Could anyone tell me if I could burn Bleuet Sold Fuel Tablets? They reach a temperature of 1300 F and I am unsure if that would be to hot for the stove grill and cause it to warp. Any input would be most appreciated. Dan
1372862
I think it would cause the wire grid at the bottom of the stove to overheat and bend. Even using wood as fuel causes some distortion of the grid.
1255051
I've roasted over a hundred batches with the FR SR500 and although there is a caramel/burnt sugar smell afterwards, I've not had much smoke. It is a good idea to roast under a kitchen hood to help eliminate the smell, but I don't even turn on the fan anymore as we've gotten used to the smell. Can you tell me about your roast:Are you new to roasting? How dark did your beans get? Did you reach second crack? How long did you roast?
2007381
We used ours with our Coleman single burner, didn't have any problems with the coating coming off at all on our entire trip and must have been used at least 8-10 times. Perhaps we didn't have the heat up as high as the other people? But we did heat all our food through and made coffee (we forgot the kettle!) and heated beans - we certainly didn't want any of the things we heated to be anywhere near 300 degrees though. We also put one of the pans over an actual firepit fire on a cooking grill thing with fold out legs - worked great on that too. All I can say is we're still using ours and it looks fine to me.
1232680
Jason, I've had a hard time getting it up to the desired smoking temp when it's cool & windy or just cool. I think one of the problems is that they only recommending using 12 or so starter coals. Yesterday I increased this number to 20 or so and that seemed to work better. I'll keep fooling with it and could see using up to half the coals in the chimney starter. And I've found that I need to have the top holes open more than the 5/16 they recommend. I'd say open them all the way up and then throttle them down. I also think it makes a big difference and significantly slows down the process if the meat isn't close to room temp to start. But I'll tell you, the more I use the device the more comfortable I feel with it. I'm having a retirement get together this coming Sat so started preparing for that this weekend. Using a rib rack I smoked 6 full racks of ribs on Sat and 6 more on Sun. I'd never have dreamed that 6 racks of ribs would fit on the Weber but they did. I baby sat the Sat batch pretty closely but once the Sunday batch was up to speed I only looked at about once/hour to stir the coals, add water & wood. We ate one last evening and it was good but will put the rest in the oven for 2 or 3 hours to get them more tender before serving. I hope that this (long) answer is of some help and encouragement. Dave McCartney, Marion, OH dkmcpa@yahoo.com
1757495
I have two different types of butane gas burners and I find it difficult to get a low enough flame on both of them to properly cook rice, grains, or to simmer soups or stews without all the liquid boiling off. I wanted to know if there were any other portable gas burners that were more sensitive to being set at low temps!
1757493
I was actually most impressed with mine at low temperature settings. I used mine for camping, and most camp stoves didn't do simmering well. This one did. I have cooked everything from omelets to steaks and chops -- and even Bananas Foster at campsites on mine. For camping in cold weather, though, you need to keep your butane canisters warm, or they will not work. That is true of all butane stoves.
869048
Folks are not mentioning two vital things here. One, the thing is only heated by the stove for a few minutes to reach temperature. After that you remove the cylinder (the Zodi) from the base if you want. No real reason not to, if camping, you are just sitting the tank on the ground. The bare earth covered with grass, dirt, or rock. I am at a loss as to why folks are commenting as if you shower with this Zodi on the stand, over a stove. Nothing could be simpler. Light a propane stove and heat water for 3-5 minutes. Turn stove off and place Zodi on the ground. The handle you pump for pressurizing the Zodi is, well, a handle. Take your shower without stepping on, sitting on, or placing the stove base in your toddlers mouth. Really not much to talk about here. I just felt compelled to add a real answer after some of the misleading Danger Danger warnings. If frying a turkey on a wooden porch, everything before me is applicable. But when heating water to 100-105 degrees in the woods with a self contained high quality aluminum tank, not so much.
426474
I cooked a great beef stew for about 40 over bed of oak coals with 3 or 4 split oaks logs fed occassionly tokeep the fire going. Much more picturesque than propane burner but propane is often more convenient. Do keep the paddle stirring,use a lid,and keep the flames low.J.Johnson
353050
I normally carry 2 of the fuel tablet packs with me. Fuel use depends entirely on what you are trying to heat or bring to the boil. Burn time differs at varying altitudes.
1815591
I've used mine on a very small portable propane burner and fuel tabs and had no problem with heating and cooking. Just had to watch the heat and make sure to stir because the pans are a little thin and get hot fast. Good set for the price I think.
1415214
I would not recommend using a small bottle. I use a 20# bottle the kind most used with gas bbq grills. The output of the stove is 54k about 19,000 btu ea. burner on high. The gas stoves for home use are average 5,000 - 8,000 btu per burner. I get about 3 months of use with a 20# bottle. I use the stove almost daily for grilling, saute peppers, pasta, and all style egg prep. I use mostly cast Iron cookware. The stove cooks well on any setting and simmers great. I only wish the top grate was removable. It's a nice compact yet powerful stove for the price. Commercial restaurant table top 3 burners rate the same btu or greater and cost a lot more. Wish you happy cooking I would not recommend using a small bottle. I use a 20# bottle the kind most used with gas bbq grills. The output of the stove is 54k about 19,000 btu ea. burner on high. The gas stoves for home use are average 5,000 - 8,000 btu per burner. I get about 3 months of use with a 20# bottle. I use the stove almost daily for grilling, saute peppers, pasta, and all style egg prep. I use mostly cast Iron cookware. The stove cooks well on any setting and simmers great. I only wish the top grate was removable. It's a nice compact yet powerful stove for the price. Commercial restaurant table top 3... » Read More I would not recommend using a small bottle. I use a 20# bottle the kind most used with gas bbq grills. The output of the stove is 54k about 19,000 btu ea. burner on high. The gas stoves for home use are average 5,000 - 8,000 btu per burner. I get about 3 months of use with a 20# bottle. I use the stove almost daily for grilling, saute peppers, pasta, and all style egg prep. I use mostly cast Iron cookware. The stove cooks well on any setting and simmers great. I only wish the top grate was removable. It's a nice compact yet powerful stove for the price. Commercial restaurant table top 3 burners rate the same btu or greater and cost a lot more. Wish you happy cooking « Show Less
1192132
I think it's rated for 700 degrees. But these things aren't indestructible. Mine hasn't broken but I wouldn't want to expose it to super high heat. Will they work on the grill? Yes. But be careful. I've used it on my grill for steaks. If I was going to use it mostly for grilling, I would get the thermapen. Smoking on the other hand, you want this.
1344856
I agree with Terry. Of course there are was to save fuel like not lighting until the pan of water is filled and ready to heat. Shut stove off and not keep boiling water just to boil it.THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE you cook for will decide how long your fuel will last. You should also understand that the high BTU output of this stove will use more fuel but you will not be heating as long and it never come to a boil. So fuel burn could be less with wise management.
1688419
The majority of the posts are positive. However, a few fuss about "breakage" and/or the heating element dying out after a couple of uses.What model is yours? I am begining to comprehend the proper uses and the best recipes, but "model numbers" are not given with the posts.MML
514112
I think I read something when I bought this unit that the glass stove would be a problem. I am sure you can ask the supplier this question just to make sure. It's nice grill but not it damages your stove. Good luck
757855
I use propane also. There was a decent coating of soot built up after seasoning the cooker.One run with no oil and one with a good coating of high temperature cooking spray. This is normal for all the grills and smokers I have ever used.
1244655
I haven't had any problems with burning. I love using them to bake cookies - have had excellent results with all recipes.