Microwave / toaster oven

[Woodbutcher]

Thanks for all your imput ya'll. I am still going to put in a microwave but I will rethink the combo unit unless I can manage the power. I have not done my electrical system buying yet so I can adjust. I love to cook and I am very comfortable with the grill and campstove, but that micro just comes in handy sometimes.

[Cindy]

Hey, thought I would put my 2 cents in. I had the microwave before I had the tear. I wouldn't go anywhere without it. Oh sure, there are those who don't even use their MW at home except to heat 'hot pockets' but then there are those like me who use it all the time.
I love mine. I just don't think cooking on a camp out shoudl be a drudge. But who am I to talk, I also have to carry along my laptop, my DVDs, and oh don't forget my airconditioner!

[IndyTom]

Just so everyone knows, there is already space for a MW planned into the galley of the Hoosier Mega Tear. As the chief camp cook of our crew, I love cooking outside on the campfire/coleman stove, but I am looking forward to the proper kitchen that my tear is going to provide. My only concern with that combo unit was the power consumption...... although a convection oven would be nice for biscuits. Then I wouldnt have to build an early morning campfire for the DO......

[Ira]

The thing about the combo is SPACE--you'll have one unit instead of two. So if space isn't a problem for you, and the power consumption looks like a BIG problem, just get a cheap microwave and separate propane oven.

I bought my first of THREE Brinkmann ovens that I'm putting in my tear. Just $55 and change at Wal-Mart. It runs off the small bottle propane, but I'll be rigging my three to run off of one 5-pounder. (And hallelujah--I just realized that the barbecue store 5 blocks from me sells the off-sized tanks, and has its own filling station.)

Long story why I'm putting in so much oven capacity, but it's what I want.

Anyway, we each have our own needs/reasons for doing things, but I'm proud to say that I've never eaten a Hot Pocket in my LIFE.

[cracker39]

I had a 10 lb propane tank that I bought at a department store like WM before there was a WM. It was nearly as high as a 20 lb tank, but slimmer. It was really convient to store and carry, but now, I can 't find it. It is supposed to be in my Dad's shed, but I don't see it. It may be buried under some junk. It was handy for using with propane torches too. The adapter hose I had for the stove had the thread the same as the little bottoes. Oh well, it is probably not usable now anyway with the new valves on the tanks.

[Ira]

Oh well, it is probably not usable now anyway with the new valves on the tanks.

Dale, I don't know if it's a state-to-state thing, but up in New Yok, it was an AGE thing:

Once the tank celebrates so many birthdays, it's considered garbage and they're not allowed to refill it.

[cracker39]

I don't know if it is a state thing or not. I think it is a federal reg. They started putting a new type of filler valve on tanks and said the old ones cannot be refilled, and I have a couple of the old ones. My grill has the new type. The new type of tank will also work on the old style connectors on appliances, but not vice versa.

[apratt]

We have the same regulation here in Washington, can't use the old valve have to have the new style valve. Make you spend more money.

[Chef]

We have the same regulation here in Washington, can't use the old valve have to have the new style valve. Make you spend more money.

I know even last year you could get rid of an old tank by taking it to a tank exchange. Give them the old tank and you got a full tank from the rack. I traded mine in that way and I know several people who did it. Home Depot didn't seem to care whether it was on old style tank you were trading in or not.

[asianflava]

Chef is right, I bought a tank but the sign on the tank cage said that they would still trade the old style out. Why do I know what it said on the tank cage? Well, I was waiting there for like half an hour before that guy came out to help me.

[IndyTom]

Disclaimer: I am working from memory here. I am at work and don't have time to check my facts.

For most pressure vessels that I have worked with in the past, it was a matter of testing rather than age. The tanks are hydrostatically tested(pressurized with water) to some specific pressure rating that is based on the use of the tank and is significantly higher than the expected working pressure for the tank. That test expires eventually, I think around 7 years for propane bottles like we are talking about. There should be an expiration date stamped into the collar of the tank somewhere. I think anyplace that sells compressed gasses (i.e. welding supply shop) should be able to arrange a retest for you.
Filler valve: this is a federal requirement and I personally hate the new tanks but what can we do. The reason the tank exchange places will still take the old style tanks, is that the can replace the filler valve with the new style and then reuse the old tank.

Like I said, im working from memory and may be utterly full of it, but I think I am correct.

Tom

[wants-a-tear]

I just recently signed up to be able to post on the forum, after reading posts for weeks, looking at pics of the various tears and other trailers, and enjoying the comraderie that appears to exist among you gentlemen (and ladies, like myself) I would love to have a tear ( or something similar, which is why I am researching the various types, etc.) My husband is active duty Army, and will retire in a couple of years. We have been in Germany for several years now, and when we return to the U.S., I would love to see as much of the U.S. as we have of Europe. I looked for a page to do an introduction but have not yet found it, so sorry for the long preamble. If there is a place to make an introduction, please point me to it. There is so much here, I get lost.

I just had to jump in on this conversation about the microwave or/an toaster decision making process. Since I have both a convection oven and a microwave at home, I can see the benefits of both. I do agree with the statement of the definite benefits of the use of the convection capability, with its ability to cook more quickly due to the fan blowing the heat around, rather than just cooking by direct radiant heat. One must lower the temperature and decrease cooking time, which I am sure would be of benefit in such a setting. I really love my convection oven, and it does take some getting used to. I seldom cook meat in the microwave, and use it mostly for cooking veggies, re-heating foods, melting things, and making popcorn.

I will say that one stove that I am impressed with that I have seen on the forum is the one that looks like a real range. I think it has 3 burners on top, and an oven. I was really impressed with the picture of the pralines that the one gentlemen made. I showed it to my husband and we both got a chuckle out of the candy thermometer in the picture. My husband said that it looked like our home kitchen, and who would have ever thought to take one on a camping trip. But then he said," Hey, if that guy can make pralines, then I could make my beignets, too!" ( for those who may be unfamiliar, they are a type of doughnut served in New Orleans at the Cafe du Monde.) My husband and girls love them ( so do I, but don't NEED them )

Well, anyway, this is getting too long, and I may run out of space. So if anyone knows about the stove in the picture with the pralines, could you tell me the details. Is it propane? and if so, does it use the little bottles like a camp stove, or the big bottle, like the gas grill in the backyard? Any information about where to find them would be greatly appreciated.

I have learned so much on this forum, and I want to thank the guys who started it and run it. I hope that when we return to the U.S. we, too, will have our own trailer, whatever style it may be.

I will be in Savannah during the summer, and was going to look up Jim in Sav., but I think I read that he sold his trailer. I wonder if he is going to make another? Maybe we could swing by and check it out!

Blessings,
Cindy

[Ira]

Hi, Cindy!

This is the oven you're probably talking about:

cabela's clicky

It's around $200, and works off a standard propane tank. There's another, almost identical unit called the Flaminetta.

The main thing about this unit is that you would probably have to mount it on a slide out drawer--since you obviously can't use the burners on top if it's sitting under your countertop.

Welcome to madness, the obsession--and enjoy the ride!