Engine cooking, any one?

[Scorpion Regent]

Has anybody used the heat from their engine to cook food?  I haven't gotten around to trying it.  I figure who better than nomads?

 

[Sofisintown]

Why mess up a perfectly good engine when you can do better (and Cleaner) on a camp stove?
And then when you drive down the road you'll smell like like a burrito truck.

 

[Scorpion Regent]

More care and thought is involved than just cracking a egg on the valve cover.  Food is sealed up so there is no mess.  It's not just to keep the engine clean, it's to avoid food poisoning.  Engine grime, dust and grit are not acceptable seasonings.    Is it cleaner to use a camp stove?  Done properly the engine will be as clean as it was before, no more, no less.  When it's over there is some aluminum foil to throw away, perhaps a tin can to clean or discard.  How often do you clean your engine?  How often do you clean your stove?  Why do it rather than a camp stove?   Internal combustion engines lose a lot of energy to heat.  Fuel cost a lot per gallon.  Why not take advantage of that heat and get the most from your money?  It also conserves stove fuel and saves time.  As to smell, some aroma might escape while cooking, but there will be no lingering smells once the food is removed.  If you find the smell of food cooking unpleasant, perhaps you shouldn't be eating.

Just because I haven't practiced, doesn't mean I haven't done my research.

So Sofisintown, have I answered all your questions?    If you are interested and want to contribute in a positive fashion please stick around.  If all you have to share is derision then you are invited to leave the kitchen.

 

[tx2sturgis]

Dear OP:

When you ask questions on a public forum, but you don't want to hear the answers, you have learned something about yourself, haven't you?

So it's not a total loss...

We all get to comment, yea or nay, on any topic you or anyone else brings up. That's the way it works here. It's a discussion. You don't really want to shut down your own thread, do you?

But to answer the question, truck drivers in the past used to heat or reheat food, like foil wrapped burritos or cooked but frozen chicken, stuff like that, but, typical underhood temps are not usually high enough to actually 'cook' food from raw. You might actually be able to 'slow cook' something in a sealed metal container, but it would take a full day of driving, assuming you figured out the hottest place under the hood, and could safely wire up the pan or pot or can. 

By the time you stop several times to rearrange the items in a pan or whatever you have safety-wired in there, opened the hood, messed around with it, check on it, close the hood, drive on down the road for an hour, then stop, then check on it again, then set up a place prep your meal...meh...you haven't really done anything to 'beat the system'.

I know there are videos on this. I get it...but the trick is, making it work on YOUR engine, in YOUR travels. Good luck with it.

 

[MrNoodly]

It's something that might make sense if you were constantly driving and couldn't or didn't want to stop to cook a meal. And there's a trial-and-error learning curve of how long to place how large of a meal of what type in what sort of containment next to what hot part of the engine without ruining the food, and that would probably mean a lot of stopping to check, which sort of defeats the time savings of cooking while driving.

 

[user 423]

A RoadPro slow cooker will provide some efficient use from your ICE as you motor down the road.

 

[Scorpion Regent]

So it's not a total loss...
You don't really want to shut down your own thread, do you?

No Sofisintown's question and comment brought up valid points that I used to sell the concept so it wasn't a loss at all.  I want the thread to work .  I would rather discuss the topic with people who are interested (and interesting) rather than deal with Snarks.  By nature people are going to disagree and they are free to do so.  It would help their arguments if they give good reasons.  You considered my idea and pointed out a problem issue. I want thank you for that, because Snarks are annoying, but Yesmen allow problems to happen.  You sir, are neither of those.

Back to topic.   You are right constant adjustment is a deal breaker.  Three adjustments seems a reasonable limit, I would rather it be two.  If cooking takes place on a longer trip adjustment can be done when stopping to stretch, answer natures call, get fuel, etc. Opening the hood is going to happen at least once as I always check fluids, belts, hoses and such.  Running into Murphy in the middle of the road is the last thing I need.  A large coffee can with the outside painted high temperature engine paint might make a good holding vessel and aluminum foil both as a lid and to wrap the food.

 

[Sofisintown]

So Sofisintown, have I answered all your questions?    If you are interested and want to contribute in a positive fashion please stick around.  If all you have to share is derision then you are invited to leave the kitchen.

Aw, forgive me Father, for I've sinned.

 

[Scorpion Regent]

A RoadPro slow cooker will provide some efficient use from your ICE as you motor down the road.

ICE, I'm not interested in having the government involved in my dinner.  
But seriously...   that looks like a nice way to cook all sorts of things without a learning curve and minimum of attention.  If you have a RV with a big diesel engine with lots of power to spare and high capacity alternator, it's perfect.   
Converting electricity into heat consumes a lot of amperage which means further strain on an engine.  I'm trying to use heat that is going to waste not reduce my fuel milage.  Furthermore space is at a premium.  So no thank you.  I'll give it a think after I win the lottery and transition into a lifestyle wretched excess and debauchery.  "Dog polishers and fur sinks for everyone!!!!"

Yes engine cooking is doing it the hard way.  Here are the reasons I want to try it.  It cost little to no money.  It makes use of what is available.  It is a skill that can be learned and perfected.  If I can do it reliably I will have achieved something.  Some people are content doing things the easy way.  Investing in the outcome of a process makes it more valuable.  Anybody with the money can go to a fine restaurant and buy a $100 steak.  It maybe satisfying to have earned the money to buy it and enjoy it as a reward, but it can be hollow compared to the satisfaction of having cooked it yourself.     This doesn't mean that engine steak is my goal, it's just an example.

 

[Scorpion Regent]

Aw, forgive me Father, for I've sinned.

Run a round your van three times and scream at the sky, as penance.

 

[Sofisintown]

Run a round your van three times and scream at the sky, as penance.

I love how you do voodoo

 

[Scorpion Regent]

I love how you do voodoo

You might appreciate the mini sermon here:
https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=37463&pid=548859#pid548859

the one about the crescent wrench, not the long winded tool purge.

 

[Van Man Dave]

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=43302&pid=535099#pid535099

Some good ideas here as well.

 

[Scorpion Regent]

https://vanlivingforum.com/showthread.php?tid=43302&pid=535099#pid535099

Some good ideas here as well.

Thanks Van Man Dave.

Does and one know is the two threads can be combined?  I would happily yield and allow the other thread to continue.  It makes no sense to have both.