Camp Stoves

The founding scouts of Troop 911 learned about camp stove safety and operation at their troop meeting this week. There were demonstrations of gas stoves like the one in the picture, smaller backpacking stoves with the same mechanics, canister stoves, and alcohol 'popcan' stoves.

We discussed the BSA policies on liquid fuels, when each type of stove might be most useful, and let the scouts reach their decision on which they would prefer to use for their weekend campout coming up in two days. The concensus was that the stove pictured made the most sense since they could have two burners, control the heat, and refill fuel if needed.

One of the key safety items was to be sure and light the match (or lighter) before turning on the gas. I don't think they'll forget that one.

I also mentioned the Bar-X brand that many backpackers often get. They grab the top of their backpacking stove to put it away, thinking it is cold and burn their hand. So, we discussed and demonstrated how to check if a stove is cool enough to pick up.

They also got practice in refilling a fuel tank - away from any heat!

It takes two of them to light the stove right now, but in the spring they'll be showing the new scouts how to do it alone.

Scout On