Camping Stoves for a Power Cut: Types and How to Choose

When the electricity goes off, a camping stove is one of the few ways left to heat food and water. Official guidance for consumers confirms you can cook food and heat water for food preparation and cleaning using a camping stove, barbecue or bottled gas stove, provided you check the manufacturer's instructions for safe use, because most are designed for outdoor use only¹. That single sentence shapes everything on this page: a camping stove is a real asset in a power cut, but it is an outdoor appliance, and using it as one is what keeps your household safe.

Before you rely on any stove you already own, check it against the product recalls listed below. Several camping stoves and gas cylinders sold in the UK in recent years have been recalled over fire, explosion and burns risks, including folding gas stoves from two brands in 2024 and butane gas cylinders in 2021 and 2024². A stove that has been sitting in a cupboard for years deserves a check of its hose, its connections and its recall status before it is ever lit.

This page covers what each main type of stove does, where you can safely use it, how to set it up, how to store the fuel, and how to look after the stove between emergencies. For the wider picture of cooking and heating without mains power, start with our heating and cooking guide.

Check your stove against these recalls first

Recalls of camping stoves and gas cylinders are not rare, and they matter directly to anyone keeping a stove for emergencies. A stove bought years ago and never used may still be on a recall list, and the faults in these cases are serious: leaking gas, degrading hoses, and handles that fail and spill hot contents.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards recalled MSR Trail Lite and Reactor camping cooking pots in March 2024 because pot handles can come loose or disengage and spill hot contents. The pots were sold individually and as part of sets, and affected consumers were told to immediately stop using them and contact Cascade Designs for a free replacement pot handle and lifter¹⁴.

Two patterns stand out. First, hose degradation is a recurring fault in folding gas stoves, which is why fire and rescue services tell you to check that hoses are properly attached and undamaged before every use, and to get them replaced or not use the appliance at all if in doubt⁸. Second, gas cylinders themselves can be faulty, so a recall check applies to your fuel stock as much as to your stove. Check the gov.uk product safety alerts pages for anything you own, and check gas and electrical equipment, including gas bottles, before use, making sure connections are secure and undamaged¹⁵.

Camping stoves are made for the outdoors, so plan where you will cook

The starting point, repeated across official guidance, is that most camping stoves, barbecues and bottled gas stoves are designed for outdoor use only, and you should check the manufacturer's instructions for safe use of your particular appliance¹. In a power cut this means planning ahead: decide now which spot outside your home you would use, and how you would cook there in the dark or in poor weather.

The reason is carbon monoxide. nidirect, the Northern Ireland government information service, warns never to take a gas stove, light or heater into a tent, caravan or cabin unless it is a permanent fixture, installed and maintained correctly⁷. Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service gives the same warning and adds the check that matters before every use: make sure the appliance is in good order, undamaged, and that hoses are properly attached and undamaged, and if in doubt, get the hoses replaced or do not use it⁸. Carbon monoxide has no smell and can build up quickly in any enclosed space, including a kitchen with doors and windows shut against the cold. Our page on whether it is safe to use a camping stove indoors covers this in detail.

Fire and rescue services across the UK apply the same rule to tents and awnings. North Wales Fire and Rescue Service states the general advice plainly:

North Wales Fire and Rescue Service¹⁶

The same services advise having an escape plan and being prepared to cut your way out of the tent if there is a fire¹⁷. If you are cooking under an awning, a gazebo or a caravan canopy, treat it as a tent: the fabric catches fire easily, and the safest cooking position is outside and well away from it. For cooking and warmth in tents and caravans specifically, see our tents and caravans page.

One more point from official food safety guidance: cooking with camping stoves, barbecues or bottled gas stoves can take longer than your usual ways of cooking, so make sure food is steaming hot and cooked all the way through¹⁸. A stove that seems slow is usually working normally; the answer is patience and a thermometer-free check that steam is rising and the food is piping hot throughout, not moving the stove somewhere sheltered but enclosed.

If your home has a gas hob, check whether it still works in a power cut before assuming you need the camping stove at all. Official guidance notes that electric and induction cookers will not work during a power cut, but gas cookers may continue to function¹. Our page on using a gas hob when the electricity is off explains what to check.

