A butane stove is one of the most useful and practical ways to cook indoors when the power is out.
A butane stove is a tabletop gas stove with one burner. The stove comes in a plastic carrying case smaller than many large handbags. Butane comes in a canister about the size of a can of spray paint. The fuel can easily snaps into the stove and locks into place. Most butane stoves have a safety feature that turns off the stove if fuel begins to leak so don’t worry about how well you lock it in. Also, the stove won’t work if the fuel can is not snapped in correctly.
The stove operates by turning a knob which ignites the gas and allows for flame adjustment. Because you can easily adjust the flame, and it gets hotter than Sterno (butane stoves do vary in BTU’s, though), you can cook on a butane stove and not just heat food. The stove has a full-size burner and grate which will accommodate the same pans used on a gas kitchen stove.
Butane stoves can be purchased at sporting goods stores, in the camping section of department and discount stores, at Chinese markets, at restaurant supply stores, and online. You will find, too, that this will usually be a case of “you get what you pay for.” A more reliable and easily adjustable stove will not be the least expensive stove, but you can still purchase a good one for $30 to $50. Fuel cans cannot always be shipped so you may need to purchase them locally.
At full flame, a fuel canister will last about 80 minutes. At lower flame, it will last considerably longer. During Hurricane Ike we used one canister for 12 meals (for 1 or 2 people) and still had fuel left. Some friends with 4 children used 1-1/2 cans of fuel during the same time period. Not bad at all for a $2-$4 can of fuel!
Consider adding a butane stove to your preparedness supplies today.
