How to
Cook on total fire ban day ?
Would like to pose this question looking for suggestions.
Have some left field ideas of my own which I hope to test this weekend but
will first run thru the issue.
In Vic on fire ban days over summer we are not allowed to have any
gas appliances of fires on heat beads or similar things
camping even inside
tents etc.
Now in practise almost everbody quietly heats up the billy on a gas flame
after looking over there shoulder.
But last year we tried to do it legally and marginally succeeded by using
one of those 12v
camp stoves to heat some pies and pasties.
This was marginal at best and took a long time. I have since researched
these things and while there are a couple of better made items out there
they all use 100w or less and are simply to slow and inadequate to be used often.
For heating
water we used one of those little 12v coil immersion heaters.
We have a 200w version, and by dangling it into a 2lt thermos flask to preserve
heat it does and acceptable job of heating
water, so that part is covered just.
The only other cooking solution I could think of is to use a gennie or inverter
and power something like a single burner 240v hot plate, or mini oven.
Currently available appliances I have seen however use something like 1500w-2000w so this means you have to have a big gennie like Honda E20 which weighs 24kg wet, cost over $1500 and would struggle to power a hotplate anyhway.
Bit of an overkill.
Perhaps an 13kg E10 honda, combined with a hotplate that had had its element changed by an electrican to 1000w or so may work, but this seems a lot of trouble to go to to avoid the use of the much more practical gas for a few days a year.
240v Invertors in the 1500w range are now sub $500 and could work with the car
running but would be pretty hard on batteries and fuel useage even if only used
1hr per day.
We already have a wire cage arrangement that sits in the engine bay to pre-heat
forzen pies and pasties for the 12v oven , but have not gone down the path
of a proper engine/exhaust based cooker.
Any other suggestions ?
Robin Miller