Customer Reviews

Camp Chef Explorer Series EX-60LW 2-Burner Modular Cooking System, Black

5 star:		(22)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I've really enjoyed using this product. The price for the stove is not all inclusive for maximum enjoyment. In addition to the stove, you'll also need to purchase a propane tank. I'd also recommend the cast-iron griddle/grill plates designed to fit on the stove. You probably only need one, but if you want two they'll cost you about $20 a piece.

You can probably use standard cookware as you would on an oven range, but I've only used cast-iron cookware on the stove. If you have more expensive cookware, you may want to consider investing in a diffuser plate as the stove flame can be very hot! I haven't done so yet, but you also may want to consider installing the igniter which I believe costs $5-10 per burner. I also purchased the Camp Chef bag for transporting the stove. Even while in the bag, the stove is very heavy and not fun to carry around. Like I said in the title, this is a perfect stove to take camping if you're in a car and don't have to carry it far. For its power, it stores very well. Because it stores in a compact area (roughly 36x18x8) set-up is slightly more complicated than comparable stoves but remains fairly simple. You just slide the four legs into the bottom of the stove, snap the wind-shield in place, and plug in the propane tank. I've seen other stoves that have legs which simply fold up or down. All-in-all, this is a great product!

Length:: 2:44 Mins

Camp Chef Explorer Series EX-60LW 2-Burner Modular Cooking System, Black:

Camp Chef products are designed for cooking outdoors and can be great for many years of use.

This is the number one stove in the line, it has over 75 cooking combos!

Here are my top 5

1. Stove with both burners covered by the SG60 griddle (Griddle all the way across) Camp Chef - SG-60 - Pro Fry Griddle BBQ Accessories

2. Stove with Camp Chef BB100L Sport Grill Box, Black one one side the other burner open for a pot to boil water and do your dishes.

3. Stove with Camp Chef CGG16 Cast Iron Grill/Griddle great for throwing on some fajitas...

4. Stove with Camp Chef Professional Barbecue Super Grill Box for 2-Burner Stoves this is a bit expensive, but you have a super wide barbecue system and you can take it off and still have a two burner stove.

5. Cover it up with a Camp Chef CB60 Carry bag for two burner stove keeps the cook extras out of the car.

We love all of our Camp Chef product and are always looking for new ways to cook and be Outdoors.

We purchased this for food canning, and for backup during our typical winter power outages. And I think it would be great for cooking up those pungent foods when you don't want to stink up the house!
Overall the build quality and heat output are very good. It has more than enough burner capacity to boil a 33 quart canner in 60 F. weather. Very stable. Keeping the humidity out of the house is a huge plus.
I have two suggestions for Camp Chef.
1) The front, center and angled down location of the MIP fitting (for hooking up the hose to the propane tank)is in about the most awkward location it could be. Users are typically going to have the tank to the side or rear, so a fitting location aimed in that direction makes sense. As built the hose is subject to getting spills on it (hot grease would be the worst), and having a side strain on the hose and fitting from trying to locate to the side or aft.
2) The burner valves are also exposed to spills from cooking. A metal shield would help. I fashioned a temporary one from layers of aluminum foil - works ok but you have to be careful to keep the air inlets on the valve clear of obstructions.
Finally, I'll repeat some common advice: Get your tanks refilled and don't use the excahnge services. In our area a fill costs about $12.50, and exchanges range from $18.99 to 23.99. It adds up if you do a lot of canning.

We returned a defective EX170 with dual 60,000 and 30,000 BTU burners and got an EX60 with dual 30,000 BTU burners. This EX60 model comes with a round metal wind-shield attached to the bottom of each 30,000 BTU burner. Hence, the EX60 provides better wind protection than the EX170, which curiously didn't have any round metal windscreen at the bottom of the burners at all. Further, with the EX60, gas control knobs are marked with hi/med/low/off positions. In order to turn on the gas, the knobs have to be pushed in then turned. The EX170 curiously had no such safety measure and markings. With the EX60, two burners can burn at the same time without any problem. With the EX170, we couldn't get the 60,000 BTU to burn on medium or high at all, and the 30,000 BTU burner was therefore provided more heat than the 60,000 BTU burner on the EX170. In summary, the EX60 is WAY better than the EX170.

I "saved" this product from my In-laws, they were going to throw it away since they never used it. Being it was sealed in the factory packaging and still had the price card on it, I opted to take it off their hands.

This last week,7/19-7/24, I went camping on the Oregon Coast. As normal it was cold, wet, and windy. Somehow out of the 28 people present at our family gathering, we had two stoves. One was the venerable Coleman table top propane stove. The second being this Camp Chef I brought with me, fresh in box.

Right out of the box this product is extremely easy to assembly. It takes less than 5 minutes to be up and going. It is extremely sturdy and well built, the matte finish is uniform and in order. Overall it exudes quality, something not often found in a product these days. The two 30,000 BTU burners were more than enough to heat large amounts of food quickly, enough to feed every member in a timely manner. Even in the cold wind and rain the flame was easy to light, and it kept that flame until turned off. The stove consumed less than 5 Gallons of Propane during the trip, and it was used at every meal. This was surprising considering the amount of food prepared on it.

