Cooking on a propane ammo can camp fire thing

[lowrider]

I just bought one and am not sure I can control the heat adequately enough to cook on the top. That was one of the reasons I got it since I seem to spend a lot of the Summer in "burn ban" areas and it is narrow enough unlike the round propane fired "camp fires" so it could be used in place of a propane stove. I have plenty of different stoves but followed the logic that if one will do both jobs it's on less thing I need to haul around.

Anyone tried this or was this just an excuse in my little brain to get an ammo can camp fire thing?

 

[HighVoltOverland]

Not sure of the specific brand but it may be possible to tame the flames by adding a low pressure regulator to the set up (if currently missing)

 

[tjZ06]

I have one, and like most it has a regulator at the bottle hookup so you're good there. It burns pretty darn sooty though.

-TJ

 

[lowrider]

Not sure of the specific brand but it may be possible to tame the flames by adding a low pressure regulator to the set up (if currently missing)

Mine came with one but I haven't tried it yet.

I have one, and like most it has a regulator at the bottle hookup so you're good there. It burns pretty darn sooty though.

-TJ

Sooty be bad. Any idea why? Could it be too little O2 in the burn? I just looked at mine and the only hole in the bottom is where the burner goes up thru the can bottom. I'm no soot expert or any other but I think a good mix of air with the propane might help. Dunno

 

[tjZ06]

Mine came with one but I haven't tried it yet.

Sooty be bad. Any idea why? Could it be too little O2 in the burn? I just looked at mine and the only hole in the bottom is where the burner goes up thru the can bottom. I'm no soot expert or any other but I think a good mix of air with the propane might help. Dunno

I'm guessing they design them for taller, red/orange flames which will be a rich mixture. I don't think extra air post-orafice-tube will do a ton, you need more oxygen in the actual mixture. If you look at burners meant for cooking they generally draw air into the burners.

-TJ

 

[lowrider]

I'm guessing they design them for taller, red/orange flames which will be a rich mixture. I don't think extra air post-orafice-tube will do a ton, you need more oxygen in the actual mixture. If you look at burners meant for cooking they generally draw air into the burners.

-TJ

I suppose I wasn't clear. That was my point on not having o
holes in the bottom of the can to draw air (O2) up into the burn area. You're correct, that's how most burners get a clean flame with air from the bottom.

 

[tjZ06]

I suppose I wasn't clear. That was my point on not having o
holes in the bottom of the can to draw air (O2) up into the burn area. You're correct, that's how most burners get a clean flame with air from the bottom.

I'm still not sure we're on the same page... when you say holes on the "bottom" do you mean of the ammo can? That's not what I'm talking about or how most burners meant for cooking work. Those generally allow air to enter the orifice tube/burner and mix the air and fuel before being ignited. My ammo can deal is plenty open around the burner and definitely doesn't lack ambient air around the flame. Still it's rich and sooty.

As an example:


-TJ

 

[lowrider]

I admtted I wasn't the soot expert...just offering an idea what is causing the rich/soot condition.

 

[HighVoltOverland]

If you've seen any of those cast iron jets (used for turkey deep frying, most of them have an air inlet around the gas barb, not sure you'd be safe modifying air and gas mix on someone else's equipment though

 

[lowrider]

If you've seen any of those cast iron jets (used for turkey deep frying, most of them have an air inlet around the gas barb, not sure you'd be safe modifying air and gas mix on someone else's equipment though

Great for deep fried pork roast too.

 

[Tundracamper]

I tried one of those ammo can fire pits. It was horrible. Soot everywhere and hardly any heat unless cranked way up. Sent it back and got my money back. Now I have the $90 Camp Chef fire pit. It is totally awesome. Could probably cook on that, but no need to. Based on my limited experience, I seriously doubt you will be able to achieve a fine enough control to cook. You will either be too cold or too hot. Plus, if you use a grate your food will be sooty.

 

[Tundracamper]

Mine came with one but I haven't tried it yet.

Sooty be bad. Any idea why? Could it be too little O2 in the burn? I just looked at mine and the only hole in the bottom is where the burner goes up thru the can bottom. I'm no soot expert or any other but I think a good mix of air with the propane might help. Dunno

Of course. The ammo can design has a feature where it “seals up” for storage. That means no oxygen comes in from the bottom. The only oxygen available for combustion is that which can fall into the can along the sidewalls, past the flame. From a combustion perspective, I think it’s a pretty poor design. There are designs that have side vents down low, but those don’t seal, kinda defeating the whole “ammo can” novelty. I suspect this is just a passing fad.

 

[lowrider]

Of course. The ammo can design has a feature where it “seals up” for storage. That means no oxygen comes in from the bottom. The only oxygen available for combustion is that which can fall into the can along the sidewalls, past the flame. From a combustion perspective, I think it’s a pretty poor design. There are designs that have side vents down low, but those don’t seal, kinda defeating the whole “ammo can” novelty. I suspect this is just a passing fad.

That's not encouraging at all. Guess I'll wait for warm weather and see what happens to mine. I have a couple inches of ice in the drive down to the shop...not worth falling on my ass.

 

[Tundracamper]

That's not encouraging at all. Guess I'll wait for warm weather and see what happens to mine. I have a couple inches of ice in the drive down to the shop...not worth falling on my ass.

For more effective combustion, the burner needs to be all the way at the top. I suspect that creates structural issues and you can’t use the pretty rocks and store them. But, they aren’t paying me to design it, so I’ve probably already said too much:)

 

[lowrider]

For more effective combustion, the burner needs to be all the way at the top. I suspect that creates structural issues and you can’t use the pretty rocks and store them. But, they aren’t paying me to design it, so I’ve probably already said too much:)

But, you are correct Tundra! Since I don't have rock or plan to use them I will drill holes a few at a time until the damn thing works as it should have been built.

 

[dubsludge]

Lowrider: I am interested in what brand you purchased. I have been looking into these, as I live in an area that has yearly burn bans, and have seen a few options on the market.

I haven’t looked into them structurally, and I do not have plans on cooking on my unit, but I am not interested in the “sooty” problem mentioned by others.

 

[Tundracamper]

I have one, and like most it has a regulator at the bottle hookup so you're good there. It burns pretty darn sooty though.

-TJ

The one I had also had a regulator. If you turned it on high, the flames were literally feet high. I don’t see how anyone could use one of these safely without a regulator.

 

[lowrider]

Lowrider: I am interested in what brand you purchased. I have been looking into these, as I live in an area that has yearly burn bans, and have seen a few options on the market.

I haven’t looked into them structurally, and I do not have plans on cooking on my unit, but I am not interested in the “sooty” problem mentioned by others.

It says "firecan" on the side. No other info I an find. T trashed the directions since I can probably figure out how to make it work. Sorry for your ban...next thing will be guns.

 

[dubsludge]

Lowrider: I am interested in what brand you purchased. I have been looking into these, as I live in an area that has yearly burn bans, and have seen a few options on the market.

I haven’t looked into them structurally, and I do not have plans on cooking on my unit, but I am not interested in the “sooty” problem mentioned by others.

It says "firecan" on the side. No other info I an find. T trashed the directions since I can probably figure out how to make it work. Sorry for your ban...next thing will be guns.

Not sure what you mean with the guns but a burn ban happens for a bit of time every year here in Oregon because of the high risk of wildfires during the summers.

 

[lowrider]

Not sure what you mean with the guns but a burn ban happens for a bit of time every year here in Oregon because of the high risk of wildfires during the summers.

Heard Portland was passing a law making it difficult to buy guns. Every time I've been to OR it's smoky till you get to the beach. We have plenty in ID most of the Summer too.