The Basics,
Part 2, Heat and power
What happens
when you’re sat at home, curled up on the sofa watching east enders, and all of
a sudden every light and appliance in the house go's off. It could be as simple as flicking the fuse
box back on, or it could be something that you don't have a clue what to fix.
If you have
a torch in every room as I've already advised you'll be able to find your way
around, but what then?
As a
starting point, candles are great, a few candles will raise the ambient
temperature in a room by a couple of degrees, will provide enough light to see
to move around without colliding with the furniture, and at a push, enough tea
lights can warm a pan of soup, though that’s a trick best left to the scouts,
here we want to be practical.
GAS
Some people
that, like me, spend some of their time in the outdoors may have a Gas gas
stove that can boil an old style whistling kettle. These are fairly self-explanatory, and
everything, including instructions and a can of gas fits into a small case,
about the size of a case for a kettle.
If you do want to pick one of these up, most outdoor shops, and places
like Halfords have them in all year, and during the spring/ summer most
supermarkets will stock them as well.
You can get a stove, a small kettle and a few cans of gas for around
£20, which is perfectly safe to put under the kitchen sink until you need it.
Depending on
the brand of gas stove you choose, some make lanterns and heaters to fit the
same cartridges, again if you decide to go this route then your local outdoors
shop is the place to go for advice and kit.
Next on the
list is the type of gas stoves that most people take camping, gas burners and
lanterns that run off a large gas bottle, these can be in either butane or
propane, and come in sizes from 4kg all the way up to 47kg.
With these
types of gas bottles you may have to go to go to a specialist supplier such as
Calor gas or BOC. You can get a whole
host of gas powered stoves, heaters, lights, and even water boilers.
It's worth bearing in mind that with all presurised gas containers, that they have an indefinate shelf life as long as the valve is sealed correctly.
Liquid fuels
Petrol and
Paraffin stoves, and some lanterns are fairly widely available, camping stoves,
double camping burners, lanterns, and military field kitchens are relatively
easy to find through the internet, though some pump bought liquid fuels have
preservatives and other additives in them, which can make the fuel “spoil” in a
few months.
This is bad
news if you plan to use it in an engine like a car or generator, but the fuel should still be flammable, so in
the stoves and lanterns it will burn with slightly less heat and/ or more
smoke, depending on the additives. This
is easily overcome by buying “long life” fuel from camping suppliers, though in
truth these are more expensive than pump bought fuel but they produce more
heat, and are cleaner.
Solid fuel
Many of us
are familiar with wood burners, or open coal fires, these normally provide
light and heat for comfort in the main living room, but can just as easily
provide heat for cooking. If you have
the money now, you can buy a wood burner/ stove designed as a cooker, though
once you install this in your kitchen you may be looking at a fair amount.
Failing a
custom made wood burner, and if you do not already have a solid fuel fire, you
can make a rocket stove or wood gasyfier, normally these are two used tin cans,
but can be made to any size, or a traditional earth oven using an old oil drum and
a few bricks, covered over with earth with a flue coming out of the back. Instructions for all these can be found on
the internet, and I will try and find links for all these.
Wood
For wood to burn at it’s most efficient it has to be below 20% moisture
content, normally fresh cut wood is around 40 to 45% moisture content. Ideally wood should be left to season for 2 years after it has
been cut. It is your decision whether or
not to split and cut the wood to size when it is fresh cut or after it has been
seasoned, though if you are splitting with an axe it will be easier when it is
freshly sawn. Though having said this, if you do it in winter the cold will make the wood more brittle, so it may be worth waiting if you can.
If you want to burn scraps of wood, bear in mind that some building
timber is treated to be flame retardant and fire proof. It go’s without saying that this is more
difficult to get toing and reach good temperatures than wood which isn’t
treated, but is normally free wherever you can scrounge it
from.
Storage and longevity
Normally Gas bottles/canisters can be stored indefinitely, though they may need special containers, depending on your local bylaws and Health and safety regulation. Petrol or diesel can only be stored upto 20 liters, and it must be in a suitable approved container. Other flammable liquids like turps or meths can be stored as much as you like, but its your responsibility to check local storage regs.
Wood should be stored outside until it has dried, as storing it indoors can allow fungi or mould into your house. If you can stack it in neat piles in an open sided shed.
