Electric cooking
Hi all we have purchased our first tourer my wife and I and our 5 yr old. Cooking is all gas but we would prefer to use the EHU any advice on the best grills ? As I'm confused with all the teppanyaki ,George foreman and griddles ! Also is wattage a concern? we will look to grill chicken/steaks etc along with the good old bacon and eggs! all advice appreciated thank you.
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Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about using the gas, Paul.
We use our gas oven and hob for all our cooking (other than one electric hob, which we tend to use just for the kettle) and we use very little gas......maybe one 6kg propane cannister per year?
I think it's the heating where you save the most gas by using electric......especially if you caravan all year.
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Sounds as if we have a similar set up to Ian. Use the gas oven occasionally, the grill and gas hob. Probably use 6kg of gas at most in 17 weeks away. Heating, fridge and probably hot water would consume most gas if not using electric instead.
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In addition to the oven and hob we use a Cadac on the external gas point all year round.
We've just changed the first 6Kg Calorlite gas bottle after 65 nights including Xmas dinners in the oven.
There is nothing better than cooking outside on the Cadac. It gets used for evening meals, then in the morning for breakfast. Will often do caramelised sweet peppers, onions and tomatoes with garlic; add strips of chicken or beef or pork; par boiled sliced potatoes; In the morning bangers and bacon and mushrooms, delicious. Once a year the griddle pan used gets a wash.
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Hello paulgem, and welcome. If you intend using electric appliances such as grills etc... then just make sure you don't overload electric supply for your hook up bollard, and you should be fine. You soon learn which appliances use a lot of power, and with care you can ration usage to suit. In the past we have used a small steamer as an alternative, and have even taken a bread maker away with us!
You don't say why you are thinking of using electric, but don't dismiss the gas, as it will give you a lot more freedom to use different sites, and should a site have a power failure (rare, but not unknown!), then at least you have to back up option. All the best, and happy vanning!
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We too cook using gas almost exclusively and I can't remember how long ago we needed a new bottle. It's much simpler than having to turn all the lekky appliances off so as not to trip the bollard.
The info on using electricity in Technical Advice at the head of the page may be of use to the OP.
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We also just use gas for cooking only. I think in four years since we got our van we've only changed it once.
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You will be fine using gas. Not sure what size bottles you will have, but most Club Sites keep a supply in, and are usually a decent price. Some petrol stations also stock them. Normal operation is to have one in use, and carry a spare, so if you do empty a bottle, you can switch over easily. Also, if you intend doing Winter touring, get the red bottles as the gas in these (butane) doesn't freeze.
(I hope I have got that right, red butane, blue propane!)
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Good decision, P & G. It's much simpler to use the fitted appliances with, perhaps, the occasional outside BBQ.
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No, it's the other way around.
blue = butane
red = propane
But you're right that red is best for colder weather.
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Oops, perhaps one glass too many tonight! My apologies
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As others have said, cooking on gas is not expensive, but in good weather you may well want to cook outside. A gas BBQ is good, but if you do want to consider using an electric appliance, we find the Teppanyaki grill plate very versatile.
A larger size one will use about 2000 watts, Aldi and Lidl often have them for about £20. There are also smaller ones available that use less power.
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Ordered this one for a neighbour a couple of weeks ago. He is pleased with it. £20.
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you will need to know how much current (amps) you are using so use Ohms law, look at the wattage on the rating plate and then divide by 230 (voltage) this will give you the amount of current (amps) it will be using but don't forget to allow for all the other electric items you may have on, normal hook ups are between 10 & 16 amps but some places are a lot less
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This is why club and other sites have 16amp hook ups
In our outfit we have =
700 watt hob, 1kw kettle, 800watt output microwave (input of 1kw) water heater 1.3 kw (max) I could go on but I'm already up to 4 kw (max 3kw) Apart from the low wattage kettle the rest comes fitted to modern outfits. On sites with lower current EHU we would of course use gas for some items but as we are paying for electric we use it but try not to waste it.
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Friends use a small induction hob that they bought for safety reasons due to their grandchildren being registered blind. They of course supervise the cooking but know that they will not have a very hot surface that can be touched accidentally.
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't Other way round!! Red for propane and blue for butane.
Yep, carry 2 bottles, because inevitably, when you do run out, it'll be at an inappropriate time, when the site office is closed! Speaking from experience and having learned from it a long time ago......
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Best thing we ever bought was the tepanyaki electric grill, £20 at Aldi, great for bacon and eggs in a a morning and grilled meats at night.
We also have Cadac which is great as well especially with the different attachments , wok, griddle , pizza stone, paella pan.
we use very little gas. Maybe a canister a year.
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We rally a lot, which rarely have ehu, so use gas for cooking, hot water and heating. . However, when we are on a site, we make full use of the ehu. I have a halogen oven which I use instead of the gas oven. It will cook most things, although I haven't tried frying eggs in it yet. We have a cadac gas bbq, but no longer take it with us, as we find it too big for the two of us. Instead we have a Lotus Grill which uses charcoal but is not a conventional bbq. I have just bought an electric omelette maker, so will try that out in the van this season season as well.
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