Stoves and Ovens

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There are a variety of stoves and ovens that are suitable for a nomadic home. I would avoid using electric ones, due to the expense of generating enough electricity to run them. So you will be looking at stoves/ovens that run on a combustable fuel. The following list gives some comparison of fuel types.

Kerosene (paraffin) is reliable, cheap and has a hot flame. It is readily available in most parts of the world.

Alcohol provides less heat, is fairly expensive and is not as widely available around the world. It is popular and available in North America and Scandinavia.

LPG/Propane/Butane is very convenient to use and has a hot flame. It is usually fairly economical to use. Disadvantages are that different geological locations use different fittings to connect the bottle to the stove, which can also create problems getting bottles filled. Due to the fact that LPG/Propane is heavier than air, it can be hazardous to use on boats, with leaking gas settling in the bilges, creating a risk of explosion. Probably not such a concern in a nomadic home, which sits on wheels, as an open door would let the gas run out, of it's own accord, if a leak were to develop.

Diesel is available just about everywhere and when used in stoves/ovens such as the Canadian made Dickinson and British made Taylors are excellent in cold climates, as they also both warm and dry the entire nomadic home. Generally they will also share the same type of fuel as the homes engine, which means you aren't carrying an extra type of fuel, just to do the cooking. Due to the fact that most diesel stoves/ovens take quite awhile to reach cooking temperatures, they are not particularly well suited to traveling in hot climates. For those who spend time in both hot and cold climates, a diesel stove/oven can be suitable with the addition of a portable stove, using one of the above fuels. They can be set on top of the diesel stove/oven when in hot climates.

Wood/Coal/Charcoal. Stoves/ovens running on these solid fuels are much like their diesel counterparts in use, with the same advantages and disadvantages in the main. Some of them are only designed for burning one type of solid fuel, which can be problematic. For instance charcoal is sold in many places, only during summer. Coal is sometimes only availabe in winter and not at all in some places. Wood is freely available in some places and scarce in others. If a solid fuel stove/oven is the choice of preference, then a multi fuel (wood/coal/charcoal) burner would be a sensible choice.