Hi guys im new - We want to purchase a camp oven, however bit confussed which way to go ? There is my wife & 4 kids under 8 & we would also cook for friends etc...
I looked at the Aussie Camp ovens ? 12' or 15' ? The original bendourie ?
& than cast iron.- again 12'or 15' best value?  best to begin with ?
The oven will stay in the one spot so we will not transport as we have a small bush block to go to and cook on.

Sorry to many questions - 'The wheel is spinning but the hampster is dead'

Happy new year to you all and lok forward to meeting you on here in the new year.
All best
Mutley

Mutley wrote on Dec 31^st, 2009 at 10:09am:

Sorry to many questions - 'The wheel is spinning but the hampster is dead'

LOL That is beautiful mate...

Welcome to the forum Mutley.
With that many in the tribe...I would go the 15" (cast iron)
Specially seeing as your not travelling with it.
You may find you'll need a 10 or 12 later on for veges or a dessert
Remember to take lots of photos when camping and cooking.
cheers
Aart

gday mutley,

i agree with tbf, i reckon  a 15"cast iron camp oven is the way to go, i also have a bedourie but i use by cast iron oven pretty much all the time. buy the best one you can afford and you wont regret it.

i am sure you will enjoy this forum

cheers - jack

Id agree with Aart.......a 15 inch would be most usefull for cooking for that many people. You can always cook smaller meals in a big camp oven by using small cake/bread tins...pyrex casserole dishes ect. Cast iron is probably easier to get the hang of if you havnt done much of this sort of thing before. Having said that rolled steel (Bedourie style ovens) or cast iron is all trial error & practice. The secret is dont give up if you have a couple of failures. ;) Spend some time looking around this great site and you will pick up a million handy hints.
SBB

I agree with everyone however the problem you may find is getting a good quality 15" camp oven straight off the shelf.  I have seen 15" no-name brand camp ovens in some camping stores but cannot remember which ones.

I think if I was just starting out then a good off the shelf camp oven would be the 14" Lewis & Clark made by Camp Chef available from Anaconda would be the way to go.  You get a quality camp oven with a lid that can be used as a frying pan/skillet.

Match that with a 10" Lewis & Clark and you just about have all you need.

Top photo below shows the Lewis & Clark beside my 15" Furphy (now sold)  and the bottom photo shows the inside of the lid

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Hi Mutley! welcome to the CO forum.  All I can do is recommend what all these guys previous to my post have said. They are the best when it comes to CO cooking, and Derek is the GURU!!

Have fun, and don't be afraid to make mistakes - it is the best way to learn! :)

G'day Mutley.  A good 14" oven would be my pick, it's easier to cook a small chook in a big pot than the other way around. As Jack says, buy the best you can afford, you won't regret it and you'll be using it for many moons. I cook several nights a week and always get pleasure using a nice 14" vintage oven which I have.
poddy

Welcome mate.
I only own one big oven and that is a 20". Great for parties etc but big and heavy.
My preference is to often use two small ovens, generally used in a stack, one on top of the other (10" for meat and 12" for veges) so toward the end I can belt a heap more coals or heat beads on the lid of the veges to brown them up without burning the crap out of the meat.
Not too heavy and easier to manage, but that is just my preference.

Robbo

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t331/VIRTUALCOG/FUN%20STUFF/2010.jpg

Although still on my "P"s I would agree with PD and go for no smaller than a 14" preferably with some depth to it so you can use a trivet without bread hitting the top.  (I know some say to cook direct into the oven but I sometimes like to use a tin and trivet)

Also you will find if you or the missus feels like baking cakes etc you can use standard loaf kitchen tins which dont always fit the 12" with air space.

I have only 12" and smaller as I was thinking I didnt need bigger as I mostly only cook for 2.  I would have problems lifting any larger as well.  In saying that a few desserts I have cooked (including Dereks famous self saucing chocolate pudding) I feel would feed about 16-20 cooked in the 12".

I have the spun steel ones but although they have their uses and are light are not as forgiving with tempertures.

You have been warned this is addictive and buying one is like putting a carrot in front of a donkey.

Here is a picture of what a few members took to the Thora Cog for show and tell........one camp oven!!!! is just the start!!!!

http://i513.photobucket.com/albums/t331/VIRTUALCOG/2009MARCHTHORA/GROUPNAMES.jpg