Safe Cooking Method and Tips

[cynanne]

I will be boiling lots of water in the van and may use the sauce pan and the frying pan a bit. Is alcohol safer than butane/propane? Can you safely store propane in the car even in higher elevations? Any tips or opinions welcome. Thank you.

 

[B and C]

Alcohol burns with an invisible flame. If you spill some and it catches fire, you may not know it until it's too late. It is this the one reason alone that I do not like alcohol as a fuel.

I have a built in propane tank for my fridge, heater, water heater, cooktop and carry the 1 Lb (green) bottles of propane for my grill. Propane is heavier than air so with a open door it will fall out. Having said that, I also have a propane detector near the floor as everyone should that uses propane. I also have a CO detector and a smoke detector.

I have spent time above 10,000 feet and not had any issues. Propane also works when it is cold unlike the cheap butane stoves.

 

[MG1912]

I have used the Trangia alcohol stove in the past, and I really liked it, so I packed one, along with a quart of fuel alcohol, for my new, full-time adventure. I guess I won't really be using it except in emergencies or just for fun once in a while. I have a propane stove in my camper and an outdoor grill to use.

 

[MrNoodly]

Can you safely store propane in the car even in higher elevations?

Yes. I have a 20# tank inside my van (people who say you should NEVER store propane inside a vehicle in four... three... two...) and have been at elevations up to 14,000 feet (Mt. Evans in Colorado) and camped for long periods above eight and nine thousand feet. And in high temperatures. Don't sweat it.

 

[cynanne]

Thank you for all this info. I will not have a fridge or water heater so i would be storing a small amount of propane inside the van only for boiling water and minimal stove cooking. I guess I would put it in a corner? I don't know. I will probably need a splash backing behind whatever cooktop I buy so I don't have a mess.

 

[rokguy]

A splashback is a good idea as is some sort of roof ventilation or window is a must too, as boiling water usually steams everything up pretty bad forming lots of condensation and dampness.

 

[VanFan]

Alcohol burns with an invisible flame.  If you spill some and it catches fire, you may not know it until it's too late.

I am uncomfortable with butane and propane, but will take either over alcohol for just this reason after having a small trail ignite on my patio years ago during stove-top pizza trials.  I recently switched from butane to propane for better performance at altitude.

 

[MrNoodly]

I recently switched from butane to propane for better performance at altitude.

Butane doesn't work well in cold or merely chilly weather, either.

 

[MrNoodly]

For backsplash, get a metal plate from Home Depot...

Or baking sheets/cookie sheets, often found at thrift stores.

 

[maki2]

I like to experiment with the various ways of cooking so I have a dual fuel stove as well as a small alcohol stove and a diesel cooktop. At homebase I use an induction hot plate and a microwave. I also have a charcoal grill. I just make sure there is nothing combustible near the stove that should not be that close.

Maybe it was growing up cooking on a natural gas stove at a very young age that meant I don't have all this deep fear of cooking with different setups that so many people who come into this forum have. Or maybe it is because I am a curious person. Of course I also have various sizes of gas torches to play with

 

[maki2]

I like to experiment with the various ways of cooking so I have a dual fuel stove as well as a small alcohol stove and a diesel cooktop. At homebase I use an induction hot plate and a microwave. I also have a charcoal grill. I just make sure there is nothing combustible near the stove that should not be that close.

Maybe it was growing up cooking on a natural gas stove and also learning to cook on a wood stove at a very young age that meant I don't have all this deep fear of cooking with different setups that so many people who come into this forum have. Or maybe it is because I am a curious person. Of course I also have various sizes of gas torches to play with and bunsen burners were fun little mini stoves to play with in chemistry class, loved the sparks from the strikers

Just get cooking and read the directions carefully. You can't start having fun until you get to cooking.

 

[B and C]

Everyone seems to love the alcohol stoves until the first time they catch something on fire. It is kinda hard to fight a fire you can't see except for the shimmering heat waves and where it has already turned something black. I used one in the scouts and promptly threw it away after the first backpacking trip. I spilled a little and didn't realise it. I went with a pump up backpackers gasoline stove after that.