cook top outdoors

[Joseph and Melanie Castine]

Hi there,

I tried to search this topic but did not find anything.

i need a new cooking system. My old two burner stove plus grill is dying after three years of use. it was OK but not really good at grilling. I cannot find any two burner grill combos any more. i guess they don't make them anymore. Mine is no longer made.

So I am thinking of getting a Weber baby Q for grilling my veggies and chicken and such AND
a separate cook top. Maybe the Coleman Fold' n Go. It has 10000 btus per burner.

Any other suggestions???

I cook a lot, but only use the indoor stove in my Casita for boiling water once in a while.

Joe and Mel

[Jason, M]

Joe and Mel,

Friends have a fold-n-go and it is hot, but has no wind screen, which can be annoying (not to mention you lose a lot of heat and thus waste fuel). Also, the pot supports are rather far from the heat source (again waste a lot of heat) we have also found that unless this thing is DEAD LEVEL, pans seem to slip off it. Now that may just be the pans we are using. The built-in ignition is a real nice feature too.

In short, it's hot but only if you have a wind screen.

[peterh]

There are lots of 2-burner stoves. Atwood makes the 2-burner "D20" that my Scamp came with, and Wedgewood and Suburban have their 2-burner stoves, too. Another uber-cool option is the stainless steel SMEV MO8322 sink/stove combo (I plan to plant this puppy or something like it in our Surfside some day):





If you want flexibility and are comfortable with your carpentry skills and making cuts in your trailers kitchen cabinet and counter, consider a propane camp stove. Lots of tent trailers have dual-use camp stoves that slide into a counter top notch-out.

[Pamela H]

I really like the looks of camp chef products. They look pretty utilitarian, but 60k BTU's...WOW!! Really hot water FAST!!!





They also have some neat cast iron accessories!!
Pam

[Pete Dumbleton]

They look like something you'd have as part of a serious BBQ!

[Kurt & Ann K.]

Joseph & Melanie,
If you really want to go all out, Cabella's and I think Camping World have a 2 burner stove with a nice oven underneath for about 300 bones. It's a portable, propane powered unit. If memory serves, it appeared to be about an 18" X 18" X 18" cube.

Talk about wretched excess!!! No extra heat indoors, all those fresh baked goodies (for the racoons and bears to enjoy) while the spectators, (family?) watch from the sidelines! And it all can be cooked and baked right on the picnic table under your awning! Yup. camping at it's best! Oh, & don't forget to bring the bear repellent and fog horn!

Enjoy,
Kurt & Ann K.

[Joseph and Melanie Castine]

Thank you all!!!

Pam, the Camp Chef is AMAZING. Saw it in action at Falcon Ridge Music festival last week. The add on bbq thing with cover is cast iron and amazing. But it is really too heavy and it is overkill for just the two of us.

Jason, I read the same criticism of the fold n go. Looses too much heat. But, I already built a windscreen (out of cadboard but soon to be sheet metal). Is it really OK wth the screen or are the burners just too far away so that it is really inefficient. Don't want to burn unnecessary propane when boondocking.

Kurt and Ann, I love the outdoor stove/oven. WOW! I normally bake bread (well, I did when we had an apartment). It would be great, but as you write, If you really want to go all out

peterh, some of these might work outside. Thank you




Joe and Melanie

[Pamela H]

Thank you all!!!

Pam, the Camp Chef is AMAZING. Saw it in action at Falcon Ridge Music festival last week. The add on bbq thing with cover is cast iron and amazing. But it is really too heavy and it is overkill for just the two of us.

Don't they make smaller more compact systems? They might be worth looking at. Also, as far as weight goes, if you add on a table to set it on if you are lacking a picnic table...the weight isn't as significant...(plus it makes a really good protection device for bad guys...)and my husband really respects cast iron...

[Bob H]

Funny thing...this arrived in my email this morning...tow it behind the trailer and everyone will know you're a serious BBQ'er...

[Pamela H]

Don't they make smaller more compact systems? They might be worth looking at. Also, as far as weight goes, if you add on a table to set it on if you are lacking a picnic table...the weight isn't as significant...(plus it makes a really good protection device for bad guys...)and my husband really respects cast iron...

uh oh...bad sign, I am replying to myself.
I did a bit more research, there are two smaller units.

http://www.campchef.com/catalog/item/1/13/...etop+Stove.html






The weekender, 30k BTU per burner and 31 lbs...

