Best onboard oven for baking

[SV Demeter]

We have an older Seaward Princess stove/oven on board. I converted it from CNG to propane and it works pretty good. The admiral likes to bake bread and we are having a tough time regulating the temperature of the oven, the oven also does not have a broiler which I would like. Im considering replacing the stove but would like to hear from some liveaboard cruisers who really use their oven a lot for baking. Is there anything to be done to my existing oven to improve temperature consistency or is there a particular brand stove that you have had good luck with the oven on?

Thanks!

[zeehag]

temperature consistency becomes a nonissue with a pizza stone sized appropriately for your oven. doesnt matter what brand stove one buys in a boat they never have enough insulation in oven, nor do they have consistent oven temps..
for the record--i have a force 10.

[DeepFrz]

+1 for Zee's suggestion on the pizza stone. It takes a while to heat up but works very well.

[bobconnie]

We have used a Bread maker for about 10 yrs aboard ! and have had no problems useing it on our inverter!! we do have large battery banks but really they don't use all that much juice !! if bread is your main need for an oven than ya might think about it !! we charge our batts about every 3 or 4 days and bake bread at that time !! works for us ! Why heat the whole boat up in the tropics when ya can keep things cooler with a bread maker ?? Just our 2 cents

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by zeehag

temperature consistency becomes a nonissue with a pizza stone sized appropriately for your oven. doesnt matter what brand stove one buys in a boat they never have enough insulation in oven, nor do they have consistent oven temps..
for the record--i have a force 10.

Thanks Zee will give the stone a try. Seems not a problem to get the temperature up its getting down actually. Maybe thermocouple on oven needs replacing? Also this stove has no broiler and I really wish I had one of those if for no other reason than to make good toast for tea time! I have heard a lot of complaints about the Force 10 stoves have you had yours long and do you like it?

[zeehag]

have had mine since 2005.....i still like it despite its flukiness.... works well and does a job of cooking...one burner is for slow cooking, one for fast cooking, and one for large pots.....and the oven, which has issues as to lighting.....no the clicker that is built in does have a new battery--lol .. i just have to bypass electronic ignition....would i buy another?? in a heartbeat, if they werent so bludi expensive!

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

We have used a Bread maker for about 10 yrs aboard ! and have had no problems useing it on our inverter!! we do have large battery banks but really they don't use all that much juice !! if bread is your main need for an oven than ya might think about it !! we charge our batts about every 3 or 4 days and bake bread at that time !! works for us ! Why heat the whole boat up in the tropics when ya can keep things cooler with a bread maker ?? Just our 2 cents

Any specs on what your breadmaker is pulling down in the way of Amps via the inverter and for how long? I considered this route and may return. We have a 1,040 AH battery bank, 2500 watt inverter, and 400 watts of solar as primary charging. I guess I could even consider running the engine while baking bread but that might defeat the whole heat production savings.

[Dockhead]

I have a SNEC or SMEG or something Swedish propane oven/four-burner range on board.

I previously thought that the oven was near-useless, until I discovered this summer that when I had my gas system overhauled three years ago upon buying the boat, the gas engineer installed some hoses with some kind of arteriosclerosis. Now that I have restriction-free hoses and a new regulator, the oven is not too bad. It is large enough for roasting a turkey and has a broiler.

My hard experience with that problem might help someone else -- if your oven works poorly, check the gas pressure at the unit.

Nevertheless, although I love gas stoves (who doesn't), I don't think gas is the best fuel for an oven. An electric convection oven would be my preference, and I recommend that the OP consider one of these if he has enough power on board. On my list of eventual improvements to my boat is replacing the built-in microwave with a combination microwave convection oven. Now that will be baking heaven!

I don't bake bread so far (but certainly will when I cross an ocean), but use the oven constantly when cruising. It's important.

[Vasco]

Took the broiler out of my Force 10 3 burner. Took up too much room and couldn't get a good sized turkey in. As for bread, just have to keep an eye on the temperature. These Force 10's have no insulation whatsoever so it's hard to get the temp up. As for toast we do it on the stove top with one of these.

[SV Demeter]

Originally Posted by Vasco

Took the broiler out of my Force 10 3 burner. Took up too much room and couldn't get a good sized turkey in. As for bread, just have to keep an eye on the temperature. These Force 10's have no insulation whatsoever so it's hard to get the temp up. As for toast we do it on the stove top with one of these.

The admiral is a vegetarian so I have no intention of cooking a turkey in my oven. I can get mine up to temp no problem, the issue is getting it to stay one temp without huge swings above and below the desired temp. My Seaward Princess has some insulation I think its more to do with the thermostat(thermocouple) not being all that great so it kicks the burner on too late and doesnt shut it off soon enough. Hoping a pizza stone will smooth out things a bit. As for toast yeah I got something similar its still like making toast with a lighter though. I would love a broiler.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Vasco

As for toast we do it on the stove top with one of these.

For toast, I highly recommend a regular household electric toaster run off an inverter. It uses a microscopic amount of power, does the best job, and is totally simple.

[RunningLemur]

In the same school of thought as the pizza stone, but much cheaper you can line your oven rack with unglazed quarry tiles. You should be able to pick them up for a couple dollars at a hardware store. The upside is that you can get sizes that fit well, or have them cut to size if needed quite easily.

[zeehag]

when i rarely want toasted bread, i use towel clamps from hospital and open flame. one piece at a time....

[Fuss]

Originally Posted by SV Demeter

Any specs on what your breadmaker is pulling down in the way of Amps via the inverter and for how long? I considered this route and may return. We have a 1,040 AH battery bank, 2500 watt inverter, and 400 watts of solar as primary charging. I guess I could even consider running the engine while baking bread but that might defeat the whole heat production savings.

In the tropics heat generation in the cabin becomes a very important issue. Baking bread in a hot oven when it's already a very hot evening... Oh dear..... Doesn't sound like much fun!!!

2500w inverter, 1040ah of battery bank.... Perfect for going electric.
Panasonic bread maker ... The best there is.... Uses 400 watts while heating and in total about 800w ...very little heat produced. The most efficient use of energy to bake bread.

Can be preset in the evening so you awake to the smell of freshly baked bread

Weight it up and test it against cooking in the oven, sweating away and producing all that heat .... In the tropics... All that heat.... Can you feel it when you open the oven door... The blast of even hotter air... Pass me a towel quick... The sweat is running in my eyes.

We've all been there. Once I bought a bread maker , it made a huge difference.

[Fuss]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I have a SNEC or SMEG or something Swedish propane oven/four-burner range on board.

I previously thought that the oven was near-useless, until I discovered this summer that when I had my gas system overhauled three years ago upon buying the boat, the gas engineer installed some hoses with some kind of arteriosclerosis. Now that I have restriction-free hoses and a new regulator, the oven is not too bad. It is large enough for roasting a turkey and has a broiler.

My hard experience with that problem might help someone else -- if your oven works poorly, check the gas pressure at the unit.

Nevertheless, although I love gas stoves (who doesn't), I don't think gas is the best fuel for an oven. An electric convection oven would be my preference, and I recommend that the OP consider one of these if he has enough power on board. On my list of eventual improvements to my boat is replacing the built-in microwave with a combination microwave convection oven. Now that will be baking heaven!

I don't bake bread so far (but certainly will when I cross an ocean), but use the oven constantly when cruising. It's important.

Panasonic 27liter combination microwave, grill and normal oven ... Cooks a 1200 gram chicken in 25 minutes using all 3 automatically.
The most efficient use of energy to cook a chicken.
Can be done using a 2500w inverter