Hey All I need some recommendations for a good stove to put in my home emergency kit and/or for camping. I'm open to brands, designs, fuel types etc. Let me know what your favourites are and why! Many thanks for the help.
Sterno saved my butt during Hurricane Sandy. I now keep more than a few handy at home as well as in my BOB. I picked up a folding Sterno stove that I keep handy also.Works pretty good for me!
Esbit Pocket Stove. Got mine from REI. Works fantastically in an Emergency kit. Esbit makes a smaller one known as their Emergency Stove. But it's a POS.
The best stove is the one that suits your needs and likes. I have three a Folding Firebox multi fuel stove, a Esbit cookset (solid fuel) and a couple of alcohol stoves. I personally don't like anything that is propane powered. The folding Firebox is powered by any sticks scrap wood that's in the yard. When I was looking I spent hours on Youtube watching reviews of the different stoves out there. Try that and you should be okay.
Here's a post I made about the Esbit & Wetfire stoves, might be helpful. I have the Esbit in a BOB and the Wetfire in my day to day bag. http://edcforums.com/threads/portable-stoves-pics-esbit-wetfire-make-ramen.110592/
How many people will the stove/s be used for? - For home & group use I would recommend a twin burner liquid fuel stove that can also use kerosene & unleaded petrol. - For single person outdoors use, again I would recommend a single burner liquid fuel stove (kerosene & unleaded petrol compatible) The fuel is easier to store and carry, available in more places (if using a multi fuel type stove), works in most weather conditions and does not present as much of a hazard in the event of a fire to the houses occupants & firefighters as gas canisters or gas bottles would (think probable big boom and shrapnel). While gas canister or bottle stoves are lighter and more compact, I think that the issues with storing a number of canisters or bottles, the costs of purchasing the canisters vs liquid fuel, the fact that when on a trip you have to carry the empty canisters back and their cold weather performance issues far outweigh their benefits especially when on a long tip or used during a protracted emergency situation.
I love my Jetboil, but I gotta agree with the Doc on the multi-fuel, esp. using plain unleaded gasoline, for an emergency stove. In cooking quantities, I think my lawn mower would provided weeks of fuel. MSR WhisperLite International backpacking stove is a great multi fuel stove. Vargo also makes some cool ultralight Ti stuff like a wood burning twig one (black pots tho) and a Triad alcohol stove. For a serious emergency though, I have a Kifaru wood burning tent/backpacking stove that is primarily for winter camping/space heating (run the chimney out the house window) but also a cooking stove.
I've had and used a version of the MSR multi-fuel stove for more than 40 years. It still works and works great using any kind of flammable liquid I found in the US and Europe.
I'm a big fan of the Optimus Crux. Folds down to fit flat under a fuel canister, flame adjustment down to simmer and weights a little over 3 ounces In action:
I have several different stoves that can be used as emergency kit: an ancient (+30 years) Svea, a Coleman propane, a Sterno one. My most recent purchase sure surprised me: I expected it to be another piece of junk churned out in a Chinese sweatshop ... Especially since Amazon sells 'em for less than $6 including shipping. But, WOW ... attach a small propane cylinder and this thing puts out heat like a blowtorch! Used it backpacking this past Winter. The wind was howling, snow swirling around, and this little guy kept heating my water.
Thanks for all the info so far everybody, lets keep it up! I do have another question regarding fuel types. I have heard that hexamine is the safest to burn indoors, any truth to this? I'm really leaning towards an alcohol or canister stove so far. I do like the idea of a multi fuel liquid stove, but I'm hesitant to store liquid fuel in my small apartment, a few canisters seems so much more space friendly. Thoughts on your preferred fuels?
I picked up one of those recently and was pleasantly surprised, also. Wasn't expecting much, considering the price, but it works pretty well. Mine came in a plastic storage box. It's for the truck emergency kit.
I love my MSR Dragonfly. It burns pretty much any liquid fuel from diesel to alcohol, I generally use either white gas or gasoline. It's not as convenient as propane or Gaz but it works and puts out huge heat. Comes with a foil wind screen that I like to use even when it's not windy to help direct the heat to your pot. I also have an Optimus 8 which is a nice little liquid fuel stove, more compact but less powerful than the Dragonfly.
For use in-apartment or car camping, get a coleman twin burner liquid "dual" fuel stove, and buy the propane conversion piece. Buy maybe 4 of the small propane bottles (1 pounders) to keep on hand. Use propane for convenience or for safety indoors, but you will have all the parts to use for liquid fuel. All coleman liquid fuel stoves run on coleman fuel (white gas) and the dual fuel ones are made to work well with unleaded gasoline as well. This gives you more choices of fuel in an emergency. If you don't need to carry the fuel on your back, propane makes much more sense than canister (butane mix) as it is cheaper; just heavier. If you apartment has a patio/porch and allows a gas grill, there is your fuel source. Especially if they allow full size propane cylinders. Just get the adapter to run your portable stove off of the big cylinder. Many apartments are no longer allowing even small bottle propane grills however. I would be reluctant to use any stove in a structure that cannot be turned off. So, no Esbit, charcoal, wood, or alcohol stoves. Conventional liquid fuel, canister, and propane can be turned off almost immediately. Whatever you choose, also get a 5 pound capacity or larger ABC fire extinguisher. Most liquid fuel stoves require priming, which is a delicate procedure that is sure to result in a few fireballs and dripping, flaming fuel before you learn the technique. Not recommended indoors until an expert at it. Liquid fuel in a metal container is pretty safe, you will have to check your lease and make your decisions. Kerosene is the safest of the liquid fuels, as it is hard to vaporize. If your stove burns the same fuel as your vehicle, get a siphon or similar to pull gas from vehicles tank. I recently started using a syringe sold for mixing two-stroke oil, purchased in automotive section of walmart. With a longer hose on the syringe, I think it would be ideal for fuelling a stove from a vehicle, with little waste or drip.
What twin burner stove runs kerosene and petrol? I know you can swing it in some colemans, but it is not a supported use nor easy. I agree on a single burner for ultimate portability, if you need to carry it. The MSR whisperlite universal and Primus Omnifuel are both quite good, and expensive.
I've tried propane, white gas, hexamine, alcohol( heet, everclear, denatured alcohol) and still go to isopro canisters. I like the fact that I can just start cooking without any filling, priming, and adjusting. That said, if your main goal is just to boil water, hexamine or alcohol stoves work! For actual cooking you need either propane( think big, heavy), white gas( stoves need priming and adjusting down to a simmer can be difficult), or canisters( weight of the canisters, empty or full is an issue)
