as the burner as well.

http://www.amazon.com/Natures-Quest-...=butane+burner

http://www.amazon.com/Butane-GasOne-...ane+cartridges

cfuhrer · #8 02/27/14, 10:14 PM

My plan is to get a small solar array that can be propped up in a window and will power a crockpot and a hot plate. To be used in conjunction with a camp stove and/or fire/bbq/coals.

Nimrod · #9 02/27/14, 11:13 PM

I am running propane for the furnace as backup to the wood stove and for a propane cook stove. I have not run the furnace in 3 years. The cook stove is a regular size and has pilot lights. A 100 pound tank lasted for 6 months. The 250 gallon tank will last for at least 2 years and I have filled 4 20 pound tanks off it too. The 250 gallon would probably last twice as long if I turned the pilot lights off.

My Coleman stove gets used a couple of times a year. It has lasted 55 years and is going strong.

I like the idea of putting a stove outside the house. It will be a great summer kitchen. Maybe you should put it in a sheltered place outside all buildings. My propane grill sits outside and gets used year around. In the winter, I just brush the snow off it and light it up.

Rectifier · #10 02/28/14, 12:21 AM

We have an incredibly powerful and rugged 2-burner low pressure propane stove I bought at a curry shop for $30. Came from India and looks it but it works great. I think each burner is 20kbtu. Threw off a ton of monoxide until I adjusted the height of the burners down from the pots, now it burns supremely clean.
We used to use it as the primary stove in a rented apartment with a garbage electric stove - 20# tank would last 2-3 months of heavy cooking use (pressure cooking, stewing, pot roasts etc). We just put it on top of the electric stovetop. Fire marshal would have hated it.

kasilofhome · #11 02/28/14, 02:01 AM

Check out the vault in the s and p thread for ....My wood stove.....that is what I have and tips on how to make do. .......cookies are very hard but desperate time make for a creative mind.

Dixie Bee Acres · #12 02/28/14, 04:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cfuhrer

My plan is to get a small solar array that can be propped up in a window and will power a crockpot and a hot plate. To be used in conjunction with a camp stove and/or fire/bbq/coals.

It takes a lot of electricity to produce heat. No solar panels that could fit in any window of a house could power a crock pot or hot plate.

unregistered353870 · #13 02/28/14, 05:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Annsni

Well, I use a propane stove on our sailboat and while we're not using it year round, we use it a lot during the summer when we're living aboard and we don't go through much propane at all. We have 2 10lb. tanks (one hooked up, one a spare) and I think we filled them up two years ago and still aren't through one yet. I'd guess you could get a decent amount of cooking out of a 20lb. tank.

Sorry to the OP for the slight thread hijack, but be careful with propane on a boat. It's heavier than air so it can settle in the bilge and explode with disastrous effects. Many thousands of boats around the world use propane and there aren't that many accidents, but I just wanted to stress that you should be careful...coming from a retired Navy firefighter.

To the OP, you've gotten good answers already. 20 lb cylinders last quite a while just for stove-top cooking. On a gas grill they go through it much faster, and even with those a tank will give you quite a bit of cooking time. I also like those portable butane burners Annsni posted. Sometimes you can find the butane cannisters in dollar stores, which is a really good deal (but probably much more expensive than propane bought in bulk).

Annsni · #14 02/28/14, 07:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jtbrandt

Sorry to the OP for the slight thread hijack, but be careful with propane on a boat. It's heavier than air so it can settle in the bilge and explode with disastrous effects. Many thousands of boats around the world use propane and there aren't that many accidents, but I just wanted to stress that you should be careful...coming from a retired Navy firefighter.

Fortunately, modern boats have great systems in place and where the tanks are stored (outside in dedicated lockers with low drain vents) as well as the hoses to the stove. There is a solenoid that is at the tank that we have to turn on before we can start the stove and if there is no flame for more than 10 seconds, the solenoid shuts off the gas at the tank.

So it's pretty safe.

blooba · #15 02/28/14, 07:32 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vicker

Make sure you oven will work without electricity.

The cooktop part can usually be lit manually, BUT most ovens require electricity for the safety devices. It doesn't use much electricity so maybe a solar panel and batteries could run it. The easiest way to test it would be to just unplug it since you already have it.

Dan B. · #16 02/28/14, 07:32 AM

No worries about hijacking.......all good info to know.

RE: an outdoor kitchen....outside my garage door where the gas stove will be located is a deck (over the door and a roof over that) and a cement pad (outside the door). So it is a nice "out of the weather" cooking area that I can put my extra grill.

Dan B. · #17 02/28/14, 07:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blooba

The cooktop part can usually be lit manually, BUT most ovens require electricity for the safety devices. It doesn't use much electricity so maybe a solar panel and batteries could run it.

Good to know. Would a solar panel set uplike Harbor Freight sells be enough for something like that?

blooba · #18 02/28/14, 08:10 AM

http://www.homepower.com/articles/ho...ts-grid-ranges
^after more research I guess some models do use alot of electricity. Up to 500 watts for some models. Do you have a Kill-A-Watt?

Ernie · #19 02/28/14, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dan B.

Good to know. Would a solar panel set uplike Harbor Freight sells be enough for something like that?

Not likely. Check the watts on your device.

I have probably $6,000 invested in a solar system and I still have to turn on the generator if my wife wants to run a hair dryer.

The conversion of electricity to heat is extremely inefficient and it's what is the show stopper for most solar power systems.

Got a barbecue grill? Cook on that.

LisaInN.Idaho · #20 02/28/14, 10:50 AM

When we were fully off-grid we just made sure we found a gas range with no glow-bar. They are still available and usually cheaper than most other ranges thru Home Depot. We even found one that was self cleaning.

We also have a wood cookstove stored in a barn that we could put in if the SHTF (not that I think it will).

Speaking of boats: we have one with a propane range but also a woodstove. Cutest thing ever.