And the Sport stove...





20 lbs and 20k BTU per burner. I may have to rethink my choices...(And no, we are not at all affiliated with camp chef...) They are spendy, but seem to be better made than most units.

They are for some serious cooking...but you can add grill accessories for a one stop cooking experience...and you can seriously boil water quickly.
Pam

[Roy in TO]

...and you can seriously boil water quickly.

Reminds me of the time we spent a weekend at a real nice waterfront motel Breakers in Coburg, ON.
They supply BBQ's and charcoal for the guests. While chatting with the owner, I asked why they didn't use propane BBQ's. His response was that the purpose of getting away from it all was to slow down, he was merely helping us do that.

[HustonFamily]

We're liking our Coleman Roadtrip grill.

[Joseph and Melanie Castine]

Pam, I think we have a winner.

Thank you

[Pamela H]

Pam, I think we have a winner.

Thank you

Which one do you like? The explorer I think is at wal mart online. (Maybe even the sport model?) Do a search on Camp chef. We are probably going to buy the bigger one...went yesterday...again...to our local "discount" sports store. We bought the small grill option, just haven't made final decision on the base unit. I am debating on the one with a 60k BTU and a 30, or just two 30's. We also go camping cause we like to slow down...but I have been at high altitudes and been unable to get water to even get hot enough to perculate in a coffee pot in my coleman road trip grill. We love it, by the way, but for us, at higher altitudes, chicken pieces takes forever...(Like two hours??) Way too long for someone to stand by the grill. (Now, I'll cook a brisket at home for 8-12 on my big grill, but I just don't want to do that when I am camping!!!)

Pam

[Booker B.]

Hi,

We used our interior stove, our portable 2 burner coleman AND our Weber q220 for dinner one night, shows you can never have enough appliances if you are feeding 8 =)

We don't use our interior stove much as we prefer to cook outside. We do use it when we are using the 2 burners on our stove with a grill.

Our friends have the fold and go stove. It's a great stove until the wind blows and then it's almost useless. Nice looking stove though

[Glenn Baglo]

I would have responded to the topic posted, but now I can't find it.
I had a two burner stove in the tent trailer and rarely used it. Outside I had a Coleman 2-burner and a Broil King Porta-Chef BBQ. I added a butane fueled single-burner Thunder Range and soon found myself bringing it inside so I could make coffee fast in the morning.

As I can barely move before coffee, I would set the Thunder Range on the sink cover where I could reach it without getting out of my sleeping bag. It boiled water in about half the time of the propane stove. I had the thermos and filter holder, loaded with grounds, ready the night before.

If you asked the Old Bag, she'd swear that the only reason I had to have that cup of coffee is so I could switch to beer as soon as possible.

Anyway, we ordered the Escape with the three burner stove. Maybe we'll actually use all three burners at some point, but after six days camping, I finally lit a burner tonight. Dinner was onion-fried potatoes, fried mushrooms and a shared prime-rib steak. With the potatoes and onions on the Thunder Range outside, and the steak on the BBQ, I needed a burner for the mushrooms. Old Bag didn't even notice than there was no veg.

So, more directly to the topic, with the propane burners inside and my Thunder Range and BBQ outside, I have all the options I need.

The Thunder Range is inexpensive ( $25 - $40 ), runs on compact, fairly cheap butane tanks, is light, and measures about 12" x 12" x 5". It is fast and hot.

I have a Weber Q 110 that a friend insisted I buy, but I might put it away for a rainy day and take the Broil King next trip. Haven't quite decided. You alway love the BBQ you know and I'm still getting to know this one.

Choosing your combustible devices really comes down to how you cook and what you cook.

baglo

[Capt Ron]

We like our Brinkman Stainless Steel propane camp stove that cost under $20 at WalMart. Works great on the morning coffee and other stovetop chores. It folds up into a large briefcase sized package.

We also usually carry our Thermos camp grill. It has a cooktop like a George Foreman grill. It's ribbed on one half the surface and smooth on the other. It's very useful for grilling up say pancakes and bacon in the morning or searing a steak for dinner. The plus is that the grease is all channeled into a plastic bottle attached to the side. Clean-up is a few paper towels. It folds up and has it's own plastic legs although the whole thing is a bit bulky maybe suitcase sized.

We also prefer to cook outside but when we're plugged in, we use the microwave a lot.