They are all over ebay for £15 and up.....apart from the hinged lid and bulb replacement,any tips on which one is best/better for caravanning? And is this a viable alternative to the microwave ? Obviously they have different functions but I am thinking that I can only justify one ,not both, weightwise. Also power usage....my friends one appears to have a standard halogen floodlight bulb that turns on and off.....this would give a whole lot of current spikes,wouldnt it ? Possibly causing more sensitive hookups to trip out. You could get round your own by fitting c-curve motor rated trips to the caravan (what this would do to general safety I dont know) but a tricky hookup could give problems....couldnt it ?
I think that where this halogen oven is better than the microwave is the fact that it cooks things crispy (which I like) according to the replies whereas the microwave always cooks things all soft and squidgy which is not my outlook on good quality tasting food. I only ever use the microwave at home to heat up onion sauce, curry sauce, gravy and de-frost bread and that's about my limit, that's why I wouldn't invest in one for the caravan but I would with a halogen oven.
Avoid any that don't have replacement elements as they tend to pack up after a few months of use and then you end up with an expensive glass bowl. Mine was ok while it lasted but when I contacted the manufacturer for a replacement element they were not cooperative to say the least (it was a Prolectrix) and it looks like they simply source the ovens from China and don't give a damn about customer service. There are a few threads on here from a while back about halogen ovens that might be worth looking at before you buy.
------------- 'A sure cure for sea-sickness is to sit under a tree'
Hi all, earlier in the thread a Martin James model was mentioned, I would reinforce this reccomendation as we have one and are very pleased so far. I use ours as I would an ordinary oven and have cooked Jackets,Pizzas,Sunday Lunch yes I have cooked both Chicken and Pork each with Roast potatoes carrots parsnip (par boil veg) complete with Yorkshire Pud. Bacon, sausage Burgers, (hungry yet) The only thing I can't reccomend at the moment is its Longtivety? but it did come with a spare 'Bulb'. I think it deserves a holiday so it will be coming with us in a fortnight, all the best. John.
------------- Life is our Holiday enjoy it before its time to go back!
We bought one after seeing a lady in a neighbouring van cook a roast dinner in hers. The next day she made a pie with the left overs and also made bread and buns for the kids!!
Stupidly though I still haven't used mine - feel a bit anxious about using it, don't know why?!
If I were you I would try it out first. I got one a little while ago and its taken a bit of getting used to. I have cooked a chicken in it but the first 2 times I ended up with raw bits, and dinner was very late. Same with the lamb joint I cooked. OH tried to cook a cake - disaster. Thought it would be good for doing slimming world chips and wedges, but OH is so not impressed he wont use it!
Quote: Originally posted by firstclass67 on 05/7/2011
If I were you I would try it out first. I got one a little while ago and its taken a bit of getting used to. I have cooked a chicken in it but the first 2 times I ended up with raw bits, and dinner was very late. Same with the lamb joint I cooked. OH tried to cook a cake - disaster. Thought it would be good for doing slimming world chips and wedges, but OH is so not impressed he wont use it!
Same here with raw food, until I realised it's better to cook at a lower temperature than recommended, then turn it up high to brown it off. I wouldn't be without mine now, even if they're not the most reliable contraptions in the world - at least you can get replacement bulbs, for most machines, for a tenner on Ebay.
Francophile, how long would you take to cook a chicken then, or a joint of meat, and what temperatures do you use? I did a fairly large chicken (without stuffing) last weekend, I cooked it upside down first for about 40 minutes at 225', then turned it over for about another 30 minutes. it was cooked but my kids aren't going to be happy if I can only do it without a stuffing - they really like mum's yummy stuffing!
we bought one for our tin tent, as it dosen't have an oven, we were using a microwave but it took up too much room, a mate of mine was telling me about his and how much use his gets, so i bought one and am well pleased with it,
takes up less room than a micro wave oven , sits snuggly in the cupboard under the gas hob in the 'van, cooks vitrually anything and everything, even browns the skin on chicken ,unlike the nukeit box,
only down side we've found the bowl doe's get hot so care is needed when handling it after cooking.
ours cost us £30.00(inc p&p) brand new ,off ebay and came with a full set of utensils.
would definitely recommend one , like most things tho' some will love 'em others will loathe 'em
------------- no tin tent outings booked as yet ,just another cruise in Sept' booked so far
Amazing family weekend with old steam engines, classic car displays, market stalls, and full catering and bar. And camping on site - Save £25 by booking in advance.
Topic: halogen oven
