Camp Chef Ranger II Review

[Greg A]

Originally Posted by Videocrafters

There is a blizzard of information here and I get lost. So if I buy the Ranger II stove and already have the Escape QC connection propane hose do I need any other components or connectors.

The ETI provided QC hose will work fine with Camp Chef RII stove.
If I recall you remove the hose that comes with the stove which has the regulator on it. The only thing you need is the Male QC adapter that screws in on the stove where the original hose was removed. It’s about $10 on Amazon, but currently don’t recall thread size.
Pic of bottom of my stove shows only parts you should need, looks like I had to put a reducer on to hook up the male QC

[kavm]

We have a Camp Chef Everest II stove. Can it work with the quick connect hose from ETI? Do we need something else?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[Hawkeye Ed]

Originally Posted by kavm

We have a Camp Chef Everest II stove. Can it work with the quick connect hose from ETI? Do we need something else?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0...?ie=UTF8&psc=1

No, you can't run a Camp Chef Everest II stove on the Escape quick-connect propane system. The Camp Chef Everest II is a high-pressure stove, similar to most Coleman propane stoves.

According to another thread on this forum (see below) these stoves require propane pressure of around 15 pounds per square inch to operate. The propane from the quick-connect outlet has already been reduced by the regulator at your camper's tank to about the 1/2 psi used by low pressure stoves. That's way too low a pressure to run a stove that wants pressure 30 times higher.

Here's the old link on this forum that gives more details:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...html#post12626

"The Coleman stove and other Coleman propane camping appliances really do operate at 15 psi. That's why the stove works even when it's windy enough to blow out the flame on a regular propane stove. I researched this number of years ago and although I knew that it was higher than normal, I remember that I had a tough time finding the exact pressure. "

[kavm]

Thank you for clarifying this, Hawkeye Ed!

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye Ed

No, you can't run a Camp Chef Everest II stove on the Escape quick-connect propane system. The Camp Chef Everest II is a high-pressure stove, similar to most Coleman propane stoves.

These stoves require propane pressure of around 15 pounds per square inch to operate. The propane from the quick-connect outlet has already been reduced by the regulator at your camper's tank to about the 1/2 psi used by low pressure stoves. That's way too low a pressure to run a stove that wants pressure 30 times higher.

Here's an old link on this forum that gives more details:

https://www.escapeforum.org/forums/f...html#post12626

"The Coleman stove and other Coleman propane camping appliances really do operate at 15 psi. That's why the stove works even when it's windy enough to blow out the flame on a regular propane stove. I researched this number of years ago and although I knew that it was higher than normal, I remember that I had a tough time finding the exact pressure. "

Ed, while you may be correct, I’m not sure that Coleman (and Coleman clones) operate at 15 psi. I suspect it is more like 15 inches of water column in relation to the 11 inches of water column that is considered standard for low pressure propane appliances. I had a Brinkmann stainless steel camp stove that was a Coleman type stove which used the same type of screw on regulator that the Coleman uses. When I was trying to “convert” it, on low pressure the flame was, even on the high setting, too low to cook anything. With some very fine drills and a pin vise, I determined the size of the orifices on the tubes leading to the two burners. I drilled out the orifices with the next larger drill bit and the stove worked fine on low pressure, with a flame range that an unmodified stove would have (I had to cut the regulator off of the stoves connector, and attach a section of propane hose with a male QD on one end.). The only problem was that the igniter would not light the burners but it was easy to light them with a BBQ lighter. I used that stove quite a bit before trashing it as almost all of my camp cooking is done on a Weber Q and I decided to eliminate the stove. I now have a single burner butane stove for “just in case” but it hasn’t been used even once in three years. I primary converted the Brinkmann to see if it could be done, and I succeeded. But here is my disclaimer: I am not suggesting anyone do this modification nor am I suggesting anyone not do it. While I believe my modification did not result in a dangerous condition, anyone who decides to do the same thing does so AT THEIR OWN RISK!

[Hawkeye Ed]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

Ed, while you may be correct, I’m not sure that Coleman (and Coleman clones) operate at 15 psi.

Well, I'm certainly old enough to have been wrong before and certainly could be this time, too.

I've not measured propane pressure for small Coleman stoves. All I know is that I've never found anyone who successfully connected to a low-pressure propane source a Coleman or clone that uses a regulator as shown in the picture below. The only Coleman stoves that can be converted are RoadTrip and similar stoves that run on low pressure. I've also never seen an appropriate adapter for sale anywhere either, only the ones for low-pressure RoadTrips. There are enough Internet references to 15 psi to lead me to believe that Coleman and similar high-pressure stoves can't be run off a low-pressure RV quick-connect no matter how fancy you get with adapters because the incoming pressure is just too low.

Sure, maybe one can drill out burner orifices to allow for greater fuel flow, but that's wanting a pay grade way above someone who just wants to find an adapter.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye Ed

I've not measured propane pressure for small Coleman stoves. All I know is that I've never found anyone who successfully connected to a low-pressure propane source a Coleman or clone that uses a regulator as shown in the picture below.

Well, you have found someone now. At one time, people did not think one could travel from NY to LA in a day, or that someone might walk on the moon.

