Cypress- Walmart would have Sterno. Likely most (larger) area grocery stores too. Isn't there also a hardware store in the center of your town? They would be likely to carry Sterno as well. Hardwick Cooperative would be likely to have this as well. Klem's most definitely has it, and I think I've seen the folding stove there as well.
My experiment: Three tealight candles with the flames just touching the bottom of an enameled metal camping cup heated 1 cup of water to 140 degrees in about 15 minutes, making a decent cup of tea. Definitely not hot enough to boil anything, but it would be fine for soup, cocoa etc. I set the candles on the stove median and set a stove grate on top of them. All of these things were already in my house. I think part of the trick is to cook in thin metal, anything else will take forever to transfer heat. And eat out of the cup/pan, don't transfer heated food to a cold implement.
ETA: when I was backpacking I used Everclear poured into the metal shell of a votive candle. It's almost pure alcohol and one "candle-full" was enough to get coffee water to boiling (you could use any container that can stand heat, I just wanted something ultra light). I also managed to scorch a picnic table and set a pot holder on fire. Might have been better off just drinking the Everclear. - I would not recommend burning denatured or isopropyl alcohol in the house, it's usually got some seriously nasty poisons in it. Everclear is expensive but it's clean. Note: you need 95 proof if you can get it.
Last edited by kib; 12-19-14 at 12:08pm.
FYI-
Sterno is what is used in chaffing dishes to keep hot food hot when serving a buffet. If you have it contained on a stovetop (which is heat resistant) you shouldn't have any problems using them safely. But when having ANY open flames in your home, always have fire extinguishers handy - that's just common sense.
If you don't use the entire amount of Sterno in the can, just place the top back on to keep the fuel from evaporating and you can use it for several meals. You can also control the amount of the flame with the can's lid by sliding it over the can opening. Chaffing dishes have a little "door" that is used to regulate the amount of flame. There is a "cup" that safely holds the can/s of Sterno on a chaffing dish. You can also find Fondu Pots that are heated with Sterno that would also work in an emergency. And also make sure you have something you can light it with. And while I'm at it, be sure you have a manual can opener.
Click on this link to see what a chaffing dish looks like, and you'll see they are intended for indoor use, and have been used for decades. http://www.amazon.com/Winware-Quart-...s=chafing+dish
I remember growing up my parents had a fondue set that we never used for anything - except when the power went out. It got almost tradition like :-) Out goes the power and out came the fondue pot and Campbells soup. I believe it used sterno.
Another tip for apartment dwellers.... Where to store water. First of all, forget the bundles of bottled water and gallon jugs (which disintegrate during long storage and can spring a leak) for storage, they are too darn expensive when tap water will store just as well. You can fill recycled bottles like 2-liter soda/pop bottles, juice bottles, anything that is food-grade plastic, and add the proper amount of chlorine bleach (which prevents algae from growing in the water. Store away from light. You can line the back and side walls of closets with water, hide them behind or under your sofa or headboard on the bed. I store water in 3- and 5-gallon jugs, but I have a basement storage area. Avoid using recycled plastic milk jugs because the milk fat binds to the plastic and can't be removed. Eventually, under the right conditions, the milk fat will begin to go rancid and smell. Plastic milk jugs also begin to break-down and leak over time.
You may enjoy this information about emergency drinking water. http://www.bae.ncsu.edu/extension/ex...ply-minner.pdf
All the stove user really would have to do is turn on the gas control a bit and then use a match (preferably something safer like a fireplace match) to light the gas stream. The electricity only runs the clock and the oven light.
This does, however, leave the user with the CO-removal problem bae mentioned.
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington
I thought that too, but it only works if you have gas in your apartment, a lot of places are 100% electric. - which means problems for not only cooking, but heating and hot water as well.
kib, true. I guess most of my apartments had gas stoves, so that didn't come to mind quickly.
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome. - Booker T. Washington
It occurred to me because my parents live in a retirement community where there is no gas as far as I know. I worry about them when there are winter storms in PA, but at least it's a community issue in their situation.
OK, today The Kid and I did an experiment with the Kelly Kettle. Time from first strike of flint-and-steel to water-poured-on-coffee was < 5 mins. Time to steep coffee in French press pot was ~5 minutes. Amount of fuel used - what my daughter gathered in about 60 seconds of scrounging around, about a loose handful.
Materials: Kelly Kettle, twigs and wood bits, one piece of newspaper, pocket knife, flint, water, coffee, coffee press
Do not fill kettle to the very top, leave room for the water to expand as it heats, otherwise it will run out, down the side of the kettle, and douse your fire. Safety tip....
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