BOB stoves

kamkazmoto

kamkazmoto

Joined
Sep 14, 2002
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I am new to this forum so forgive me if this post is repetitive or stupid. I am in the process of putting together a BOB for my car. Now I live in the middle of the Southern California megalopolis and finding wood for a fire might be kind of difficult so I figured I should get a small camp stove and throw it my BOB. What kind of stove would be best and what kind of fuel would you recommend for long term storage in a car trunk fuel tablets, kerosene, LPG or what? Thanks in advance for your help.
 
perfectly sound quesiton, it's the answers that are always suspect, but don't worry, kevin will change the subject quick enough and then we won't have to worry about the answers. :) :D ;) :p

It gets hot there, in So Cal, right?
Be careful of combustible fuels stored in your trunk. Your trunk can go to 200°F in the summer sun.....that KABOOM sound may be the rear of car headed toward Nevada at Mach 1.

How about keep some pieces of wood in your trunk? Very safe.

Probably solid fuel tabs would be your best bet, maybe an Esbit stove?
They are certainly cheap enough.

What do you envision using this stove for? What situation?
 
Probably an earthquake where you are stranded 10-20 miles from home. I am just looking for something to heat up water for coffee or instant noodles. At home I have several portable stoves and my BBQ but getting home might be problematic
 
kamkazmoto said:
Probably an earthquake where you are stranded 10-20 miles from home. I am just looking for something to heat up water for coffee or instant noodles. At home I have several portable stoves and my BBQ but getting home might be problematic
Click to expand...

I recently purchased a US Army surplus canteen (plastic, $1.75) and stainless steel canteen cup (~$4.50) for use as part of my PSK. The idea being that I can heat water in the canteen cup if it comes down to it.

I could have also purchased a canteen cup stove for less than $5.00 (gotta love those prices on Army surplus gear), which is meant to allow you to heat the contents of your canteen cup by putting something hot under the "stove" (which is really just a metal stand of some kind). Look here:

http://www.shomer-tec.com/site/product.cfm?id=99884C97-A47E-A845-814693EF1834E953

You can use almost anything to heat up the contents of the canteen cup once it's on a stand like this. When I was at the surplus store, I noticed the stove packaging suggested sterno. I've never played around with sterno so I don't know how well it would work, or more importantly how well it would store in a hot car trunk, but it seems to me that even a tiny fire (how about a candle?) could be used to heat water in this configuration.

Here's a fellow who plays around with something called a Tuna Can Burner:

http://www.alpharubicon.com/prepinfo/triggccsm.htm

Does anyone know that that is? The link to the actual Tuna Can Burner is password protected, so I can't figure out what fuel he's using in the Tuna Can.
 
http://www.nuwick.com/ourproducts.htm

As bulgron said a candle can be a safe and dependable heat source. But storing a candle in your cars trunk may get messy if it melts. The above nuwik candle is contained in a can to at least keep the wax from contaminating your other equipment. And there should be no threat of it exploding such as a fuel container might do.
 
Esbit with esbit fuel tabs is what we each have in our BOBs here and I plan on getting myself a Trangia with alcohol fuel in the near future. Both the esbit tabs and alcohol burn cleanly with little, if any harmful effects on the user when used inside of a ventilated shelter.
 
I've used sterno a lot...good stuff, fairly light weight, I've backpacked it, I don't think it would explode in a hot trunk, IMHO..might melt but would still be good for burning...here's a link about can burners, this guy uses a chunk of fiberglass insulation saturated with wood alcohol, available in most hardware stores:

http://hikinghq.net/cat/cat_stove.html
 
I'm with coldwood, I would say Sterno also. They even make a fold up stove to hold a pot.
Scott
 
i made one of those can stoves, but have only treid it with 70% isopropyl,
I need to get some wood alchohol at home depot.

I found a way to press the top onto the bottom, and they seal great.
of course, carrying alchohol in a hot trunk..well.....

The sterno should be plenty safe, it's been around for a long time, i've never heard of any problems with it.
 
When my brother was planning his Appalachian Trail trip, he looked into soda can stoves, and we tried it out once. It worked surprisingly well, I'm looking for the link as I type... It used denatured alcohol for fuel. Here we go: Pepsi Can Stove. Pretty neat to know about in a pinch, and despite their recommendations, it can be made with nothing but a SAK in the way of tools. I can't remember what he actually wound up using, though.
 
Wait a minute... is this a cross post from ZS??!!
Dose anyone know what I am talking about or am I just crazy
BOL
BOV
PAW
ZPAW
????
 
i'm also going to have to suggest esbit stoves.... i have a small folding tri-wing esbit stove that i keep in my b.o.b./pack.... i also have one in my home 72 hour kit...

the MSR pocket rocket is a good choice too...:thumbup:
 
Another vote for Esbit stoves. I carry one in my pack. When folded, it holds 4 tabs of fuel (which can be used for fire starting) I pair it with a metal cup that fits on the end of my 1l Nalgen bottle. If you make little side shields out of foil, it increases the efficiency of the stove. Fuel tabs are very stable . . .
 
SKunkWerX,
Stay away from Wood Alcohol,i.e. Methanol as it is poisonous. Used denatured alcohol instead, i.e. Ehtanol.

Bob
 
SkunkWerX said:
i made one of those can stoves, but have only treid it with 70% isopropyl,
I need to get some wood alchohol at home depot.

I found a way to press the top onto the bottom, and they seal great.
of course, carrying alchohol in a hot trunk..well.....

The sterno should be plenty safe, it's been around for a long time, i've never heard of any problems with it.
Click to expand...

HEET in the yellow bottle works well in alcohol stove with obvious utility for a vehicle in cold weather.
Jim
 
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