Selecting a camping stove is easy once you know the
choices and have decided what type of camping trips your family will
be taking. Stoves can have one, two or three burners. They will use
propane, butane, white gas ("Coleman fuel"), unleaded gasoline, or
kerosene. Here is the info you need in order to pick a stove for
your trips.
Size
It will be easier for your
first few trips if the stove has at least two burners. This will
allow you to use nearly all the same food as at home. With two
burners, you can have a typical two-pot meal, like pasta on one
burner and sauce on the other. You can even add a third pot by
heating up one dish and setting it aside while you heat the
others.
Brands like Coleman typically offer a couple versions
of each two-burner stove, with the difference being the space for
the pots. The "standard" sizes are adequate for most small families,
and with a little creativity and planning, can function well for up
to ten persons. This size can be a good choice for larger families
if there will be a campfire which could be used to heat some dishes.
Otherwise, you might want to try the extra large size stove, as it
will accommodate larger pots and may even put out more
heat.
White Gas ("Coleman") Fuel
You will
encounter all the fuels named above such as propane, butane, white
gas ("Coleman fuel"), unleaded gasoline, or kerosene. However, I
recommend only two real choices - propane or white gas ("Coleman
Fuel").
The white gas stoves will product the most heat of
any camping stoves. It burns cleanly without any odor or effect on
food taste. If you spill the fuel it will evaporate very quickly and
will not leave an odor. This is very important - sooner or later
some fuel will spill on your hand or clothes, maybe even on your
table. No problem though.
Many of the white gas stoves now
come in a "dual fuel" version. This will allow you to use unleaded
auto gas. Many campers use the auto gas and are satisfied with it.
However, if you spill it or get it on your hands, you will have a
hard time getting rid of the odor (check your hands the next time
you fill up at the self service gas station).
I recommend
using only the white gas in the dual fuel stoves, unless you run out
and can't buy any - then use a little unleaded gas. This is the
advantage to the dual fuel stoves.
The main advantage of the
unleaded fuel over white gas is cost. Auto gas is about $1.50 per
gallon, while white gas is about $4.50. I feel the extra cost for
the few gallons of white gas used each year is worth paying so you
get the cleanliness of this fuel.
Propane
Fuel
The second fuel option is propane. Propane does not
give out as much heat as the white gas stoves, but it has some very
significant advantages for family camping.
First, propane
stoves are much easier to use. The propane comes in bottles that are
screwed into the stove, not poured into a small tank's filler spout.
It will not spill. All you need to do to start the stove is turn on
the gas, and light the burner - just like home. There are even
propane stoves with built in electronic starters - just like home.
This feature makes the transition from cooking at home to cooking at
camp easier for most people.
Second, propane stoves are
available for use with small fuel bottles, or even large RV type
bottles. If you start camping a lot, you will find that the small
bottles may be very, very, convenient, but very, very expensive.
However, if you buy a stove that has a hose to screw into a larger
fuel tank, you can get a better price at the RV refill center. You
will also save a lot of bottle changes that can happen right in the
middle of cooking your meals.
The propane tanks come in 5, 10
and 20 pound sizes. A typical patio gas barbeque grill has a 20
pound tank. The BBQ tank could be hooked up to a stove for the
camping trip. Another option with the propane tank approach is to
get the optional attachment that will supply propane to a lantern
from the same tank. Now you will have a light in your
"kitchen."
This may be more than you really want for starting
out. But if you start with the disposable-bottle type propane stove,
you can grow to the tank version later.
Backpacker
Stoves
A note about the single burner backpacking stoves:
These aren't made for preparing an entire family meal. Nevertheless,
they can come in handy as an extra burner, or to carry with you for
a picnic lunch away from your base camp. Most of these stoves will
be the white gas type. This is because weight is very important when
backpacking, and white gas provides the most heat for a given weight
of fuel.
Stove Extras
Some extra things you
will find helpful when using your stove are a windscreen, a starter,
a stand, and a fuel funnel (if using white gas). The heat your
stove puts out can be blown away making it take a long time to heat
up your meal. Most larger stoves come with built-in back and side
windscreens. You will be glad you have them on cool, rainy and windy
days.
The stove starter is a long handled sparker that you
use to light the burners. You can use a match, but the sparker is
much easier and, I believe, much safer. If you get a propane stove,
get one with the ignition system built in.
Even though many
campgrounds provide picnic tables, you might want to consider a
folding stand for your stove. This leaves you with more room on the
table for preparing the food, eating, and having the kids play games
while waiting for dinner.
