In the past we’ve posted a few fun things about Valentine’s Day such as “Jodi’s Hot Date”, our Valentine’s Day Office Kit, or Grandma Lori’s famous sugar cookies which could be decorated for the big day.

This year we wanted to do something educational, but keep with the theme of Valentine’s Day, so we are going to be celebrating Fuel the Fire February by discussing all the different fuels you may be using for your powerless cooking.

The most common fuels people store for powerless cooking are:
– Wood
– Charcoal
– Propane
– Butane
– Kerosene
– Alcohol

There are many considerations when you determine which fuels to store such as: storage limits, using indoors versus outdoors, storing indoors versus outdoors, what types of cooking appliances you can use, etc. For an overview of a lot of these common fuels please check out our Cooking Fuels Overview handout from our Powerless Cooking Class.

While most people are familiar with the above fuels, there have been quite a few new products developed lately that are really great for emergency preparedness/powerless cooking needs. We have been gradually researching, trying, and storing quite a few of these fuels and want to teach you guys more about them.

	ReadyFuel: This is a new product from Lindon Farms. It is a gel that can be used indoors or outdoors, and won’t freeze, evaporate, or melt. It’s very light and each packet contains a little metal sheet that can be turned into a holder for your pot. It’s a great little fuel for camping or small cooking needs like boiling water. READ OUR READY FUEL OVERVIEW
	InstaFire: If you’ve followed our blog for a while you will know that we think InstaFire is a great product. It can be stored inside in convenient buckets, it burns in any kind of weather, and will even burn wet wood. It is handy to use in any kind of portable stove or even just on the ground. It’s definitely a nice supplement to go along with your other fuels. READ OUR INSTA FIRE OVERVIEW
	Fuel Disks: There are a few companies putting out fuel pellets or pucks that can be used in stoves such as the Firebox, or Cube Stove. The disks can be re-used if you don’t use the whole thing. They are easy to burn but must be used outside. They store easily and conveniently indoors or out. They are a very efficient fuel with one pellet lasting for one hour of cooking. READ OUR FUEL DISK OVERVIEW
	Solar Power: If you can find a way to harness the sun, solar power can be a great FREE and renewable fuel source for you. We have loved using our Sun Ovens whenever weather permits to conserve other fuels for cloudy days. With the new dehydrating racks you can also have a source for dehydrating fresh foods in a powerless emergency. READ OUR SUN OVEN OVERVIEW
	Stoves: We’re ending off Fuel The Fire February with a quick overview of some stoves you may be able to use with the different fuels we have talked about. While this is only scratching the surface on cooking stoves, we thought you may be interested in a few options such as Make Your Own, Firebox, Cube Stove, and Volcano. READ OUR STOVE OVERVIEW

-Jodi Weiss Schroeder
http://foodstoragemadeeasy.net