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Quote: Originally posted by Sassyb on 11/8/2009

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Ok enlighten a confused newbie.  Where is the difference cooking in a utility/kitchen tent to cooking in your own apart from not burning down your home for the week?

Sassy

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Yup, that's about it. £40 tent burnt down rather than a £400 one.

Also it's a lot easier to ban kids 100% from a utility tent, I find.

Thanks Val feeling less confused now, sure it wont last long lol

Sassy

Quote: Originally posted by Valk_scot on 11/8/2009

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Quote: Originally posted by superfurry on 11/8/2009

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while we're asking basic questions - why put the stove on a table and not on the floor?

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Because it will burn a hole in the groundsheet? Or did you mean outside? Even outside you can have a few problems cooking with a stove on the ground...you can set fire to or scorch the grass, you can get a bloomin' sore back bending over the pots and finally if there are kids or pets around (even if they're not yours) it's far to easy for a stove or pot to get stepped on or otherwise knocked over.

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Quote: Originally posted by superfurry on 11/8/2009

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i always cook on the floor, .........although i hate the rings you get from putting hot pans on the ground, i wonder if i can find a solution to that, some kind of heat-proof mat....

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Quote: Originally posted by Merry on 12/8/2009

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Quote: Originally posted by superfurry on 11/8/2009

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i always cook on the floor, .........although i hate the rings you get from putting hot pans on the ground, i wonder if i can find a solution to that, some kind of heat-proof mat....

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Yes, it sounds like a very good idea indeed to find a way of stopping that happening.

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Quote: Originally posted by superfurry on 11/8/2009

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i hate the rings you get from putting hot pans on the ground, i wonder if i can find a solution to that, some kind of heat-proof mat. i'd rather not add a table to our essentials list if at all possible, it's long enough already!

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Well, I know it's a table, but how about a backpacking table like this

they're basically a roll up metal trays with legs. I found mine perfect for lifting my cooking clear of the ground.

Patrick

Quote: Originally posted by superfurry on 12/8/2009

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would that take a stove and a pan? i do like the look of it as it's not tall enough to be unstable at all. don't have time to order online/get to camping shop before next trip - do you think cork placemats might work as a stopgap?

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It had just enough room for my single ring electric hob and one of my Trangia pans (you can see half the table in one of my profile pics).

A cork placement mat might do the job, my main concern would be how stable a small flat mat laid directly on an uneven surface would be.  Another stop gap could be a cheap frying pan laid upside down, you could press down on it to get it level.

There's risk with everything we do. As long as you minimise the risks and take proper precautions, then there's no reason why you can't cook in a tent. Some tents have specially designed cooking areas in fact. Trailer tents usually come with removable kitchens that are placed in the awning and some, as with folding campers, have the stove built in to the main body of the tent.

The army cook in tents in the field all the time, as do many outside caterers, hikers, Scouts, etc. It's just all about being sensible and safe.

Quote: Originally posted by Patrick40 on 12/8/2009

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Quote: Originally posted by superfurry on 11/8/2009

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i hate the rings you get from putting hot pans on the ground, i wonder if i can find a solution to that, some kind of heat-proof mat. i'd rather not add a table to our essentials list if at all possible, it's long enough already!

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Well, I know it's a table, but how about a backpacking table like this

they're basically a roll up metal trays with legs. I found mine perfect for lifting my cooking clear of the ground.

Patrick

 

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Agree...these are handy little tables..one thing I would say though,being gloss "hammerite",they are a quite slippy..so we use a grippy rubber mat on ours'.(..that perforated stuff you get on a roll)..Haing said that,our stove doesn't get hot underneath,so best check before you use any... 

Back to the subject of cooking in tents in general,we've always done it(..when the weather dictated!)but I would say,try and not cook over a ground sheet..as if anything does tip/get knocked over(..which is far more likely than an actual fire in my opinion!),it'll run into the grass and NOT straight towards you!...Nasty if you're bare footed or kneeling down!!

Quote: Originally posted by Merry on 12/8/2009

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Quote: Originally posted by superfurry on 11/8/2009

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i always cook on the floor, .........although i hate the rings you get from putting hot pans on the ground, i wonder if i can find a solution to that, some kind of heat-proof mat....

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Yes, it sounds like a very good idea indeed to find a way of stopping that happening.

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We have some heat resistant silicone mats that can be rolled up that we use in the van for putting hot pans on.

They were only e few quid from Asda last year.

Amazon has these for under a fiver.