the future, i can't say what anybody else will do but i'll continue to marvel at, use, search for, buy, fettle, study and play with old stoves. i'm still fascinated after 48 years. i'm glad there are new inovative stoves for the younger generations of stovies to mess with. buzz
Re: batteries. In theory if you had a 1500w hot plate + 2 x 56v/7.5A lawnmower batteries wired in series would give you 112v and 7.5A, then another pair in parallel would give you 112v and 15A, which for that hot plate should give you over an hour of cooking. Of course the price is $2000 USD in batteries . But good news, it would take only about 700 hrs of cooking for you to match gas canister stove costs, so just try to go camping every weekend for 15 years while only cooking a total of 1 hour and you're golden! Very impractical but it's interesting that it's not impossible and it gives you a baseline for the current (no pun intended) state of battery powered cooking. Who knows, in 5 years that might be down to 2 lawnmower batteries, and maybe a battery pack the size of a motorcycle battery in 20 yrs, so I don't doubt that one day that will come. I also wonder if there might be some new construction technique that would allow propane in butane-style canisters, although arguably there is no burning consumer demand since most stove use is not via backpacking.
I calculated that one of my lawnmower batteries (80V, 2Ah, size of a motorcycle battery though much lighter) would have enough energy to boil a couple cups of water. Ten years ago this would have been unthinkable. It's definitely coming.
Out in the garage I have a 4 ah battery about the size of a loaf of bread and weight as much as a dozen bottles of beer. Its about 15 years old and came out of a battery backup. A week ago I had to buy a booster for a work ipad (I hate ipads but that a different story) 8ah a little bigger than a packet of cigarettes and maybe twice that weight.With it I can use the ipad all day without charging. The day is coming when cooking will be possible in a portable electric device. The other option is an indirect approach via something like browns gas. All the automotive geniuses will tell you that using spare alternator power to electrolysis water into a gas mixture which is then added to your air intake will unleash gallons of power. Something in the order of 10 times what you put in.
the very ether around us seethes with electromagnetic fields I fancy a 'lightning stove' when atmospheric conditions permit - prime your lightning stove by pointing the neutrino generator skywards trigger the 10 second time delay and beat a hasty retreat - that will fry your bacon!
I see a simple movement thorough the flux enveloping the earth as enough source for the energy needed for heat. Maybe science or Sci-Fi.
Disappointingly ‘science’ hasn’t deliver a post-petroleum era, super-stove yet. A bit like this (ready you hands to cover your ears during one or two swear words if you are easily offended!):
The future has begun? Link: Engadget is now a part of Oath Rivian designed a camp stove add-on for its electric truck The company says owners can use the vehicle's battery for lights and for cooking for over a week and still only consume 11 percent of the pack's juice.
I'd be shocked(ba-dum-tish) if they weren't induction "burners". Whole different animal, not the same cooking experience as gas, but much closer than any other electric. Also hugely more efficient than just a giant resistor. I'm amazed at what trucks cost. Financially, I'm not there yet. If I'm spending that much it needs to be an appreciating asset such as real estate, and not a depreciating one like a vehicle.
Thanks @Marc Something that I know little about. I remember asking my dad a question about investment and cars when I was young. Cars are an expense. (Most)
Induction heating will only work on ferrous containers so aluminum and copper won't work. Iron/steel only.
Lots of induction ready "camp" cookware for the RV crowd. Aluminum and stainless can be used with an induction stove with a chunk of steel laminated to the bottom. Very common.
