Do you use a cheap camp stove to cook on? What kind of fuel does it use?

[Dos Gatos]

Originally Posted by magentawave

Thanks for your comments everyone.

Two questions please...

1) How come a stove built for using inside a house doesn't have CO warnings but camp stoves do?

2) Does anyone know what the most readily available stove fuel is in Mexico, Central America and South America?

In Mexico you can find 1 pound propane and 8 oz butane cartridges at hardware stores. Ask for the price first (on one). Then ask the price for 10. Cash is king ( pagar en efectivo) I was using the butane cartridges. In the states I can buy them at a dollar store for 1.50 to 2.00 each. In La Paz, Mexico the price was 320 pesos for 10 in 2012.

[darylat8750]

Originally Posted by magentawave

Thanks for your comments everyone.

Two questions please...

1) How come a stove built for using inside a house doesn't have CO warnings but camp stoves do?

Don't know.

2) Does anyone know what the most readily available stove fuel is in Mexico, Central America and South America?

I've never had any trouble sourcing propane from Mex. south to Columbia. Most of the small taco, burger and fish stands along the roads as well as the real restaurants use it.

Adapters to use regular 20lb. tanks with camper type burners are readily available. (Wally World about 20 bucks. Regular bucks not boat bucks.)
Cooking Equipment : Camping - Walmart.com

[magentawave]

If I do propane then I was thinking of having a couple of the little one pound bottles for my stove and refill them with a 20 pound tank. One 20 pound tank would easily last me a year or more. The downside is the room it will take to store the 20 pound tank and I've read it can be a major hassle to refill 20 pound tanks in South America because almost every country will require a different adapter. I considered an alcohol stove because I should be able to buy alcohol in any pharmacy. I also considered a cheapo Coleman stove that will burn kerosene but not sure yet how available kerosene is.

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by magentawave

Thanks for your comments everyone.

Two questions please...

1) How come a stove built for using inside a house doesn't have CO warnings but camp stoves do?

2) Does anyone know what the most readily available stove fuel is in Mexico, Central America and South America?

1) Natural gas only produces CO2, propane produces carbon monoxide.

2) been answered.

[Zeb]

Actually,

Both Natural Gas and Propane produce Carbon Monoxide and require venting.

- Zeb

[delmarrey]

Originally Posted by Zeb

Actually,

Both Natural Gas and Propane produce Carbon Monoxide and require venting.

- Zeb

[QUOTE]
About Natural Gas


Natural gas is nontoxic
Natural gas contains no toxic poisonous ingredients that can be absorbed into the blood when inhaled.

Natural gas is lighter than air
If natural gas escapes into the atmosphere, it dissipates rapidly. A heavier-than-air gas, such as propane or gasoline fumes, would settle and accumulate near the ground.

Natural gas is colorless
When mixed with the proper amount of air and ignited, invisible natural gas

burns with a clean, blue flame. It is one of the cleanest burning fuels, producing primarily heat, carbon dioxide and water vapor.

Natural gas is odorless
When taken from the ground, natural gas is odorless. Local utilities such as Questar Gas add a non-toxic chemical odorant called mercaptan to supplies to make leaks easy to smell. However, there may be times when the smell of the odorant is weak or not present, even though there is a leak. If you suspect a leak for any reason, get to a safe place immediately and call the emergency number or 911. Call 800-323-5517 for a free scratch-and-sniff odorant brochure if you don't know the smell..

Natural gas's narrow combustion limits
This helps ensure predictable, safe use. Natural gas will only ignite when there is an air-and-gas mixture of between 5 and 15 percent natural gas. Any mixture containing less than 5 percent or greater than 15 percent natural gas will not ignite.

Natural gas reduces our dependence on foreign-oil imports
More than 90 percent of the natural gas Americans use comes from the lower 48 states. The rest comes from Canada. The U.S. Department of Energy estimates that, at current production rates, the U.S. has nearly a 60-year supply of natural gas. When including non-conventional supplies, a 200-year natural gas supply exists.

Natural gas contributes to a cleaner environment
It is the cleanest-burning fossil fuel available. It helps improve air and water quality, especially when used in place of more polluting energy sources. When natural gas burns, virtually no harmful pollutants are produced.[/QUOTE

About Natural Gas

[Zeb]

"What is carbon monoxide (CO) and how is it produced?

