Which stoves can you cook upon in a pinch

VigIIPeaBurner wrote:
Think practical? Isn't that what this thread is about? Practical thinking is why I have what I do Over 25 days so far over the past three years when we've been whacked by wicked weather and lost all power. Cook on it, warm water to bathe on it and mean while it's silently heating the house Didn't have to concern myself with running out of gasoline or propane.

Now I haven't looked at gen set prices lately, but I bet a new 7kw could be had for $800, or a good used for $400, alot could be run with that. A propane grill $200 new or sometimes free by the road side . How much would a chimney,stove pipe and the stove itself cost. As far as gas, I would start and stop the generator as needed, I DO. As far as water, no power ,no water for me. If power goes out, I can chat here, can you

lsayre wrote:A hand fired stove will cost far less than a 12K Diesel generator. Not that I wouldn't love to have one.

$1500 on ebay with 600 hours,and the fuel will last alot longer than gasoline, and the motor will last alot longer also, hardly broken in for a diesel.

lsayre wrote:

AA130FIREMAN wrote: How much would a chimney,stove pipe and the stove itself cost.

I have a tile lined outside chimney that is not in use. My inside chimney is in use by the S130. I'll grant that the water situation would be tough to solve without a generator though, as I have well water.

Then why not kill 2 birds with one stone, not to say it's right, or for everyone, but an easy way to hook in a 7 kw generator is into a 30 amp cloths dryer plug, but you need to be cautious, a double male end plug, 1 in the generator, the other in the cloths dryer recptacle, and you need to turn off the main pannel in from the grid, or you will send power out to the grid. Turn off what you don't need, and when you need water, just run the well pump. If you run low on voltage that's when you will burn out motors.

AA130FIREMAN wrote:

VigIIPeaBurner wrote:
Think practical? Isn't that what this thread is about? Practical thinking is why I have what I do. Over 25 days so far over the past three years when we've been whacked by wicked weather and lost all power. Cook on it, warm water to bathe on it and mean while it's silently heating the house Didn't have to concern myself with running out of gasoline or propane.

Now I haven't looked at gen set prices lately, but I bet a new 7kw could be had for $800, or a good used for $400, alot could be run with that. A propane grill $200 new or sometimes free by the road side. How much would a chimney,stove pipe and the stove itself cost. As far as gas, I would start and stop the generator as needed, I DO. As far as water, no power ,no water for me. If power goes out, I can chat here, can you ...>8

Around this neck of NJ, we ain't talking about no measly 16 hours of no power! That's a walk in the woods with Sandy dropping them like flies.

That $800 will fetch a 5.5k. Add the cost of operating and maintaining the genny to the purchase price. John's loaned 5.5k unit and idling my diesel tractor to power the inverter cost me ~ $70 in fuel and I didn't have to drive around and look for an open station because I'd stashed the fuel before hand. That's not too many hours of run time either. I've talked to some who spent $4-500 on genny fuel. What's the average life of a 5k genny? It WILL DIE when you need it, nothing breaks when your'e not using it Don't get me wrong, I should have one for as many times as we've run the drill these past few years.

Cook on a grill? Great when it's daylight & 70 outside but not when the wind is blowing in the pitch dark of night and the temperatures are are in the 20's w/o wind chill. Besides, I'd need a head lamp to know when to flip the steak! Not when I can put the pot on the coal stove. Didn't mention it before but I purposely installed a propane cook stove - oh yes - INSIDE the house. Strike a match, turn the valve and presto-chango, Blue flames to cook on

Price of the install is now paid for and putting money in the bank. I think the set up has been in use for 12, maybe 13. I'd say it's saved me enough to by a genny and I'd still be in the green for $15,000. The coal stove isn't my back up but it's still my main heat source. Everybody should have a hand fed coal burner stashed away for a rainy day. Yes mine is a hand fed and does take a bit of labor and thought but it's in my blood now. Just wish I could convince my knees of that

One more thing about off grid life. It's crossed my mind that you can get a bucket with a foot valve that's designed to slip down inside a 6" casing to haul you own water out of the well. Then again I live on a hill and the well has static water @ 30'. The bottom of the hill on my property is ~ 60' lower than the well head. Can you say siphon?

VigIIPeaBurner wrote:
Around this neck of NJ, we ain't talking about no measly 16 hours of no power! That's a walk in the woods with Sandy dropping them like flies.

How often does that happen ? And you don't already have an AHS waiting to go to work. Yes their is gas line carb maintenance on gas models, but how long does stove pipe last when their is no heat in the pipe to stop rust, last time I looked stove pipe wasn't cheap either. Why run the gen set all the time, save fuel, if it's cold outside, food will last outdoors.

anthony7812 wrote:I have the Harman Mark 3 and let me tell yeah, i evaporate a 10qt pot of water in less than 24 hrs. If the fan was off I could most def fry some bacon.

How hot are you running?

I'm with Lisa, I had a Mk I, and now have a Mk II and a 10qt stock pot lasts me a week on top of it.

lsayre wrote:Which of the typical hand fired anthracite stoves (other than those purpose built for the task of cooking) is suitable for cooking upon in a pinch? And more specifically, can you cook upon the top of the Alaska Kodiak?

If I'm going to rely upon a hand fed stove in a power outage situation it sure would be nice to be able to cook and/or boil water on it.

Do you have a finsished basement? We're going to do this at some point in time but I think we'll find a nice regualr cooktop stove with a hot water jacket. My Aunt used to have one they used all year but it was really nice for parties, making jerky etc.

jpete wrote:

anthony7812 wrote:I have the Harman Mark 3 and let me tell yeah, i evaporate a 10qt pot of water in less than 24 hrs. If the fan was off I could most def fry some bacon.

How hot are you running?

I'm with Lisa, I had a Mk I, and now have a Mk II and a 10qt stock pot lasts me a week on top of it.

There is a big difference between vaporizing water as a humidifier and getting that water hot enough to actually cook something. I have a gallon container on my Mark II that I refill daily but it would never allow me to cook oatmeal or pasta. The inability to cook on the top of the Mark II is a major drawback in my emergency planning. I have a propane camping stove in the garage on standby. Cold out or not I would never think to use it in the house. Lisa

I agree with you lisa, thier is a big diff from boiling water to just putting some moisture in the air. But I'm thinkin with the fan off all that heat is going to just rise versus being whisked away. I may have to just try to see what will happen.

We have made grilled cheese on our Gilbrater already. As for boiling water, not sure it would work. I have two steamers ontop of the stove to help with humidity, but never seen the water boil, get warm yes, but not boil.

I can boil water on the three stoves I own. I also have fried eggs on them.

Here is one




There was someone on here that had a BBQ grill option on there modern stove ... I can't remember what thread that was in.

I love it when the power goes out because I have multiple ways of cooking without the electric stove. See this is the exact reason why I need a wood/coal cook stove in my kitchen at least this is the I try to sell to my wife.

I keep a pot of water on the stove, but I often cook soups and chili on it. If the stove is at 500*, the open pot of water only reaches about 180*. With a lid on, it will easily warm soups and chili or other pre-cooked items from the freezer. Glynn