Almost burned down my van!!!

[yamsack]

<span id="post_message_1272646665">Hi all,<br>Well, I've survived my first major screw up in my van.&nbsp; I was boiling up some pasta in my van (using my alcohol stove) when there was a flare up!!!&nbsp; It went from a small controlled flame to a blaze that engulfed the whole top of the camp stove.<br><br>After I initially froze from the shock, I quickly grabbed some water to try to smother the flame.&nbsp; When that didn't do it, out of sheer panic,&nbsp; I just used my bare right hand to stamp out the flame.&nbsp; Luckily, only parts of the window shade melted and parts of the countertop.&nbsp; Boy oh boy does my right hand sting from the pain!&nbsp; Thank God I've only got a couple of small blisters and the van was saved.<br><br>For anyone using an alcohol stove, make sure you NEVER use full flame when cooking with it.&nbsp; For those that don't know what I mean, most alcohol stoves come with a flame control lid that keeps the flame at a certain intensity.&nbsp; ALWAYS use this lid and keep the flame only strong enough to gently heat something up.<br><br>I had fried up some eggs yesterday without incident, so I thought everything was fine, until disaster happened.&nbsp; I definitely am going to rethink what I will be eating from now on.<br></span>

 

[yesican]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Glad you are safe.&nbsp; Don't get infection in that hand. Make sure it stays clean. Burns are especially bad.&nbsp; And thanks for the heads up; I've never used an Alcohol stove...Almost burnt my house down though with an elec stove--understand the panic and not thinking 100% clear.&nbsp; Unfortunately, I remembered the fire location of the extinguisher and put it out but not before smoke damage throughout the house and&nbsp;a burnt wall and ceiling.&nbsp;&nbsp;Instead of building from scratch, I had to repair that old delapatated house.&nbsp; Yup...surely didn't think that one through...</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Glad you're OK.&nbsp;&nbsp; Rae</p>

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

So sorry, do something fun to keep your mind off your hand. Amazing how bad a burn hurts compared to other ouchies.<br><FONT color=#ff00ff>Dragonfly</FONT><br>

 

[ped]

<P>topical lidocaine cream with aloe vera. You won't know you have a burn at all. You can get it at walgreens.</P>

 

[She]

Wow&nbsp;<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/frown.gif">&nbsp;Yeah I agree with the others about infection....take care of that. Glad your alright.&nbsp;

 

[Phantom Blooper]

Glad your alright....<br><br>Agreed to keep that burn clean....especially with vanning.<br><br>I always keep a ABC fire extinguisher handy and a box of baking soda around the galley area.<br><br>Good luck to you in the future!<br>

 

[stude53]

<p style="margin: 0px;">Yamsack, </p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Glad you and your van&nbsp;escaped major damage.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">I've heard Baking&nbsp;Soda can be used to smother a fire, and I googled and found this frightening video about using water on a grease fire.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;"><a href="" target="_blank" target=_blank></a></p>

 

[akrvbob]

<p>The last thing you need is someone second-guessing you, but&nbsp;for any newbies out there I have to say that one rule I keep for myself is to never have a liquid fuel stove in the camper. I break lots of safety rules (I have&nbsp;always kept bulk propane bottles and &nbsp;lead-acid batteries inside with me and I use my propane stove for heat) BUT I think a liquid fuel stove of any kind in the rig is MUCH too dangerous. Propane stoves inside has some risk, but nothing compared to alcohol. My sugestion is to re-think how you are cooking, not what you are cooking. Bob&nbsp;</p>

 

[akrvbob]

<p>The last thing you need is someone second-guessing you, but&nbsp;for any newbies out there I have to say that one rule I keep for myself is to never have a liquid fuel stove in the camper. I break lots of safety rules (I have&nbsp;always kept bulk propane bottles and &nbsp;lead-acid batteries inside with me and I use my propane stove for heat) BUT I think a liquid fuel stove of any kind in the rig is MUCH too dangerous. Propane stoves inside has some risk, but nothing compared to alcohol. My sugestion is to re-think how you are cooking, not what you are cooking. Bob&nbsp;</p>

 

[VanTrekker]

<p style="margin: 0px;">I am glad you are okay!&nbsp; I&nbsp;can't lecture you - I almost burned up me and the van the other day.</p><p style="margin: 0px;"><br>I have a Chinese butane stove -&nbsp;the kind with the hair spray sized bottles of butane.&nbsp; You're supposed to remove the can when not in use.&nbsp; I didn't.&nbsp; When moving things around, I banged the case against the corner of the bed and the can started hissing loudly.&nbsp; There weren't a lot of options.&nbsp; I quickly opened the plastic carrying case and access flap, then removed the can of butane.&nbsp; It stopped hissing.&nbsp; One good spark and it would have been all she wrote.&nbsp; I don't know why it hissed but you can bet I store the two separately.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Like Bob, I agree that the liquid thing adds another layer of danger to an already risky activity of cooking inside (something I do as well).&nbsp; <br><br>I'm glad you're okay though.&nbsp; There are a lot of risks that come with this lifestyle but if we're careful, it's&nbsp;pretty safe.&nbsp; May God keep you safe in the coming days and please... do you have an extra plate of scrambled eggs?&nbsp; <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">Take care!</p>

 

[yamsack]