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a deadly, colorless, odorless, poisonous gas. It is produced by the incomplete burning of various fuels, including coal, wood, charcoal, oil, kerosene, propane, and natural gas. Products and equipment powered by internal combustion engines such as portable generators, cars, lawn mowers, and power washers also produce CO."

US Consumer Product Safety Commission

Any product which burns will produce CO. The real issue comes down to how cleanly is it burned and how much it is utilized in a space. Thousands of poor folks die each year when the power goes out trying to heat their homes with their natural gas stoves/ovens in the winter.

That being said, for cooking use on a boat, probably not too much to worry about in general

- Zeb

[onestepcsy37]

i used kerosene for years and am glad those days are over. propane for me although i have to admit i spent a week on a friends boat this fall with an origo alcohol stove and i actually liked it for it's simplicity. no big tanks, hoses, switches, etc.

a couple in the bahamas (cruising on $500 a month) had an ordinary coleman lpg camp stove. they hooked it to a 20lb tank in the cockpit whenever they used it. they told me it began rusting after about a year or two so they just tossed it and bought another.

i have refilled the 1lb bottles from the 20lb tank using that $20 adapter. it works well. the trick is to cool the empty bottle in the fridge before attaching it to the adapter. you can actually hear the gas whoosh into the bottle as it moves from the warm tank to the cold bottle....

[zeehag]

propane is available here in mexico. readily and delivered to houses and other locales .
there is no kerosene available in mexico nor alcohol for fuel. good luck with alternative forms of cooking fuels here. propane is the universal fuel for cooking here in mexico.

o s h a never made any sense. dont try now to make sense of something not sensible. just open ports when cooking. use brainpower.

[s/v 'Faith']

I use a butane stove aboard Faith while on the hook. I have noticed the canisters have become much more available since I started using it about 10 years ago.

I also use a stereo sea swing, and a propane BBQ.

Right now I am aboard Emerald Tide, and just noticed propane bottles (1#) here in the Abacos are $10 and up, while butane and stereo are both cheaper then in the US.

I am still using a case of sterno I bought in nassau in 2007... I think I paid $20 for a case of 48! Sterno is a "cool" fuel, great for coffee or soup but not so great for frying bacon.

[Bestathook]

I have used a liquid fuel coleman stove for years, with zero problems. I brazed a rail for fiddles on it, and I like that I can take it out in the cockpit for cooking in warm weather or smelly foods. I also have an adaptor that lets me use 1 pound propane bottles which I refill off a larger tank.

If you refill bottles, weigh them empty, then weigh again full. You MUST have a bubble in the tank to be safe. You can pull on the little valve stem to let out some liquid to make a bubble, but going by weight is easiest Fill less than 1.25 pounds tare weight.

And one very serious caveat. Do not use the domed Coleman heaters that have a wick-like dome under a wire cover, and glow red as they burn. They produce a lot of monoxide and THEY WILL KILL YOU in a confined area. Remember that monoxide is heavier than air, and falls and pools, like water does. An opening up high will not save you from monoxide poisoning if you are below the level of the opening.

[Tony B]

I have a cheap Coleman 2 burner stove and we use it outdoors on the deck with a 20lb bottle of propane. When on the hook and bad weather prevails we take the stove and the 20'lb bottle inside. We both cook and use the propane with a small catalytic heater inside the boat with the same twenty lb. bottle.
When we are through cooking or heating, we turn off the tank first to use up any gas in the line. When the flame goes out, we turn off the appliance.
Common dense prevails. Never leave anything unattended. We turn off the heat before we go to sleep and first one up in the morning lights it. When using the heater or the stove, we leave one of the port lights open just a crack for a little fresh air.
We have an 36' aft cabin motoryacht. I also used this same set-up on my Catalina 30 sailboat.
We have CO monitors and other gas detectors.
I remember several years back, after one winter storm when several people died when their electricity went out. It was not from propane appliances to keep warm - it was from people lighting charcoal BBQ's indoors.

[jerrymc]

yes
propane
no

[donradcliffe]

[QUOTE=Bestathook;1417717Remember that monoxide is heavier than air, and falls and pools, like water does. An opening up high will not save you from monoxide poisoning if you are below the level of the opening.[/QUOTE]

Not true. CO is actually 3% lighter than air. You may have confused CO with CO2 which is heavier than air.

[MarkSF]

Almost right. Carbon dioxide is C02. Monoxide is CO. The clue is in the di and the mono...

Natural gas produces 40ppm CO when burnt.. low but could still cause issues in a confined space.