How to Use a Propane Stove

A style of propane stove.

Hitting the outdoors is fun and exciting, but what do you do when it's time to sit down and prepare a meal? Not everything can be cooked over a roaring campfire. That's where propane stoves come in. These stoves, which work much like a gas stove top in the kitchen, can be used to make just about anything you'd make on a traditional stove top.

Things You'll Need

• Propane stove
• Propane
• Lighter (optional in some cases)

Instructions

1. Connect the gas. Screw the threaded end of a portable propane gas cylinder to the propane stove. In some cases, the cylinder will connect directly to the side or back of the stove, while in other cases it will connect beneath it or via a gas line. In any case, the male, threaded end of the cylinder will match up with a female end on the stove.

2. Turn on the gas. The gas valve control is likely to be a black knob or a half-wing lever. Turn it to the left to get gas flowing to the burner.

3. Light the stove. Flick a lighter near the burner of the propane stove to ignite it. Some models have an electric ignition or a flint ignition built in. Electric ignitions just require you to press a button, which will cause a "click, click, click" noise, until the fire starts. Flint ignitions require you to repeatedly push the button, with a single "click" each time, until the fire starts.

4. Adjust the heat. Unlike a traditional gas stove top, propane stoves do not usually have temperature indicators for low, medium and high settings. Turn the valve that feeds the gas from the cylinder to the burner to adjust the flame.

5. Shut off the stove. Turn the knob all the way to the right to shut off the gas and kill the flame on the burner. This will likely cause a quick flash of flame. This is normal. Once the burner cools, disassemble the cylinder from the stove.

Tips & Warnings

• Cooking over flame is a lot different from cooking on an electric stove top. Medium-size flames burn much hotter than the medium setting on a stove. Practice until you understand the temperature settings.

• Always use a propane stove outside and away from flammable objects. Do not use a propane stove as a heater. The stoves do not burn off all the gas pushed into the flames, so using one in an enclosed space is dangerous.

References

• Outdoor Cook's Web site