I tried using the 4wdsupacentre Kings 12v travel oven but it just wasn't getting hot enough and would take 2 hours to cook the pies (even after 1 hour of pre-heating).
I just sent it back (thank you Amazon) and have ordered this when I realized it's heavily reduced.
The reviews and youtube's on it seem good so I hope it works well..
I've owned brighter light bulbs!
Not sure who is begging you, but this will take a lonnng time to cook things.
This is a travel oven, cannot compare to household ovens. It is to be powered in car while you are driving. If you expect same power as a kitchen oven, it will drain your car battery in no time.
I guarantee you I understand. 130w isn't much power for an oven. You're oven at home probably uses 4000w, a huge difference.
I can take a watering can with me in the car, but that doesn't mean it is an adequate shower.
And the op found out that these are not fit for purpose when the other brand took hours to heat some pies.
@mskeggs: Like I've said, you cannot compare a small travel oven with those large kitchen ovens. Kitchen ovens have much large space, so take more power to heat up. these travel ovens only have small space in them, so they don't require as much power. But having said that, still take longer to bake pies and sausage rolls in them. Personally I don't own one because I don't see myself using it much, but other 4WD club members do use them.
@edfoo: You still need the oven to reach a constant temp to cook the food. I dont see 130watt capable of doing that especially for meat.
They say you can cook an egg on a 150watt headlight
What do you mean by poor oven?
The original poplar travel oven - Travel Buddy oven - uses 120W power. So this KickAss only uses slightly more power at 130W.
A household oven is 2000watts.
travel oven but it just wasn't getting hot enough and would take 2 hours to cook the pies
That is correct because a house oven at 2000 watts takes 15 to 20 min to cook a pie
Even worse than this, as most household ovens are ona 15 or 20amp circuit.
I believe that I just had a faulty Kings oven.. I have friends who have the Kings one and it can cook a pie in 1.5 hours (Which would be acceptable) with no pre-heating.
@mskeggs: Yeah the 12V setups in most campers/trailers is 20-30A but obviously way lower wattage and only 12v.
Would they cook in a weber?
Everything cooks in a Weber
This is a pie warmer at best.
This is the answer. You need a 300Ah lithium, a 3000w inverter, a 1000w microwave to defrost the pie and then about an hour in this thing to crisp. Then you will get an average pie out of it. Invest about $3.5k and you are golden.
This is not an exaggeration. I literally spent this. It was an expensive pie.
ever thought of just leaving the pie out in the fridge to defrost? That would of saved substantial amount of money
Time is money man, and how am I gonna impress my mates without investing a shit tonne of time and money into a 4wd canopy that I use a few times a year?
Username checks out
You can get by just fine with a 2000w inverter and 200ah of lithium. My microwave draws 120a. To thaw 4 pies uses around 12ah, to cook them through about 20ah. Of course, I just thaw them in the fridge beforehand which uses nothing, because I have the ability to think ahead.
Absolutly brilliant, your ability to thaw pies will surely go down in history as one of the great accomplishments of our time. Still I have 100ah more than you so you didn't think about that, did you Einstein? Get more Ah or forever suffer humiliation.
12kwh battery and 4kw inverter in the PHEV makes this easy!
Before that…alfoil wrapped over exhaust manifold.
I did something sort of similar.
6x 60AH LTO batteries, 2000W inverter……..cheap dodgy K-Mart grill oven.
6 LTO's in series can easily supply >2000W and last long enough for a few cooks between charges.
Just recharge with all you can throw at them. They charge/discharge with crazy currents
They'll also probably last 20 years.
Taking site smokos to next level
This comment is where my vote goes.
just imagine how many four n twenty traveller pies you could buy for 179
Around 30
And what are you going to bake those four n twenty pies with? Your will power?
lol be prepared to wait the same amount of time mate, only way to speed the heat times up is to buy a step up converter.
But 1.5 hours should mean "cooked", right? I shouldn't be wondering if it's safe to eat after 1 hour of pre-heating and 2 hours of cooking?
for me and the 12v step up converter, everything i make is cooked within 60mins, frozen pies, lasagne, wedges etc, now ive done some small roasts aswell, in around 90mins
This step-up converter sounds interesting. Do you have a link to the one you use?
@the-rabs: no idea haha, use at your own risk, i haven't had an issue in years, plus most of my mates and my brothers all use this
I haven't got one yet, but will do after watching this video. Cheap cooking boost.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=omAq_MfstRo
Re comment below if oven can handle it, a car alternator averages around 13.8v, and ranges up to 14.2v I was told, so 15v isn't that much more.
