Rocket stove and thermos cooking

[Texas Gypsy]

I've been a bit surprised that I don't see much discussion about rocket stoves and thermos cooking. The 2 go together really well.
In the morning I use my rocket stove to heat water for coffee, cook breakfast and then bring to a boil anything I'm going to cook in a thermos for the day.
Rocket stoves take so little fuel that there are few places that you can't just pick up enough sticks to do your coffee and breakfast with.
DO have a fire proof pad of some kind under it! I put mine in a rectangular foil pan with a bit of repurposed greywater in it to instantly extinguish any embers.
Mine comes apart and stores in a small area. I do have to make sure it is cool enough to store before traveling. Considering getting a metal ash bucket to put it in when I need to cook and go on a schedule.
Between these 2 cooking methods and a solar oven I rarely need to use propane.

 

[maki2]

I thought seriously about getting or building a rocket stove but I have limited storage space so I choose what worked best the majority of the time including during burn bans.

 

[shadowmoss]

In the Southwest, it is usually illegal or at least frowned upon to pick up any of the very sparse ground litter. Most of it wouldn't work in a rocket stove anyway. That may be why you don't see them mentioned by the nomads living out here. Also, in the summers most places here will have fire bans, so anything using an open fire couldn't be used.

 

[maki2]

It is illegal in the BLM desert areas. It is not illegal in the National Forest areas. New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and California all have both types of terrains. They are very large states that include both forested mountains and dry desert terrains. They are all Southwestern States.

 

[Overland One]

I've been a bit surprised that I don't see much discussion about rocket stoves and thermos cooking. The 2 go together really well.
In the morning I use my rocket stove to heat water for coffee, cook breakfast and then bring to a boil anything I'm going to cook in a thermos for the day.
Rocket stoves take so little fuel that there are few places that you can't just pick up enough sticks to do your coffee and breakfast with.
DO have a fire proof pad of some kind under it! I put mine in a rectangular foil pan with a bit of repurposed greywater in it to instantly extinguish any embers.
Mine comes apart and stores in a small area. I do have to make sure it is cool enough to store before traveling. Considering getting a metal ash bucket to put it in when I need to cook and go on a schedule.
Between these 2 cooking methods and a solar oven I rarely need to use propane.

Those are awesome and work really well. One of those is on my list for later on once I pay off some of the stuff I bought for the van to get it ready. I was not familiar with that particular brand but it has excellent reviews and I like the size too. Thanks for posting about it.

 

[brianlongk]

ion my Silverfire rocket stove is the best but currently unavailable. I have heard good things about the Vire Stove as well.

 

[jacqueg]

Well, somewhere I have the instructions for making a rocket stove out of cinderblocks...

My coleman one-burner does just fine at heating food. And it weighs a lot less!

What do you use for the thermal part? I've been going to make a cozy bag since about forever. But the vacuum pots made for the purpose are tempting me.

 

[maki2]

About 4 years ago I found a reputable brand of one of the Japanese thermal pots at a thrift store. so I got it to experiment with for trying out to take full time in the road. It's performance was entirely underwhelming. Save your money for a nice pressure cooker instead. It will take less cooking fuel to make the meal. I redonated it back to the store, it just did not perform good enough to be worth the space to take it along.

 

[jacqueg]

Good to know, thanks.

About 4 years ago I found a reputable brand of one of the Japanese thermal pots at a thrift store. so I got it to experiment with for trying out to take full time in the road. It's performance was entirely underwhelming. Save your money for a nice pressure cooker instead. It will take less cooking fuel to make the meal. I redonated it back to the store, it just did not perform good enough to be worth the space to take it along.

 

[eDJ_]

Texas Gypsy........

Could you elaborate more on your thermos cooking ? Are you just cooking foods to store in thermos vessels to have hot/warm foods available thru the rest of the day ?

 

[dreamrunnerjt]

Well, somewhere I have the instructions for making a rocket stove out of cinderblocks...

My coleman one-burner does just fine at heating food. And it weighs a lot less!

What do you use for the thermal part? I've been going to make a cozy bag since about forever. But the vacuum pots made for the purpose are tempting me.

I made a cinder block rocket stove in my back yard. It takes two or 3 blocks which ends up being a bit of weight and storage space if you are tight on that. I think one of those metal fold up ones would travel better even if you have to replace it every few years due to heat warping. I don’t know if that would happen but they put out quite a bit of heat so I would think warping would eventually happen.
Has anyone had one that has lasted years?

 

[dreamrunnerjt]

You can also make a rocket stove by digging one horizontal and one vertical hole. Keeps the heat and light more contained.

 

[RonDean]

I have found a couple if mini makers works great for me. I have one with waffle faces and one with smooth faces that allows me to make easy quick individual meals. Cost for each was about $10 and takes very little space.

 

[BelgianPup]

If you want to make a brick stove, use red clay bricks, which have already been heated to 1,000 to 1,500°F. Cinder blocks can explode if they absorb some water, as they're made from concrete and gravel.

The thought of being blinded by an exploding brick, while out in the boonies makes me sweat..

 

[rockloper]

I made a cinder block rocket stove in my back yard. It takes two or 3 blocks which ends up being a bit of weight and storage space if you are tight on that. I think one of those metal fold up ones would travel better even if you have to replace it every few years due to heat warping. I don’t know if that would happen but they put out quite a bit of heat so I would think warping would eventually happen.
Has anyone had one that has lasted years?

I found cinder blocks don't last but 3-4 times and they crack. Not worth it in my opinion.

 

[RonDean]

I can't imagine carting bricks or blocks around with me. Weight decreases my mileage and space is always at a premium. Unless I was mostly sitting in one spot any cooking solution must account for that.

 

[maki2]

I decided against a rocket stove due to having sooted up pan bottoms and sides. I am not at all fond of scrubbing pots and pans. The fewer chores I have to do for making meals or any other task the happier my nomadic life is. That includes building and safely extenguishing wood fires and hunting for dry firewood. Some folks really do enjoy those chores as part of a "real camping" nostalgia experience. So if that is you then a rocket stove will be a lot of fun for you to own and cook on. What you choose to do really is about what you want and not at all about what I prefer.

 

[eDJ_]

I once built a rocket stove out of a #10 can (6 1/4" X 7") when I was cooking in commercial kitchens where I was able to get lots of these to experiment with. I had an assortment of other cans from the bar tenders back then too. A combination of sand & soil was used in them for the insulation as that was what I had available. Today I'd use Vermiculite for insulation and seal all the cracks with high temp RTV.

It doesn't require much space and it can be used to conserve valuable propane.

 

[Texas Gypsy]

Texas Gypsy........

Could you elaborate more on your thermos cooking ? Are you just cooking foods to store in thermos vessels to have hot/warm foods available thru the rest of the day ?

Yes basically. A simple example: When I make my breakfast I go ahead and bring raw rice to a bool for 3-5 minutes. Then place it in a thermos and wrap it in a towel. It acts a but like a slow cooker. The heat and pressure continue to cook the rice. It can't burn.
Then my rice is ready for dinner.
You can cook nearly anything that needs that type of long moist cooking.

 

[VanFan]

My experience with thermos cooking was limited, but basically successful. I followed some guidelines from The Boat Galley. https://theboatgalley.com/?s=thermos+cooking&swpmfe=5916110af2bd3b2b4d5992f3b0f8059a
In the end, though, thermos cooking was abandoned because of food safety concerns--especially for beans. There was just too much potential for temps to fall into the "danger zone".