I only had one brief issue with the stove, and it happens to be directly related to my one wish, and the reason it wasn't given 5 stars. When I went to use the stove on the second day, after sitting out all night, I found that water had gotten into the burners. This prevented the burners from running at peak performance. It was a simple remedy, I blew the water out and ignited the burners again, after running for a minute the water was dried and the stove worked fantastically. Now how about that wish? Well it would have been nice to see some sort of cover or carry/storage bag come with this stove. Had one of the two been included I wouldn't have experienced the issue. Then again I could have covered it with a tarp, but it didn't cross my mind.


Overall this is a fantastic product, and I would recommend it to anyone who cooks outdoors. It stood up to the cold, wind, and rain of the Oregon Coast, I have seen many outdoor products give into these conditions over the years. Only the best products can survive and this stove is among them. I am glad I saved it from my In-law's and discovered Camp Chef, I also know about 27 other people who were glad this weekend.

I could kick myself everything I think about passing on the burner option on my Weber grill. After beating myself up for a year I finally decided to order this for my outdoor kitchen and very happy with the purchase. Its a little utilitarian in design and build, but that is OK for what it is. Only fault I have to it is the burners are "go big or go home". Don't plan on cooking with a 6" skillet on this thing, it is designed to hold big pots and pans and only big ones. One big one and one small one would have been better for me, but I guess most folks that do outdoor cooking are fixing large meals for several. I fixed 2 big pots of spaghetti over the weekend (enough to feed an army) and this thing had the water boiling just about faster than I could get a few grinds of salt and a bit of olive oil in there.

I just love this product! Robust. Big burners. Underlined with quality with a sensible design for outdoors: I like the way they have kept the flame protected from wind. This really blows away those fancy stainless steel burners I had brought. I like thme so much that I wanted to but another (for some big party maybe) but my wife's better sense prevailed.

I liked CampChefs customer service too, who corrected a wrong choice I was making. I was choosing a very big (75,000BTU) burner option which they said is not suitable for daily cooking.

Guess where ours curry's and stir fry cooks when it is not raining!

Update after 4 years: Still think its one of the most valuable items (the returns it gives us for the price)I have purchased. When it does not snow or rain and we need to cook, its our first choice. Our everyday cooking has shifted outdoors, to spare the home the smell of cooking.

I'll occassionally go up to the mountains to go camping and get away from it all. Whenever I go, I use this stove. It's very durable and useful. There's nothing better than having a big juicy steak while camping. I couldn't do a camping trip without it.

I was shopping for a stove to take with me camping in the mountains but also double as an outdoor stove for the patio for my condo. I think I've found it.

PRO:
The Camp Chef Explorer EX-70LW 2-burner provides enough power (2x30,000 BTU) to bring 1 liter of water from 70F to boiling (at 5500 feet) in just under 4 minutes.

Another surprise was how small it packed, the shipping box measures 15x8x33 inches, small enough to fit in the back of my miniSUV with room for gear.

When setup, the stove has a surprisingly small foot print (21 inches x 38 inches), small enough to setup on my tiny patio.

I have yet to try cooking rice/pasta, but the controls are precise and fine. I don't expect to have troubles with simmering dishes on low heat.

When setup, the stove will stay put. The cast iron construction makes the entire unit sturdy.

CONS:
I found a few design issues that are worth mentioning.

-The four legs have independent height measurements. I'm not sure this is a 'CON', but you imagine that a level is required. I enjoy the adjustability of the long legs for uneven surfaces, but was wishing there was a built in level to determine whether or not the stove was level.I ended up using my own level. I will likely bring it with me as part of the camping gear. The long legs can be removed for a simple table-top stove, but you lose the ability to adjust the level of the stove. Adjustable legs for the main unit is desired.

- The control knobs are too recessed. I imagine that if you have some accessories (say the grill boxes or any kind of cookware) that it'll block the view of the knobs. I wish these were extended out from the stove further, without impacting the ability for the whole unit to disassemble into such a small footprint.

- The port for the gas manifold sticks out at the user resulting in the hose to the tank to stick out at you (unless you bend the hose). A better design would have been to put the port towards the back of the manifold.

- The burners themselves are excellent. You'll need some large cookware on this stove as the diameter of the burner is 6" and the flames (at full power) extend another 1-2 inches around the side (when deflected by a pot of equal diameter). And as other reviewers have commented, you will need some very heavy bottom pans or better yet, cast iron for cookware, as the heat is quite intense.

- The connection of the propane hose to the manifold is brass on brass, and teflon is recommended. I would have preferred the nipple to contain some kind of rubber gasket (replaceable of course) so I could do away with the teflon.

- It's silly to buy a separate case for this stove. I would have preferred that instead of a box, a tough plastic case (with carrying handle) be used to ship and store the item. See for example 2 Ton Floor Jack \ Case.

Ordered just in time to use for a large gathering in conjunction with my wife's 50th birthday celebration, with approximately 40 friends and family in attendance. Using two large 20 qrt stock pots and a cast iron skillet, cooked a large batch of shrimp and grits with the Camp Chef. For starters, it took me no more than a few minutues to set it up and then I was cooking. Loved it. Set up, ease of use, results all fantastic. Can't wait to use it for future large gatherings. Very sold and sturdy. I can tell it will serve me well for years to come.