Setting up safely: flat ground, well away from anything that burns

Fire and rescue services give consistent advice on where to site any outdoor flame, and it applies to camping stoves exactly as it does to barbecues. Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service says to make sure the site is flat, away from fences, trees and shrubs⁹. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service says the same: ensure the stove or barbecue is on a flat site, well away from a shed, trees or shrubs¹⁰. Humberside Fire and Rescue Service adds the same flat-site rule for barbecues¹⁹.

In practice, for a household using a stove in a power cut, that means:

• Choose a level, stable surface: a patio slab, a driveway or a flat patch of ground, not grass on a slope or a wobbly folding table
• Keep the stove well away from fences, sheds, trees, shrubs, hanging plants and washing lines
• Keep it away from the house wall, bins and anything else that can catch fire, including the tent, awning or gazebo you may be sheltering under
• Keep children and pets at a distance, and keep the fuel cylinders behind you, not beside the flame

Stability matters as much as distance. A single-cartridge burner or a spirit stove has a small footprint, and a pan of boiling water on an uneven surface is a scalding hazard. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service advises always turning off the gas supply before changing the cylinder²⁰, which is a reminder that the moments of handling, not just cooking, are when things go wrong. Our page on how to change a gas cylinder safely walks through that step by step.

For lighting, follow the maker's instructions for your model. nidirect's advice on gas camping equipment is simply to read the manufacturer's instructions⁷, and North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service adds that you should always make sure your camping light and stove are clean and properly adjusted²¹. A stove that has been stored for months may need a wipe down and a check of its burner and hose before it lights cleanly.

Never leave a lit stove unattended

Every fire and rescue service that addresses cooking and outdoor flames gives the same instruction. nidirect's summer fire safety advice says never leave a barbecue unattended and never leave cooking unattended¹¹. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service says the same for caravans and mobile homes²². The rule applies whoever you are and whatever you are cooking: a lit stove stays with a sober, awake adult until it is off and cool.

This has practical consequences for power cut cooking. Plan meals that do not need long, unwatched simmering. Heat water for hot drinks and for hot water bottles in one session with someone standing by, rather than leaving a pot to itself. If you must step away, turn the stove off first; relighting takes seconds and is always cheaper than a fire.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service power cut guidance adds a related rule for any open flame in the home: never leave a lit candle alone, and keep candles well away from anything that could catch fire²³. If you are cooking outdoors by torchlight, keep your emergency lighting well away from the flame and the fuel, and never use a candle to check a stove, a hose or a cylinder. Our lighting section covers torches, lanterns and candles for power cuts.

Turn everything off before you go to bed or leave the area. Caravan safety guidance from multiple fire and rescue services says to turn off all appliances before you leave the caravan or go to bed²², and the same habit should govern stove use at home: the stove is off, the cylinder valve is closed, and the pan is off the heat before anyone sleeps.

Storing gas cylinders: outside, upright, away from frost and sun

Gas cylinders and cartridges are the part of a stove kit most often stored badly. The official advice is consistent and specific. Gov.uk fire safety guidance for outdoors says to store gas cylinders outside, away from direct sunlight and frost¹². Manchester Fire and Rescue Service, advising on portable gas heaters, says to store spare cylinders upright and outside whenever possible²⁵. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service goes further for cylinders not in use: store them six metres away from the home, and remember that empty canisters are still a hazard²⁶. Devon and Somerset also says simply to turn off gas cylinders when not in use²⁶.

For most households with a small cartridge stove, the cartridges are self-sealing and small enough to store in a shed or garage out of direct sun and away from frost. For larger butane or propane bottles, the six-metre rule from Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service is the standard to aim for, and our page on where to store gas cylinders at home covers the practicalities.

Two further rules govern cylinder handling. Gov.uk fire safety guidance says never smoke whilst changing your gas¹², and Humberside Fire and Rescue Service says to make sure the tap is turned off before changing the gas cylinder¹⁹. Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service states it as a general rule: always turn off the gas supply before changing the cylinder²⁰. North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service adds that you should only change gas cylinders when they are completely empty, and store them away from caravans and vehicles²¹.

When you finish cooking, the order you turn things off matters. Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service advises turning off the gas cylinder before you turn off the barbecue controls, to ensure any gas in the pipeline is used up²⁷. Applied to a camping stove, that means closing the cylinder valve first, letting the burner consume what is left in the hose, and only then closing the stove's own control. It uses the last of the fuel you have paid for and leaves the hose empty for storage. Our gas cartridges page covers valve types and cold weather behaviour, and our bottled gas page covers butane, propane and regulators for larger bottles.

