Heat, Light and Cooking In An Emergency

To conserve your cooking fuel storage needs always do your emergency cooking in the most efficient manner possible. Don’t boil more water than you need, extinguish the fire as soon as you finished, plan your meals ahead of time to consolidate as much cooking as possible, during the winter cook on top of your heating unit while heating your home, and cook in a pressure cooker or other fuel efficient container as much as possible. Keep enough fuel to provide outdoor cooking for at least 7-10 days.

It is even possible to cook without using fuel at all. For example, to cook dry beans you can place them inside a pressure cooker with the proper amount of water and other ingredients needed and place it on your heat source until it comes up to pressure. Then turn off the heat, remove the pressure cooker and place inside a large box filled with newspapers, blankets, or other insulating materials. Leave it for two and a half hours and then open it, your meal will be done, having cooked for two and a half hours with no heat. If you don’t have a large box in which to place the pressure cooker, simply wrap it in several blankets and place it in the corner.

Matches
Store matches in a waterproof airtight tin with each piece of equipment that must be lit with a flame.

Sterno
Sterno Fuel a jellied petroleum product, is an excellent source of fuel for inclusion in your back pack as part of your 72 hour kit. Sterno is very light weight and easily ignited with a match or a spark from flint and steel but is not explosive. It is also safe for use indoors.

Sterno Stove
A Sterno Stove can be purchased at any sporting goods store and will retail between $3 and $8, depending upon the model you choose. They fold up into a very small, compact unit ideal for carrying in a pack. The fuel is readily available at all sporting goods stores and many drug stores. One can of Sterno fuel, about the diameter of a can of tuna fish and twice as high, will allow you to cook six meals if used frugally. Chafing dishes and fondue pots can also be used with Sterno.

Sterno is not without some problems. It will evaporate very easily, even when the lid is securely fastened. If you use Sterno in your 72 hour kit you should check it every six to eight months to insure that it has not evaporated beyond the point of usage. Because of this problem it is not a good fuel for long-term storage. It is a very expensive fuel to use compared to others fuel available, but is extremely convenient and portable.

Coleman fuel (white gas)
W hen used with a Coleman stove this another excellent and convenient fuel for cooking. It is not as portable nor as lightweight as Sterno, but produces a much greater BTU value. Like Sterno, Coleman fuel has a tendency to evaporate even when the container is tightly sealed so it is not a good fuel for long-term storage. Unlike Sterno, however, it is highly volatile; it will explode under the right conditions and should therefore never be stored in the home. Because of its highly flammable nature great care should always be exercised when lighting stoves and lanterns that use Coleman fuel. Many serious burns have been caused by carelessness with this product. Always store Coleman fuel in the garage or shed, out of doors.

Charcoal
Charcoal is the least expensive fuel per BTU that the average family can store. Remember that it must always be used out of doors because of the vast amounts of poisonous carbon monoxide it produces. Charcoal will store for extended period of time if it is stored in air tight containers. It readily absorbs moisture from the surrounding air so do not store it in the paper bags it comes in for more than a few months or it may be difficult to light. Transfer it to airtight metal or plastic containers and it will keep almost forever.

Fifty or sixty dollars worth of charcoal will provide all the cooking fuel a family will need for an entire year if used sparingly. The best time to buy briquettes inexpensively is at the end of the summer. Broken or torn bags of briquettes are usually sold at a big discount. You will also want to store a small amount of charcoal lighter fluid (or kerosene). Newspapers will also provide an excellent ignition source for charcoal when used in a funnel type of lighting device.

To light charcoal using newspapers use two or three sheets, crumpled up, and a #10 tin can. Cut both ends out of the can. Punch holes every two inches around the lower edge of the can with a punch-type can opener (for opening juice cans). Set the can down so the punches holes are on the bottom. Place the crumpled newspaper in the bottom of the can and place the charcoal briquettes on top of the newspaper. Lift the can slightly and light the newspaper. Prop a small rock under the bottom edge of the can to create a a good draft. The briquettes will be ready to use in about 20-30 minutes. When the coals are ready remove the chimney and place them in your cooker. Never place burning charcoal directly on concrete or cement because the heat will crack it. A wheelbarrow or old metal garbage can lid makes an excellent container for this type of fire.

One of the nice things about charcoal is that you can regulate the heat you will receive from them. Each briquette will produce about 40 degrees of heat. If you are baking bread, for example, and need 400 degrees of heat for your oven, simply use ten briquettes.

To conserve heat and thereby get the maximum heat value from your charcoal you must learn to funnel the heat where you want it rather than letting it dissipate into the air around you. One excellent way to do this is to cook inside a cardboard oven. Take a cardboard box, about the size of an orange crate, and cover it with aluminum foil inside and out. Be sure that the shiny side is visible so that maximum reflectivity is achieved. Turn the box on its side so that the opening is no longer on the top but is on the side. Place some small bricks or other noncombustible material inside upon which you can rest a cookie sheet about two or three inches above the bottom of the box. Place ten burning charcoal briquettes between the bricks (if you need 400 degrees), place the support for your cooking vessels, and then place your bread pans or whatever else you are using on top of the cookie sheet. Prop a foil-covered cardboard lid over the open side, leaving a large crack for air to get in (charcoal needs a lot of air to burn) and bake your bread, cake, cookies, etc. just like you would in your regular oven. Your results will amaze you.

