Camp chef

[Fox hunt]

Just bought the camp chef Everest stove. Many reviews were very good related to it being able to do a low flame. My Colman stove seems to be full on or blows out. We will see if my new stove is better. Anyone have one like it?

[Chapitre]

Have it, have used it a lot in the past 4 years, really like it.
Have had absolutely nothing go wrong with it- would buy it again without hesitation
Lots of power....fast it you want it to be, low flame is pretty good too.

[Jim Bennett]

I have heard good things about them too, but haven't used one myself.

Our Coleman has no issue at all with the wind, but simmer is a real pain in the but with the cheap valves it has. I wonder if the ones with the new burners are even better. I think Jim N has one, or maybe just linked to one once.

I plan to buy the Camp Chef Ranger some time before my trailer is done, as I would love to connect to the low pressure QC.
http://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f9...tove-6066.html

[Iowa Dave]

Originally Posted by Fox hunt

Just bought the camp chef Everest stove. Many reviews were very good related to it being able to do a low flame. My Colman stove seems to be full on or blows out. We will see if my new stove is better. Anyone have one like it?

We have had an Everest for three years. It's been trouble free and will go to a low flame and stay there with no creep. It is easy to clean. Paint has stayed nice. We keep it in the passenger side front compartment. We use a heavy old pillowcase for a cover. We access it through lifting the lid under the seat. We had several of the big two burner Camp chef units when I was a scoutmaster, very durable. I also have single burner high output camp chef. Makes great cannoli as you can closely regulate the frying temp.
Dave

[reetired]

Camp chef is a better stove than Coleman. REI has fantastic sales..as you can get one for less than 40 bucks.

[cpaharley2008]

Coleman as well as Camp Chef portables are both made overseas and I would not be surprised that both have similar parts. My Coleman Gibraltar is very hard to find "simmer". The best stove is the one in your trailer, you can really get a low flame on it. I think it is because it is low pressure versus the higher pressure used in the little stoves.

[Ruthe]

I'm sorry to say that our Camp Chef (I think it's the Everest) is NOT good with simmer. When you need to cook a stew quickly or boil water or pan fry a steak, it's great. I also have a wrestling match with it whenever I have to attach the propane cannister and I didn't have that trouble with the Coleman. Terry has an easier time with it, but even he says that it's more tricky than the Coleman. I guess nothing is perfect.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

I think it is because it is low pressure versus the higher pressure used in the little stoves.

I think it is just the cheaper valves, as the pressure is dropped via these stoves built in regulator. I have seen a few of the bigger Camp Chefs running off bottles, that simmer real nice.

[kands]

I have a Camp Chef Mountain series and it too is not good for simmering. Based on reviews I saw when I purchased the stove I also got a heat diffuser and it makes simmering possible. Camp Chef sells heat diffusers but Amazon has them for quite a bit less. I got a HIC Heat Diffuser Reducer Flame Guard Simmer Plate, 8.25-Inches for around $7. I now have two of them — one for each burner. They really do work.

[cpaharley2008]

Heat diffusers help but you are still using more fuel than is necessary. I have 5 portable stoves in my garage in my quest for the ideal one. Maybe the old style Coleman white gas pump models are better?

[Slickheadhunter]

Originally Posted by cpaharley2008

Heat diffusers help but you are still using more fuel than is necessary. I have 5 portable stoves in my garage in my quest for the ideal one. Maybe the old style Coleman white gas pump models are better?

Jim,
Have you tried the camp chef explorer? It turns down to just a wisp of a flame or full blast like a furnace.
I've had a ton of stoves over the years and this is by far the best I've used. Yes it is a lot bigger than the stoves I've used in the past, I have the room for it and for me it isn't an issue.

[Jim Bennett]

The Explorer is a great stove, and would have been my first choice, were it not for the shear size of it. From what I have heard, the Ranger II simmers well too, and sometime next summer I will be able to do a review on one. Unless a better small stove option comes along, one that is capable of being used with a low pressure QC.

[Ruthe]

I will definitely get the heat diffuser. That will help a lot! A long time ago I taught blind adults how to cook and we used something called a "flame tamer." I'd forgotten about it.

[gbaglo]

What about using this, unopened? And you can still use it for making toast.

[Ruthe]

Glenn, that's an interesting idea. We have one of those that we never use, but keep thinking we might so it's always with us.

[gbaglo]

Alton Brown dislikes single-function kitchen tools. Why have a garlic press when you can do the same thing with a chef's knife?

[kands]

Well, I never have been able to get the toaster thing to lie flat after I first unfurled it. Maybe it would would work. I'm trying to get what I need (or want — it's so hard to distinguish between the two) down to a minimum and the both the diffuser and toaster have so far made the cut. If anything had to go it would be the toaster. I'm not to concerned about using a bit more propane but I really don't want to burn what I'm trying to cook. I do have a garlic press in the trailer mainly because I like using it. I'm really quite conflicted!

[C&G in FL]

I was recently given a Ranger II as a birthday gift by my son and daughter. Not sure how much I will use it because most of our camp cooking is done on the Weber Q100. I did have a Brinkman SS camp stove that I used occasionally, but unlike grills, they cannot be converted to LP easily. Typically, I use a stove once or twice a week for breakfast fare. Not sure I will simmer anything on my current trip, but I might try so that I can provide feedback. And it will definitely get a workout in February at Scamp Camp for the chili dump and potluck suppers.

[Jim Bennett]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

I was recently given a Ranger II as a birthday gift by my son and daughter. Not sure how much I will use it because most of our camp cooking is done on the Weber Q100. I did have a Brinkman SS camp stove that I used occasionally, but unlike grills, they cannot be converted to LP easily. Typically, I use a stove once or twice a week for breakfast fare. Not sure I will simmer anything on my current trip, but I might try so that I can provide feedback. And it will definitely get a workout in February at Scamp Camp for the chili dump and potluck suppers.

I would love to hear how the Ranger II performs, though only have heard mostly positive things so far.

While we do use the BBQ a fair bit, our outdoor stove gets a lot of use. The most important being that coffee first thing in the day. When camping in groups, which is most common, it sees me makes many, many cups o' Joe some mornings. Pancakes, bacon, fried potatoes, stews, soups, and dozens of other things get cooked on the outdoor stove. Not being able to find achieve that perfect simmer has always been frustrating with the Coleman.

Though, with getting a good quality stove for inside our 5.0 might see more things cooked in there, but as the dear wife is usually still sleeping when I make the morning coffee, that will always be made outside. Drinking a coffee inside just seems like a weird thing, having never done it before.

[C&G in FL]

I definitely will provide a review once I have used it a bit.