Propane Ovens

[68W]

Gentlemen, I'm wondering if anyone here has used/tested the utility and reliability of propane ovens. I've been focused on having propane stores as I have a CampChef single burner and grill box as well as being dutch oven enthusiast. So I like cooking outdoors and feel these skills are important given a SHTF scenario. My wife already cooks all of our bread and we keep a very long supply of bread making ingredients in the house. I was thinking that one of these units might really make baking bread more efficient than dutch ovens and coals if times were bad. CampChef is the only make I've looked at as I've been pleased with the products of theirs I have. They have 3 models I'm interested in hearing about, all of them can be adapted to accept a standard propane cylinder:

This first one is the smallest, I'm thinking too small inside for bread loaves.

http://www.campchef.com/portable-outdoor-oven.html

The second one seems like it might be the right one, I don't need or want the range on it but the oven size looks right for the intended job.

http://www.campchef.com/outdoor-camp...and-stove.html

The third seems like more features than I'm wanting but if someone has experience saying that this one is better for my uses due to quality or some other spec I can't ascertain I'd like to hear about it.

http://www.campchef.com/outdoor-camp...ith-grill.html

The prices are way better from many vendors, I know, especially promotive. So look past those.

I'm interested in any and all experience and comments about these or other pieces of equipment in regards to this sort of need. Thanks fellas.

68W

[PA PATRIOT]

Propane is good as long as you have it available, once its gone you then have a worthless oven. I played a round with a wood fired brick oven out in the yard which worked great for a while until it cracked.

Its back to the drawing board on that project but you may wish to consider a re-supply-able source of fuel which is local and abundant.

[68W]

Propane is good as long as you have it available, once its gone you then have a worthless oven. I played a round with a wood fired brick oven out in the yard which worked great for a while until it cracked.

Its back to the drawing board on that project but you may wish to consider a re-supply-able source of fuel which is local and abundant.

I agree with all of the above. I see the propane as a short term SHTF-but-life-will-come-back-shortly type of system. Like for a prolonged natural disaster clean up scenario. There is certainly no way to store enough 20lb propane cylinders to last indefinitely. Like I said, I am quite good at dutch oven cooking and wood is usable with those and a little more re-supply-able. Although being currently in a city wood isn't endless, but there are trees and I have a firewood pile growing, and I'm also accumulating bags of charcoal bricquettes (preferred method for dutch oven cooking) that can be used for cooking or heating in the wood stove kept on standby in the garage.

I'm trying to have multiple options for different problems. There is no one perfect prep that is 100% reliable or perpetually sustainable, especially when you have no choice in the near future but to be in an urban neighborhood. At least I'm not in a dense apartment complex anymore!

Hope someone has tried one of these or a comparable unit.

[AKDoug]

We get 9 months out of a 100lb propane bottle cooking for a family of 5. We have a double over and a big almost commercial cook top. A couple 100lb bottles will last a long time. Long enough for you to come up with another choice. Propane stores great and so do propane ranges. I pulled an apartment sized propane range out of a shed,stored for 15 years, hooked it up, and it worked just fine.

I've made bread in an aluminum foil coated cardboard box and three charcoal briquettes. Amazing what your Girl Scout daughters can teach you.