Camping stove for emergencies: which to choose, cooking indoors safely

For an emergency or a long power cut, the most practical choice for most homes is a gas camping stove: either a small screw-on canister stove or a flat butane cassette stove. They are cheap, boil water fast and need no electricity. The catch is where you use them. Public health agencies, including the CDC and the NHS, say portable camping stoves should not be used indoors, because every flame can produce carbon monoxide. Plan to cook outside, and treat indoor cooking as a last resort with strict rules, set out below.

Remember that a stove supports your supplies, it does not replace them. Most of a 3-day food store should be ready to eat without heat. How much water and food to keep per person is covered in our emergency water and food supply guide, and which tins keep longest in our canned food stockpile guide.

Types of camping stove

Screw-on canister stove (threaded valve canisters)

A small burner that screws onto the top of a gas canister with a threaded, self-sealing valve. You can unscrew it at any time, and the same burner fits canisters from different makers that use the common thread. It packs inside a pot, so it is the first choice for a 72-hour bag. The downsides: the tall, narrow set-up tips over easily, and one small burner struggles to cook a family meal.

Butane cassette stove

A flat stove in a carry case, fed by a long cassette canister that slides in from the side and locks in place. It stands as steadily as a normal hob, takes a large pan, and the cassettes are sold in many supermarkets and Asian grocery stores. At home it is the most comfortable portable gas stove. The downsides: pure butane cassettes work badly in frost, and the stove is too bulky for a bag.

Check the manual before you count on it indoors. One manufacturer’s manual for a 2.2 kW cassette stove states it should only be used outside, and never in caravans, cars, tents, sheds or small enclosed areas. Many models carry similar wording.

Propane stove on a larger cylinder

A one- or two-burner stove connected by hose to a refillable propane cylinder. One cylinder lasts many days and two burners can feed several people. It suits a house with a garden, a cabin or an allotment. Fire services advise storing propane cylinders upright, outdoors, and never in a basement, garage, shed or tent, so this set-up rarely suits a flat. Local fire codes and building rules often limit gas cylinders in apartment buildings and on balconies; check yours before buying.

Alcohol stove

A simple burner for denatured alcohol or methylated spirits. There is nothing in it to break and the fuel keeps for years. The flame is weak and almost invisible in daylight, so it is easy to get burned or spill burning fuel. Good as a backup in a bag, too weak for daily family cooking.

Solid fuel stove (fuel tablets)

A folding metal stand plus solid fuel tablets. Light, cheap and unaffected by cold, so it often comes in ready-made emergency kits. It will boil a mug of water or warm a freeze-dried meal, not cook dinner for four. The tablets give off fumes as they burn, so use them outdoors.

Wood-burning and rocket stoves

A rocket stove burns small sticks and pine cones in an insulated chamber, so it gets hot on very little wood. The fuel is free, but it is outdoor only: a yard, garden or open ground, well away from buildings.

Comparison: which stove for a flat, a bag or a garden

Type	Home use	In a bag	Garden or yard	Outdoors in frost
Screw-on canister	outdoors; indoors only if the manual allows it	best	yes	good with isobutane/propane blend
Butane cassette	outdoors; most comfortable if the manual allows indoor use	too big	yes	poor (pure butane)
Propane on cylinder	outdoors only	no	best	good
Alcohol	outdoors, or carefully as a backup	yes, as a backup	yes	works, but slowly
Solid fuel tablets	outdoors (fumes)	yes, for water	yes	good
Wood or rocket stove	never indoors	no	yes	good

How much fuel for how many days

Nobody can give you an exact figure: consumption depends on flame size, wind, pot size and what you cook. You can still estimate it from the manufacturer’s data.

The 2.2 kW cassette stove mentioned above is rated at 160 g of gas per hour at full power. A typical cassette holds about 220 to 250 g of gas, which gives roughly 80 to 90 minutes of full flame. If you cook simply (water for drinks, porridge, heating tinned food) and the burner runs about 30 minutes a day for 1 to 2 people, or about 60 minutes a day for 4, it works out roughly like this:

Household	3 days	7 days
1 to 2 people	2 canisters	3 to 4 canisters
4 people	3 canisters	6 canisters

This is an estimate with a margin built in, based on one stove. Find the gas consumption (g/h) in your own stove’s manual and recalculate. The most reliable method is practical: cook a few meals on one canister and note how long it lasted.

You will use less fuel if you:

cook with a lid on and on a medium flame,
heat only as much water as you need,
soak oats, rice or pasta first, or let them finish cooking off the heat under a lid,
shield the flame from draughts (never wrap a windshield around the canister itself, as it can overheat).

If your tap water is unsafe, budget extra fuel for boiling it. The CDC advises keeping water at a rolling boil for 1 minute, or 3 minutes above 6,500 feet (about 2,000 m).

Butane or propane in cold weather

The gas in a canister has to vaporise for the burner to work. According to MSR, the sea-level boiling points are about -1°C (30°F) for butane, -12°C (11°F) for isobutane and -42°C (-44°F) for propane. In practice:

Pure butane cassettes work well in a heated home but lose power or go out on a frosty balcony or in a cold yard.
Isobutane and propane blends (sold for screw-on canister stoves, often labelled winter or all-season) cope much better with cold.
As a canister empties in the cold, pressure drops faster, and the vaporisation itself chills the canister.

