Can anyone who has used (or haven't used, for that matter) a portable butane
burner inside the home comment about their use?

http://www.thekitchenstore.com/769372082549.html

Thanks,
Dee

"Dee Randall" <deedoveyatshenteldotnet> wrote in message
...
> Can anyone who has used (or haven't used, for that matter) a portable
> butane burner inside the home comment about their use?
>
> http://www.thekitchenstore.com/769372082549.html
>
> Thanks,
> Dee

At $4 a pop for the butane, you'll be spending a lot of money to keep it
going. 8 ounces for $4 compared to 22¢ for the equivalent propane for a
grill.

"Dee Randall" <deedoveyatshenteldotnet> wrote in message
...
> Can anyone who has used (or haven't used, for that matter) a portable
> butane burner inside the home comment about their use?
>
> http://www.thekitchenstore.com/769372082549.html
>
> Thanks,
> Dee

At $4 a pop for the butane, you'll be spending a lot of money to keep it
going. 8 ounces for $4 compared to 22¢ for the equivalent propane for a
grill.

Dee Randall <deedoveyatshenteldotnet> wrote:
>Can anyone who has used (or haven't used, for that matter) a portable butane
>burner inside the home comment about their use?

We love ours. We use it for Chinese Hot Pot all the time. Actually,
we have two of them (and an induction burner). I think I paid about
$30 for the first one, at a specialty kitchen store; the second one
I bought at "99 Ranch", a Chinese supermarket, for about $11. I
buy my fuel at 99 Ranch; on sale, it's about a dollar a can (in
shrinkwrapped packs of four). Each can lasts for about an hour.

The burners have an interesting (well, sorta) design: the adiabatic
expansion of the butane causes the workings of the unit to be
noticeably cooler than ambient. So, as long as there aren't any
gas leaks, the unit is quite safe to use on the kitchen table.

Now, while the $30 one does work a bit better than the $11 one (a
smoother gradient on the intensity dial), I've certainly noticed
that a $4 can of butane works exactly the same as a $1 can of butane.
If you don't live close enough to "civilization" to have Chinese
supermarkets around, I'm not sure where to direct your search for
cheaper gas cannisters, though...

The induction burner theoretically works better than the butane
burner for hot pot (precise temperature control is cool; not
having to spend a dollar on fuel every meal is also good), except
that the cooling fan is very loud, which my wife dislikes. When
we have hot pot for 12, though, we have to break out all three units
(two butane, one induction)...


Donald

Dee Randall <deedoveyatshenteldotnet> wrote:
>Can anyone who has used (or haven't used, for that matter) a portable butane
>burner inside the home comment about their use?

We love ours. We use it for Chinese Hot Pot all the time. Actually,
we have two of them (and an induction burner). I think I paid about
$30 for the first one, at a specialty kitchen store; the second one
I bought at "99 Ranch", a Chinese supermarket, for about $11. I
buy my fuel at 99 Ranch; on sale, it's about a dollar a can (in
shrinkwrapped packs of four). Each can lasts for about an hour.

The burners have an interesting (well, sorta) design: the adiabatic
expansion of the butane causes the workings of the unit to be
noticeably cooler than ambient. So, as long as there aren't any
gas leaks, the unit is quite safe to use on the kitchen table.

Now, while the $30 one does work a bit better than the $11 one (a
smoother gradient on the intensity dial), I've certainly noticed
that a $4 can of butane works exactly the same as a $1 can of butane.
If you don't live close enough to "civilization" to have Chinese
supermarkets around, I'm not sure where to direct your search for
cheaper gas cannisters, though...

The induction burner theoretically works better than the butane
burner for hot pot (precise temperature control is cool; not
having to spend a dollar on fuel every meal is also good), except
that the cooling fan is very loud, which my wife dislikes. When
we have hot pot for 12, though, we have to break out all three units
(two butane, one induction)...


Donald

"Dee Randall" <deedoveyatshenteldotnet> wrote:

> Can anyone who has used (or haven't used, for that matter) a portable
> butane burner inside the home comment about their use?

They're handy little gadgets for occasional use, but the fuel canisters get
expensive if you use it often. Mine is a Chefmate that I bought at the Cash
and Carry. They sell a package of 4 fuel canisters for about $6.

My Chefmate stove puts out 9500 BTU, plenty of heat for most cooking but not
enough for stir-frying. As far as I know the most powerful butane stove is
made by Iwatani, rated at 12,000 BTU/hr.

See <http://www.geocities.com/stvdnb> for images of a butane stove in use in
a typical Japanese household to prepare shabu-shabu.


--
-- Steve