Which portable stove would you recommend?

[daveyboydanger]

I'm looking to buy a portable camping stove for my VW beach (especially thinking of those hiring my van out). What would you recommend? Any to avoid?
Any help and advice would be appreciated.

Dave

 

[Freeley]

I've got the campingaz camp bistro stove. Comes in a case and everything!

Sent from my Galaxy S6

 

[daveyboydanger]

I've got the campingaz camp bistro stove. Comes in a case and everything!

Sent from my Galaxy S6

Thanks freeley. Will have a look.

 

[briwy]

We've had one of these for about three years. Advantage for us is that it has its own screw in legs so you can keep the table free.
http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/1...OeGwodroMNDg?gclid=CI67lq-Z68kCFROeGwodroMNDg

 

[daveyboydanger]

We've had one of these for about three years. Advantage for us is that it has its own screw in legs so you can keep the table free.
http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/1...OeGwodroMNDg?gclid=CI67lq-Z68kCFROeGwodroMNDg

That looks really good.
So it has a grill too. That's better than the SE stove then isn't it?
Decent price too.
Thanks for the recommendation. What gas canister do you use with that?

 

[briwy]

We carry a standard 907 cylinder for it which doubles up as as a spare for the inside Cali cooker as well but you could easily use one of the smaller Gaz bottles or Calor bottle with a suitable adapter.

 

[daveyboydanger]

We carry a standard 907 cylinder for it which doubles up as as a spare for the inside Cali cooker as well but you could easily use one of the smaller Gaz bottles or Calor bottle with a suitable adapter.

Thanks for the help. Bit of while since I last camp stoved!

 

[Hotel California]

There are some ideas in this topic ,
http://vwcaliforniaclub.com/threads/cooking-in-a-cali.11758/
Some use slow cookers , cadac or so ....

 

[CaliWidow]

Not quite the same but we have a campingaz barbecue that just clips onto the 907 bottle, as well as bbq also has a solid hot plate , very useful

 

[benArrayx]

I just bought one of these http://www.cobb-bbq.co.uk - seen lots of recommendations, yet to try it myself but looks great!

 

[Gasgas]

We went for the cadac Safari set ,very versatile light and compact easy to keep clean and you can use the same gas cylinder as the Cali cutting down on additional weight etc

 

[marshian70]

If you are using it for hiring out, then I would probably say go for one of the inexpensive single burners like this: http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-portable-gas-camping-stove-p142491
There are lots similar on the market and the gas canisters that fuel them are easy to get hold of.
The campingaz stuff is great. If cooking outside we use a Bivouac like this
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/bivauac-1-burner-camping-stove-id_8129318.html
as it packs away small and works well . We also have a small Cadac which can be used as a stove or BBQ. Problem with the campingaz stuff is that I find their canisters are relatively expensive and not sold everywhere

 

[daveyboydanger]

If you are using it for hiring out, then I would probably say go for one of the inexpensive single burners like this: http://www.gooutdoors.co.uk/hi-gear-portable-gas-camping-stove-p142491
There are lots similar on the market and the gas canisters that fuel them are easy to get hold of.
The campingaz stuff is great. If cooking outside we use a Bivouac like this
http://www.decathlon.co.uk/bivauac-1-burner-camping-stove-id_8129318.html
as it packs away small and works well . We also have a small Cadac which can be used as a stove or BBQ. Problem with the campingaz stuff is that I find their canisters are relatively expensive and not sold everywhere

That's helpful.
Are there non brand canisters that fit the camping gaz stuff?

 

[Freeley]

For the single burner campingaz unit like I have, it's a standard aerosol type can (you'll know what I mean when you see them). You can get them in all sorts of places including my local pound shop!

Sent from my Galaxy S6

 

[owen_h]

Gone for 2 different options.
1) Single burner that is always in the Van (kitchen pod in my case but it does come with a case) Camping Gaz Bistro 300 https://www.campingaz.com/uk/p-26404-bistro-300.aspx This I find fine for days out, hot drinks and re-heating food.
2) Combined hotplate/grill or burner Party grill https://www.campingaz.com/uk/p-23123-party-grill174-carry-bag.aspx which I take when camping and need a 2nd (more powerful) heat source.

The Bistro is similar to the cartridge ones mentioned in previous posts but uses a different type of canister that is also compatible with the Party Grill. Hence dont have to duplicate spare canisters. If your doing a lot of cooking canisters are an expensive way of doing it but the stoves themselves are cheap. What I have noticed with the smaller canisters is that when nearly empty the gas pressure drops a lot and it takes a while to get the kettle boiled.

 

[daveyboydanger]

All this is very helpful! Thanks everyone!

 

[GrannyJen]

I find these threads very useful because from time to time I think about a beach for me. I try to minimise cooking, and especially that dreaded after effect called washing up, as much as possible, why a gas cylinder lasts an eternity and my water tank takes longer to empty than God took parting the red sea.

However I would need some cooking facilities, I would not often be able to cook outside (Scottish winters are not known for being friendly to hearty outdoor cooking) so I always end up asking how I would arrange indoor facilities, if only for making a cup of tea.

 

[marshian70]

That's helpful.
Are there non brand canisters that fit the camping gaz stuff?

Unless you get one like this http://www.campingaz.com/uk/p-26165-camp-bistro.aspx
I don't think so, no. To be best of my knowledge all the other campinggaz products use a CG specific cylinder or gas bottle.

 

[RedCali]

If your beach has a 13amp socket, you may well think this is really daft and not really embracing the whole camping experience, but we use a single electric hot plate both inside and out if we have a hookup. We made a trivet so it doesn't stand on wet ground, but often use it in the doorway or on the table. We also use an ordinary electric kettle.

 

[kave]

However I would need some cooking facilities, I would not often be able to cook outside (Scottish winters are not known for being friendly to hearty outdoor cooking) so I always end up asking how I would arrange indoor facilities, if only for making a cup of tea.

Why not put up the table in the beach and just use a small gas stove? It seems it is not much more difficult than operating the stove in the SE?
I have never been inside a beach so excuse me if I am totally wrong.

 

[johnyboy]

+1 for the cadac safari chef (picked up the v2 and I'm very impressed) this can be wok, hob, bbq, griddle

 

[DavidofHook]

If your beach has a 13amp socket, you may well think this is really daft and not really embracing the whole camping experience, but we use a single electric hot plate both inside and out if we have a hookup. We made a trivet so it doesn't stand on wet ground, but often use it in the doorway or on the table. We also use an ordinary electric kettle.

We do something similar.
We use a two ring electric cooker. We don't use our 13 amp socket but run the cooker cable under the van and put it into an additional socket on the back of the mains cable. These additional sockets are only available on the continent so the cooker has to have a European plug. But our previous Cali was a T4 Westfalia with European sockets so all our kit had continental plugs anyway

 

[dayslikethis]

+1 for the cadac safari chef (picked up the v2 and I'm very impressed) this can be wok, hob, bbq, griddle

Is version 2 the larger model which sits higher than safari model. If so do the legs fold away? Does it take up much room in the van?

 

[calicasas]

We've had one of these for about three years. Advantage for us is that it has its own screw in legs so you can keep the table free.
http://www.blacks.co.uk/equipment/1...OeGwodroMNDg?gclid=CI67lq-Z68kCFROeGwodroMNDg

Yep... Page not found...

 

[johnyboy]

Is version 2 the larger model which sits higher than safari model. If so do the legs fold away? Does it take up much room in the van?

Nope its just an updated version that was only released in September - minor adjustments, it takes up very little space