non cumbustible matting? for gas stove _INSIDE_ a car :)

[Kaylee]

One of the last things I bought before my mini-launch was a dual fuel GasOne compact stove. I've now made two complete meals on it, albeit on a table/desk in my temp dorm room.

I want to be able to operate it in my car, for example when raining.
The manual explicitly recommends operating it on "non cumbustible matting".
I put that into both Amazon and Google, and had poor hits.

Is a "grill mat" an equivalent or acceptable substitute?
For example, this set of 3 for $6:
https://www.amazon.com/Ankway-Grilling-R...018G5RFIA/

To help the space-blessed majority to understand the space challenges of in-car cooking, here's the first of a fun/he-aint-right video series:

He uses his reflectix panels as his base, but that doesn't feel safe to me.
He convinced me to buy a flat bottom stove, rather than a top heavy hiker mini stove.
I love his cheerful fatalism.

[Scott7022]

Be careful. If it is raining I have wrapped smokies in flatbread added sauce and frozen veggies and placed them on the valve covers while running the engine stationary for 20 minutes and then let them slow cook. In a van is difficult. In a car is dangerous. If Murphy happens then stuff goes up really quickly. Shit is made fire retardant these days much to the dislike of chemically sensitive types. But... Large metal cookie sheet and some duct tape to hold it on the sheet in case you kick it over. Do nothing but cook. Don't answer the call from the president or lottery corporation. Finish cooking and then shut off the fire. DO be aware unless you smoke cigars your car will take on the smell of food unless you're vegan, animals, mice and other larger types will now smell food where you sleep. Depending on where you travel this could be an issue or not. When I had my camper in BC the stove got used to heat water for coffee and make grilled cheese sandwiches. Everything else was and will be cooked outside. The other reason I like Microwaves for quick warm-ups and limited scent. Never had an oven and never would. In a car I get this is close to impossible. Charging the battery for 20 minutes and using the residual heat energy stored in that big chunk of iron or Aluminum is very easy and for creative types pretty fun. One Russian guy on my Siberia trip made extra brass water lines he could push through a chicken. Wrap the chicken in tinfoil and then a cotton bag went over the foil and another application of foil. He could do three at a time. Roasted from the inside out/ They were awesome tasty. But simpler systems work too.

[Kaylee]

Thanks Scott!

I'm concerned a metal cookie sheet would reflect heat upwards.
The grill mats (apparently) have a fiberglass core, but I have no experience with that, and no idea to what degree they would reflect heat towards the stove.

Your point about smells lingering inside a car is excellent, and I failed to consider that. :doh:
In fact, after my two test runs, the aromas had lingered for a few hours.

My original plan had been to use the stove primarily to boil water, for retort pouches, oatmeal, and hygiene. Then I got obsessed with the concept of on-demand bread.
Based on your excellent point, I'll stick to boiling water only inside the car, and do the aromatic stuff reasonably far away.

[MN C Van]

I like his video- I don't see anything dramatically unsafe about his method.

As far as cooking outside, well, you're at the mercy of weather, and many other things.

if wind is blowing, then cooking becomes difficult. Windbreaks help, but by the time you add all the things that 'help,' you would need to pull a semi trailer!

So, when it's bad out I have no choice but to cook inside.
I guess it smells a bit for a while, but eating>smell

I'll do a review of the stove rather than discussing it here.

Most things are easier and safer in an apartment. That's why nearly all people choose to live in houses.
I value nature that isn't near my apartment, so put up with all kinds of hindrances and risks in the van.

[MN C Van]

Was up in N Minnesota a bit ago- Few bugs and weather still looks cool from website.

They have vault toilets. Internet is spotty, it's so desolate.

The luggable loo works fine, if rustic spots aren't open.

You can get the rustic camping guide I linked at the Tofte ranger station.
My browser will view pdfs without an added plugin

[Heidi Mull]

I once had auto insurance that wouldn't cover any propane used inside the vehicle. Just something else you might want to consider.

[MN C Van]

Just do it near a lake. If it burns, you can push the car in for easy disposal.

[Trebor English]

A cookie sheet with a half inch lip all around will catch things that spill.  I do my cooking on a repurposed section of plastic shelf.  The shelf sags a bit and I have a bit of wood under one edge of the cookie sheet for leveling.  The air gap keeps any heat away from the plastic.  There isn't any heat and the plastic doesn't melt.  I use it with propane and with the soda can methanol stove.  If alcohol gets spilled it could be much worse than a bit of egg yolk.

The Saturn guy has a set up that is horifying.  Egg yolks in bed and the whole thing is tippy.  
The grill mat is supposed to go on a bbq grill.  The charcoal is below the mat and the cut up vegetables go directly on the mat.  The mat keeps the vegetables from falling through the wires into the charcoal.  To actually cook, heat must be conducted from the fire below to the food above.  An insulator would be a failure.  If you are one who doesn't want foods to touch the mats will keep them separated.

[Snikwahjm]

We use a generator and an induction cook top. We boil water inside the van but when we cook, we park next to a picnic table and pull out the generator and the cook top and cook outside the van. I wanted a cookie sheet like that but no place to store it so I found a kitchen stove burner cover and turn it for the messy work. I think if I was worried about heat a cookie sheet would work fine under the stove. When it rains we eat something we can spread with a knife or eat with our hands...

[tx2sturgis]

An RV stove top cover might work for you.