Just want to emphasize this point: CO and CO2 are very different animals. CO2 is totally harmless. CO is highly poisonos. A good combustion gives you loads of CO2 and very little CO. Incomplete combustion will give you a lot more CO.

Now the wicked part of this is: If you "burn up" too much of the oxygen, the combustion will take revenge by spewing out lots of CO. Both lack of oxygen and abundance of CO is deadly. There doesn't have to be anything wrong with the pilot flame at all, just insufficient ventilation...

[/quote] There doesn't have to be anything wrong with the pilot flame at all, just insufficient ventilation... [/quote]

Ventilation may well have been the basic problem. The cabin was very tight - it began life as a shipping container.

The coleman dual burner propane stove is probably the one stove everyone should have, it's almost like an icon in the camping world. But if you only plan on using it as an emergency stove indoors, and not as a normal camping stove, here's another option to consider

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000BVC...G5Y327HZYZ9VVG3

You can find these stoves in a lot of the asian supermarkets as they're used for tabletop cooking. They're cheap and easy to use, you can go from opening the box to cooking in under 10 seconds. Just load the canister, flip a switch and turn the dial it's ready to start cooking. It self ignites so you don't even need matches or a lighter. Fuel bottles are less than a buck, and last for a few hours. Big 5 and other sporting goods stores sell the exact same thing, but at somthing like 3x the price.

I will sometimes pick this stove over the dual burner coleman for short camping trips. It's small, light and completely self contained, so if I'm not planning on doing a whole lot of cooking for a lot of people this stove is much easier. The downsides are it doesn't get as hot as propane, and there's no windscreen. You can use the case stood on end as a makeshift windscreen, but indoors it won't even be an issue. As a bonus they make a great second burner during a BBQ, like for boiling water or heating up a frying pan of something.

Butane does have some disadvantages compared to propane (i.e. cold weather and high altitudes), but since you live in San Diego I can't think of a more perfect place for butane. I don't know the exact shelf life of butane, but I've used 20 year old cannisters on another stove with no issue, so I'm guessing it's pretty long.

Question (probably covered somewhere, but I'm a little short on time): can you burn Coleman liquid fuel in a soda can stove?

Sue

Well, just once. Be sure you are wearing eye protection and non-synthetic clothing...
-Blast

Essentially correct. It's the CO that's the major hazard to guard against in situations like this.

But note that CO2, in high concentrations and confined spaces, is also a hazard. This is more of a concern in industrial facilities. That means CO2 is, uh, "mostly" harmless.

Blast: "Well, just once. Be sure you are wearing eye protection and non-synthetic clothing..."

AH! I see! Very descriptive, Blast. Thank you!

(Note to self: Stick to alcohol, dummy!)

Sue

I'd only use one outside. Like anything that burns, it produces carbon monoxide-- a deadly odorless gas. +1 on the fire extinguishers

TRO

We have a gas range, and it will light with a match even if the power is out. Our first backup is the outdoor gas grill. It has a small burner on the side which works well for heating pots. In a SHTF situation we have a trusty old Coleman, and some extra fuel.

I've become a fan of alcohol stoves of late, with a few Trangias and attempts at making my own pop can stove. Recently bought a 'Solo' from http://www.whiteboxstoves.com/

The stoves are very well made and work well, and Bill who makes them is a great guy to deal with.

Alcohol expands easily in heat, so make sure you leave expansion space in whatever you're storing it in.