Looking for alternative cooking options using EHU

[Anthony1]

Wow...
Slow cookers, inductions hobs and Cadac’s. You do realise the Cali has a double hob burner...?
Just lift the glass lid

I’m surprised you lot can fit all this stuff in your vans...

But on hook up you use the site's electricity and not your gas. You paid for it, why not use it.

 

[soulstyledevon]

But on hook up you use the site's electricity and not your gas. You paid for it, why not use it.

But the gas bottle on a Cali last forever.
I’ve never heard of anyone having to refill one.
.
.
.
.
.
.
All joking aside, they honestly last a very long time. Cost is minimal.

I would love to see all campsites installing meters for electricity. Especially as some sites charge £5-£-10 per night for the privilege.
We use hardly any Electricity when camping.
But my wife insists on it, to power her hairdryer
I wouldn’t need electric hook-up if it wasn’t for that.

I would imagine solar and a good charge before leaving home would get me by.

 

[WelshGas]

The more gear you carry the more Diesel you use.
Now if the gas bottle and cooker were replaced then I could see the advantage, but otherwise, not so sure.

 

[soulstyledevon]

The more gear you carry the more Diesel you use.
Now if the gas bottle and cooker were replaced then I could see the advantage, but otherwise, not so sure.

I’ve often wondered about that.
Gas bottle refill costs £25. I’ve lost count how much I’ve used mine, so can’t work out a cost per cook. But I imagine it’s minimal.
Then factor in extra weight for taking multiple extra cooking devices and the cost of hook-up once on site...?

 

[Hotel California]

We use the gashob everyday when camping and must say the botlle lasts a long time .
A electric waterboiler for making coffee we do take for use on hook-up.
Some campsites have cookingfacilyties and if so sometimes we use it , but i never would concider carrying any other electrical divices for cooking like toasters, microwaves, ...
When reading some story's on the forum seems you UK members do take a lot electrical stuff in the Cali (use campsites) and go out to eat (pubs) .
We 9/10 times cook our own meal on the gashob.(using free aires a lot means no hook-up)
Maybe a thought to convert the gashob to electric ?

 

[Ch1pbutty]

The more gear you carry the more Diesel you use.
Now if the gas bottle and cooker were replaced then I could see the advantage, but otherwise, not so sure.

We looked at below for our previous T4:

Wallas XC Duo - All-In-One Heating and Cooking Solution for Camper Vans

XC Duo is a safe and space-saving heater-cooker combination for camper vans.

www.wallas.fi

 

[Karlos]

Hi thought I would chuck my experience in.

We have used electric cooking for years in our folding camper and continue with the cali. We have a double electric hob and electric hotplate which are great when on EHU.

For wild camping I have a Trangia and if I cant cook outside I use the calis hobs but prefer to be outside.

 

[Amarillo]

I’ve often wondered about that.
Gas bottle refill costs £25. I’ve lost count how much I’ve used mine, so can’t work out a cost per cook. But I imagine it’s minimal.
Then factor in extra weight for taking multiple extra cooking devices and the cost of hook-up once on site...?

We used our gas extensively while pootling around Europe for a year. I can confidently say that a single 907 bottle is sufficient for four for four weeks, eating out on average one evening per week. 56 breakfast drinks and occasional pancakes, sometimes pasta for lunch, and 96 evening meals. Using your £25 refill cost, that is under 50p per use and under £1 per day; ~16p per hot drink or single meal.

 

[ThomasHJ]

while it can't replace a gas stove or electrical stove, for all your cooking, this grill plate that it electrical, does replace a charcoal grill. I personally love my charcoal grill, but I know people who swear by this thing. It takes up less room and you turn it on in a second.

 

[Karlos]

while it can't replace a gas stove or electrical stove, for all your cooking, this grill plate that it electrical, does replace a charcoal grill. I personally love my charcoal grill, but I know people who swear by this thing. It takes up less room and you turn it on in a second.

I have one of these and one half its size so if only myself and the current Mrs K are away we take the smaller one but they are great.

 

[Louis II]

But my wife insists on it, to power her hairdryer

Hair dryer adaptor for the diesel heater?

 

[soulstyledevon]

Hair dryer adaptor for the diesel heater?

?

 

[Anthony1]

But the gas bottle on a Cali last forever.
I’ve never heard of anyone having to refill one.
.
.
.
.
.
.
All joking aside, they honestly last a very long time. Cost is minimal.

I would love to see all campsites installing meters for electricity. Especially as some sites charge £5-£-10 per night for the privilege.
We use hardly any Electricity when camping.
But my wife insists on it, to power her hairdryer
I wouldn’t need electric hook-up if it wasn’t for that.

I would imagine solar and a good charge before leaving home would get me by.

