colin Posted October 25, 2009 Posted October 25, 2009 Am spec'ing up new van, was going to go for the SMEV 555 mini grill, but as the SMEV 20 litre oven/grill is only a little bigger am considering it, anyone used one or similar? I have used the SMEV 2 burner hob with grill before and found the grill to be only just adaquate, so am a bit concerned the oven/grill might not be very good.
Minstrel Posted October 25, 2009 Posted October 25, 2009 I think our smev oven/grill may be the 20 litre one. My husband does lovely toast in it. The oven is Ok but ours doesn't get as hot as I think it should (I took my oven thermometer once) but heats up a ready meal fine, perhaps taking 10 minutes longer than at home. I use my Remoska for most things when we are on hook up.
colin Posted October 25, 2009 Author Posted October 25, 2009 Cheers, thats what I'm thinking, maybe ok for heating pies or pasties etc. I'm not going to be cooking any 'roast with all the trimmings' :D
Freewheeler Posted October 26, 2009 Posted October 26, 2009 My wife has used our Smev several times to cook a roast dinner for the two of us. No problems encountered. Freewheeler
Brian Kirby Posted October 26, 2009 Posted October 26, 2009 Ours is a total waste of space! Main reason: it has no oven thermostat! If you do decide to install one, there are versions with drop down or side hinged doors, available space will possibly dictate which to go for.The grill in ours is passable, but has to be used with the door open - otherwise the flame goes out. With the door open, and even with a "heat shield" in place, everything above (in our case a drawer front and handle) gets very hot.The oven tray doubles as a Grill pan, and is very fiddly to place into its "runners". The only height adjustment relative to the flame is an invertible trivet, or omission of same. The adjustment range is seldom right for whatever is being grilled. But, above all, for gawd's sake get one with a thermostat on the oven!!! Apart from the above, as I said, a waste of space. :-)As a thought, you may do better investigating marine ovens than caravan ones.
Brock Posted October 26, 2009 Posted October 26, 2009 The oven is quite exciting to use. We take bets on whether the food is going to come out burned or under cooked. We prefer the side hinged cooker but that is because it is placed so high. An old hand once told me that practice does make perfect with them but he did admit you needed a lot of practice - he was a full timer. Oh and the contents rattle on the move. My wife and I always argue whether we should have a cooker (she says yes), a microwave or nothing at all.
Guest Tracker Posted October 26, 2009 Posted October 26, 2009 Brock - 2009-10-26 6:46 PM Oh and the contents rattle on the move. We wrap the oven trays and grill pan in old tea towels, I secure the oven shelf with 'bulldog' type paper clips and the glass top is secured by a turnkey clamping it down onto a carpet offcut and we don't get any cooker rattles at all!
Vernon B Posted October 26, 2009 Posted October 26, 2009 Brian Kirby - 2009-10-26 6:24 PMOurs is a total waste of space! Main reason: it has no oven thermostat! If you do decide to install one, there are versions with drop down or side hinged doors, available space will possibly dictate which to go for.The grill in ours is passable, but has to be used with the door open - otherwise the flame goes out. With the door open, and even with a "heat shield" in place, everything above (in our case a drawer front and handle) gets very hot.The oven tray doubles as a Grill pan, and is very fiddly to place into its "runners". The only height adjustment relative to the flame is an invertible trivet, or omission of same. The adjustment range is seldom right for whatever is being grilled. But, above all, for gawd's sake get one with a thermostat on the oven!!! Apart from the above, as I said, a waste of space. :-)As a thought, you may do better investigating marine ovens than caravan ones.Couldn't agree more BrianI'd just add that what heat is generated by these over priced items is not only wasted but is difficult to disperse - if you fit one make sure you have a fan assisted extractor - then buy an electric toaster. Seriously, if you do have space and use mains electricity take a look at the various microwave oven grills on the market for about a fifth of the price.V
Guest Tracker Posted October 26, 2009 Posted October 26, 2009 We find that two of these make pretty good toast using two of the hob burners http://www.surplusandadventure.com/shop/camping-outdoor/cooking-eating/cooking/folding-camping-toaster-477060.html
colin Posted October 26, 2009 Author Posted October 26, 2009 Just checked and the model I'm looking at OF211FGT has a thermostat so we're half way there! I've never been entirely happy with other SMEV grills which is a bugger because we mainly grill meat. It seems in europe we use 'tube with some holes' for gas grills, 20 years ago in NZ we hired a van which had a grill burner similar to those seen on super sur heaters, absolutely brilliant, a finely adjustable heat with even coverage, unfortunately have no idea what make of if they are availible here.
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