Propane Equipment
I have a travel trailer, TT (small) but still camp ala tenting style: Most activities are outside. I’d like your opinion on which propane appliances you find most useful, and any ideas or uses I haven’t thought of. This is rustic camping, without electricity. I set up on the picnic table, and then start to cook. I bring gear I think I’ll use on the trip, and leave most of the goodies at home. I own just about everything available, though. (I know it’s a SICKNESS, don’t go there...) My tow vehicle (TV) is a van, and lots of room to toss things.
A camp stove is basic...I have both Coleman and Century-Primus, two burner units. I find the latter a much better stove. The problem with the cheaper stoves, to my mind, is the burners are too close together. You can’t have two large pots on at the same time! And often the heat output is too low.
I spray everything with Pam before starting, makes cleanup of spills easy. I bring a large propane bottle and connect up with a long hose. Would prefer a smaller, 5 pound LP bottle, but haven’t picked one up yet. Have the one pound LP bottles along for lanterns, etc. I find the stove/grille combination to be the most useful. I can boil my corn on the cob and grill the Surf & Turf (steak & shrimp) at the same time.
Making breakfast, I like the griddle/skillet stove. Very easy to use and cleanup. I use the two burner stove to make custom omelettes. Considered the 12v blender for mimosas, but never bought it!
Now to stuff I own, but seldom light up: The Coleman oven works great, and I’m glad to have it instead of an oven inside my TT. Fresh baked muffins in the morning are a snap. I’m very good at dutch oven cooking, but I find this unit quicker and easier. The Coleman grille (looks like a stove on the outside, not the one with legs) gets used at home, but not camping. The combo unit fits the bill better. (Sorry I bought this one...) The Heat N Serve slow cooker (have two, go figure!) has yet to be used. When I bought it I was thinking of using it in lieu of my crockpot/Dutch oven. Hasn’t happened! Someone told me they are great for making popcorn..... Of course, if I have to cook for a group, I bring my Magic Chef stove with me. Now that’s where you can put a griddle or a grille and still cook easily.
I like Coleman and have almost all of their products. That said, they are NOT the best you can get. Century-Primus makes a better camp stove. (I have both) The best camp stove is Brunton Wind River. Now if they'll invent a microwave that runs on propane...
I have a Coleman coffee maker and it makes very good coffee. Less heat is better, don't scorch or overboil it. (Everyone's in a rush these days...) I also use an old percolator, which cost me 25 cents. Excellent on fire or campstove. Do you know how to make coffee on a campfire without a percolator? Get the water just boiling and remove the pan from the heat. (optional: Prepare the coffee grounds beforehand by mixing egg white in to stick it all together, shaped about the size of an egg) Toss in the grounds, and the pot will (might) boil over. Let it steep, then drink the coffee. The grounds stay in the bottom. As an aside: A friend who lived to be 103 used to hardboil her egg every morning in the coffee percolator. Now we call it "multi-tasking"!
see you on the trail,
Jeff
A camp stove is basic...I have both Coleman and Century-Primus, two burner units. I find the latter a much better stove. The problem with the cheaper stoves, to my mind, is the burners are too close together. You can’t have two large pots on at the same time! And often the heat output is too low.
I spray everything with Pam before starting, makes cleanup of spills easy. I bring a large propane bottle and connect up with a long hose. Would prefer a smaller, 5 pound LP bottle, but haven’t picked one up yet. Have the one pound LP bottles along for lanterns, etc. I find the stove/grille combination to be the most useful. I can boil my corn on the cob and grill the Surf & Turf (steak & shrimp) at the same time.
Making breakfast, I like the griddle/skillet stove. Very easy to use and cleanup. I use the two burner stove to make custom omelettes. Considered the 12v blender for mimosas, but never bought it!
Now to stuff I own, but seldom light up: The Coleman oven works great, and I’m glad to have it instead of an oven inside my TT. Fresh baked muffins in the morning are a snap. I’m very good at dutch oven cooking, but I find this unit quicker and easier. The Coleman grille (looks like a stove on the outside, not the one with legs) gets used at home, but not camping. The combo unit fits the bill better. (Sorry I bought this one...) The Heat N Serve slow cooker (have two, go figure!) has yet to be used. When I bought it I was thinking of using it in lieu of my crockpot/Dutch oven. Hasn’t happened! Someone told me they are great for making popcorn..... Of course, if I have to cook for a group, I bring my Magic Chef stove with me. Now that’s where you can put a griddle or a grille and still cook easily.
