It’s dark, the power is out and you still need to make dinner—now what?
Have Summer or Winter storms hit your house just as it was time for dinner and left you in the dark? I know I’ve been there. Summer monsoon season in Arizona can be CRAZY! The skies can darken in less than 15 minutes, and all of a sudden you’re in the middle of a wicked lightning/rain/wind/end-of-the-world storm. While it’s plausible that some people don’t mind eating cold canned food, we’ve never actually met one. If you’re like us, you like your food warm and for that matter—cooked.
In most of the modern world, we have become accustomed to lighting a room with the flip a switch and heating our food with the turn of a knob. Unfortunately, all this technology makes you more susceptible to cooking troubles during power outages. Most of these outages only last a few hours or days but in severe cases they can much longer. Are you prepared with ways to warm or cook your food without your modern kitchen appliances?
What you should have for Powerless Cookers
Here’s the basic idea you’ll want to have at least 2 ways to heat up your food and water when the power is out and fuel to use them for 2 hours a day for 2-4 weeks (just in case…). Why 2 ways? Because one cooker might fail or be destroyed by “it”. It is also good idea to have at least one cooker that can use charcoal because charcoal is cheap, stores forever and is easy to regulate temperature. The good news is that most of you already have ways you can do this by using your barbecue, camping stove or Dutch oven. We love these multi-taskers because you can use them right now and when “it” happens! (Notice we didn’t say anything about those candle ovens or other super expensive one-task cookers, there are just so many other cooler, cheaper options) Whether it’s a summer day perfect for grilling, going on a picnic or a weekend camping trip, there is no reason why these should sit around not being used. The big question is do you have enough fuel stored to use them when the power is out? Here are some guidelines for how much fuel you will need for your two weeks of emergency cooking.
Which Powerless Cooker is Right for You?
We often are asked, “if you could pick one cooker, which would it be?”. There are many powerless cookers to choose from. Generally, we really like the All-American Sun Oven and the Volcano Grill 3 which allow you cook and bake pretty much anything in them. But the Sun Oven only works if there is sun and the Volcano Grill can cook for a crowd but can only bake one loaf of bread at a time in which case an Applebox Oven would work better because it can bake 3 loaves at a time and did we mention YOU can make it yourself for under $50? What it really boils down to is having cookers that fit your family size and needs AND having several different ways to cook your food so if one way isn’t working you have a back-up plan.
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