A pair of new offerings from the folks at Sterno

The folks at Sterno ( Sterno Group LLC, a subsidiary of Candle Lamp Company LLC, a portfolio company of Westar Capital LLC ) have two new(er) offerings I thought I'd pass along.

First is the Sterno 70186 Camp Stove Kit – a new take on the classic folding stove Sterno has offered for decades.


Yes, it folds like the classic but comes with a pan, cup and spork. It is offered for about $13 depending on the outlet.


Classic stove offered for decades. About $11 (Wallmart price).

The new stove 'kit' folds neatly into the pan. Much nicer than the classic.

Size - 7.4 x 7.1 x 3.6 inches and you will have to tote about 2 pounds. It's designed to use either size of fuel can – and that's the cool part. Or the hot part actually….

As I've noted in other posts, Sterno canned fuel is safe for indoor use but really doesn't get hot enough to cook with – there is no frying hamburgers with the canned stuff. All is not lost. You can use a Trangia burner – or a soda can stove for the heat source. Denatured alcohol burns much hotter and will work well to cook your hamburgers…and other fun foods.

Is it worth the extra 2 bucks? Well if a pan, cup and spork are part of your kit already, maybe not – but if you are building – say, a DIY Disaster kit (hint), $13 will give you or your family a lot to work with and will set nicely in your Yukon ruck.

Sterno stove #2 is the Sterno Inferno Ultralight Camp Stove – about $25. Comes with lid, pot, wind screen, and base unit.



This is really cool kit stuff as well.

The pot holds two cups of liquid, usually the amount of hot water needed to bring a Mountain House meal to life, and will work well with most wet pack canned foods. The cup has heat sink fins very much like the far more expensive Jet Boil system. The Sterno system even comes with a snuffer to put out the canned fuel, and it will save your fingers as well. Consider this - if you are not there, can your significant other/kids/grandkids safely operate your current stove setup? With this, they can and it is safe for indoor use as well.

At 4.5 x 4.5 x 7 inches and 9.6 oz (not counting fuel), it is lighter than the stove listed above. The system will store two full cans of the 7 oz fuel. Or. Or you can also use a standard Trangia burner/soda can stove and carry a bottle of denatured alcohol for fuel and you should have quite the set up.

Yeah, there are "better" stoves – I know – I already own most of them. But for a low cost kit to sit in the car or an emergency kit for the home…well, it is a low cost option that gives you more options for your cooking. Hot food on demand can be a big morale booster and in cold weather, a lifesaver.

The canned fuel will last –if not forever, certainly a very long time. I have a can made in 1947 that still boils water… And canned fuel will sit, safely, in the car or home for years with no loss in heating capacity.

Worth a look, wouldn't you say?

 

We have a couple of the old fuel tab ones in each of our backpacks. These look really nice.

 

I have been looking for an Ultra Light Sterno Inferno type unit for that wind/heat shield as it just fits over my MSR Wisperlight International, and will hold a 2 quart pot easily! Thanks for posting, I hadn't thought to look at the Sterno Brand for stuff like this!

 

Sterno has a lot of 'new' offerings - all very suitable for post-disaster related cooking. I'll be posting more stoves tomorrow.

 

Neat stoves. Sterno isn't a "hot" fuel, as it is intended primarily for use under chafing dishes, to keep cooked food warm. No boiling water for purification.
I have had stored sterno cans go bad, as the alcohol evaporated out of the sealed can, leaving solid lumps behind as the gel hardened. Weird.
Heck, I have had a sealed can of SPAM go bad, being "fuzzy" when opened. Nothing is 100 percent reliable.

 

You. But I like the odds with Sterno. I'll keep my Svea 123 as well, thank you very much....

 

There is a fellow on UToob that does all kinds of stove testing - I guess it's a hobby for him.

He tested the square Sterno stove shown first, and got 2 cups of water to boil in about 15 minutes. About right for Sterno. Now on this video () he cut off the entire top of the can. This time, he got two cups of water to boil in just a boil just over 7 minutes. Impressive hack.

BTW - 7 oz = 198 grams. Si at 21 gr/2 cups of boiling water, you should be able to get ~18 cups of boiling water per can. Assuming the start is at 60F when you begin.

He also weighed the cans - with the normal top, the stove burned about 15 gr for the 2 cups of boiling water and with the cutaway top, it burned a bit over 20 grams for boiling. So, a 25% penalty to cut the boil time in half. OK - and now?

If you cut away the top, saving the remaining fuel is problematic. Instead of cutting away the top, just scoop out some of the fuel and let it sit on the rim - you'll get the same effect and still be able to seal the can.
Like this


The stove test guy is worth looking at before you purchase any stove as he does a good job of testing using repeatable parameters. Like all the water used in testing starts at 60F, he times each test to when the water hits a measured 212F and not just bubbly & so on. Not lab grade stuff mind you, but pretty darn good "garage science". Which if you think about it is just yardstick type testing, as once you are outdoors, all bets are off....

 

Ah! My test stands as equally valid, but there is a difference. I used the smaller Sterno can available in the local Publix store. The video uses a much larger can. Big difference, like two identical cars, one with a four banger and one with a V8.
So, I would need to find the larger cans.
I have since ordered and received, via Amazon, two of these stove kits. I also put a brass Trangia style alky stove in each kit, along with a better folding spork.
One problem is, the square pan with one kit has a split high on one corner, which I need to figure how to repair. Lining with aluminum foil is a quickfix.
So, this is an ongoing project. Need to retest.

 

The 'stove tst guy' is Hiram Cook - and he has lots of vids.

Here is the one on the Sterno Inferno


2 cup so water to full boil in 4 min. Using the Trangia burner.

 

Square kit mentioned at first in th eOP

and