Anyone bought a reflector oven lately?  I used to have one and loved cooking pizza's and bread with it, but I have recently lost it.  I don't really want to take the time to build one at this point although I realize I could go that route.  Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Kevin

  (You need to Login or Register, Fairly light and compact (lighter and smaller than my Al. Dutch Oven) only draw back you need lots of wood and time to watch your cake cook.
flp

gijikiki,

If you are wanting a oven like the ones you make yourself then check your local Boy Scout office. The last time I checked they where around $40.  canoeboy

The Tripper brand reflector oven is cheap, light and packs well. Seems to work OK too. You can find them just about anywhere which is good because they only last a few trips.

Here is my rendition of a "tripper-style" oven that can be used with a camp stove rather than a campfire.

As this picture shows, the   (You need to Login or Register is constructed of light weight aluminum straps and L-channel.  The pieces are attached to each other by using small screws and wing nuts.  The pot in the bottom section is a three-liter pot setting on top of a MSR Simmerlite stove.  The top rack is constructed using metal skewers with the heads bent at a 90-degree angle.  Here is the stove with its   (You need to Login or Register.  Based on this design, I'm dumping the windscreen for the stove--I've never really found them particularly useful anyway, and as the pictures show, I should be able to "double use" the heat generated to cook two things at once.

I guess the "proof is in the cooking."  Tripper's "proof" is in the form of Marie Callendar's yellow corn bread (which I just found and am eager to try out).  My "proof" is   (You need to Login or Register.  Cornbread was chosen because, the recipe's typically call for cooking temperatures at 400 degrees or more.

After re-working the parts a bit more, I was able to create a reflector version, using the same parts.  This picture is of the   (You need to Login or Register and this picture is of the   (You need to Login or Register.

The frame and rack assembly breaks down for storage into a   (You need to Login or Register (shown here with the parts arranged as a "table top" frame) that is roughly 2 1/2 inches in diameter.  This unit weighs in at under 2 pounds--I'm now looking for lighter tubing material. LOL  Did I mention I like to tinker?

I'll be field testing this in a couple of weeks.  I'll let you know how it goes.

dd

Wow, all kinds of tips and leads.  It amazing how inventive some of you are.  I am not sure what I will do, but I wouldn't be surprised if I tried a few of your ideas over the coming years.  I think I will still end up buying one for my trip in 2 weeks as I appear to have my hands full with finishing some home remodelling projects right now.

Thanks for the tips,

Gijikiki

I bought the reflector oven flpaddler linked to.  I received it the next day via UPS.  They were very quick shippers.  I live about 3 hours from their storefront.

We made a fire tonight in the back yard and made some test pizzas with it.  It is one of the smallest reflector ovens I have seen and it sets up in about 10 seconds flat via the swivel hinges that hold it together.  It also only weighs 1.75 lbs (verified!).  Only down side is that it is small, so an 8-9 inch circular cake pan is about the best fit for it.  I also like the handle on top which stayed cool to the touch throughout the pizza cooking test.

Nothing beats the home crafted designs, but if you want to buy one, I would recommend it so far.   I must give it to the designer, it is very compact, efficient and light in comparison to some of the other commercial versions I looked at.


Gijikiki

This is THE place for THE oven.
It works great!

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fatman, I like the looks of that oven.  
Svante Freden Reflector Oven is the one refered to earlier.
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The one you recomend is bigger.  It weighs more so that is a trade off, if I were going with a group of 4 or more, it would be the oven to take.
Thanks for the post.

Here is the Freden Oven in action, Apple Crisp in the BW 2005   (You need to Login or Register   (You need to Login or Register

flp

I have now tried the oven a couple times now and like it but learned a few things.  Just thought I would share what I think, then others can correct me or make suggestions.  
The oven works better with flame than the heat of the coals.  I think because it reflects the heat around the pan better when the 'heat' is coming from a flame that is dancing around rather than coals at the bottom.  
I think a oven themometer would be a good addition.
I found that turning the pan jsut a few times was better than rotating lots.  
To really make it work well, have your wood cut and ready and sit and feed the fire to keep it constant.  
I made some brownies that my family loved the last time we went out.  It was a little cool and warm brownies hit the spot!  My family is now willing to overlook my testing backpacks around the neighborhood. ::)