Cooking, Fuel and Fire: preparedness reference

When the power is out you still have to cook and stay warm. Keep a way to cook off-grid, deep fuel, and three independent ways to make fire.

Combustion stays outside

Every winter people die running a generator, grill, or camp stove indoors. Keep all combustion outdoors and at least twenty feet from the house, and put a battery CO detector in any room you heat.

Formulas 9

Formula Alcohol Stove and Fuel An alcohol stove is the simplest cooker there is: a small metal cup that holds alcohol and burns it as a ring of jet flames under your pot, with no valves or moving parts to fail. You can buy one or make one from a small can in a couple of minutes. Hazardous Formula Baking soda for small grease and electrical fires Keep: 1 lb by the stove; Grease fire: smother at the base; First: kill the heat Handle with care Formula Beeswax Emergency Candles Beeswax candles burn cleaner, with far less soot than paraffin, and the dense, high-melting wax makes them last two to three times longer, a real edge when a candle is your only light. Hazardous Formula Emergency Smoke Signal or Ignition Aid Potassium nitrate and sugar, mixed about three parts to two, burn together and throw off a thick white smoke, the makings of a homemade emergency signal. Hazardous Formula Paraffin Wax Fire Starters (Egg Carton Method) A wax fire starter is the difference between one match and a lit fire when your kindling is damp, cold, or marginal: it holds a slow, steady flame long enough to dry and catch stubborn wood, and it shrugs off water in storage. Hazardous Formula Petroleum jelly fire starters (cotton balls) Burn time: 4-8 min / ball; Fuel: petroleum jelly; Fiber: cotton / lint Hazardous Formula Reusable survival torch (conduit, rope, petroleum jelly and wax) Build a reusable torch from 1/2 inch metal conduit, natural fiber rope and a melted petroleum jelly and wax fuel, with leftover fuel used for cotton ball fire starters. Formula Start a fire with potassium permanganate and glycerin A pinch of potassium permanganate and a few drops of glycerin can burst into flame with no spark, battery, or friction, as long as you keep them warm and dry. Hazardous Formula Tallow and beeswax paste for gear, fire starting and skin Recipe for a beeswax and tallow paste that waterproofs cloth, leather, rope and wood, works as a fire starter and doubles as a hand or lip balm.

Guides 4

Guide Cooking, Fuel and Fire When the Power or Gas Is Off Cook outside, eat the fridge first, and store fuel deep, because the two common mistakes are owning a stove with no fuel and running combustion indoors. Guide Fire-starting methods without matches or a lighter Fine steel wool rubbed across battery terminals ignites; a 9V battery is commonly used Guide Grab-and-go camp kitchen checklist Packed in a Pelican Vault hard case with a 1lb propane tank and stove adapter Guide Storing and using propane for self-sufficiency Propane has an indefinite shelf life; store tanks upright, secured, and ventilated

Spare parts lists 1

Parts list Spare parts: Propane & Fuel Systems Fuel systems fail at a regulator, a hose, or an O-ring. These are cheap, and a bad one can stop a heater, a grill, or a generator cold. Use gas-rated sealant only.

Common mistake

Owning a stove with no fuel, or running combustion indoors.

Skills to learn

cook off-grid · start a fire wet · use an extinguisher

Cooking, Fuel and Fire

Formulas 9

Guides 4

Spare parts lists 1

The checklist

Cooking, Fuel and Fire Cook a meal, make heat, and start a fire

When it matters