I've seen in other threads in the forum where folks have replaced their RV refridgerator with a residential model. I have even seen new RV's being sold with Residential refridgerators...ice and water in the door too !
As we look at RV's to buy, I am stunned by the size of the ovens. Doesn't matter what price range...the oven is barely big enough for a frozen dinner ! How in the world am I supposed to cook lasagne or roast a chicken in that shoebox of an oven. Sooooooo....my question is - Is there any way to replace this tiny creature with a conversion residential stove. Anyone hear of this being done.
If not...please tell me how you experienced RV'ers cook in these tiny little ovens.
Thanks,
Marilyn and Gene
GENECOP said
01:19 AM Apr 21, 2013
Yes you can, it really comes down to the space you have available to work with. I am just now doing some kitchen work, I installed a new over the cooktop microwave, then in another cabinet I am installing an OVERSIZED Cuisinart toaster oven, google it, it is Very highly rated, and large enough to handle a couple of large chickens.....it might be something for you to consider....
Cindy T said
01:28 AM Apr 21, 2013
I don't know if the replacement is possible, but I can give you an idea of how my cooking/baking has changed since we became fulltimers.
I don't have a regular oven at all, I have a convection/microwave. I also have a toaster oven. I had to get rid of all my regular cookie sheets, as well as any 9x13 pans. Now I bake on a much smaller pan in the convection oven or in the toaster oven. That means it takes longer to bake cookies, as I can only bake a small amount at a time.
I have a small muffin pan that only bakes 6 muffins.
For Thanksgiving, I don't do a whole turkey, just turkey breasts.
If we want pizza, I buy 2 small individual pizzas that will fit in the toaster oven, instead of 1 big pizza.
I find myself using my crock pot quite a bit. I found a great recipe for lasagne in the crock pot & it is fabulous.
I've had to really change the way that I cook & the amount I cook at one time. But we still eat quite well.
EggerMar said
02:24 AM Apr 21, 2013
GENECOP -
I like the oversized Cuisinart toaster oven idea. Much easier than replacing equipment in the RV. Just checked them out. The model TOB-60 holds a 12 inch pizza. It's a broiler and convection as well.
Guess I'll have to do a bit of adjusting with my cooking patterns as well.
Marilyn
EggerMar said
02:25 AM Apr 21, 2013
Cindy
Thanks for the info. I will certainly be using that crock pot more once we start full timing.
MarkS said
03:12 AM Apr 21, 2013
On the other hand if you really must take it with you, Viking makes a 24" VGIC2454BSS range that with some modifications could fit into many RVs. At a mere $3700 per copy is something each and every RV gormet chef should consider.... Or maybe take another look at that toaster oven Gene suggested.
Terry and Jo said
05:30 AM Apr 21, 2013
Y'all need to take Mark's comments with a grain of salt. Earlier, he spoke of how the Spaniards used to get thousands of miles out of a galleon.
$3700 for a range and oven....
....WOW!
While we have an oven, and it might come in really handy if the power goes, Jo does most of her cooking on the range top and in the GE Advantium Microwave/Convection Oven. She does a darn good job of it too.
Terry
MarkS said
07:15 AM Apr 21, 2013
Hey Terry, I can't make this stuff up! The Spaniards were amazing people. And the stove was actually the result of some research on one of my "what if I wanted to..." ideas that I chased down a while back. Like, why not build a fifth wheel with two opposing full wall slides, or how about putting a hot tub on my truck, or some other thoughts that are actually much more expensive or scary depending on perspective.
Jack Mayer said
12:07 PM Apr 21, 2013
EggerMar wrote:
Jack - I checked them out.
Newbie question - is this something I would have the dealer switch out and convert to use propane? Gene and I are not in any way shape or form do it yourself type folks.
Marilyn
Some dealers would do this. It depends on the amount of "fitting" required. But there are people around that would do it...perhaps not in your current location....if you intend to fulltime then t would be esy to find someone in the snowbird locations.
The ovens I have seen all come with propane kits (check to be sure, though), so the conversion to propane is simple. Some even come set for propane rather than natural gas.
If you are not a serious "baker" then the higher quality toaster ovens would be a good route to take. Just depends on how "serious" your needs are.
-- Edited by Jack Mayer on Sunday 21st of April 2013 12:08:57 PM
PD CFK said
12:59 PM Apr 21, 2013
Terry, Me thinks we may need a tad more than a "grain" of salt! No, offense intended, Mark. Pat K
Technomadia said
01:59 PM Apr 21, 2013
I've never been much of a baker to begin with, so we were happy to take our oven/stove top completely out - and now have a toaster oven stowed away in the previous space (along with other kitchen appliances). For the occasional baking we do, that's been plenty.
