Which stove for emergency preparedness.

'What is the best stove should I get for a emergency?' There is not a ultimate stove for emergency preparedness, simply because each type of stove has its advantage and disadvantages and the circumstance dictate which one is most suitable.  There are many types of stoves and what there (dis)advantages are:

-          Large propane stoves

-          Small (backpacking) butane/propane stoves

-          Liquid fuel stoves

-          Solid fuel (esbit, hexamine, etc) stoves

-          Woodstoves

Large propane stoves

Propane is commonly used (rural locations, BBQ, etc), relatively cheap, simple, effective in cold temperature and easy to use. However propane tanks are very heavy and bulky. The smallest tank is the 1lbs propane tank which is quite heavy to carry. These are ideal for emergency cooking and heating at home, but not when you need to carry them.

Small (backpacking) butane/propane stoves

These stove are simple, small, light and easy to use, ideal if you have to carry them. Due to their relative small burner head, you will need small (camping)  pots and pans. Butane/propane mixture do have limitations. The fuel canisters can be not store in hot temperature, so there are not suitable to be stored in a car in the heat. The butane in these fuel canisters turn liquid when the temperature is close to freezing point. When a canister is used, the temperature will drop even more. Part of the canister will not be used when you are using a stove in the cold. This cold temperature problem can be solved if you have a stove with remove canisters connector and a preheat coil. These stoves can be used with the canisters upside down, which allows to propane to push out liquid butane to the burner. Warning, check the manual if this is possible! Stoves without a pre-heat coil will flare up if the canister is turned upside down.  These are ideal for emergency kits which should be mobile, but not used/stored in very high or low temperature.

Liquid fuel stoves

These stoves are more complicated and more expensive than other stoves.  However then are small and usable in the cold. Some can be simmer, some can not. Some can only burn white gas or only petroleum. Others are multifuel and can burn almost all liquid fuels. Note: Rubber O-rings in these stove are either for petroleum based fuels or alcohol fuels, never for both. Aluminium fuel bottle are very strong, but the rubber o-rings can degrade and fail after a few years. Some fuels can be stored longer then others. These stoves are ideal when liquid fuels are widely available or when you have to use them in cold temperatures. Light and small versions are available for smaller emergency kits.

Solid Fuel
These stoves are very simple, usually made from bend sheet metal. The stove can easily be replaced with a makeshift potholder. They burn fuel tablets, which are relatively expensive, little output and give little control. A windscreen is essential to get it work properly. However the stoves are very cheap, so the initial costs are very low. One big advantage is the stability of the fuel, they will work in all temperatures and storing the fuel tabs in extreme temperatures posses little problems or dangers. These are great for small and/or budget survival kits. Due to there stability in storage very suitable for car kits. (Do NOT use in the car)

Wood stoves
Wood stoves comes in all sizes you can think of. There advantage; if there is dry wood nearby, you can use them as fuel. With wood stoves you need to make sure you also have dry wood. Just having a wood stove and no dry wood to burn can be a big problem. A lot of people only carry the stove, which is a big problem when there is no proper fuel available. If you carry these stoves, also carry some fuel for it.