Canned heat

What are the pros and cons of using canned heat (sterno, chafing fuel etc.) as a cooking and heating fuel in a survival situation? Does it have a long shelf life? Anyone try it?

I've used it in a restaurant, in banquets, etc.
Don't think there's a shelf life danger.
Gets stuff really hot, for a low burning flame, and lasts an hour or two, IIRC.
Get some and try it.

I think it does. We learned to make our own in girl scouts. YOu take a tuna can, and wrap some cardboard type material in a spiral inside. The borders on chalk boards in classrooms work perfect. Then you fill it with wax and light it, and put a coffee can over it. We cooked that way. Got several uses out of it. Stackable, portable, cheap, and not that heavy.

forget cooking with it, I understand you can drink this stuff and get drunk. Delta bluesman Tommy Johnson did just this. If civilization collapses I think I'll need it. of course it cant be healthy.....

Essentially I'd recommend two kinds of canned heat:
This Kind
and the kind you're talking about. (sorry had to plug The Heat) Seriously, I camp alot and have amassed a small variety of cooking gear from garage sales including of those cheap Sterno flip out stove bases and cans. Haven't used it yet I as I fall back my Jetboil (why I dont know) but would feel pretty good about relying on it camping.

I trust the couple of hours they give, the flame is sturdy and seems efficient, I Really like the size for packing, and the price/worth ratio would surprise many.

Ideally you might want to look at the anatomy of the Sterno stoves and see if you could eventually produce one out of popcans and other stuff. You just need to produce wind blockage and/or sturdy surface for cookware.

I don't know about working well with canned heat but I'd suggest cast iron cookware.

[edit on 9-2-2010 by Moonsouljah]

Sterno, etc. is a decent temporary cooking fuel. If I were to spend a few dollars on emergency cooking technology, myself I'd tend toward a blast match or flint and steel, a decent grilling basket, and a nesting camp mess kit.

Most times, we can always find dry (wood) fuel. A couple of sterno cans surely doesn't hurt, and they're fairly lightweight and portable. At our house, our emergency cook kit fills an medium-sized Alice pack, and that includes things often forgotten, such as soap, towels, spices, firestarter, headlamps (although I tend toward wrapping them around my arm, rather than targeting my head), and the ever-popular and multi-functional roll of garbage bags. Also includes normal things such as a SS mess kit, cutlery, knives, TP, and a coupla steel tins of olive oil.

We don't plan on bugging out (noplace to really bug TO on this small island), but the Alice packs and their pockets are a handy way to organize stuff.

reply to post by Moonsouljah


Thanks for the blast from the past!

I've had occasion right after a hurricane here to use one o' these Coghlan's folding stoves with some sterno. Did a good job, although I wouldn't trust something so flimsy with a heavy pot on it.

You bring up a good point about the reliability of sterno -- the known cooking time, and it's convenient, at least for very short-term emergency needs.

cheers

Canned heat (Sterno) works pretty good, but it's a bit bulky if you need to be mobile. It doesn't leak like liquid fuel, but it will dry out over time, especially if not sealed perfectly. I remember opening one up once, expecting to have a flame and it was completely dried out to nothing - which was unexpected and disappointing. So, yes watch the shelf life dates.

As far as making your own, we use to take coffee cans and then cut & fold as much cardboard pieces you could fit in them (standing vertical). You need to make sure they pieces are cut off at the top of the can so you can extinguish the flame quickly by just using a lid. Then you pour wax over the cardboard so that it gets saturated completely. Then you can just light it anytime and it creates a quick hot flame for cooking which you can extinguish by covering the opening with a lid (not plastic). Provides quite a few hours of cooking and is portable.

Edit to add if you extinguish the flame, but then allow it to smolder they are great for smoke signals too.

[edit on 10-2-2010 by verylowfrequency]

I bought case of "Safe Heat" from Sam's club. It's Diethylene Gycol. When I opened the can I found a nylon wick. It burned with a blue flame about 2-3 inches high. It supposed to last six hours.

[edit on 9-2-2010 by RKWWWW]

In 2008,we had a severe wind storm that knocked out all power for several days.I have a wedding/floral business I run from my home.
I used the chafing dish fuel to cook with.

I removed one of the racks from my oven,used two,short 2x4's ontop
of my stove.I slid two cans of the chafing dish fuel under the rack and
I was able to cook,make coffee and tea!
It was a good thing I had these cans.My freezers were thawing out and
I was able to cook some of the meat.

I make the wax and cardboard fuel cubes with out the tuna cans.

They are a great fire starter or you can drop them in a tuna can and use them like Sterno.

They are great fire starting fire when everything is wet

Saw dust and wax are good too just take a large container full of sawdust and pour hot wax in and mix.

While the mix is hot take the mix and shape to what ever shape you want.

I have used the Sterno cans on camping trips before and they work OK. Much, MUCH less heat however than other, cheaper alternatives. That being said though I still plan on packing one in my BOB.

A Sterno can will boil 2cups of water in about 15-20 minutes. A typical Coleman or similar liquid fuel camp stove, backpacking stove, etc. will do the same in under 5 minutes. A practically free pop can penny stove (free assuming you drink pop or beer) will boil 2c water in about the same, 4-5 minutes. The pop-can stoves fit nicely in the Coghlan folding stove mentioned earlier, and provide much more heat than a Sterno can.

The cost using that stuff could add up pretty quick. I myself keep a couple bags of those match light briquettes on hand for emergency use. Of course you want to use that stuff outside, and keep it dry during the rain or a flood, but it's a lot cheaper and you can use just one or two of them briquettes at a time. A bag will last you for a while and they aren't as expensive.

Originally posted by Mortimer452
I have used the Sterno cans on camping trips before and they work OK. Much, MUCH less heat however than other, cheaper alternatives. That being said though I still plan on packing one in my BOB.

A Sterno can will boil 2cups of water in about 15-20 minutes. A typical Coleman or similar liquid fuel camp stove, backpacking stove, etc. will do the same in under 5 minutes. A practically free pop can penny stove (free assuming you drink pop or beer) will boil 2c water in about the same, 4-5 minutes. The pop-can stoves fit nicely in the Coghlan folding stove mentioned earlier, and provide much more heat than a Sterno can.

Nice website, I am making one now for my BOB

reply to post by Mortimer452


I drank 3 Heinekens, made my penny stove, overfilled it with rubbing alcohol, and set my kitchen table, floor and myself on fire!

Other than one of my favorite shirts being destroyed, everythings fine.

I absolutely love this stove! It can't get any better! The alcohol fuel has a variety of uses, the stove is extremely efficient, lightweight, cheap, and best of all you have to drink beer to make one! Awesome!!!!!!

I'm going to tell everyone who will listen (and understand my slurred speach) about this stove.