Most of our food prep is done in a rice cooker, food processor or on our portable induction stovetop. Then again, we're primarily a vegetarian gluten free household.
- Cherie
Jack Mayer said
03:48 PM Apr 21, 2013
You can put in a higher quality (maintains temps better) apartment size gas oven and it will cook a lot better than the RV ovens. It will cost more too. A LOT more. There is a reason for that - it is far higher quality than the RV "junk". You can buy these in 24". Here is a link to some 24" wall ovens that could be used in an RV. I have experience with the Verona model - that has been installed in some New Horizons. It works VERY well. But it costs a LOT.
The RV industry has trained consumers to expect to get a "cheap RV". That is why the appliances in RVs are basically JUNK. Use of residential appliances is the way to go if you want quality and something that works well. I have yet to see an RV appliance that functioned in an above average way - and I'm being generous here. Just consider this - if RV appliances that wholesale for under $100 - $200 are so "great" why are they not installed in residential dwellings? (Answer - because no consumer would tolerate it. Yet those same consumers buy them in RVs)
If your RV is only used on an occasional weekend or vacation the RV "junk" may suffice. But for longer term use, the RV industry should be held to a higher standard.
You get what you pay for.
EggerMar said
05:06 PM Apr 21, 2013
Jack - I checked them out.
Newbie question - is this something I would have the dealer switch out and convert to use propane? Gene and I are not in any way shape or form do it yourself type folks.
Marilyn
Cindy T said
05:46 PM Apr 21, 2013
Thoght I'd mention that I really like my Breville toaster oven. It cooks great, very evenly. I got the smaller model, but they make a larger model that is a convection oven.
Terry and Jo said
11:50 PM Apr 21, 2013
Jack is very correct here. I used to deal with selling and delivering propane in a business and on occasion had to help a customer convert a natural gas range to LPG. In most cases, all that was needed was a change in the orifice. That is a small copper or brass fitting with a hole in the center. That hole in the center was all that made the difference between an LPG orifice and a natural gas orifice.
Unless there is a major price difference between buying a natural gas range versus the LPG range, I'd just get the LPG one. Then, should one decide someday to move it into an apartment or whatever, then change the orifice to use natural gas.
The orifice change is necessary because natural gas has a lower btu rating than LPG. Thus, if one wants to use natural gas in a range previously used with LPG, the orifice hole size needs to be larger to allow more gas through to the burners.
If one is going from LPG to natural gas later, all it may require is to have the orifice hole size be drilled to a larger size. But, have a professional do it because just any size larger hole is not a good way of doing it. It needs to be of a specific size, depending on the capacities of the range.
Terry
Lucky Mike said
12:17 AM Apr 22, 2013
ok ....so I have a convection/ micro over the range and I removed the 3 burner cooktop and replaced it with a 3 burner range/ oven by removing 2 lower drawers..... so plenty of cooking options but you are correct....lots of small baking pans and such.....oven cooks well though after a few adjustments!!
EggerMar said
03:06 AM Apr 22, 2013
Cindy -
I just checked out the Breville Smart Oven and it looks like the best thing out there. Great reviews too. It runs at 1800 watts. How can I calculate how much of a draw that would be on a battery if I were to for example roast a chicken for an hour and a half?
Come on all you math experts....
Marilyn
Jack Mayer said
07:28 AM Apr 22, 2013
You are not going to be roasting a chicken in ANY electric oven if you are boondocking and not running your genset. And using an inverter while boondocking would be the only time you would do this (use the battery to cook)..... You do not have enough battery capacity to use electric appliances on the inverter for long times when you are boondocking.
-- Edited by Jack Mayer on Monday 22nd of April 2013 07:28:59 AM
Lucky Mike said
07:39 AM Apr 22, 2013
Any cooking product using more than 500 watts doesnt belong in a boondocking rig if your trying to conserve.
1. Try a solar oven
2. roast the chicken on the grille outside
3. either pit roast or use a dutch oven with a campfire
4.try not to boondock.....most rv parks have full hook-ups and you can consume all the electric you want, when you want. at a price you can afford.......(20 to 60 bucks a Nite) little pricey to cook & run the micro to heat tea water)
5. consult with a house moving company and find out there rates to tow a home all over full time and take the Stick and brick with you..(LOL)
6. The hardest part of becoming a Full-timer is letting go of stick and brick habits.....
-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Monday 22nd of April 2013 07:42:28 AM
EggerMar said
03:46 AM Apr 23, 2013
OK OK - No roasted chicken -
Marilyn
cdat12 said
08:31 PM Jun 6, 2014
Don't discount Dutch Ovens, they seem scary at first, but once you get used to them they are surprisingly easy to use. I bake everything in them, from muffins and cookies, chicken, lasagna, cornbread, just about anything that can be done in an oven can be done in a Dutch. Require next to no space in your RV, no electrical, simply some charcoal and you're ready to go.
