We used to do it a different way, we made a sheet metal box with three holes in the top. The box could be folded flat for transport.

The burner was placed at one end and off you go. Using the three holes for varying rates of cooking like keeping water hot at the far end. The whole assembly in the cold mornings often glowed red.

Cooking for 40 men was a doddle and as cook you get excused all duties in the field. I have seen it set up with a burner at both ends to heat a lot of water quickly so that the lads could pour boiling water through the rifle barrels becase of corrosive primers. The barrels would get too hot to touch, especially the Bren barrels. All rubbish was thrown into the box and incinerated.

heating up chunks of Aluminium for TIG welding was another task. Especially as the Guns had Aluminium hulls (M109's) The hinge blocks would detach themselves from the hull as the hatches were thrown open. They made a roaring noise while burning and had a pricker lever to clear the jet.

Accidents occurred as numbskulls tried to fill while it was burning. Quite dangerous things really.

Clive

Sounds very dangerous to me..
Bob

Petrol blowlamps and stoves aren't dangerous, putting petrol in a paraffin stove is. I know.

Cyril

I have petrol blow lamps in two of my model boats one is in a victorian steam launch about 3 feet long with a Reeves V twin oscilating engine and a centre flue boiler and has a good turn of speed. A run time of about 10 to 15 mins the lamp goes out before the water level gets to low.

In this boat I could not get an lpg system to work not enough heat and the small disposalable gas cylinders didnt last very long.

The other is a flash steam powered straight runner with Alan Raymans high speed marine steam engine in it the engine is based on a ST 10 cylinder casting. The boat will plane and does the maximum allowed speed of 12mph I think this may be slower now days. The blow lamp is 1 1/4" diameter and the boiler coil is 15 feet.

Both fuel tanks when in regular use were tested at the local ME club by the boiler tester along with the boiler. Nice and easy to use cheap to run better on leaded petrol the nozzles dont block up yes you can still get it.

Olly

Michael W – 1963 If I remember right we had one of these in one of the machine shops where I did my apprenticeship. We used the dirty diesel fuel from the cleaning baths to fill it mixed with old engine oil. I was and still am fascinated how the thing got going by chucking a bit of lit oily rag into the hole in the fuel reservoir. I seem to remember that when it was up to speed and generating good heat that it pulsated, a low rumbling warble if you like.

Having been blown up in the science lab at school a few years earlier I would have normally run a mile from such a contraption but no, this beast kept us warm and it only went bang occasionally with emmisions of vast clouds of black smoke when it did.

Now those 'orrid pump up petrol stoves we used for brewing up when I was in the REME in the 60's were a different matter – I didn't mind paying into the tea kitty for my morning brew but you would not get me near one of those things when it was roaring away boiling the kettle.

Cyrils memories of the big petrol burners in field kitchens took me back a bit but strangely, I was never as windy of these as the little tea brewer – nasty little thing.

Rik

When I was in Reme (1955/6) we used to pour pariffin into the sand in the fire buckets to brew up on

Printers used to use paraffin in sand to clean their hands

Roy