Sure, maybe one can drill out burner orifices to allow for greater fuel flow, but that's wanting a pay grade way above someone who just wants to find an adapter.

I did not say it was easy for all pay grades, all I was stating was that I did not believe a Coleman stove ran at 15 psi, and I suspected it was more like 15-inches of water column. And as I stated, I only did what I did to see if it could be done. I essentially removed the assembly on the left side of your photo, kept the tube and the connector which screws onto the stove, and slid a segment of propane hose over the tube, securing it with a small hose clamp and using a hose barb, attached a male QD to the free end. And nobody is going to find an adapter because to run on low pressure, the two orifices MUST be enlarged or replaced with orifices that are larger. I just drilled them because I didn’t want to order larger orifices if they weren’t going to work, and I really didn’t care if I ruined the stove.

And I wouldn’t do it again. The Camp Chef is a better choice! I still have the one my children gave me, but I do not use it for camping.

[Hawkeye Ed]

Originally Posted by C&G in FL

[I]I essentially removed the assembly on the left side of your photo, kept the tube and the connector which screws onto the stove, and slid a segment of propane hose over the tube, securing it with a small hose clamp and using a hose barb, attached a male QD to the free end. And nobody is going to find an adapter because to run on low pressure, the two orifices MUST be enlarged or replaced with orifices that are larger. I just drilled them because I didn’t want to order larger orifices if they weren’t going to work, and I really didn’t care if I ruined the stove.

Very clever idea. Glad it worked. I hear the same sort of orifice drilling can often be done to convert a propane barbecue or fireplace to natural gas. NG takes over twice the amount of gas compared to propane to produce the same heat. Looks like algebra might be required to calculate the larger hole drill diameter. Good thing there are conversion kits, including new orifices for barbecues and fire pits.

[C&G in FL]

Originally Posted by Hawkeye Ed

Very clever idea. Glad it worked. I hear the same sort of orifice drilling can often be done to convert a propane barbecue or fireplace to natural gas. NG takes over twice the amount of gas compared to propane to produce the same heat. Looks like algebra might be required to calculate the larger hole drill diameter. Good thing there are conversion kits, including new orifices for barbecues and fire pits.

Good point, Ed. I actually found a chart on the internet that indicated orifice sizes and gas flow. I didn’t calculate anything. Just figured I would keep going up in size until it worked or until I determined it was a bust. As it turned out, the very fine drill bit the next size up from the one that fit the existing orifice provided adequate gas flow. And yes, my kitchen range came with orifices to allow switching from NG to Propane. Not sure I would drill out an orifice on anything I cared about. Had I screwed up the camp stove, I really didn’t care. After switching from an electric range to a gas range, I no longer needed the Brinkmann for power outages or emergencies. I did take it camping a few times but really didn’t use it except to heat water for dishwashing a couple of times. Right now I’m working on solving something else that supposedly “isn’t possible.” I like challenges. If I come up with a solution, and I should know by mid-June, I will post a detailed report.

[Shiny]

Does anyone know if a Little Griddle "Sizzle-Q" (SQ-180) stainless griddle will fit and operate OK on a Ranger II stove? The dimensions suggest "maybe" to me but thought I'd ask here before buying this griddle.

[Shiny]

No replies from the forum but if anyone searches in the future, here's the response I got from Little Griddle. Hearing the warning about warpage, I bought a cast iron griddle instead of the "Sizzle-Q".

"Thanks for your interest in our products! Our stainless grill-top griddles will work with a Ranger II, with a few important conditions:

1. Our grill-top griddles are for outdoor use only. For indoor use we manufacture a line of indoor/outdoor cookware called “ANYWARE.”

2. To use our griddles with an outdoor camping stove, we recommend a heat deflector between the burner and the griddle in order to prevent warping or overheating. These can be found in a variety of materials and price points on stores that sell outdoor or camping products, and it is important to purchase deflectors that fit your stovetop well, and provide stability for the griddle so that it does not rock or tip while in use, which would be dangerous.

I hope that this is helpful, and if you need additional info or have questions please let us know!

Sincerely,

Jon
Little Griddle"

[Luba]

We bought this stove and the flame is not blue. The flame is orange and leaves black residue film on pots. Is there any solution for this? Should I just return the stove?

[Iowa Dave]

Is there a sliding opening adjustment on the back of the control knob to adjust how much air is mixed with the propane to get a nice blue flame? I have a camp chef single burner 60,000 btu stove that we use to blanch corn, fry fish, fry cannoli etc. It has such an adjustment and balancing is discussed in the manual .

We had ranger stoves when I was in scouts but the guys who were in the troop well before I was had them fine tuned. They were tough units and easy to cook on. Just a thought.
Iowa Dave

[Luba]

Originally Posted by Iowa Dave

Is there a sliding opening adjustment on the back of the control knob to adjust how much air is mixed with the propane to get a nice blue flame? I have a camp chef single burner 60,000 btu stove that we use to blanch corn, fry fish, fry cannoli etc. It has such an adjustment and balancing is discussed in the manual .

We had ranger stoves when I was in scouts but the guys who were in the troop well before I was had them fine tuned. They were tough units and easy to cook on. Just a thought.
Iowa Dave

Thank you for your help. I found the control knob and was able to fix the problem.