John
Gadfly said
02:59 PM Jul 2, 2014
If you have room for it you could also do your oven roasting in a Nesco, or other brand, roaster oven. We use one to roast even medium size turkeys.
Just bring it out when you need it. Would probably require shore power or a generator but not sure about that. Some of them even have setting to use as slow cookers.
TRAILERKING said
10:56 PM Jul 2, 2014
EggerMar wrote:
Cindy -
I just checked out the Breville Smart Oven and it looks like the best thing out there. Great reviews too. It runs at 1800 watts. How can I calculate how much of a draw that would be on a battery if I were to for example roast a chicken for an hour and a half?
Come on all you math experts....
Marilyn
I just bought the Breville 800XL not long ago........It's a great piece. Used it a few times and works awesome. I actually used it this weekend while overnighting in Wallyworld. It did give the generator a work-out as it cuts in and out the generator revs up and down. Does work better/faster than the built in convection microwave.
Lonney Wade said
11:35 PM Jul 2, 2014
EggerMar wrote:
I just checked out the Breville Smart Oven and it looks like the best thing out there. Great reviews too. It runs at 1800 watts. How can I calculate how much of a draw that would be on a battery if I were to for example roast a chicken for an hour and a half?
OK, if you had 6 or so, AGM batteries about 600 amp hours total and a 3000 watt pure sine inverter, 300 amp hours would be all you would want to use, 50% down on the batteries. You might get 1 to 2 hours of cooking before the inverter would shut down because of low voltage at 1800 watts but why would you want to do this to your batteries? Maybe more tests? Ok, I'm also guilty of this !!!!!!
Lonney
Lucky Mike said
06:14 AM Jul 3, 2014
running a Brevel at an hour 1/2 would be like running your A/C for the same time frame.........your right ,the pressure you would put on the batteries would be pretty bad .........you could buy alot of chickens for what it is going to cost to replace the batteries..
I've seen in other threads in the forum where folks have replaced their RV refridgerator with a residential model. I have even seen new RV's being sold with Residential refridgerators...ice and water in the door too !
As we look at RV's to buy, I am stunned by the size of the ovens. Doesn't matter what price range...the oven is barely big enough for a frozen dinner ! How in the world am I supposed to cook lasagne or roast a chicken in that shoebox of an oven. Sooooooo....my question is - Is there any way to replace this tiny creature with a conversion residential stove. Anyone hear of this being done.
If not...please tell me how you experienced RV'ers cook in these tiny little ovens.
Thanks,
Marilyn and Gene
I don't know if the replacement is possible, but I can give you an idea of how my cooking/baking has changed since we became fulltimers.
I don't have a regular oven at all, I have a convection/microwave. I also have a toaster oven. I had to get rid of all my regular cookie sheets, as well as any 9x13 pans. Now I bake on a much smaller pan in the convection oven or in the toaster oven. That means it takes longer to bake cookies, as I can only bake a small amount at a time.
I have a small muffin pan that only bakes 6 muffins.
For Thanksgiving, I don't do a whole turkey, just turkey breasts.
If we want pizza, I buy 2 small individual pizzas that will fit in the toaster oven, instead of 1 big pizza.
I find myself using my crock pot quite a bit. I found a great recipe for lasagne in the crock pot & it is fabulous.
I've had to really change the way that I cook & the amount I cook at one time. But we still eat quite well.
GENECOP -
I like the oversized Cuisinart toaster oven idea. Much easier than replacing equipment in the RV. Just checked them out. The model TOB-60 holds a 12 inch pizza. It's a broiler and convection as well.
Guess I'll have to do a bit of adjusting with my cooking patterns as well.
Marilyn
Cindy
Thanks for the info. I will certainly be using that crock pot more once we start full timing.
Y'all need to take Mark's comments with a grain of salt. Earlier, he spoke of how the Spaniards used to get thousands of miles out of a galleon.
$3700 for a range and oven....
....WOW!
While we have an oven, and it might come in really handy if the power goes, Jo does most of her cooking on the range top and in the GE Advantium Microwave/Convection Oven. She does a darn good job of it too.
Terry
Some dealers would do this. It depends on the amount of "fitting" required. But there are people around that would do it...perhaps not in your current location....if you intend to fulltime then t would be esy to find someone in the snowbird locations.
The ovens I have seen all come with propane kits (check to be sure, though), so the conversion to propane is simple. Some even come set for propane rather than natural gas.
If you are not a serious "baker" then the higher quality toaster ovens would be a good route to take. Just depends on how "serious" your needs are.
-- Edited by Jack Mayer on Sunday 21st of April 2013 12:08:57 PM
Most of our food prep is done in a rice cooker, food processor or on our portable induction stovetop. Then again, we're primarily a vegetarian gluten free household.
