Customer Reviews

Camp Chef Explorer Series EX-280LW 2 Burner Modular Cooking System, Black

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this a little over a year ago because I couldn't afford to spend 5K on an all grain home brewing system like a brew magic. Don't get me wrong, I would love to be able to afford one, but until I can this piece is central to my home brew set up!

I was able to mount (screw) securely a magnetic pump to one of the legs. Every other weekend I'm able to do 5 gallon all grain brew projects. One burner is for my HLT, with water conveyed via the pump to the other burner with my mash tun. The only draw back is that I do have to run into a brew kettle off the unit and then move the HLT to free up that burner for the kettle. I'm looking to eventually connect this unit to a single unit (once I find a single unit to match this units height) and then do all wort movement via a second pump (and thus eliminating the need to free up the HLT space for the kettle).

For a home brewer, this unit allows for a bit of creativity in opening the door to begin crafting a sculpture of your own (sure I read BYO, but I don't MIG weld and god save you if you decide to buy stainless steel and have it shipped to you! Ouch!) This unit has been the base for close to 120 gallons a year of beer brewing, and all for less then 300 dollars start up(pump, unit cover and LPG ). If you're on the fence trying to decide what to do and how to go about setting up a home brew sculpture, I hope you find this review!

CHEERS!

This outdoor burner is the best I've seen. It allows for two pots to cook and water to boil in no time flat. No more messy water bath on your stove inside! You can process twice as many canning jars in the water bath or cook corn and your clams all at the same time for you next big party! This is sturdy, easy to store and no more black bottom on your pots because of the regulator it has! There is an optional griddle to purchase so you can cook on it too! A+

Camp Chef is probably one of the better outdoor grill makers out there. My In-Laws Camp Chef is what turned us on to buy one. My wife does a lot of canning and I really wanted to get the entire process outside, and this stove is the tool to do just that.

Pros:
* Heavy gauge steel, unit is very beefy.
* Entire setup is power coated for durability.
* This stove comes with legs so it doesn't require a table to set on.

Cons (I'm being picky):
* Starting the stove is a pain. You need to use a long lighter. Matches will work but prove to be difficult.
* Wing nut style heads are plastic and they came broken. This is the worst thing I have to say about the stove. Wish they were all metal.

All in all, it is a great stove and works very well as a canning machine. Oh, don't let the BTU output fool you. If you pressure cook the regulators will let you turn the output down low enough for pressure cooking, so don't worry about that. It was worth it.

I got this a couple of years ago for longer camping trips, and pretty much love it. It is easy to set up, and once you get used to it, it works very well. There is an air control on the burners that you adjust depending on how far up you've turned the burner. This makes adjusting the flame is a little finicky - too much air and you'll blow out the flame. Gas lighters are a good idea. Crank it right up to boil a big pot of water fast and it sounds a little like a jet engine, so folks who like loud trucks will give it a few extra points.

There are some gotchas. First, wind protection is pretty useless. On a mildly breezy day it is easy for the flame to blow out. This is especially true if you are using a low flame. You might want to build a screen that you can mount around it. Second, the burners are a little overpowered for many cooking uses. Were I buying again, I might choose the CampChef Outdoorsman High Low Combo, which has one 60,000 and one 30,000 btu burner. Because of the high power, I use heavy cast-iron cookware when I can, and a flame tamer / heat diffsuer (metal disk that sits above the flame) when I'm cooking with normal kitchen pots/pans.

Coming back to boiling big pots of water, I brew beer as a hobby, and now use this stove instead of the one in my kitchen for all my brewing. My wife has never been happier.

We loved this camp stove. It is very heavy duty. Durable and tuff. You can not go wrong with this for any outdoor activity. We hunt and fish and it is GREAT !!! it even compacts down to throw in the boat or back of the truck.

I fully agree with other reviewers that this is an excellent purchase if you are canning, brewing etc. However, be warned this stove is extremely hot. Perhaps I should have understood this from the BTU but I didn't (and nor does the Camp Chef website have any clear warning about this). I cracked two grill plates and two heavy cast iron pots within a couple of minutes on this stove (including a cast iron pot on top of the grill plate!). I do not think you could use this stove for anything other than high volume liquids. Personally I think the novices out there, like me, need a warning of some type to make that perfectly clear.

hare to control the ignition when just started. The gas may blow the match/lighter off. Always need several try to light. other than that, it is a great stove

We do lot of Indian cooking outside to avoid strong odors inside our house. This cooking system was easy to set up and works great. Very easy to clean,food and debris can be washed very easily and it's sturdy even in high wind outside. Burners are very strong , the controls on gas dial smooth and durable.worth every dollor.

My purpose in purchasing this product was to move my canning activities out of the kitchen and hopefully save on fuel. I was using an electric stove to heat a 21 quart water bath caner and it took about an hour just to get the water boiling. With this stove I get a rolling boil in ten minutes flat and have to turn it down to keep water in, but it still keeps a rolling boil on low. Reheating to process jars takes only about 5 minutes. I also have a pot on the other burner at the same time with no problem and the fuel consumption has been very low. I couldn't be more pleased - I received the item very quickly, put it together in minutes, lit the burner and was in business. The only caution I have is to buy some good leather gloves - I use welding gloves - to remove pots as they are very hot. Also, the wind in my location can be a problem with a low flame, so you'll have to account for that. I don't usually write reviews because I am often frustrated with the product, but this one works and is worth the money.

Researched this stove for about a year before making the purchase. Being into food preserving I absolutely love the performance of this stove. It brings the water in the blue goose canner to a boil in minutes and the pressure cooker starts rocking almost immediately. It's cut my canning time in half because I don't have to wait so long for water to come to a boil. It's eliminated the mess and heat in my kitchen. Wish I had bought it sooner. If your looking for a well built outdoor stove look no further. I just save you a lot of time.