MikeyGMT Posted June 20, 2018 Share Posted June 20, 2018 Hi All, Rather than resurrect this ancient thread http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Hints-and-Tips/Oven-Heat/31232/ Can you tell me about your experiences with built-in ovens? I have similar issues on my 2005 Knaus 501 Sport Traveller "Myfanwy". Last halloween I tried baking half a dozen spuds and it took about 6 hours on full heat! The cutlery, the hob, the sink and the van as a wholes were all toasty warm! The inside of the oven, wasn't much warmer than the outside of it! The Smev gas oven/grill is 50cm wide X 40cm high and in the same location as mentioned in the other thread. It is squeezed in under the cutlery drawer, and above the pan drawer resting on a narrow wooden shelf. I discovered today that there is no insulation around the oven at all. Worse, the oven is vented into the void space of the cupboard, so thank goodness I have not left the oven on overnight - which I wouldn't anyway. The clearances recommended in the installation instructions mentioned in the other thread are inadequate to mind as well. Has anyone in this situation insulated this oven and seen any significant performance improvement and without any dire consequences? I was surprised not to see some sort of heat protective board, up against the side walls, where there is only 2-4 cm clearance each side. I am nervous to box it in with insulation board as that gap will be even narrower. I am thinking as it is performing so poorly, would I be better to change the oven to a new model with a high efficiency rating. Maybe one with some built in insulation! Maybe it would be best turn it back into a cupboard and carry a barbeque instead?! I'll be honest I have seen hay-box ovens more effective than this one. Don't get me wrong, I'm not intending cooking a Sunday roast, but it would be nice to roast some spuds or veg in about a 1-2 hours rather than 6! I camp off-grid a lot, so a 12v microwave, is probably too much even though I have installed a 260 w solar panel, which does us very well. So less of me babbling on, has anyone reviewed newer campervan/motorhome/caravan ovens? Are they now energy rated? A good measure might be how long does it take to bake a medium potatoe? Thanks MikeyGMT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grumblewagon Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 I have a SMEV oven/grill in m van and it is next to useless. It does work, after a fashion, but it takes ages to do just about anything. The trick is to let it heat up for 10-15 mins before putting anything into the oven. However, I have successfully cooked oven chips from frozen and chicken joints. Just takes longer than it should. It's nowhere near as good as the Spinflo oven (separate grill) that was in my last van. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randonneur Posted June 25, 2018 Share Posted June 25, 2018 MikeyGMT, if you want baked potatoes try inserting a metal skewer through the centre, lengthways, the heat gets to the middle quicker. Will only work with metal skewers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyGMT Posted July 29, 2018 Author Share Posted July 29, 2018 Thanks for the tips folks. Skewering the spuds is a great idea. It's just a shame these ovens don't perform! There's a gap in the market for some clever folks to build something better! I suspect we shall continue to use the oven as a pan store for now! Removing the oven altogether would give the space for quite a big cupboard in such a small van, but would be giving in also! So before I revert it to a cupboard, I'm going wrap the sides and top in ceramic oven insulation, but obviously not covering the vents! I'll let you know how that works out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest pelmetman Posted July 29, 2018 Share Posted July 29, 2018 MikeyGMT - 2018-07-29 1:36 PM Thanks for the tips folks. Skewering the spuds is a great idea. It's just a shame these ovens don't perform! There's a gap in the market for some clever folks to build something better! They did 28 years ago :D .......... But now they're built to look pretty rather than the ability to cook a meal *-) ........ So as long as you folk queue up to buy pretty sh*te, they wont bother to make useful sh*te >:-) ........ Roast beef Roast potatoes with homemade Yorkshire pud B-) ........... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archiesgrandad Posted July 30, 2018 Share Posted July 30, 2018 I think that the way forward is to remove the oven and create a nice big cupboard in which you can store a Remoska and lots of other stuff. AGD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billggski Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 Ovens in motorhomes are a British thing, like u-shaped lounges. We tend to sit inside eating pies and baked potatoes, looking out at the rain. The continentals sit out in the sun with a salad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted July 31, 2018 Share Posted July 31, 2018 We're on our second or third SMEV oven/grill and my missus likes them. Our previous one was a 2005 model. She works on the basis that if she doesn't think the oven will cook the food within 90 minutes, she won't bother. She never runs the oven for more than two hours and the grill for no longer than 25 minutes. In summary, she says she cooks within the oven's capability or we go to the pub. For baked potatoes, a skewer will work but she buys them ready baked and just heats them up. Roast spuds are out for us. Vegetables are steamed on one ring although this does create a lot of condensation. Your oven's installation seems the same as our current and last one although on the top of the work surface in both vans is a long vent into the van. I'm not allowed to use the oven and grill. Our first caravan in 1990 had a Rose oven. That would cook anything, or so we reminisce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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