My cooking fuel strategy...

My gear is loaded with cooking systems...

The all time favorite Campchef Camp oven,  my StoveTec rocket stove, my thermal pot, various camping pots and pans, and as soon as it gets here, my 5 quart Dutch oven.

Why so many? Well, first redundancy, but more importantly is they fit together in a cooking "system" to maximize my fuel.

The Camp oven does have cooking burners on top, but its purpose is mainly to bake bread.  Soups, stews, beans, and pretty much any meal seems more filling with bread as part of the menu.  I buy / store many off the shelf cornbread and muffin mixes that mix with water as part of my inventory, as well as Augason foods breads that have the long shelf life.  While a Dutch oven can be used for baking in a pinch, its easier to use this mini propane fueled camp oven so thats what i'll do as long as my propane supply lasts.

The StoveTec rocket is my work horse in the cooking system. Even though I hope to replace it with a Silverfire Survivor to save on weight, its a great stove.  I can bring water to boil and cook with any of the regular pans on darn near a hand full of sticks.  Its burns great and almost smoke free on what would be kindling for a traditional campfire. A rocket stove is a must.

The thermal pot I heat up on the rocket stove, but because the food stays hot and continues to cook for hours, it adds some flexibility to the system.  Its a perfect field cooking solution for beans and other meals that benefit from slow cooking.







The Dutch oven is for cooking over an open campfire.  Camp stews, chili, beans and a ton of other meals are best ONLY from a Dutch oven, buts its uses are almost limitless.

By using the camp oven only for breads and baking, and the other ways in what they are best for, I can stretch my propane a lot longer.  I can fire up my rocket stove mid day and using the thermal pot start beans to cooking that would be perfect by dinner time.  I can feed my family or a larger group a hearty meal western camp style with the dutch oven.   Using fuel sources like puzzle pieces as appose to relining on just one, I can extend my self sufficient time greatly and have built in redundancy.

I'm always looking for more space

and when looking at my bug out/ camping trailer no matter how much bigger it is then a traditional BOB it still isn't enough.  I'm always trying to squeeze another couple of inches out of it.  So i'm working on an addition/modification to get some room.

I saw a pop up camper at another site where the guy had a small 4" PVC pipe to carry a two 1lb propane tanks mounted up near the hitch.  I was like WOW, great idea, but I need to take it up a notch.  I measured the sides on the little cargo area of my trailer, and made two tubes that should hold 8 tanks each and will fit right along the sides of it.  When I get time i'm going to mount them right above the fenders, then I can reclaim the space in the cargo area that the tanks occupy.  I put screw on caps on both ends so I can push them out with the empties and keep the load balanced.

And a SPECIAL thanks to my friend Highgear!!!  He pointed out that IF a tank sprung a leak I would have a tube filled with gas just looking for a spark and waiting to explode. At his recommendation, I drilled holes into the caps at both ends to allow the gas to escape in just such a case.