Popular Science Monthly 



J)30 



How to Make an Efficient and In- 

 expensive FireJess Cooker 



THE materials needed are a box, or 

 some other outside container, some 

 good insulating material, B, a kettle for 

 holding the food, a container for the 

 lining of the nest in which the kettle is 

 to be placed, and a 

 cushion or pad of in- 

 sulating material for the 

 cover on top of the 

 kettle, and a cover, G. 



For the outside con- 

 tainer a tightly built 

 wooden box as illustra- 

 ted is the most satis- 

 factory. The box should 

 have a hinged cover, 

 and at the front a hook 

 and staple to hold the 

 cover down, A window 

 fastener answers the 

 purpose well. The size 

 of the box should be 

 large enough to allow 

 for about 4 in. of pack- 

 ing material all around 

 the nest in which the 

 kettle is set. 



The kettles used for 

 cooking should be dur- 

 able and free from 

 seams or crevices, 

 which are hard to clean. They should 

 have vertical sides and the covers should 

 be as fiat as possible and provided with a 

 deep rim fitting well down into the kettle 

 to retain the steam. The size of the kettle 

 should be determined by the quantity 

 of food to be cooked. Small amounts 

 of food cannot be cooked satisfactorily 

 in large kettles, and it is therefore an ad- 

 vantage to have a cooker with compart- 

 ments of two or more different sizes. 

 Kettles holding about 6 quarts are of 

 convenient size for general use. Tinned 

 iron kettles should not be used in a fire- 

 less cooker, for, although cheap, they are 

 apt to rust from the confined moisture. 

 Enameled kettles are satisfactory, espe- 

 cially if the covers are of the same material. 

 Aluminum vessels may be purchased in 

 shapes which make them especially well 

 adapted for use in fireless cookers and, 

 like enameled ware, they do not rust. 



The container for the cooking vessel, 



The outside container may be 

 any box of a convenient size 



or the lining for the nest in which it is 

 to be put, should be cylindrical in shape 

 and deep enough to hold the cooking 

 kettle. It should fit as snugly as possible 

 to the cooking vessel, but at the same time 

 should allow the latter to be slipped in 

 and out freely. If the cylinder is too 

 large the air space between it and the 

 kettle will tend to cool 

 the food. For making 

 this container a gal- 

 vanized iron or other 

 metal bucket, B, may 

 be used or, better still, 

 a tinsmith can make a 

 lining of galvanized iron 

 or zinc which can be 

 provided with a rim, 

 A, shown on following 

 page, to cover the pack- 

 ing material. 



For the packing and 

 insulating material a 

 variety of substances 

 may be used. Asbestos 

 and mineral wool are 

 doubtless the best, and 

 have the additional ad- 

 vantage that they do 

 not burn. Ground cork 

 or the packing from 

 Malaga grapes, hay, ex- 

 celsior, Spanish moss, 

 wool, and crumpled pa- 

 per may also be used satisfactorily. Of the 

 inexpensive materials that can be ob- 

 tained easily, crumpled paper is probably 

 the most satisfactory, since it is clean and 

 odorless, and, if 

 properly packed, 

 will hold the heat 

 better than many 

 of the others. To 

 pack the container 

 with paper, crush 

 single sheets of 

 newspaper in the 

 hands and pack a 

 layer at least 4 in. 

 deep over the bot- 

 tom of the outside 

 of the container, 

 tamping it in or 

 pounding it with a 

 heavy club. Stand the container for the 

 cooking vessel, or the lining for the nest, 

 in the center of this layer and pack in 



Section through cook- 

 er showing insulation 