You are right. We bought the electric hob when we went to Norway as we had read here that gas refills were difficult, if not impossible to find. We then discovered the wonderful world of free to use communal cooking areas - this is one of the best, in Sweden. See Pic.

Some hook ups only cost a couple of pounds a night, even in the UK and we use an electric kettle, toaster etc.

Your wife could use the shower block for hair dryer/rollers. The C&MC have hairdryers.

I might experiment with gas for those things and leave the electrical stuff behind (save a lot of space) and not pay for hookup.

 

[Louis II]

?

Something like this but with a smaller nozzle...

Standheizung-Erweiterungsset

Standheizung-Erweiterungsset für VW California T5-T6.1 Mit diesem Erweiterungsset für die Standheizung lässt sich die heiße Luft individuell auf verschiedene Bereiche des Wohnraums verteilen. Insbesondere wird es damit auch im "...

calitop.eu

 

[Elly Swanson]

I’ve often wondered about that.
Gas bottle refill costs £25. I’ve lost count how much I’ve used mine, so can’t work out a cost per cook. But I imagine it’s minimal.
Then factor in extra weight for taking multiple extra cooking devices and the cost of hook-up once on site...?

I cook a lot outside the van, using various equipment and fuels - Cobb (charcoal and spirit in. Trangia burner); Kellie kettle for water, cooking above the tunnel and without the kettle using the hobo stove bit (anything that’ll burn and create enough heat, mainly freely foraged, including dry animal dung); firebox stove using bottles/pots/pans and the grates that are with it (any fuel, like the Kellie PLUS it’s designed to fit the Trangia spirit and gas burners too); gas camping stove (cartridges).

When we thought of the Cali and found that the storage space would only fit Campingaz I was shocked at the cost and priced per mg against other gases. I bought 2 cheapish empty cannisters and swapped one for a great outdoors refil. I also researched another gas provider (can’t remember the name, but the bottles were the same as Campingaz but yellow - there’s a forum thread that I started somewhere) but there were no suppliers local to me the travel costs made it more expensive. In comparison (UK prices and availability, without any delivery costs) to all other types of gas bottles, canisters and cartridges, the Campingaz came out the most expensive, by quite a lot.

My initial reaction was to think “right, I’ll find a solution”. It really got my goat, but then when I calmed down and thought about it logically (and tethered the goat to a post) the convenience outwayed the finance, so we have a Campingaz bottle permanently in the space for it. Over the year we’ve only cooked twice in the van and done a couple of kettle boils but it’s great knowing it’s there when/if we want/need it.

The amount of cooking you do and the kit you carry very much depends on where you cook and what you cook for. For some it’s just to eat, for others it’s part of the trip/experience. For me, I like the challenge of outdoor cooking in different ways and like experimenting, it’s part of the whole camping/travelling experience for me. So, I have loads of gear but don’t take it all, all the time. We like to do a lot of pub and cafe stopovers so sometimes won’t even cook at all.

If cooking in different ways is a hobby you‘ll be happy to use up precious space and carry the weight (like carrying skiing gear, a kayak, etc). If you’re cost conscious you might want electrical solutions if you’re already paying for EHU. So, it’s really “horses for courses”.

Great to read different views and opinions in forums like this, no question’s too small or silly and you get lots help and support as well as views that may differ to yours.

 

[Elly Swanson]

But the gas bottle on a Cali last forever.
I’ve never heard of anyone having to refill one.
.
.
.
.
.
.
All joking aside, they honestly last a very long time. Cost is minimal.

I would love to see all campsites installing meters for electricity. Especially as some sites charge £5-£-10 per night for the privilege.
We use hardly any Electricity when camping.
But my wife insists on it, to power her hairdryer
I wouldn’t need electric hook-up if it wasn’t for that.

I would imagine solar and a good charge before leaving home would get me by.

I agree about the EHU charges. It seems to be quite arbitrary and not costed fairly or logically most of the time. I think it subliminally causes some people to use more electricity than they actually need to, a kind of use it or lose it.

 

[Elly Swanson]

We used our gas extensively while pootling around Europe for a year. I can confidently say that a single 907 bottle is sufficient for four for four weeks, eating out on average one evening per week. 56 breakfast drinks and occasional pancakes, sometimes pasta for lunch, and 96 evening meals. Using your £25 refill cost, that is under 50p per use and under £1 per day; ~16p per hot drink or single meal.

Love it when someone breaks it down and puts it in a logical context, allows for a proper costs/benefits analysis. Thanks Amarillo.

 

[Elly Swanson]

You are right. We bought the electric hob when we went to Norway as we had read here that gas refills were difficult, if not impossible to find. We then discovered the wonderful world of free to use communal cooking areas - this is one of the best, in Sweden. See Pic.

Some hook ups only cost a couple of pounds a night, even in the UK and we use an electric kettle, toaster etc.

