Can I use a camp stove indoors?

No. Propane, butane and wood-burning stoves produce carbon monoxide and must be used outdoors, even in a carport, and never inside a tent or garage. If you must heat indoors, use a purpose-built indoor-safe heater with ventilation.

How much propane should I store?

Start with one canister per household per day of coverage for the first 72 hours, then add fuel-independent options such as a wood stove. Rotate canisters annually and store them outdoors, upright and away from ignition sources.

What is the fastest fuel-free cooking method?

A rocket stove — it burns a small bundle of twigs and boils a litre in a few minutes once it is hot. Built from brick or insulated pipe, it is the highest-output no-fuel method available to most households.

How do I cook if I have no outdoor space?

Plan around no-cook food: canned goods, peanut butter, shelf-stable meals and a thermos rehydration method for freeze-dried food. If you have a balcony, use a small propane stove there with ventilation and never indoors.

Field Article // Food & Water

Grid-Down Cooking: 6 Ways to Cook Without Power

Cooking is the first thing that breaks a household's routine in an outage. Six methods, ranked by fuel independence, plus the carbon monoxide rule that keeps the plan safe.

Survival Video Hacks Field DeskSep 21, 2026 9 min read

Key takeaways // 30-second read

A one-pound propane canister gives roughly 60–90 minutes of cooking — about three to five meals — so budget fuel by meals, not by days.
Wood-burning and rocket stoves are the only methods that scale beyond your stored fuel supply; both are used outdoors.
Never burn charcoal, propane or wood indoors or in a garage. Carbon monoxide has no smell and kills during outages every year.
Pre-soaking beans and grains, using a lid, and batching meals cut fuel use more than any piece of equipment.
Match the method to the horizon: cold food for short outages, propane plus barbecue for 72 hours, wood-based cooking beyond a week.

Budget the fuel before the outage

One standard one-pound propane canister runs a small camp stove for roughly 60 to 90 minutes at a moderate flame: about three to five cooked meals for one household. Multiply by meals per day and days of coverage before you decide how many canisters to store, and remember that boiling water for drinking consumes more fuel than any cooking you will do.

Six methods, ranked by independence

Wood-burning folding stove. Burns twigs, pine cones and debris, packs flat, and never runs out of fuel if you have trees. Best outdoor option for extended outages.
Rocket stove. A brick or insulated-pipe build that burns a small bundle of sticks to boil litres faster than a conventional fire. Excellent for daily cooking during a long outage, built outdoors.
Propane camp stove. Precise, fast and simple. Requires stored fuel, which means a finite supply — use for the first 72 hours while you establish other options.
White gas or multi-fuel stove. Higher output than propane and usable in cold, but requires proper fuel handling and priming.
Barbecue or fire pit. Already installed and free to use. Add a cast-iron Dutch oven and you have baking capability.
Solar cooker. Zero fuel, but weather and hour dependent — a supplementary method, not a plan.

The rule that keeps the plan safe

Never burn fuel indoors. Charcoal, propane, petrol and wood produce carbon monoxide, which has no smell and kills quietly. Cooking happens outdoors, on a balcony or in an open carport — never in a garage, kitchen or tent. Keep a battery carbon monoxide alarm in the sleeping area regardless of season.

Make food easier to cook

Pre-soak beans and grains for several hours to cut cooking fuel dramatically.
A pressure cooker cuts fuel use on beans and tough cuts by more than half.
Rehydrate freeze-dried food with hot, not boiling, water — a rolling boil is wasted fuel for most rehydration.
Cook once, eat twice. Batch cooking uses one heating cycle for two meals.
A lid on every pot. It is the single easiest efficiency change.

Match the method to the horizon

For a two-hour outage, do nothing — eat cold food and keep the fridge shut. For 72 hours, propane plus a barbecue covers you. Beyond a week, wood-based cooking with a folding stove or rocket stove, plus a pot you can use outdoors, is what keeps a household fed without a resupply.

Gear & Equipment // Tested