I like Coleman and have almost all of their products. That said, they are NOT the best you can get. Century-Primus makes a better camp stove. (I have both) The best camp stove is Brunton Wind River. Now if they'll invent a microwave that runs on propane...
I have a Coleman coffee maker and it makes very good coffee. Less heat is better, don't scorch or overboil it. (Everyone's in a rush these days...) I also use an old percolator, which cost me 25 cents. Excellent on fire or campstove. Do you know how to make coffee on a campfire without a percolator? Get the water just boiling and remove the pan from the heat. (optional: Prepare the coffee grounds beforehand by mixing egg white in to stick it all together, shaped about the size of an egg) Toss in the grounds, and the pot will (might) boil over. Let it steep, then drink the coffee. The grounds stay in the bottom. As an aside: A friend who lived to be 103 used to hardboil her egg every morning in the coffee percolator. Now we call it "multi-tasking"!
see you on the trail,
Jeff
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Deidre on -
I like the Coleman Sport Cat propane heaters. They throw off just enough heat to keep a small tent cozy and will last throught the night, unlike the bigger Black Cat heater which uses up the 1 lb bottle before morning.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Heffernan on -
so, nobody passed on the proper secret to good Cowboy coffee to you eh, my Uncle passed it down to me, and I think you should ask somebody in your family over the age of 70 how to make coffee properly, not being smart but it will amaze you when all is revealed, then you can make grounds free coffee for all your friends , smug with the secret of the ages
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Permalink Reply by John Kearns on -
I Like this idea the Propane TV
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propane TV 72 1024.jpg, 111 KB
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Duquette on -
jeff
would love to hear how to make cowboy coffee...
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Permalink Reply by John J on -
Wow Jeff, I bet no one goes hungry when they're camping with you. Sounds like an awesome setup for the camp kitchen. I love the idea of waking up to warm muffins while camping, very posh.
Thanks for the post.
My setup is pretty basic, coleman 2 burner stove and a coleman lantern. I also have a small propane bbq that we bring along when we're going to do some grilling (which should be every camping trip!).
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Permalink Reply by Deidre on
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I have the Coleman stove top oven too. It's great! Muffins, pita pizza, pies, cookies, biscuits, casseroles.....
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Permalink Reply by Dave Bower on -
We have a pretty basic set up here..Coleman 2 burner stove, Coleman North Star lantern and our handy dandy Coleman propane "tree". that fits onto a 20lb propane bottle and you can feed your stove and latern and 2 other appliances from one bottle.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Heffernan on
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leeme see
4 x Coleman lanterns, ( two doubles, I single, 1 single Naptha for winter)
6 stoves, 1 single, 2 doubles, 1 combo, 1 triple( Naptha & converter)
1 tree
2 x 5 lb
4x 20 lb
1 griddle
1 battery operated rotisserie
1 bbq
1 charcoal Hibachi
and yes my old green enamel coffee pot
no I don't drag it all with me every trip
and all my Naptha stuff runs on un-leaded gas, cuz I hate those damn part cans of Naptha, and no there ain't one bit of difference in performance except your fuel is always fresh and you can dump the remainder in the car on the way home
yes thats a turkey on the battery spit, Killbear Prov Park, last thanksgiving, 12 lbs, wrapped in bacon, 5 hrs over the Hibachi cuz ya never know what's been in the fire pit - Attachments:
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turkey.jpg, 99 KB
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Duquette on
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Ah, a kindred spirit!!!
I've learned not to carry everything, only what I'll need. The turkey sounds great. I make honey ham on the grille, and then pea soup with the bone.
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Permalink Reply by Jeff Heffernan on
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maybe you should invade La Belle Province , Pea soup and all, we always made baked beans with our ham bone, large dutch oven burried under the fire for an afternoon , sour dough biscutts made in a frying pan... now I gotta go buy a ham, and a pound of white beans..lol,, and eat everything else in the house till I can get camping
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Permalink Reply by Deidre on
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I have a propane question - can you hook up the Coleman Sport Cat or Black Cat propane heaters to a 20 lb tank? I hate using the 1 lb cans as they never seem to be recycled by anyone. I have a refill valve so I can refill them from a 20 lb tank but you can only do them about 4-5 times before the valve is shot.
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