cooking heats up rv

[DianaRose]

I'm new to RVing, and we're not on the road yet, but I cooked dinner in there the other day and discovered how hot it gets!  We're planning to fulltime, and I can see this being a problem.  What do you do to keep from heating the interior up so much every time you make a meal?  Do we BBQ every day?  I was planning to do a lot of crockpot meals, but now I'm thinking that will be too hot too.

Our MH is 22' so maybe it's worse than in bigger ones.  Any advice?

 

[DianaRose]

I should add that we don't have a microwave and I was planning to homecook every meal for frugality and nutrition.  We'll be on a tight budget...

 

[Honest John]

If you have a hood over the stove with a fan, that can help move some heat outside.  We use ours on occasion but the fan is noisy and kind of a pain.  Also opening a roof vent (especially one with a fan) and also opening a window a bit can help circulate the air and help prevent a build up of heat.  I would have suggested the microwave, but see that you don't have one.

 

[jamarynn1]

This year I'm taking an electric griddle and an electric skillet, so I can cook out on the picnic table in good weather.  Really helps when you're cooking fish or something else that stinks up the camper.  Saves on propane, too. 

 

[ArdraF]

If we're in an RV park we have electricity and turn on the air conditioning if it gets hot inside.  We also have a really strong fan in the kitchen that sucks hot air up and out.  Ours is a Kool-matic but they're gone out of business.  Another good one is FanTastic Fans.  Theirs can be set for either air going out or air coming in and they're an excellent product.  We have two FanTastic Fans - replaced the dinky noisy ones the first day!  We're not much into grilling outside but we do have a small George Foreman grill.  I assume you're cooking with a propane range and oven.  Yes, they do put out a lot of heat and that's why I really like and use that big kitchen fan to expell the heat.

ArdraF

 

[Wendy]

Use the fan over the stove. Use the roof fan, add one if you don't have one. Open all the windows. Do stovetop meals, not oven meals. Add a small microwave if you have room for one. And don't discount bbq'ing - great way to cook outside and doesn't use any more propane than the coach stove. And if it's hot outside, salads make a great dinner and don't heat up the coach.

Wendy

 

[John From Detroit]

Generally, the stove in an RV has a "Range hood" with fan in it. TURN THE FAN ON.

Oh, and make sure the flapper on the outside (if such exists) is not locked so the fan can blow the hot air outside where it belongs.

Yes, it's noisy, however there are ways to make it less noisy.

 

[DearMissMermaid]

I cook fulltime in my RV, but I also cook outside.  I usually have my folding table near the electric outlet that is on the outside of the RV, so I often just put the crockpot out there to slow cook.  You can bake things in a crockpot like potatoes, just scrub the skins, put in crockpot, (spray it or grease the crockpot with olive oil to save on cleaning) anyhow, put the whole potatoes in on low, about 4-8 hours later (depending on size) you have wonderful baked potatoes.

Another method to save on heating up the galley, is a good knife and a wok. Chop, slice,  and dice.  The smaller you chop and dice, the faster it will all cook in a wok and thus less heat.

In the summer, there are plenty of cold foods to make, salads, sandwiches and so on. You can cook the potatoes in the crockpot then chop them up for potato salad, when they have cooled.

Not having a microwave in your unit, is a pain in the tush. I use mine to steam veggies nearly every day. It also does pasta with less water and a lot less heat.

I use the exhaust fan over the stove, it has low and high, yes it's noisy on high, but it sure sucks the heat out. I also use the overhead AC fan on high fan without the AC running,  to keep air moving around and all my windows are open. I only use AC as a last resort, since I love fresh air.

I want to know how to make my fan quieter, as John from Detroit said could be done. Tell us how John!  Please.

 

[Jim Godward]

One thought is to get a large diameter muffin/computer fan, I haven't seen any lately but they used to come in sizes up to at least 14".  Replace the existing fan with one of those.  These guys have a 10 inch silent fan for less than $25.

http://www.coolerguys.com/250mmfan.html

Remember the fan will be behind the filter so won't be seen.

 

[Barb]

The best cooking tool I would recommend is a high dome electric fry pan. Anything one can do on a stove top, one can do in a electric fry pan. Add a trivet and one can bake pot pies, cakes, bread, or pies. Or anything else one can think of baking. One can even use a small cooking bag for easier clean up.

I would also recommend a toaster/convection oven. One can bake, broil, cook, and even toast. Mini broiler pans, and cake pans work great. And makes for an easier clean up. I used one a lot in my pop up long, long time ago, along with my electric fry pan.

Both of these can be used inside or out.

 

[John From Detroit]

You need to slow it down a bit.. .To do this you need to know how much current it draws. Then I cn draw you a diagram.  But basically you put a small value power resistor in the lead.

 

[Daisy]

Barb said what I was going to.  We have used an electric fry pan for years as a source for cooking in the RV.  We just recently bought a new Black and Decker Toaster Oven at Target for around $80.  Don't get the cheap one at Walmart as it does not have the great features of the more expensive model, including convection when baking.  I bought one of these for the house, and loved it so much we bought one for the RV.  I store it under the bed, in the MH, but have room to keep it on my desk when parked for awhile.  I have a large bread board we bought some time back and I place that over the stove burners and set the oven on top of that.  It does create underneath heat and even in the house I have a large ceramic tray that came out of an old micro/convection oven that I use under it to save the counter top.  We use that almost exclusively for baking, grilling and toasting and find it does not heat up the RV like the regular oven does.  I only use that now for large dishes that won't fit in the toaster/oven.  Also, this toaster/oven has a "bubble" on the back so that a 10 inch pizza can be baked in it.  Pans come with it and store inside of it when not in use.

Daisy

 

[Betty Brewer]

  I was planning to do a lot of crockpot meals, but now I'm thinking that will be too hot too.

My crock pot does not seem to  produce much heat  if I keep the lid on all through the  cook time.  I think your crock pot will be fine inside.  Also what is your outside temperature?  If it is hot outside, it will be hot inside even if you don't cook at all. ( unless you run the AC)  We run an electric oscillating  fan to keep air inside circulating.  It helps with the feel of the temp.  I do think your smaller size will magnify any heating device but just think how warm you will be when you camp in winter months!

Betty