Glass
23rd April 2011, 03:48 AM
I have a portable butane cooker. It is a single burner and is fueled by aerosol cans or cartridges of butane fuel. The one I have looks pretty much like this one. http://www.amazon.com/Deluxe-Butane-Burner-Stove-Free/dp/B000BVC4NY
Or something like this:
http://www.asia.ru/images/target/img/product/10/22/82/10228236.jpg
These come in many different brands but I think I have only seen 2 different styles. I think this is the better construction. They usually come in a plastic carry case which is neither here nor there. It is about the size of a cordless drill case. The cooker has a single burner which is ignited and controled from the dial on the front. The butane gas cannister goes into the box enclosure on the right. You position it with a notch cut out of the gas can neck and then a lever on the front pushes the can into place and feeds the gas nozzle into the gas line.
When you turn the dial you will now hear the gas flow. If you turn the dial all the way to the bottom the pietzo ingition will fire lighting the gas. The gas burns blue and heat is generated very quickly. You will be frying in seconds. The heat generated is pretty impressive. A fried breakfast done in no time, well maybe 10 minutes or so.
The pot stand is stored upside down in the same location. So this needs to be turned over prior to use. It sits fairly low, I guess to make the most of the heat. If looking at these in the stores, take the stand out and have a look at the quality of the construction inside. It should be possible to see piping, the burner, how it is mounted and will help you determine if you have a quality product. There is usually no underside panel to these cookers. I think you need to be careful what you put this cooker on when using it because of the heat and lack of a underside panel.
The gas cans are usually sold in 4 packs for between $5 and $10 but with shopping around you could find 12 packs for less than $20.
The suggested cook time for a canister is 90 minutes. I think it is much more than that. Possibly double. The cans are light and easy to store or back pack even. They do seem to have limited usage though. I have an adapter to connect these cans to normal screw in type or propane backpacker gas appliances. The butane mix is different to the screw type gas cans so some appliances probably shouldn't be used. Cookers seem to be mostly ok but lanterns are a different story. Check it out before buying.
To me the type of butane gas can these use makes more sense than the more popular screw in propane gas cans. They just seem a better packing option. I think the value is better at about 1/2 the cost and maybe less. I don't know if you can get 2x the energy from the propane option. I would burn some gas through it before cooking on it. I found mine gave off some chemical smell when I first used it. It was not strong and disappeared fairly quickly.
I purchased my cooker for about $18.00. I have seen them for $30 and no different. I have had it for a while and never actually used it until a few weeks ago when the power went out. I was impressed with how it performed. I have a few things that make me feel like I got more value than I paid for and this is one of them. I am looking for another one for a second location. I think they make a good backup option for cooking if the power goes out or gas is disrupted and for camping or in a bug out vehicle where you need a quick cooking option.
Or something like this:
http://www.asia.ru/images/target/img/product/10/22/82/10228236.jpg
These come in many different brands but I think I have only seen 2 different styles. I think this is the better construction. They usually come in a plastic carry case which is neither here nor there. It is about the size of a cordless drill case. The cooker has a single burner which is ignited and controled from the dial on the front. The butane gas cannister goes into the box enclosure on the right. You position it with a notch cut out of the gas can neck and then a lever on the front pushes the can into place and feeds the gas nozzle into the gas line.
When you turn the dial you will now hear the gas flow. If you turn the dial all the way to the bottom the pietzo ingition will fire lighting the gas. The gas burns blue and heat is generated very quickly. You will be frying in seconds. The heat generated is pretty impressive. A fried breakfast done in no time, well maybe 10 minutes or so.
The pot stand is stored upside down in the same location. So this needs to be turned over prior to use. It sits fairly low, I guess to make the most of the heat. If looking at these in the stores, take the stand out and have a look at the quality of the construction inside. It should be possible to see piping, the burner, how it is mounted and will help you determine if you have a quality product. There is usually no underside panel to these cookers. I think you need to be careful what you put this cooker on when using it because of the heat and lack of a underside panel.
The gas cans are usually sold in 4 packs for between $5 and $10 but with shopping around you could find 12 packs for less than $20.
The suggested cook time for a canister is 90 minutes. I think it is much more than that. Possibly double. The cans are light and easy to store or back pack even. They do seem to have limited usage though. I have an adapter to connect these cans to normal screw in type or propane backpacker gas appliances. The butane mix is different to the screw type gas cans so some appliances probably shouldn't be used. Cookers seem to be mostly ok but lanterns are a different story. Check it out before buying.
To me the type of butane gas can these use makes more sense than the more popular screw in propane gas cans. They just seem a better packing option. I think the value is better at about 1/2 the cost and maybe less. I don't know if you can get 2x the energy from the propane option. I would burn some gas through it before cooking on it. I found mine gave off some chemical smell when I first used it. It was not strong and disappeared fairly quickly.
I purchased my cooker for about $18.00. I have seen them for $30 and no different. I have had it for a while and never actually used it until a few weeks ago when the power went out. I was impressed with how it performed. I have a few things that make me feel like I got more value than I paid for and this is one of them. I am looking for another one for a second location. I think they make a good backup option for cooking if the power goes out or gas is disrupted and for camping or in a bug out vehicle where you need a quick cooking option.