Review: Camp Chef Oven
Part 2: Temperatures and efficiencies
Tara K. Harper
October 21, 2018
This is part 2 of the 3-part review of the Camp Chef Oven.
I’ve used these ovens for around 20 years. I look at that number and am horrified at how that dates me. On the other hand, it’s a pretty good statement of how well these ovens work. I didn’t go to another brand; when I bought more, I bought more of the same – and remain very happy.
I’ve also used these ovens for months out of every year, in just about every kind of weather: Rain, wind, snow, sleet…
Here is the second part of the review: propane flow rates, temperature regulation, and efficiencies.
Check out more of this Camp Chef Oven review!
- Part 1: Regulators, lighting it up, pan size, and burners
- Part 2: Temperatures and efficiencies
- Part 3: Portability, power drop-offs, and more
Using both burners at the same time as the oven
Two burners, one oven. Yes, well… Technically, the oven does come with two burners on top. If you have an older oven, don’t use the burners. Not if you want to use the oven at the same time. In other words, not if you want to keep the oven temperature up.
My experience has been that, even with a regulator installed, running the burners at the same time as the oven will drop the temperature in the oven. Also, those burners are less effective than any of my standard camp stoves. It takes longer to heat water, and in some kettles, the water barely reaches a boil. It’s an oven or a stove, not both at the same time.
On the newer ovens, the burners burn hot like the hoven. The propane flow seems to be full to both burners and oven at the same time. Of course, it’s also screaming out of the 20-pound tank while it’s at it.
Seriously, though, you’ll have to find the sweet spot for your particular oven. Maybe you can use both burners on high to boil water and cook soup to go with the crab mac & cheese casserole in the oven. Maybe you can use the oven and just one burner. Just be aware that the built-in temperature gauge may not tell the whole truth, and that it might be worth it to keep that Coleman stove handy while you bake up that savory backstrap.
Regulating the temperature
Again, this depends on whether you have that newer oven or the older one.
My older ovens have excellent temperature control. My newest oven does not.
The older oven takes longer to come up to temperature, but stays on-temperature much better than the new oven. The newer oven seems to be more of a binary system: Hot or off. It heats up fast, but can’t seem to hold a specific temperature. It always wants to go hotter, and I have to watch it like a hawk, turning the dial up, down, up, down, all during the baking. That makes it okay for warming things, or baking hot and fast. But for something sensitive, like a roast chicken or a ginger-peach pie, I prefer my older oven.
I strongly recommend you get a small oven gauge to watch temperature. I like the kind that hangs from the rack. As long as you don’t open the door while baking, you can usually maintain a specific temperature for baking. Once you’ve got a feel for oven temp by season, you can usually maintain temperature at any point in a nice range from about 200F to 500F.
And please note: I do mean that you should keep season in mind. Baking when it’s 30F outside vs. 85F, or when the wind is up — big difference in efficiency. So take time by season into account when figuring out how long to bake anything.
Fuel efficiency, or, how much propane does it use?
Just how much propane does this oven use? Really, not much, considering.
I started off using the 1-pound bottles. That was back in the Dark Ages when the bottles weren’t so expensive. Now I use 20-pound tanks. I can’t really say how long a 20-pound tank lasts, because I use the oven for “normal” cooking as well as the typical, minimalist camp cooking when I’m lazy or in a hurry.
Here’s the thing: Between the oven and my standard Coleman 2-burner stove, I pretty much have the same kitchen outdoors that I have at home with my gas range and oven. Meaning, I am making sautes and sauces and breads; roasted vegetables and casseroles; pies and custards and tartlets, not just pan-fried steak or breakfast eggs. I don’t have to change my cooking habits. I can make the same things, exactly as people like them. No, the oven can’t fit a 23-pound turkey, but if I’m careful, I can still manage.
What I can say is that a 20-pound tank lasts about 1 week with regular meals. It lasts about 1 1/2 to 2 weeks, if I’m conservative.
Basically, you can do a lot with this oven on 20 pounds of propane. It’s efficient, and easy on the budget, especially for long-term off-the-grid use.
Want to know more?
Check out more of this Camp Chef Oven review!
- Part 1: Regulators, lighting it up, pan size, and burners
- Part 2: Temperatures and efficiencies
- Part 3: Portability, power drop-offs, and more
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