There was a post a week or so ago, asking if the two burner propane stoves that had the 16.4 ounce bottles could be hooked up to a 5 gallon propane tank. All of the answers were affirmative.

What was not mentioned was that Coleman sells a propane "tree" that is basically a propane lantern that rises above the 5 gallon tank about 5 or 6 feet. There is an adapter on this tree that an 8 foot hose can be connected to, that can then be screwed into your two burner propane stove.

The reason I bring this up is because, during winter months, darkness comes early. It would be a lot safer and more convenient to have adequate lighting when preparing a stove top meal, then trying to accomplish this task by candle light. These propane lanterns come in three sizes, with electronic ignitions, and are safe to use.

-- Ruhle (Confident@R.we), September 29, 1999

Answers

The tree costs about $30, but does not include the extension hoses. If you plan to use a propane lantern, buy lots of extra mantles. The lantern with the "push button" ignition is much easier to deal with than the old-fashioned wooden match variety. During the summer, Coscto had 20# propane tanks selling for $25 each. For people who do a great of camping (or grilling), this is pretty economical.

-- Ken Decker (kcdecker@worldnet.att.net), September 29, 1999.

Be sure to test this setup as soon as you get it. We got this setup for my mother when we visited her this summer. (She was clueless what to get to prepare.) Set it up while we were there so she could get hands-on confidence. To discover that the piezoelectric lighter on the Coleman propane lantern was defective. What she finally chose was a different brand light that also screws on to the top of Colelman's pole, but does not have those little net bags that need to be replaced, and lights right up without the suspenseful wait for the big WHOOMPPP. This unit is all metal with a lot of little holes in it that the gas feeds out of. Nothing to break or replace. I cannot remember the brand name, but we got it at Walmart, right next to the Coleman stuff. Shivani

-- Shivani Arjuna (SArjuna@aol.com), September 29, 1999.

The 20 lb tank propane tree can also be found at Sears. Their Sir Edward Hillary brand also offers the same components of propane stoves($40-55), straight tank adapter($9) and hoses of multiple lengths. The Sir edward hillary brand portable stove, unlike the coleman comes with the flexable rubber hose which can go right into the less expensive 20 lb tank adapter. The regular adapters with hose(coleman brand) at walmart run about 15-17 dollars each.

If you are cooking with propane on a portable stove inside the house you may want to be cautious about also burning the lamp on top of the tree. Those lamps are made for outdoor operation and will use up a bunch of oxygen. They also get very hot which will be a bigger problem for the curtains and other things on the walls and ceiling.

Better yet, think about keeping your units separate. Have one 20 lb(5 gal) for the portable stove and another for the lamp if you must use them inside the house. (Buy a CO and Smoke detector, now.) Also remember that the propane mantle lamps are bright, but are pigs when it comes to propane(think about 10-14 hr/lb). That is a bit of propane if you are not using it for heat.

Ned

-- Ned P Zimmer (ned@nednet.com), September 29, 1999.

Also,

Making a lot of assumptions to avoid the math, a single burner of a propane stove will use one 20# tank of propane fuel each month if burned roughly one and one-half hours each day. That seems like a lot of burn time each day, but remember that both beans and rice require extensive boiling to cook. You may also need to boil water to sterilize it.

I think propane is the way to go for cooking. It stores forever and, if supplied with plenty of oxygen, produces no carbon monoxide. It burns with little or no odour. You can also buy 40# and 100# tanks. The 40# is quite comfortably carried by two adults or one adult uncomfortably. The 100# will likely require two adults for sure.

As much as I like propane, I would go with Kerosene for heating, unless you have a 500-1500 gallon exteranl tank and your home is fitted for propane heating. I might even use kero for lighting in a pinch, since it burns quite efficiently in a simple lamp (but smells weird). One gallon will last maybe 200 hours (I think that is the number!).

Sincerely,

-- Uhmm.. (jfcp81a@prodigy.com), September 29, 1999.