Advantages and Disadvantages of Oil Cooking Stoves - Special Points to be Remembered - Prices Wickless Stoves

A Well-con-structed Oil stove, if kept clean and properly managed, is often of the greatest convenience for cooking purposes in rural districts where gas is unobtainable, for yacht and camp cooking, or in quite small households.

Advantages

Oil stoves are portable, no flues being required; economical, oil being cheaper than other fuel. It is claimed for them that they cost about 20 per cent, less in fuel than other stoves. The lamps need not be lighted until about ten minutes before the oven is needed.

Oil Cooking Stove on Movable Legs

A. oil receivers; B. screws to regulate wicks; C. wire guards over wicks; D. door into oven; E. oven ventilator; F. talc windows to see height of flame; G. tap of side boiler; H. plate-rack; I. hot-plate and its three boiling holes

Disadvantages

Oil stoves cook slowly; need constant care to keep them clean and in good order, for unless this is done they smell, smoke, and may even explode; are apt to give off unpleasant fumes and smoke if neglected, or if bad oil is used; they require to be used in well-ventilated rooms.

Special Points to Note

1. Keep the stoves perfectly free from grease and charred bits, and quite dry.

2. Remove charred portions from wicks daily, rubbing the bits off lightly with paper and trimming them as seldom as possible. When obliged to cut the edges of the wick be careful to trim quite evenly.

3. Renew the wicks about every three months if in constant use.

4. Keep the wire guards by the wicks free from dirt.

5. Note that wicks are put in straight and kept dry.

6. Never turn the flame up too high at first.

7. Always push the oil receivers well back into their places.

8. Wash burners, wire guards, etc., in boiling soapy water every two or three months.

9. Turn foods continually in the oven, as the heat is greatest at the sides.

Good stoves should have the oven ventilated; talc windows at the sides through which to see the height of the flame; light saucepans and baking sheets, etc., to fit the oven and the boiling rings; square ovens, as

A Wickless Stove

A. metal oil holder; B. pump for oil; C. flame regulator the baking-tins can be turned about any way, not only side to side.

The price of oil cooking stoves varies from about us. 6d. to £2 or £4. Small boiling stoves for one pan cost from 3s. 6d., or, with three boiling burners, about 6s. 6d.; but these have no oven.

Some stoves can be procured with small boilers on one side of the oven and a plate-warmer on the other.

The wickless stoves for burning paraffin are very popular. No wick is required, and by a simple arrangement a heat three times the heat of an ordinary oil stove is obtained, and it is possible to boil two quarts of water in four minutes.

The flame can be regulated and extinguished like a gas flame, special burners being manufactured for indoor and outdoor use.