These 12v travel ovens are just food warmers. You're not going to cook anything in one.
A camp oven and a fire/butane stove is a cheaper and better option.
If you want to warm your food while driving, wrap it in foil and wedge it against your engine.
Have you tried one? I've seen a small roast cooked in one so they do cook, not just warm.
I just use my Dutch oven over the coal and a wire rack inside to heat up big apple pie from Bilpin last week. And top coat on the lid to have the top crisp up too.
Add coal to the top*
All the Youtube 4x4 vloggers rave about the Travel Buddy ovens, so much so I suspect they all got them for free in return for good reviews, lol…
If you just want a "pie warmer", Anaconda have these 120w ones for $60:
https://www.anacondastores.com/camping-hiking/camp-cooking/c…
I’ve got one of these and they’re great. Do roasts and heat up pies no problem. Has insulated door unlike the Travel Buddy and a larger element. Cook while heading to campsites and pre cook meals to heat up while 4 wheel driving.
Thanks for the vote of confidence!
Nah, inverter and air fryer is where it's at.
Or portable power station and mini air fryer
My SLA battery and 2000w inverter runs my air fryer just fine
Yep. Just had my air fryer, microwave, fridge, water pump and lights all going together to see if I could overload my BMS - nope - ran it all at 255 Amps.
I couldn't run my air fryer and microwave at the same time, but I only got a 2000w inverter.
3000 watt inverter, 250 amp bms, honking big battery.
I've got one of these in my 4WD. Perfect for trips. Put the party pies and sauage rolls in. Hit the tracks. stop when the kids get hungry and feed them hot yellow pastry goodness.
When its a trip not with the kids, and we're hitting the road, its perfect for a slow cooked roast ready when we arrive at the campsite and setup.
Thanks for sharing! Just picked one up, hard to resist that discount. Along with my Ontap 12V jerry can and an esky of ice, food and drinks, think I'm sorted for 1-2 days away from home.
Honestly you are better off with a portable power station, a solar blanket and a mini airfryer like this, and a ice cube maker.
My 1kWh power station is the probably one of the best things ive ever bought, but i was lucky to get it for $99 as a price error . I take it with me everywhere
Where was the price error deal?
Amazon, only lasted less than 5 min.
Deal was posted for less than 1 min after midnight on ozbargain before being deleted by mods.
I have a 2.5kWh power station which does 3x 240V as well as 12V, and a 2x100W portable solar setup, so I'm already pretty sorted - the ice maker looks great though!
Either go old school and put your garlic bread on your extractors, or get the original TravelBuddy.
I have one, connected to 100Ah of Lithium, and I've cooked
Yes it takes a bit longer than a normal oven. It's totally manageable for a long transit drive. Just turn the oven on earlier than you think.
Has anybody done any testing how much power would 20l microwave (700w) draw on its lowest power setting??
I have the Nce 23L 900w flatbed microwave and it draws about 1500w. I'd double check but car is in for a service at the moment.
Thanks mate just want to see if a 600w (1200 peak) inverter will be able to handle a microwave running at 50% power. In theory it should but ….
It's a decent deal IMO. Others I spoke when I was shopping for a 12v oven highly recommended getting a tray/trivett. I watched some teardown videos incl. kickass which now has a glass door. Road Chef had the best insulation but reviewers still backed Travel Buddy as it's an Australian company.
I wanted a 12v oven that wouldn't spill when driving and was easily movable for packing without scratching with aluminium edges. Took a gamble after researching lunchbox style ovens and I'm very impressed for $50.
https://www.automegastore.com.au/12-volt-portable-oven-stove
The oven from this store looks the same as the dozens of knock-off's of a US RoadPro found at most camping stores. However this increased element to 150w (80w to 130w in others), has a better seal that actually stops spills, and has a bit wider capacity for frozen meal trays.
Can confirm the pie test is fully hot and crispy in 45 mins defrosted, or an hour from frozen.
Two tips for lunchbox style ovens are to cook pies upside-down for the first half of cooking time to toast the top, and cook the last 10 minutes with the lid ajar to vent steam and crisp up.
I cooked a frozen lasagne and left it for an hour but probably overcooked it as it was hot through, but bottom layer a bit burned. Can't stir lasagne but would do with other reheatables.
12v cooking is never the same as at home, but at $50 it's budget luxury when traveling or onsite
Its 130watt so even this is a poor oven