Hi, I notice in the action gallery that somebody has used a fairly large tin can with a screw lid and uses it as an oven. I would like to try something similar with my Svea 123, have any of you forum members done this and does it work? If it does work what sort of things do you cook in them? Interesting forum by the way, I have been "lurking" for a few weeks now before coming "out of the closet!"
Is there any connection between you lurking in the closet for a few weeks, and coming out 'Strangely Brown'? Jim Ford
Welcome home Strangely brown. Glad to have you in the rank and file. I have no idea on the subject but I amsure some of the other folks here do. I might have to investigate this a little further myself and see what I can come up with. Thanks for the idea. Rob
I remember the threads on tin can ovens & ovens in general. It seems to be largely a case of trial and error as to what a given oven setup is capable of. Its one thing to get the inside of your tin up to a reasonable cooking temperature but its another keeping it there when you put something cold in it and try to cook it. Obviously the size of what you cook is governed by the size of your oven - remember to allow room for a good airflow around it. Good insulation of walls and top is amust and you want to be able to get your oven upto cooking temp. without running your stove flat out, so that when you put your food in the oven and the temp. falls off you have a reserve of power there to crank up to maintain the oven & food at the required temp. IIRC the 123/ biscuit tin ovens were largely limited to the like of bread buns and by no means up to the Christmas goose but it depends what you are wanting it to do. Try different things and see what your oven can do.
Morning, All, Ian has made a very good point here. Way back when we first got our Coleman folding oven, we tried to use it on a winter camp. It was like pulling teeth with a pair of tweezers!! We kept the stove going, full blast, and still couldn't keep the temp in the oven up to where it needed to be for baking. That experiment was a failure, as far as the baking went. But, we learned something about insulation, and also about keeping enough reserve power in the stove, so that it can be used when needed. Take care, and God Bless! Every Good Wish, Doc Mark
I've had good success with the Coleman oven on 1 3/4 pint keroburners, but in summer camps. I can see the difficulty with this uninsulated design in a winter camp.The Coleman oven is most useful for small baking; biscuits (scones), small cakes and the like. It does seat and balance well on the larger keroburners. For baking of big loaves, the Dutch oven. Or on the trail where fires can be built, reflector ovens.
If it will comfortably fit in the Coleman oven, the Coleman oven will cook it given the right power source. I find supporting the oven independent of the stove/burner is the best bet.
Well, since I believe I'm the one who started that whole discussion, I'll chime in. I've done a large amount of baking in my tin-can oven since originally posting about it in early 2004. I've done everything from buns to a Cornish Game Hen. To recap, mine is simply a tin (steel) can with a close-fitting metal lid. The can is roughly (don't have it in front of me) 7" in diameter, and about 11" tall. There is a series of holes around the bottom side of the can, about 1/2" up from the bottom. This oven, running on a Landers, Frary & Clark alcohol stove, was able to hold better than 400degF on a sub-zero day (the old forum had pictures of the event, but I suppose they're gone by now.) I'll respectfully disagree with a couple of comments above: 1) I've found insulation completely unnecessary; it would probably help with fuel consumption, but since I've had no problem holding high temperatures with an alcohol stove in cold weather I see no need to go to that trouble. 2) On sizing: the problems noted by the folks above are directly traceable to the oven being oversized. Remember that these ovens are just like tents (or sleeping bags, for that matter.) The more space you have, the harder it is to heat - and the greater the surface area that is radiating heat into space. To have a usable oven, think smaller - not bigger. (As long as there is even a bit of space around the pan or rack, you'll get all the circulation you need.) Shape plays a factor as well; very few things that we bake are actually square. Having a round item in a square oven means that you're wasting fuel heating unused corners! Hope this helps.
Well thanks to you all for your input on this, I have managed to find an old tea tin which measures 8 1/2" tall and 5 1/2" square. This is only an experiment at this stage and if it's half successfull I will look for a round tin to experiment with some with. Grant, the holes around the base and I also notice in your picture there appear to be some more holes around the top as well, what was the idea of this? I assume you put them there to help circulate air? I had intended to put a shelf in of expanded metal in about half way up on the assumption that there would be more of an even temperature in the centre of the can. The whole idea is to wrap meat and onions in Baco foil so I can just leave it and do other thing without worrying too much about burning a meal; it's the sort of thing that Hugh Fearnley-Wittingstall (Americans please don't ask!) wire's to his exhuast manifold and stops to eat after navigating the M25.
Yes, I apparently left those out of my description....some clarification: The idea behind the top and bottom holes is to provide a convective air current inside the oven. As we all know, convective ovens cook faster - certainly a worthwhile goal. However, a second benefit is that they prevent air stratification - the temperature differential between top and bottom. In a small space like this, with the food and container/vessel/rack taking up a good portion of the room, natural air currents within the oven would tend to stall. The reason many people try making them bigger is to introduce room around the food to induce an air current. By placing inlet holes in the bottom and outlets at the top, we force a current inside the oven - reducing stratification. My first attempt, lacking those holes, was not altogether successful. This version has worked admirably, for more than a year-and-a-half, in very cold to very warm ambient temperatures.
Grant, Give me link to the photo's of your contraption. I would like to give it a go myself. Thanks, Rob
Bugger me, it works! I have only tried a couple of beef burgers with sliced onion and a courgette for good measure, wrapped them in tin foil and thirty minutes later they were ready. I then went on and wrapped up four sausages which took the same time to cook. The main disadvatage is that I'm useing an Svea 123 and stability is an obvious problem, however it's only an experiment and a different stove would take care of that immediately. As Grant says it has to be a round tin to maximise the space. I will post pictures at a later stage but right now I have a digital camera with flat batteries.
Did you stand the food on some kind of trivet, to stop the food burning on the bottom? This sounds like something I'd like to try. Jim Ford
Yes Jim I used some expanding metal, and just bent into shape about three inches from the base of the can. I will get some pictures done when I have some charged batteriesin my camera, the task now is to find a recipe or two that you can use in the field with out too much preparation. Even as I write this Mrs Strangely Brown is devising a concoction with chicken, onion, brown sugar and red vine vinegar; which would just be wrapped up as a tin foil parcel. If you don't see anymore posts from me you'll know it was a disaster!
I've been looking for the photos I took of the oven cooking merrily in an ice storm, but can't locate them. I'll pull the oven out and get a couple of pictures for you soon.
Thanks Grant, I will be standing by when ever you are ready. I am devising my own stategy/recipe as we speak. Chicken, wild mushrooms from the local bush and rice. I already have a stove top rice cooker. Rob
I got it Ross. Thank you. I was wondering if by chance you had an old Tilley 182 globe sitting around? Rob
As promised, here are some pictures: This one gives a good view of the ventilation holes, along with the rods that serve as a rack: http://66.113.210.161/grantsimages/PICT0291.jpg Here's a shot of the open oven showing the baking pan- again, note the rods and their placement: http://66.113.210.161/grantsimages/PICT0295.jpg Finally, a shot looking down, directly into the oven; note the amount of space around the pan: http://66.113.210.161/grantsimages/PICT0296.jpg This oven was originally designed for use on a Landers, Frary & Clark alcohol stove, which has a baffle plate above the flame. I've been playing with it on a kero burner, and direct exposure to the flame turns the thin sheet metal of the can bright red. I've since obtained a piece of heavy sheet metal (actually more like thin plate steel), which I put on the stove first. The oven is placed on that baffle, saving the bottom from burning out prematurely. Important design note: the intake holes are on the side of the can, not the bottom. One of my first attempts had them on the bottom, and the intruding flame seared the bottom of my food (not to mention letting in all manner of soot and odors.)