If a canister is cold, warm it in an inside jacket pocket or in your hands. Never over a flame, on a radiator or in hot water.

Safety: carbon monoxide and indoor cooking

What the official guidance says

Every flame uses oxygen, and incomplete combustion produces carbon monoxide (CO). The NHS describes it as colourless and odourless, so you cannot tell it is there. The official position is clear:

The CDC says never use a charcoal grill, hibachi, lantern or portable camping stove inside a home, tent or camper.
The NHS says never use a barbecue or camping stove indoors or in a tent.
The US EPA says not to use unvented combustion appliances indoors, such as barbecues, hibachis or camp stoves, and when cooking outdoors to keep them away from doors, windows and air intakes.
Never use a gas range, oven or camping stove to heat your home. The CDC is explicit on this. If you are too cold, go to a friend’s home or a public warming centre.
Never bring charcoal or a barbecue indoors, into a garage or onto an enclosed porch. An open door or window does not make it safe.

If you have no outdoor space

In a high-rise flat with no usable outdoor space, the honest options are:

Eat no-cook food. A good stock of ready-to-eat food removes most of the need to cook at all.
Cook outdoors at ground level, away from windows and doors, if it is safe to go out.
As a last resort, use only a stove whose manual explicitly permits indoor use. Cook for as short a time as possible, with a window wide open, never unattended, never while anyone sleeps, and with a working CO alarm in the room. If the manual says outdoor use only, do not use it indoors.

Renters face extra limits from leases and building rules; our guide for renters covers what to store in a small space.

Carbon monoxide alarm

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission recommends battery-operated CO alarms, or alarms with battery backup, on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas, ideally interconnected so that when one sounds they all sound. In a blackout a mains-only alarm goes silent, so check the power source and test the batteries regularly. The NHS adds that you should have an alarm in each room with a fuel-burning appliance.

Symptoms of CO poisoning listed by the CPSC include headache, dizziness, weakness, nausea, vomiting, sleepiness and confusion. The CDC warns that people who are asleep or have been drinking can die before they notice symptoms. If you suspect CO: turn off the stove if you can do it immediately, get everyone into fresh air, and call your local emergency number. Do not go back in until you have been told it is safe.

Storing gas canisters and fuel

Keep canisters in a cool, dry, ventilated place, away from children, sunlight and heat sources. Do not leave them in a hot car or on a sunny windowsill. Fire services warn that heat above about 49°C (120°F) can lead to a flash fire or explosion.
Bottled gas is heavier than air and collects low down if it leaks, so do not store it in a basement or low cupboard next to a boiler.
Store spare canisters away from the stove you are cooking on.
Keep alcohol fuel in its original, closed container, upright and away from flames.
Before connecting, check the seal and the thread. Change canisters outdoors or by an open window, away from any flame.

If you smell gas: do not switch lights or appliances on or off, close the valve if you can, open windows, leave and call the emergency number or your gas emergency line from outside.

More on what to watch out for in a building without power is in our blackout preparedness guide.

What to cook on the least fuel

In a crisis a stove mostly does three jobs: boiling water, warming ready food and cooking something quick. The lowest-fuel options are:

boiling water to pour over: freeze-dried meals, couscous, rolled oats, instant soup, tea,
warming tinned food: stews, beans, soups (heat in a pan, never in a sealed tin on the flame),
quick grains and thin pasta, soaked first and finished under a lid.

Leave slow foods such as dried beans, split peas and brown rice for when things are normal. If your fridge and freezer have been off, check what is still safe before cooking it: our guide to food safety after a power outage explains the rules.

How to get started

Buy one stove that suits your home and 2 to 3 canisters. Before any crisis, cook a few meals on it outdoors: you will see how much gas you really use and learn to change a canister safely. While you are at it, fit a battery CO alarm. Rotate canisters like the rest of your supplies: use older ones on trips and replace them with new ones.

FAQ

Can I use a camping stove indoors during a power outage?

Public health agencies say no: the CDC and the NHS both advise never using a portable camping stove inside a home or tent. Cook outdoors, eat no-cook food, or, as a last resort, use only a stove whose manual explicitly allows indoor use, briefly, with a window open and a CO alarm.

How long does a gas canister last on a camping stove?

It depends on the burner. One manufacturer rates its 2.2 kW cassette stove at 160 g of gas per hour, so a 220 g canister gives roughly 80 minutes of full flame. For simple cooking for 1 to 2 people, that is about 2 to 3 days.

Do butane stoves work in cold weather?

Poorly. Butane boils at about -1°C (30°F), so in frost it barely vaporises and the flame weakens. Isobutane and propane blends work much better in the cold. Inside a heated home, butane works normally.

Can I cook on a charcoal grill or barbecue indoors or in a garage?

Never. Charcoal and gas grills produce large amounts of carbon monoxide. The CDC says never to use a charcoal grill or hibachi inside a home, tent or camper, and an open garage door does not make it safe.

Do I need a carbon monoxide alarm if I only cook occasionally?

Yes. The US CPSC recommends battery-operated CO alarms, or alarms with battery backup, on every level of the home and outside sleeping areas. In a blackout a mains-only alarm stops working.

Sources

PrepReady group on TelegramQuestions, gear and shared experience. Join the conversation.

This guide is educational. In an emergency, follow official alerts and first responders.