Rocket stove and thermos cooking

[eDJ_]

Thanks TG I knew there had to be more to it than just cooking something completely and then storing it in a thermal container to keep it warm for a few hours.

I have a couple of early model Thermos brand lunch kit containers where the special screw on lids can be placed either in a freezer or in hot water. Thus the foods in the the containers can be kept warm or cold longer. Each contain a pint of food.

 

[Carla618]

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.

Think a Wonderbag would work well? https://www.wonderbagworld.com/

They are probably too big to store in a van, but they might make great pillows when not in use.

 

[Frood]

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".

True. Unless you can keep the stuff in the thermos above temp for a long enough period to sterilize it, it's going to eventually hit the perfect temperature to have microorganisms to breed like billions of tiny little rabbits.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I use a pressure cooker in a similar way: heat up to pressure (~280ºF), put into insulated bag, let 'cook' all day.

Pressure cooker has a couple of advantages:

- bigger, I can cook 4 separate dishes in mine.​

- hotter and larger volume = stays warm longer.​

- hotter and sealed, all the tiny critters are cooked and the pot remains sealed until food consumed.​

 

[Texas Gypsy]

I use a pressure cooker in a similar way: heat up to pressure (~280ºF), put into insulated bag, let 'cook' all day.

Pressure cooker has a couple of advantages:

- bigger, I can cook 4 separate dishes in mine.​

- hotter and larger volume = stays warm longer.​

- hotter and sealed, all the tiny critters are cooked and the pot remains sealed until food consumed.​

That's a really good idea! I have an instant pot so when I think of a pressure cooker I think of it rather than a stovetop model.
I could even use my rocket stove for that

 

[jacqueg]

That's a really good idea! I have an instant pot so when I think of a pressure cooker I think of it rather than a stovetop model.
I could even use my rocket stove for that

I have a small InstantPot and a 3-qt stovetop pressure cooker - which of course doubles as my large saucepan.

 

[wayne49]

Nothing like renting a modern RV, then parking somewhere crowded, like Poverty Flats, or Justin Lane, then burning wood for a "real camping" nostalgia experience. Freely sharing the annoying wood smoke with those who have allergies.

Funniest site in the RV park one summer, was a group of upper class A folks gathered around a fake wood fire (propane BBQ grill), at the end of a long day's drive. Reminded me of the camp fire scene in "Blazing Saddles".

 

[vanbrat]

I have a small InstantPot and a 3-qt stovetop pressure cooker - which of course doubles as my large saucepan.

And I have a tiny microwave that works off my Jackery and only takes 3 mins to boil water and yep I can cook rice and pasta in it. not much I can't cook in that

 

[RonDean]

And I have a tiny microwave that works off my Jackery and only takes 3 mins to boil water and yep I can cook rice and pasta in it. not much I can't cook in that

I was not aware that any microwaves were small enough to run off a power station. Do you have a LARGE Jackery?

 

[Frood]

I was not aware that any microwaves were small enough to run off a power station. Do you have a LARGE Jackery?

Is there some reason that a 1000 watt powerstation couldn't run a 1000 watt microwave? Or is 1000W considered a large powerstation?

 

[bullfrog !]

There are small microwaves. Bob Wells talked about larger solar systems running his 600 watt microwave popping popcorn.

 

[vanbrat]

It is small, Walmarts tiniest microwave at 700 watt and we have a 1000-watt Jackery. It is not as powerful as the one in my home, but it works great in the van. It also powers my tiny air fryer, but not my 1000 watt induction burner, the burner draws to fast and shuts it off.

 

[Thorpedo]

I use a Commercial Chef brand 600 watt microwave which consumes about 950 watts of power. It works fine on my 1000 watt power station. Both of which I purchased on Amazon. I first tried a 700 watt microwave, which was the smallest Walmart offered and that didn't work for more than a few seconds because it consumed around 1100 watts which was too much for my 1000 watt power station.