If you smell gas or suspect a leak

The advice here comes from fire and rescue services writing about caravans, and it transfers directly to any gas stove set-up at home. Lincolnshire County Council's caravan safety guidance says:

Lincolnshire County Council¹³

Mid and West Wales Fire and Rescue Service gives the identical instruction²⁴. In order:

1. Turn off all appliances
2. Turn off the main cylinder valve
3. Open all doors and windows
4. Do not smoke, and do not turn any electrical switch or appliance on or off
5. Do not use the stove again until it has been checked and you have the all clear

Gov.uk fire safety guidance adds the preventive step: make sure the gas pipe connection is secure, and if you suspect a leak, turn off the main cylinder valve¹². Check connections every time you set up, not just the first time, because hoses work loose and degrade, as the 2024 folding stove recalls show⁴. If a hose is cracked, stiff or perished, do not use the stove: Cumbria Fire and Rescue Service says to get the hoses replaced or not use the appliance at all⁸.

Packing the stove away, and keeping pans fit to use

Between emergencies, a stove kit should be stored clean, dry and complete. North Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service advises always making sure your camping light and stove are clean and properly adjusted²¹, which is as much about storage as about use: a stove put away dirty can block its burner or corrode its fittings, and one that fails to light in a power cut is no backup at all.

Pack the stove following the maker's guidance for that model. As an example of how small a spirit stove packs down, the maker states that the Trangia Triangle, an ultra-lightweight portable stove, folds to credit card size and packs away into a small bag little bigger than the size of a credit card, with packed dimensions of 44.0cm long, 16.5cm wide and 16.5cm high²⁸. It supports pans or kettles over 10cm in diameter²⁸, so it is a genuine one-pan option that fits in an emergency box. Our page on what fuel to use in a spirit burner covers the fuel side.

Keep the kit together and know where it is. Met Office snow safety advice on preparing for power cuts lists candles and matches or lighters, torches and batteries, and a mobile phone power pack as the household basics²⁹, and a stove kit belongs on the same shelf: stove, fuel, lighter, pans and a pan handle that works. The MSR pot recall is a reminder to check the pans too, since handles that come loose can spill hot contents¹⁴. Our backup stove kit checklist lists it all in one place.

On cleaning, official guidance from Wiltshire and Swindon Prepared, writing about safely cleaning a home after flooding, says to clean and disinfect your kitchen including all countertops, all crockery and cooking items before using them with food³⁰. If your stove kit has been through flood water, or has been stored somewhere damp or dirty, wash and disinfect the pans and utensils before you cook with them, and check the stove and hose for damage before lighting. For the food itself, our emergency food guide covers stores, safety and meals without power.

Choosing between stove types

The facts that matter when choosing are where you will use it, how many pans you need, what fuel you can store, and how much space the packed stove takes. Every type shares the outdoor-use rule¹, so the choice is about practicality, not safety trade-offs between types.

A gas cartridge stove gives you instant, adjustable heat from a self-sealing cartridge, and the cartridges store compactly. The 2024 recalls of folding gas stoves over hose degradation⁴ are a reason to buy from a maker that names its hose specification, to check the hose before every use, and to register the product so you hear about recalls. A two-burner gas stove, such as the type covered on our Optimus Gemini II page, lets you run a pan and a kettle at once, which matters if you are heating water for drinks and food at the same time; note that the earlier Gemini model was recalled in 2022 over a gas leak fault³, another argument for a recall check before you buy second-hand.

A spirit burner stove, such as the Trangia Triangle, burns liquid fuel in an open burner with no hose and no valve to degrade, and packs down to almost nothing²⁸. It suits a household that wants the simplest possible backup and is happy cooking one pan at a time. Our gas cartridge or spirit burner comparison sets the two side by side, and our butane or propane comparison covers the fuel choice for bottled gas stoves.

Whatever you choose, the stove is only part of the answer. In a winter power cut, cooking a hot meal matters, but so does keeping one room warm, stopping draughts, and having the right clothing and bedding. A camping stove will not heat a room, and must never be used to try: it is a cooking appliance for the outdoors, used on flat ground, never left alone, with its fuel stored outside and upright. Get those habits right and a modest stove will see you through most power cuts the UK throws at your household.