The idea of being prepared is to basically have planned redundancies in case our normal set of circumstances that we find ourselves in ceases to function the way we would prefer. In our case, as the ice storm was roaring through Texas the rolling power outages would come and go. The initial thought was that at least we had a gas oven range.

As it turns out, not so. This particular oven, despite cooking with gas, was still at the mercy of electricity, having a "handy" safety valve that would turn off gas flow if electricity for some reason was cut off.

So what do you do in such circumstances? We could fatten up ourselves with snacks that we had in the pantry. Thankfully, we had recently stocked up, so that was a good option, but there are only so many granola bars that a person can eat before getting nauseous. We also didn’t want to open the fridge too much and lose all the residual cooling, because who knows when the power comes on? So that left us with our camping MRE’s (more on that in a future post).

This is where our Coleman classic camping grill came into play. We did buy it for camping purposes but it of course works fantastic in emergency situations too. Simple sturdy construction, built in wind deflectors, easy to clean and maintain, and uses the very common little green propane tank that you can buy at most big-box stores. You can even buy a simple converter hose that allows it to use the big tanks that your home grill uses!

There are other types of camping grills out there, from super tiny hobs that attach to small gas canisters that act as the stand, all the way to what can only be described as a full size safari kitchen, complete with prep tables and utensil storage. Expect the price of that system also to be safari-sized.

Factors you have to consider when buying a camping grill are this:

1. Movability and storage - Where would you put it when not in use? Will it be easy to bring out and use?

2. How many mouths do you have to feed? - having a smaller 1 burner is ok if you like things ultraportable but less exciting when the family is hungry and you can only do one meal at a time.

3. Accessibility of gas canister system - Where I live, the small Coleman gas canisters are very common (and probably most of the United States) but that may not be the case where you are currently located.

4. Cooking space - Will it fit your current pots, pans, kettles? You could alternatively buy camping cookware, but then you have to store those too.

So by buying a camping grill, you will have to also buy the gas to supply it. My experience with Coleman gas canisters specifically is that they will usually last a whole weekend's worth of camping, as long as you are not cooking time consuming meals. I have been able to feed my whole family two days worth of breakfast, lunch, dinner and several coffee brewing and hot cocoa sessions.

So the question is, how many should you have on hand at any one time? On average we seem to have two fresh canisters stored away but for emergency sessions having more is probably advisable. Six will carry you a long way and ten seems like overkill, but I would say the determining factor there is how far away you are from general civilization? The further you are out in the country the more you should have.

We used our camping grill to boil water. As is sadly the case when the power goes out due to natural disasters, often does the water system fail also. We put our MRE’s to good use, and drank plenty of hot tea and coffee while we bundled up in blankets, playing word games and camping in the living room while the rest of the rooms were sealed off. Despite the challenges we faced, in the end our experience was not that far removed from our time camping out.

Parting thoughts

1. If you already have a grill out on your patio with an extra hob/burner on the side, that works just as well. Another reason to have several propane tanks on hand also.

2. Having that converter hose kit to attach to larger propane tanks is not necessary if you have several small canisters, but a nice to have.

3. Propane should never be used inside the house. The gases it emits could potentially asphyxiate you as it replaces the air in your lungs if you inhale enough of it.

Until next time, be somewhat prepared.