But my new 2000 watt inverter would probably handle the 700 watt Walmart microwave easily, but I really like the 600 watt microwave with the dial, so I still use that. It looks like they upgraded the Commercial Chef 600 watt model on Amazon but a link to the new model is here: https://www.amazon.com/Counter-Rotary-Microwave-WCM660B-Westinghouse/dp/B00BGTO1WC/ref=sr_1_3

Just remember to get the 600 watt model if only have a 1000 watt power station or inverter. There are probably other 600 watt microwaves out there also.

 

[maki2]

The wattage measurement ratings on microwaves is not a straightforward statement. There are actually two wattages at play here, there is the input wattage coming from your power source into the microwave and the output wattage. Output wattage means the wattage it takes to heat the food. The label on the microwaves is the OUTPUT wattage. The input wattage from the power source is always hundreds of watts higher than the “output” wattage shown on the label. Meaning a 1,000 watt microwave will not run on a 1,000 watt power station’s built in inverter. Even the 700watt microwave I used to own measured at 1300watts using a kill-a-watt meter to find out its actual power draw. Induction cooktops are similar in their lower wattage output to heat food ratings versus the never stated higher input ratings.
Enlarge the attached photo for an explanation from an electrical engineer on this issue.

 

[maki2]

Induction cooktops also have a similar power rating issue as stated above regarding output versus input wattages. You need to plug appliance into a kill-a-watt type meter to find out the actual watts they pull from the power source at what settings. Because the wattage stated on labels might not mean exactly what you are assuming it means.

 

[RonDean]

Although I have a more traditional solar/battery system installed, I also have a smaller Buletti that I found will not run many electric kitchen appliances. I tend to keep them packed away until I plug into the grid somewhere, preferring not to drain my house battery that my refrig and lights depend on. But I am looking to upgrade soon and do not want to invest in another power station that is not up to the task. I find all discussions on this topic very interesting and educational.

 

[maki2]

Other than my fridge I have no electrical kitchen appliance. Unlike many persons I learned to cook on a natural gas range. That means I am not afraid of using gas stoves. It has not been a huge expense for the fuel.

 

[Steve]

I use a Commercial Chef brand 600 watt microwave which consumes about 950 watts of power. It works fine on my 1000 watt power station. Both of which I purchased on Amazon. I first tried a 700 watt microwave, which was the smallest Walmart offered and that didn't work for more than a few seconds because it consumed around 1100 watts which was too much for my 1000 watt power station.

But my new 2000 watt inverter would probably handle the 700 watt Walmart microwave easily, but I really like the 600 watt microwave with the dial, so I still use that. It looks like they upgraded the Commercial Chef 600 watt model on Amazon but a link to the new model is here: https://www.amazon.com/Counter-Rotary-Microwave-WCM660B-Westinghouse/dp/B00BGTO1WC/ref=sr_1_3

Just remember to get the 600 watt model if only have a 1000 watt power station or inverter. There are probably other 600 watt microwaves out there also.

Same experience here with the 600W Commercial Chef unit, works perfectly from a Jackery 1000. Others on Youtube seemed to run the more common 700W Microwaves from the Jackery, but I went out of my way to find something pulling less current, possibly the only one on the market.

 

[Geneeus]

Same experience here with the 600W Commercial Chef unit, works perfectly from a Jackery 1000. Others on Youtube seemed to run the more common 700W Microwaves from the Jackery, but I went out of my way to find something pulling less current, possibly the only one on the market.

Has anyone tried making popcorn in one. I really like popcorn

 

[Thorpedo]

Another thing with the analog dial on the 600 watt Commercial Chef microwave, is that since it is not digital, one doesn't have a blinking clock that they would need to set each time power is turned on.

I have seen YouTube videos of people making popcorn in microwaves in cars, but I am not a popcorn person myself. I assume that just popping in one of those bags of popcorn would turn out the same as in a home microwave. But now that you mention it, I wonder if the lower cooking wattage would somehow affect how well the popcorn pops.

Two of my favorite quick meals for my Prius' microwave include hotdogs and that personal pizza from Dollar Tree (thawed first).