Coleman camp oven

[prudentwatcher]

I was wondering about these. I just saw one in the store for the first time. It's an oven that fits over a coleman (or other stove) and has a thermometer and everything. It's only about $30.

Has anyone ever used one of these? Is it easy to use? Is it worth it? I can make cornbread on the stove in a cast iron skillet, but it would be nice to make muffins or biscuits.

 

[It'sJustMe]

I adore these ovens. I have 2, in fact. I got mine at yard sales, but $50. is a good price for a new one. Although the vintage ones have thicker metal walls. They used to have them on Ebay quite frequently. They probably still do. I love that you can use them on wood stoves, propane stoves, even open pit fires. You must have a grate over the open pits. You can bake bread, pies, and even cakes, once you get the hang of using them. Something very worthwhile for preps or anytime, in my book. Two Thumbs UP! It's Just Me

 

[Mrs Smith]

Agreed. I've got one and just love it! When camping it's the only way I've found to bake with any degree of consistency. Mine has a thermostat on the front which is pretty reliable.

 

[Deemy]

Bought hubby one about 3-4 yrs ago never been used. You say it would on top on wood stove? Will have to give ita try myself

 

[ainitfunny]

I would advise that if you want to save money you check garage sales for these, as I have seen several for between $1 and $5.

I have at least one and have also found that taking a LARGE METAL COOKIE TIN and putting it on any source of heat will make a VERY GOOD OVEN. I tried it on my electric stove. You must put something under the pan so that it doesn't rest on the bottom of the cookie tin and merely fry your food instead of bake it (I used three potato peelers under my pan of Jiffy cake batter). I was surprised to find the BEST Jiffy cake I had ever baked. You are ballparking oven temperatures and it will take EXPERIENCE(and mistakes) to be able to judge between 250 degrees and 350, or 500, so keep a close watch and EITHER DRILL A FEW VERY SMALL HOLES AT THE TOP OF THE TIN TO LET MOISTURE ESCAPE OR LEAVE THE COOKIE TIN LID VERY SLIGHTLY AJAR. I would like to try an old metal bread box too, as I think it would serve admirably as a makeshift oven. (You need to make sure there is no paint inside to burn and corrupt the flavor of your food.)

 

[stonehead]

Yep. I love mine. first time camping with it. We made brownies.

 

[biere]

I have seen these at my walmart and they look neat.

Lehmans also offers some bigger versions for a bit more money I believe. I was flipping through an old catalog and spotted them.

They will work with any heat source and as mentioned you want to play around a bit to learn how they work.

For camping the coleman size is about perfect. For my rustic cabin I want something bigger since I will have a propane stove stop sort of thing but I am not hauling a complete propane oven up there. One of these things that could use the stove top or the wood stove would be perfect.

First step, sell land and buy more land though. So I won't be able to give any reports for a while.

 

[shakytoad]

Funny, I just got a new woodstove last fall that has an optional cooktop (which I just leave on it).. and was musing over getting one of the folding coleman camp stoves to save a bit on propane for doing a little baking. Anyone here try one on a woodstove? I'm sure it would work.

 

[SassyinAZ]

I love mine as well.

Sassy

 

[Gitche Gumee Kid]

Go for it ! We've used ours since before the flood They're quite compact ,once folded.(obviously, not a back packing item)

On one occasion, while up on Isle Royale, my wife baked a blueberry pie using fresh berries that we picked on a hike up the Greenstone Ridge. We invited a couple of hikers from the next campsite (2 college guys ) over for fresh baked pie. They couldn't believe it.

Best Regards,
GGK

 

[oldladydoolin]

I adore these ovens. I have 2, in fact. I got mine at yard sales, but $50. is a good price for a new one. Although the vintage ones have thicker metal walls. They used to have them on Ebay quite frequently. They probably still do. I love that you can use them on wood stoves, propane stoves, even open pit fires. You must have a grate over the open pits. You can bake bread, pies, and even cakes, once you get the hang of using them. Something very worthwhile for preps or anytime, in my book. Two Thumbs UP! It's Just Me

I didn't know you could use the oven over a open fire. Have you tried it? I have one of the ovens but have yet to use it, I bought it for my prep stuff. I have been stocking up on propane for the oven but if it can be used over an open fire, that would be great.

 

[FREEBIRD]

I'm much more likely to get one of these now that I know I can use it for more than just the Coleman stove.

 

[prudentwatcher]

Well, sounds like a worthy use of some of that Christmas money I got. I was thinking brownies too, but didn't want to say it!!! Thanks for all the info.