Your wife could use the shower block for hair dryer/rollers. The C&MC have hairdryers.

I might experiment with gas for those things and leave the electrical stuff behind (save a lot of space) View attachment 54111and not pay for hookup.

Wow, look at those facilities. Were the campsites expensive? I know it may be hard to compare with other places as Scandinavier’s quite expensive for most things compared to countries like the UK.

 

[Barbara]

The advantage of induction is that the only residual heat is that transferred by the pan. When it is off no more heat continues to go to the food more like than when you cook on gas than a electric ring which stays hot. I have tefal pans with detachable handles so they take up less space and can be used as containers of other things when not in use. The other advantage of my induction hob is that it can be stored easily I put it in a cloth bag and as it is flat I can store the pans on tip of it. All my cooking things go into a cloth cube. But you do have to watch that the pans do not slide so make sure the table is level.

You can also use cast iron pans on induction, prefect for cheese fondue.

 

[Amarillo]

Love it when someone breaks it down and puts it in a logical context, allows for a proper costs/benefits analysis. Thanks Amarillo.

My favourite bit in the above was writing “for four for four”.

 

[BeagleMum]

I cook a lot outside the van, using various equipment and fuels - Cobb (charcoal and spirit in. Trangia burner); Kellie kettle for water, cooking above the tunnel and without the kettle using the hobo stove bit (anything that’ll burn and create enough heat, mainly freely foraged, including dry animal dung); firebox stove using bottles/pots/pans and the grates that are with it (any fuel, like the Kellie PLUS it’s designed to fit the Trangia spirit and gas burners too); gas camping stove (cartridges).

When we thought of the Cali and found that the storage space would only fit Campingaz I was shocked at the cost and priced per mg against other gases. I bought 2 cheapish empty cannisters and swapped one for a great outdoors refil. I also researched another gas provider (can’t remember the name, but the bottles were the same as Campingaz but yellow - there’s a forum thread that I started somewhere) but there were no suppliers local to me the travel costs made it more expensive. In comparison (UK prices and availability, without any delivery costs) to all other types of gas bottles, canisters and cartridges, the Campingaz came out the most expensive, by quite a lot.

My initial reaction was to think “right, I’ll find a solution”. It really got my goat, but then when I calmed down and thought about it logically (and tethered the goat to a post) the convenience outwayed the finance, so we have a Campingaz bottle permanently in the space for it. Over the year we’ve only cooked twice in the van and done a couple of kettle boils but it’s great knowing it’s there when/if we want/need it.

The amount of cooking you do and the kit you carry very much depends on where you cook and what you cook for. For some it’s just to eat, for others it’s part of the trip/experience. For me, I like the challenge of outdoor cooking in different ways and like experimenting, it’s part of the whole camping/travelling experience for me. So, I have loads of gear but don’t take it all, all the time. We like to do a lot of pub and cafe stopovers so sometimes won’t even cook at all.

If cooking in different ways is a hobby you‘ll be happy to use up precious space and carry the weight (like carrying skiing gear, a kaya, etc). If you’re cost conscious you might want electrical solutions if you’re already paying for EHU. So, it’s really “horses for courses”.

Great to read different views and opinions in forums like this, no question’s too small or silly and you get lots help and support as well as views that may differ to yours.

Agree completely, for us the cooking is part of the whole experience & enjoyment of the trip.

 

[Elly Swanson]

We use the gashob everyday when camping and must say the botlle lasts a long time .
A electric waterboiler for making coffee we do take for use on hook-up.
Some campsites have cookingfacilyties and if so sometimes we use it , but i never would concider carrying any other electrical divices for cooking like toasters, microwaves, ...
When reading some story's on the forum seems you UK members do take a lot electrical stuff in the Cali (use campsites) and go out to eat (pubs) .
We 9/10 times cook our own meal on the gashob.(using free aires a lot means no hook-up)
Maybe a thought to convert the gashob to electric ?

Perhaps having the option to

My favourite bit in the above was writing “for four for four”.

? Am I being dense here, Amarillo? Can’t work out what you mean.

 

[Amarillo]

Perhaps having the option to

? Am I being dense here, Amarillo? Can’t work out what you mean.

The extended quote is, “a single 907 bottle is sufficient *for four for four* weeks”.

 

[Barbara]

Wow...
Slow cookers, inductions hobs and Cadac’s. You do realise the Cali has a double hob burner...?
Just lift the glass lid

I’m surprised you lot can fit all this stuff in your vans...

No hob in a beach! Also it is nice to cook outside as long as you do not mind other people on the site stopping to see what you are cooking. I have a gas hob in my caravan but due to where it is the wind from the door is likely to blow it out so I prefer my induction hob.

 

[GrannyJen]

I have a remoska and a kampa folding kettle. The rest is done by gas.