Alpo Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I was thinking of putting together a little emergency kit in my truck. One of those little coghlan stoves that use canned heat, and a couple of cans of Sterno. https://www.amazon.com/Coghlans-9957-Folding-Stove/dp/B0007L8108?ref_=ast_sto_dp&th=1&psc=1 I've got a set of speckleware. So I can stick in a frying pan and a coffee pot and a plate and a cup. So if I was stuck somewhere where there wasn't any food, and I happened to have some food in the truck, then I could warm it up. Maybe make some coffee. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 That’s a good question and a good idea. I remember seeing rusty cans of Sterno on a shelf in a friend’s garage and he claimed they worked. He said they were old but he didn’t know how old. I would have guessed by their appearance they were 10-15 years old. I found these - I think you’re good to go. https://www.amazon.com/ask/questions/Tx3OX1IL2VA78VY https://www.faqsclear.com/how-long-can-sternos-last/ https://www.survivalistboards.com/threads/shelf-life-of-canned-heat.968446/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I read "canned heat" and immediately started having flashbacks. 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 You weren't drinking it were you? That ought to give you some interesting flashbacks. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackwater 53393 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 3 minutes ago, PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L said: I read "canned heat" and immediately started having flashbacks. ‘Cause of the band or ‘cause of a bag?? DON’T ANSWER THAT!!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 1 minute ago, Alpo said: You weren't drinking it were you? That ought to give you some interesting flashbacks. Not hardly! click the link 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeaconKC Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Just a note, Kiwi Shoe Polish in the flat tins also burns, so you can use it in an emergency. 2 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cold Lake Kid, SASS # 51474 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 I used to keep a couple of cans of Sterno and a mess kit with some dehydrated food, a rolled up down mummy bag as well etc. in the car during the winter: Just in case. (Hey, I'm from the Northern Alberta) 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 29 minutes ago, DeaconKC said: Just a note, Kiwi Shoe Polish in the flat tins also burns, so you can use it in an emergency. 3 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) If the can has not rusted to the point that it leaks. Can you protect the can so that it does not rust? A crayola crayon will burn, I’m not sure about the cheaper varieties. Edited January 30 by Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cypress Sun Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 5 hours ago, Alpo said: If you leave a 24 pack of Crayons in your vehicle in the Florida summer, you'll have a pack of multicolored "Sterno" by day and one big multicolored Crayon by night. 1 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Joker Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Stereo is gelled alcohol. Gelled with calcium something or other https://www.ehow.com/how_6945463_make-sterno-fuel.html 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 My wife and I used to keep tall glass prayer candles on hand in case of emergencies. I have used them to heat food but I am sure Sterno would be faster. Candles like these will burn for days once light and left alone. Some ads say 7 days. Maybe the ones I got at the 99¢ Store were inferior. They only burned 4-5 days. The ones I bought at the 99¢ Store had pictures of saints on them. Some could be removed (plastic sleeve) and some couldn’t, but for a buck each, who cares. Also, do not store them in a hot garage lying on their side. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 6 hours ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said: . Can you protect the can so that it does not rust? I've heard of survivalists painting cans so they don't rust. Buy brand new gallon paint cans at the paint store, put your emergency supplies in a ziplock and hammer the lid down. Rice, beans, matches, whatever. And a coat of paint helps protect that shiny new steel can. Maybe that would work with the Sterno cans also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imis Twohofon,SASS # 46646 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Put five test cans on the shelf, date them with a sharpie and come back every ten years to check on them . After 50 years report back to us on your progress in the test. Thank you Imis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Yowza, when I see something I never thought of before, I check A**z** and sure enough they got ‘em, gallons, quarts, pints in metal and gallons in plastic. Then again, could always do what the army does and check them every year or what the navy does and paint them every week. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Riot Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 3 minutes ago, Alpo said: I've heard of survivalists painting cans so they don't rust. Buy brand new gallon paint cans at the paint store, put your emergency supplies in a ziplock and hammer the lid down. Rice, beans, matches, whatever. And a coat of paint helps protect that shiny new steel can. Maybe that would work with the Sterno cans also. Check out Lowe’s or Home Depot for 5 gallon snap on lids with a center that unscrews called a “Gamma Seal”. Amazon has them too. We used them for dry goods - rice, beans, flour, sugar, pasta, dehydrated camp food, and things we wanted preserved, like; matches, seasonings, etc. If you get the brand “Gamma Seal” you can keep dry good foods in them for a few years. I know because we did. For long term storage put a chunk of dry ice in first. Fill the bucket with you rice, beans, etc then let it sit a while as the ice melts a bit and fills the voids in the bucket with CO2. Give it a few minutes then seal the bucket. DO THIS OUTSIDE. You could do the same with liquid nitrogen, but that’s harder to get. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Father Kit Cool Gun Garth Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 (edited) Solves rusting issues. @Pat Riot beat me by 3 minutes. Edited January 30 by Father Kit Cool Gun Garth 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 1 hour ago, Marshal Mo Hare, SASS #45984 said: Yowza, when I see something I never thought of before, I check A**z** and sure enough they got ‘em, gallons, quarts, pints in metal and gallons in plastic. Then again, could always do what the army does and check them every year or what the navy does and paint them every week. Or do like the Air Force and hire a subcontractor. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abilene Slim SASS 81783 Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 11 hours ago, PaleWolf Brunelle, #2495L said: I read "canned heat" and immediately started having flashbacks. Well, Alpo is talking about going “on the road again”…. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Choctaw Jack Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 10 minutes ago, Abilene Slim SASS 81783 said: Well, Alpo is talking about going “on the road again”…. I thought he might be thinking about"Going up country" . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Joker Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 4 hours ago, Pat Riot said: Check out Lowe’s or Home Depot for 5 gallon snap on lids with a center that unscrews called a “Gamma Seal”. Amazon has them too. We used them for dry goods - rice, beans, flour, sugar, pasta, dehydrated camp food, and things we wanted preserved, like; matches, seasonings, etc. If you get the brand “Gamma Seal” you can keep dry good foods in them for a few years. I know because we did. For long term storage put a chunk of dry ice in first. Fill the bucket with you rice, beans, etc then let it sit a while as the ice melts a bit and fills the voids in the bucket with CO2. Give it a few minutes then seal the bucket. DO THIS OUTSIDE. You could do the same with liquid nitrogen, but that’s harder to get. Open a gloved size hardware and put it in the bucket seal it up. The hardware uses the available o2 in the bucket and becomes inert. Leaving only the nitrogen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 a glove sized hardware??? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oak Ridge Regulator Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 Trioxane tablets also work great and never go bad but I am not sure if you can get them any longer, used them in the Army back in the 80s 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subdeacon Joe Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 After perusing about two dozen sites the consensus seems to be 2 years, or 12 years, or indefinite. The one thing that all seem to agree on is that once you open the can shelf life goes down to a couple of months. As an alternative you could get a few boxes of tea lights. Several of them under a pot can heat it enough to cook with and boil water. Even bake bread if you have about 6 hours. Also can heat a small room. Put a couple between some bricks and put a red clay flower pot upside down on the bricks. They also make great fire starters. Lay your materials over a tea light, and maybe put one upside down higher in the stack so it will melt down over the fuel and tinder. That will help those catch fire. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alpo Posted January 30 Author Share Posted January 30 35 minutes ago, Eyesa Horg said: a glove sized hardware??? Handwarmer? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyesa Horg Posted January 30 Share Posted January 30 49 minutes ago, Alpo said: Handwarmer? Yup, that could be it with damned otto! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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