 

[night driver]

weorks nicely on top of a round kerosun heater too......

 

[Jeanne51]

I have one, but I cant tell you how it works, since I have never used it. I am saving it for TSHTF scenario, mine is still in the original box.

 

[cipher]

Here's one in Ballard...

Check this out... all you folks in the Seattle area.... $15 bucks.... looks new, too.

http://seattle.craigslist.org/spo/122282667.html

 

[Splicer205]

Ours gets too hot to set directly on the wood stove. Some trivets between the wood stove and oven make a huge difference. They don't hold a lot. A bigger one would be wonderful!

 

[FREEBIRD]

"I have one, but I cant tell you how it works, since I have never used it. I am saving it for TSHTF scenario, mine is still in the original box"

Might want to try it out just enough to get used to it---no fun trying to learn new skills when you're under stress.

 

[Wise Owl]

Used ours to bake bread on over the weber grill..........grin... but then we also made bread with just the grill by piling the charcoal on the sides and putting the bread in the middle........in small loaf pans....personal loaves of bread. BTW, we also used the small pans for the coleman over.......works great.......I figure you could use it on almost any heat source as long as the surface was big enough to hold it........

My hubby HAS to have his daily bread.......homemade that is.......we don't buy bread.......icky nasty full of junk I can't pronounce stuff........ewwww!!!

 

[fairbanksb]

I've got one too. Bought it last year for preps, mainly hurricanes. Haven't used it yet but now I'm kind of looking forward to it, after reading all the comments.

 

[Jumpy Frog]

Buying one for DW's anniversary present if Lehmans still has the big stoves.

Her cooking sucks, but she's a great baker .

Thanks for the idea guys. I've been beating myself silly trying to get a gift for her. You can only buy a woman so many weapons you know .

 

[RoadRunner]

I bought one couple years back at an old junk dealer by the side of the road but it ise'nt a coleman.It's an antique about 2 ' long by 14 " wide by 20 " tall, has a glass window and double racks. I completly sanded it down and repainted it, looks like it was made at least 60 yrs. ago. The name on the front says " LADY WINDSOR " have no idea who made it. Fits perfect on my old wood stove top, if anyone knows anything about that name let me know if I got a good deal at $ 20 I thought so.

 

[Deemy]

Wow! I'm jealous!!! LOL. You got a really good buy Roadrunner...Use it well

 

[biere]

This is basically just a big tin box. It would not be that hard to make your own but these are cheap enough and fold up well enough that I am planning to just buy one.

Consider the solar ovens you can make by painting something black and sealing it up so it retains the heat from the sun's rays. This is a very simple concept and these ovens we are talking about in this thread are simply a box and any method used to warm the air inside will work to some extent.

I figure putting it over an oil lamp or a pressurized kerosene lamp would get it hot enough to be like a warming oven.

For using it over an open fire you want to have a grate or something to support the oven so it is not sitting in the coals. Best way to regulate heat is to have an area of the fire pit where you rake coals under a grate and then sit the oven on the grate. You can add coals as needed and won't have any flames to worry about.

Basically many of the methods used for heating in the winter when the power is out would let you use this oven. As mentioned the kerosene heaters can work depending on design, some light sources put out a lot of heat as well, and the wood stove would also work.

Someone mentioned some sort of a pan or something in another post. You could simply use a couple pans or anything to trap the heat and bake your goods. These folding ovens just do a better job.

 

[WVtreehanger]

After reading the above posts, I put mine on top of our round kerosene heater about ten minutes ago. Current temp is 275 degrees. I tried to find a way to use it with my Solar Sizzler this summer (even painted it flat black) but that particular experiment was a failure. Interesting thought about the kerosene lamp heat source. I made an enclosure with hardware cloth so I can put pans over my Aladdin lamps to cook--the Aladdins put out a lot of heat. I may just try the oven over the Aladdin next.

 

[WVtreehanger]

Just checked how it would do with the Aladdin rig. Only 150 degrees but could probably do some dehydrating with that.

 

[Loretta Van Riet]

I like to use mine in the kitchen on my natural gas stove. This way I don't have to heat up the "big" oven. I appreciate that during the summer months. Kinda like having a "summer kitchen".

Mine doesn't have the front door, but rather has a top you lift up with two racks attached. The front does feature an easy to read thermometer. I can whip up muffins, or heat a small frozen pizza in no time at all. I do find the oven heats up quickly and I can reduce the time needed to bake most items.

It probably is my most used "prep" item.

Loretta V.