mikethebike Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Hi all we are considering purchasing a haligen oven for home use and also taking it with us on our travels in our motorhome. We feel that it will save us a lot of gas especially on our 6 week trip around europe this summer. The only thing we are worried about is they draw 1300-1400 watts and a lot of continental sites only supply 6 amps or less. Does anyone have experience of halogen ovens, particularly in the motorhome? What are the pro's and cons of these devices? Any information or advice welcomed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flicka Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Some info on Halogen Ovens on this previous post, Mike. http://www.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=21479&posts=20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Tracker Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We use one of these at home and it cooks brilliantly. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Coopers-816-Halogen-Oven/dp/B001OBPPLI One of the best kitchen 'gadgets' we have ever bought and it's easy to keep it clean too! We don't take it away because we don't cook much whilst we are away, it's quite bulky (but there may be smaller versions), and we don't use sites or hook ups. But I can see it would have it's benefits for those who needed one as long as the site power supply will cope? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rayjsj Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 We use a halogen oven in the van, works very well and keeps the meat moist, not drying it out like the standard oven. We bought one with a completely detachable lid rather than the one we use in the house, which has a 'Tilt' lid (and takes up much more space). You obviously need an Electric hook-up to use it, and it does draw quite a bit of power, So would be just about ok on a 6 amp supply (providing nothing else was working). A 16amp supply which is the UK normal is fine. Ray Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Hubby got converted to using a Halogen oven last year and loves it (house husband). It is great for cooking joints etc as it is quicker and also makes stonkingly good pork crackling! :-> We have a large 12L one for normal home use and also bought a smaller 7L one for the van (both 'new' from car boot sales, £18 and £13 respectively). My hubby told my Mum how good it was so she wanted our 7L (unused) one! Soooooo, we've just bought another 'new' 7L one for £15 from a car boot sale so we can take it to Spain when we go next month for 6 weeks - as we'll need to use sites for some of our time there we'll have electric and hubby can then get his 'fix' and I'll hopefully get my crackling!!!! :D The small ones tend to only be around 1000w (about 4.4 amps), the large ones around 1300w (about 5.7 amps), I would recommend a smaller one to take away with you as the large ones are quite a bit bigger and heavier, and would be much more difficult to store. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frankkia Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Very many camp sites in Spain have a 5amp supply - occasionally you see a 10 but not often and those that have 10 often charge by the Kwh. If you intend using your oven there you will need to turn off the charger and switch the fridge to gas or you will be forever resetting the trip (or having the manager do it as many have locks on the power supply boxes). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Frankkia - 2012-01-05 10:01 PM Very many camp sites in Spain have a 5amp supply - occasionally you see a 10 but not often and those that have 10 often charge by the Kwh. If you intend using your oven there you will need to turn off the charger and switch the fridge to gas or you will be forever resetting the trip (or having the manager do it as many have locks on the power supply boxes). Hi Bernie Thanks for the info, I'm aware of the low supplies abroad and already do as you suggest when we use them so as not to cause problems ... I don't want to have to go grovelling ... or worse ... tripping the whole site as a Dutch camper did once in France and his holidaying countrymen gave him a real roasting for doing so! :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lennyhb Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 If going to Italy be aware a lot of sites only have 3 amp hook ups. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marydot Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 We had a JML one, which we used when we still had a caravan. Agree with everything that's been said, especially if there are just 2 of you to cook for. Our problem was that it didn't last long, the halogen element went, and the local repair man reckoned that bouncing around, even in its box in the caravan when it's being towed, probably didn't do it any favours. Didn't bother getting it repaired and the jury is out on getting another one. Mary Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pepe63xnotuse Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 We did look at getting a halogen oven a while back but what with the "onboard" gas hob,grill and oven, the seperate triple gas hob we use for outside and the small gas bbq....AND the twin electric hob,that we already lug about,we decided that we had more than enough cooking appliances as it is... (lol) Sorry..Off Topic with this bit :$ ...but it may be of some use to those who want to do a "roast"... Obviously this isn't a true "roast" as such (and probably nowhere near as quick as a halogen oven!)..but recently we've tried "hob roasting" chicken whilst away in the van(..Dutch oven style) We just use a large,lidded saucepan and a simmer ring..Wack the heat up to brown the skin of the bird,then turn heat right down,remove bird from pan,line the bottom with chunky veg(this also acts as a trivet),replace bird,add additional veg around sides and keep the lid on.. The key seems to be to keep the heat just ticking over low... It does take about 2 - 2 1/2 hours for a 4lb bird though..but everything is done in the one pot,making washing up easy! ... and if you mash a few of the veg into the remaining stock,it makes a great soup for the next day. ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Apache670se Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 Mike, We have used a Halogen Oven in our Van for the last three years, Ann would not do without it. We use it most days we are away, if nothing else it saves on using our gas oven. When hooked up you might as well use the electric. We cook all sorts, including roasts, chickens etc. Best thing we ever bought for cooking, wouldn't leave without it. Buy one. Bob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave225 Posted January 6, 2012 Share Posted January 6, 2012 I admit for long enough we did not have one, nor even an oven in the van. Never saw any real need for it as we tend to holiday in the sun. We also find the extra storage in the van far more useful. However, passing Carrefour one sunny day we saw them on offer for 29 euros, so decided to give it a go. Ours is a 1300watt one but works fine on all the sites we have been to. Have not seen any Spanish sites with less than 10 amps EHU but maybe have been lucky. When travelling it sits on the floor as it is pretty light. It does what we need which is to heat up things like pizza, pies ( the Fray Bentos variety for when travelling andit is wet, sits on the outside step and cooks one in about 20 minutes or so). and we have done the odd small roasty thing in it. It is useful, but again not essential as you can use alternatives for most things. We also bought a microwave a few years back but it lasted opne trip and is now in the attic. Too heavy and not much use unless you have a big family to feed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mikethebike Posted January 6, 2012 Author Share Posted January 6, 2012 Hi all Thank you very much for your replies, very helpful. After reading your posts I think we will probably buy one of these ovens it only remains to decide on either a 7 or 12 litre one for the van. We will try to view both sizes before we decide. Once again thank you all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mel B Posted January 8, 2012 Share Posted January 8, 2012 Some halogen oven recipes for you to drool over: http://cdn.idealworld.tv/common/downloads/Halogen_Oven_Recipe_Book.pdf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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