- Cherie
You can put in a higher quality (maintains temps better) apartment size gas oven and it will cook a lot better than the RV ovens. It will cost more too. A LOT more. There is a reason for that - it is far higher quality than the RV "junk". You can buy these in 24". Here is a link to some 24" wall ovens that could be used in an RV. I have experience with the Verona model - that has been installed in some New Horizons. It works VERY well. But it costs a LOT.
The RV industry has trained consumers to expect to get a "cheap RV". That is why the appliances in RVs are basically JUNK. Use of residential appliances is the way to go if you want quality and something that works well. I have yet to see an RV appliance that functioned in an above average way - and I'm being generous here. Just consider this - if RV appliances that wholesale for under $100 - $200 are so "great" why are they not installed in residential dwellings? (Answer - because no consumer would tolerate it. Yet those same consumers buy them in RVs)
If your RV is only used on an occasional weekend or vacation the RV "junk" may suffice. But for longer term use, the RV industry should be held to a higher standard.
You get what you pay for.
Jack - I checked them out.
Newbie question - is this something I would have the dealer switch out and convert to use propane? Gene and I are not in any way shape or form do it yourself type folks.
Marilyn
Thoght I'd mention that I really like my Breville toaster oven. It cooks great, very evenly. I got the smaller model, but they make a larger model that is a convection oven.
Jack is very correct here. I used to deal with selling and delivering propane in a business and on occasion had to help a customer convert a natural gas range to LPG. In most cases, all that was needed was a change in the orifice. That is a small copper or brass fitting with a hole in the center. That hole in the center was all that made the difference between an LPG orifice and a natural gas orifice.
Unless there is a major price difference between buying a natural gas range versus the LPG range, I'd just get the LPG one. Then, should one decide someday to move it into an apartment or whatever, then change the orifice to use natural gas.
The orifice change is necessary because natural gas has a lower btu rating than LPG. Thus, if one wants to use natural gas in a range previously used with LPG, the orifice hole size needs to be larger to allow more gas through to the burners.
If one is going from LPG to natural gas later, all it may require is to have the orifice hole size be drilled to a larger size. But, have a professional do it because just any size larger hole is not a good way of doing it. It needs to be of a specific size, depending on the capacities of the range.
Terry
Cindy -
I just checked out the Breville Smart Oven and it looks like the best thing out there. Great reviews too. It runs at 1800 watts. How can I calculate how much of a draw that would be on a battery if I were to for example roast a chicken for an hour and a half?
Come on all you math experts....
Marilyn
You are not going to be roasting a chicken in ANY electric oven if you are boondocking and not running your genset. And using an inverter while boondocking would be the only time you would do this (use the battery to cook)..... You do not have enough battery capacity to use electric appliances on the inverter for long times when you are boondocking.
-- Edited by Jack Mayer on Monday 22nd of April 2013 07:28:59 AM
Any cooking product using more than 500 watts doesnt belong in a boondocking rig if your trying to conserve.
1. Try a solar oven
2. roast the chicken on the grille outside
3. either pit roast or use a dutch oven with a campfire
4.try not to boondock.....most rv parks have full hook-ups and you can consume all the electric you want, when you want. at a price you can afford.......(20 to 60 bucks a Nite) little pricey to cook & run the micro to heat tea water)
5. consult with a house moving company and find out there rates to tow a home all over full time and take the Stick and brick with you..(LOL)
6. The hardest part of becoming a Full-timer is letting go of stick and brick habits.....
-- Edited by Lucky Mike on Monday 22nd of April 2013 07:42:28 AM
Marilyn
John
If you have room for it you could also do your oven roasting in a Nesco, or other brand, roaster oven. We use one to roast even medium size turkeys.
Just bring it out when you need it. Would probably require shore power or a generator but not sure about that. Some of them even have setting to use as slow cookers.
I just bought the Breville 800XL not long ago........It's a great piece. Used it a few times and works awesome. I actually used it this weekend while overnighting in Wallyworld. It did give the generator a work-out as it cuts in and out the generator revs up and down. Does work better/faster than the built in convection microwave.
EggerMar wrote:
I just checked out the Breville Smart Oven and it looks like the best thing out there. Great reviews too. It runs at 1800 watts. How can I calculate how much of a draw that would be on a battery if I were to for example roast a chicken for an hour and a half?
OK, if you had 6 or so, AGM batteries about 600 amp hours total and a 3000 watt pure sine inverter, 300 amp hours would be all you would want to use, 50% down on the batteries. You might get 1 to 2 hours of cooking before the inverter would shut down because of low voltage at 1800 watts but why would you want to do this to your batteries?
Maybe more tests?
Ok, I'm also guilty of this !!!!!!
Lonney
plan on running the generator........