We were somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the
drugs began to take hold. I remember The Natural Philosopher
saying something like:

That's simply an upside down COAL gas ring (I reckon) that probably used
to simply heat a kettle and keep the tea warm.

Yes, and?
It's at his mate's place of work, not his house. Perfectly feasible it
was used for tea - I recall plenty of places where a gas ring was in
constant use for tea, instead of its installed-for purpose of heating up
tar, soup, dishwater, etc.