I can't thank you all enough for all of your support.&nbsp; Ever since I started this journey, I've felt a bit lonely and separated from society.&nbsp; However, with all of your feedback, I don't feel nearly as alone as I thought.<br><br>Regarding your suggestions on using something other than an alcohol stove, has anyone had any issues using propane stoves?&nbsp; I always thought that there was a chance of it blowing up on you.&nbsp; That was the reason I chose alcohol, but look what that got me.<br><br>By the way, it was tough getting to sleep last night with my hand feeling like it was still on fire.&nbsp; However, by morning, the pain was gone.&nbsp; I've got about 3 or 4 blisters now, but I don't think I will try to pop them and just let them heal on their own.<br><br>@ VanTrekker,<br><br>You're more than welcome to some scrambled eggs, just as soon as I figure out how to scramble them without burning me up in the process.&nbsp; And thank you so much for your kind wishes.&nbsp; ")<br>

 

[yesican]

<p>DON'T POP YOUR BLISTERS!!!&nbsp; Always your first line of defence against infection is unopened skin.&nbsp; Wrap your hand in gauze or a clean hanky and try not to pop the blisters.&nbsp; If you do, you will need to use clean gauze.&nbsp; Hands are one of the dirtiest areas on the body and you could easily pick up a bug and get an infection.&nbsp; You need your hands, don't risk it.&nbsp; The fluid in the blisters will eventually reabsorb into the bloodstream and you'll have flat wrinkly skin that will eventually slough off once the body creates new skin under it.</p>

 

[Guest]

Hi Yamsack, I too wish you a quick healing and am glad that it turned out no worse than it did although I know the pain of burns and it is the worst!<br><br>I have been messing around with alcohol stoves lately at home with the idea of possibly using one while I am traveling with my moto-sidecar outfit....meaning outside cooking.<br>At this point, while I really love the idea of it and have found a stove I like very much, I think I will take it along mostly for occasional use to see how I like it and still take my trusty Primus, pressurized butane/propane mixed canisters.<br><br>Over the years I have used several different stoves in a vehicle or camper for cooking and what I have now I like the very best. It is an inexpensive Texport single burner propane stove.<br><br>I have modified it to use a small bulk propane tank that I keep inside the rig. I have the stove screwed down to the place it is used and it works marvelously well.<br><br>One thing I do to be very sure it is safe is to turn the propane bottle off except when I am using the stove...<br><br>Check often for leaks with soapy water on any connection or joint....<br><br><br>Good luck,<br>Bri<br><br><br>

 

[yamsack]

@ yesican,<br><br>Thanks very much for your advice and feedback.&nbsp; I guess the body does certain things (like form blisters) for a reason.&nbsp; I'll definitely take your advice on not popping them.<br><br>I hope this incident doesn't ruin my chances of being a hand model.<br><br>

 

[akrvbob]

<p style="margin: 0px;">I've loved in a vehicle for over 10 years, and I have cooked a&nbsp; meal in the vehicle nearly every day, always with a propane stove. That's at least 3000 meals. I have had a total of one problem. Like Brian I bought the hose that lets me connect it to a 20 lb bulk bottle.&nbsp;I had been using the same hose for a loooong time (many years).&nbsp; One day I lighted the stove and the crimp at the end of the hose started leaking and caught fire. I quickly turned it off at the bottle, turned off the stove, and sprayed the fire with my fire extenguisher, so no harm was done.</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">You want to learn a lesson from these things, here is what I learned:</p><ul><li><div style="margin: 0px;">Always&nbsp;be there where when cooking inside.</div></li><li><div style="margin: 0px;">Always have a fire extenguisher nearby.</div></li><li><div style="margin: 0px;">Act quickly but stay calm. Trun off the stove so there is no longer an ignition source for the propane. Then turn off the bottle so only a limited amount of propane can come out. </div></li><li><div style="margin: 0px;">I do have a smoke detector but there wasn't time for it to go off.</div></li></ul><p style="margin: 0px;">I don't know what to do about preventing this from happening again. The crimp on the hose simply got old and started leaking. I guess I could replace it every year or two so it couldn't happen again. I guess that is what i will do. Maybe every even year (2014, 2016....)&nbsp;I will replace the hose. They are about $20 so that is only $10 a year--pretty minimal for&nbsp; the safety. Bob</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p>

 

[VanTrekker]

<p style="margin: 0px;">I use a butane stove.&nbsp; It looks like a regular briefcase and runs on compressed butane.&nbsp; The flame can be extremely hot and works awesome for Chinese stir-fry.&nbsp; With the exception of me being stupid and leaving the can in the stove during transport, it's pretty safe...&nbsp; I recommend the Gasone brand as well as the Gasone cannisters (available on Amazon or even at the local Chinese grocery)</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">The stove costs about $22 or so... The cannisters average $2 per and run for several hours... Lots cheaper than charcoal!&nbsp;&nbsp; <img src="/images/boards/smilies/smile.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"></p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;"><img border="0" hspace="0" alt="" align="baseline" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514iiltCS1L._SL500_AA300_.jpg"></p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p>

 

[Guest]

So Bob...how much loving have you done in your vehicle over the years....<img src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif" border="0" align="absmiddle"><br><br>Curious minds and all...<br>Bri<br><br>

 

[1oleman]

Isn't that considered a "Senior" moment?<br>

 

[akrvbob]

<p style="margin: 0px;">

<span id="post_message_1272674314">So Bob...how much loving have you done in your vehicle over the years....<img border="0" align="absmiddle" src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/wink.gif"><br>Curious minds and all...<br>Bri </span>

</p><p style="margin: 0px;">&nbsp;</p><p style="margin: 0px;">I've GOT to slow down and proofread these posts!! Unfortunately Bri, none whatsoever! Bob</p>

 

[dragonflyinthesky]

Bri, my biggest laugh for the day thanks to Bob and you. <IMG border=0 align=absMiddle src="https://vanlivingforum.com/images/boards/smilies/biggrin.gif"><br><FONT color=#ff00ff><b>Dragonfly</b></FONT><br>