Chafing Fuel Calculator

About this calculator

Chafing fuel is the gel or liquid fuel — often sold under the generic name ‘Sterno-style’ cans — that burns under a chafing dish to keep buffet food above the safe holding temperature of roughly 60°C (140°F) for the length of a service. Each can burns for a fixed, labeled amount of time, commonly around two hours for a standard can, and a chafing dish typically needs one or two burners running underneath it depending on its size.

Caterers, event planners and restaurant buffet staff need to know in advance how many cans to bring so food doesn't drop into an unsafe temperature zone mid-service and no one is left improvising a fuel run during a wedding or corporate lunch. Getting the count right also avoids over-ordering fuel that then goes to waste, which matters for tightly costed catering jobs.

Enter how many chafing dishes you are running, how many burners each one uses, how many hours the service will last, and how long a single can burns, and the calculator tells you exactly how many cans to bring.