To make your own charcoal, select twigs, limbs, and branches of fruit, nut and other hardwood trees; black walnuts and peach or apricot pits may also be used. Cut wood into desired size, place in a large can which has a few holes punched in it, put a lid on the can and place the can in a hot fire. When the flames from the holes in the can turn yellow-red, remove the can from the fire and allow it to cool. Store the briquettes in a moisture-proof container. Burn charcoal only in a well-ventilated area.

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This looks real easy to build and looks like it would work really well too...

The Best Base Camp Stove You'll Ever Build!



Get the How To at the link below

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Solar Cooker Kits

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I have one of these, and it works

Fire - A project description of How To...

Evidence for the human use of fire goes back at least half a million years. Direct evidence for fire making is much harder to pin down, since the materials used decompose rapidly. But fire making is widely believed to be a relatively recent (10,000 years) innovation. For the vast majority of human prehistory, fire was preserved rather than produced. Fire may have been obtained from time to time from natural forest fires, but survival depended on being able to keep the fire going in the mean time. The phrase "keep the home fires burning" was a literal imperative for prehistoric tribes.

In order to make fire, you need heat in addition to wood and air. Perhaps in the course of making wooden tools it was observed that two sticks rubbed rapidly together became hot even to the point of ignition. Perhaps in the course of making stone tools it was observed that occasional sparks could be used to set fire to flammable materials. Eventually, both methods were refined and used even into historic times.

You will make fire by friction in this project. Generations of cavemen have found that this is most easily done as a group.

This project consist of making fire by friction. For this you will work in "tribes" of three or four people. You will need a cord, a spindle, a fireboard, and a socket.

The cord is simply a five foot length of rope or leather thong. The spindle and fireboard are the most critical elements of the fire kit. They are usually made from the same kind of wood: poplar, tamarack, basswood, yucca, balsam fir, red cedar, white cedar, cypress, cottonwood, elm, linden, or willow. If you are making your own kit you may need to experiment with different woods (see below). The spindle should be about half an inch in diameter, about one foot long, smooth, and straight. It should be rounded at the top and have a concave indentation carved into the bottom. The fireboard should be about an inch thick, two inches wide, and two feet long. It should have several starter holes carved into it and each hole should have a notch cut into the side like an upside down "v." The socket will be used to hold the top of the spindle steady as it is turned. The socket can be made of stone, bone, or wood and should have a smooth hole fitted to the top of the spindle.

Begin by fitting the spindle into the holes in the fireboard and socket. It should turn smoothly and easily. Now wrap the cord a couple of times around the spindle. Give one end of the cord to one persone and the other end to another. Place your foot on the fireboard to hold it steady and hold the socket with one hand. Slowly at first, have the two people holding the cord coordinate with each other as they pull it forward and backward in a sawing motion. The spindle should rotate smoothly. As you get the hang of it, you can increase the speed that the spindle rotates and the pressure you apply with the socket.

After a few minutes, remove the spindle and notice that the bottom end has become hot. You may take turns holding the socket and pulling the cord with other members of your tribe. Once you get the hang of it, you will notice wisps of smoke rising from the fireboard. If you have constructed your notch correctly, hot sawdust (called punk) will begin to tumble from the notch into a little pile. Keep the spindle turning faster and faster until the smoke is thick and red embers appear among the hot punk. Stop now and blow gently on the embers to increase the oxygen available for combustion. These "live" embers can now be used to start a fire. Simply place these embers on a bed of very dry grass and blow gently until a flame is produced.

There are two competing variables with which you will need to experiment as you perfect your technique. The more pressure you apply to the socket, the more friction is produced between the spindle and fireboard. But this also makes the turning of the spindle more erratic. You should strive to apply only as much pressure as is required to keep the spindle turning smooth and steady. Gradually increase the speed as long as it the turning remains smooth and controlled. Long smooth strokes will turn the spindle faster than short erratic ones.

If you are using a fire kit for the first time, you may also need to consider your choice of wood. If you succeed in getting smoke but not embers, examine the punk produced from your fireboard. It should be black and smell of charcoal. Try lighting a bit with a match. It should light easily and produce an ember which stays lit and gets brighter as you blow on it gently. If your punk does not have this quality, you may need to try another kind of wood.

Either you have fire or you don't, right? Well, the production of live embers takes considerable practice but is not beyond the abilities of a dedicated tribe working with a proper fire kit.

With pratice and the right choice of materials, this is not hard to do on your own. It's fun to learn this skill!!

Sky