Gas ovens aren’t everyone’s first choice – yet many static caravans are equipped with them. So, what are your alternatives if ‘cooking on gas’ isn’t for you? We’ve been investigating…
It’s widely acknowledged that gas ovens in holiday caravans come in for criticism for being slower to cook food than domestic ovens, and if you’re accustomed to an electric oven at home, a gas oven in a holiday caravan might lead to a measure of frustration in terms of cooking timing.
Fortunately, air fryers, freestanding electric ovens, mini ovens, slow cookers and more… all line up to offer an array of alternatives to your static caravan gas oven.
And we’re already starting to see many holiday caravan manufacturers give the option of an electric oven when ordering a new static caravan or lodge – more on this later…
Things to consider if going electric
- Installation: If you’re considering having an electric oven installed in a cabinet, check if you need to notify your insurance provider, as this may be classed as a modification. Also, check with the park operator. Installation needs to be carried out by a qualified electrician, who will check that the caravan holiday home’s power supply can handle the load.
- Oven power rating: Most compact ovens have a 16-amp rating. Larger, domestic-sized ovens may be 32amps. It’s possible to have your pitch’s supply uprated to power a 32amp appliance; your first port of call must be the park owner, to ask permission. A professional electrician can upgrade the supply and the circuit breaker – provided the park owner agrees to it. A circuit breaker must be compatible otherwise the oven will trip out the electricity supply.
If you decide to have your gas oven disconnected, this must be done by a registered Gas Safe engineer who will cap the gas supply. You may need to notify the park owner that this is being done in order to comply with the park’s regulations.
- Park power supply rating: Check with the park what power rating your pitch has. Many parks have a 16amp pitch power rating – because, in most cases, that is all that is needed. For example, Stanwix Park, on the north Cumbria coast, where you can buy or hire a holiday caravan, has a 16amp supply to all of its pitches. Stanwix tells us that most of its owned holiday homes have gas ovens, as do all of its hire fleet. And this, which sums up what this advice article is all about: “The gas ovens in caravans are generally a lot slower than your ‘standard’ home electric oven. We do find some self-catering [hire] customers and owners have, or bring with them, air fryers to use.”
Your electric oven options in a static caravan
Replacing a static caravan gas oven with an electric one is a possibility – just remember to check your chosen model will be compatible with your park’s power supply and that it will fit the space vacated by the gas oven, as well as have sufficient space for ventilation.
A 16amp supply is sufficient for most appliances, but some larger ovens require 32amps.
Many holiday caravans will have a separate hob and oven, and you may wish to leave the gas hob in place, or you could choose to replace it with an integrated electric oven and hob. A qualified electrician will advise on the best choice of appliance and the costs.
One example of an oven that can be installed in a static caravan cabinet is the CDA Electric Single Oven. It has a 65-litre capacity and 11 cooking functions, including defrosting, fan cooking, grilling and baking. It has five shelf positions. And it has a steam cleaning function.
It comes with a 1.3m-long cable. Its power load is 2.8kW, and its fuse size is 13amp.
The oven measures 60cm in height, 60cm in width, and 57 cm in depth. For installation, it requires a cabinet height of 60cm, width of 56cm, and depth of 56cm.
Expect to pay £285.70.
Find out more: www.arleigh.co.uk
Freestanding cooking devices
Rather than have an electric oven installed, you might like to consider a freestanding electric cooking device. There are many types on the market to place on a kitchen surface.
You can buy small conventional electric ovens to use on a kitchen worktop. One example comes from Leisurewize. Its full name is Leisurewize Low Wattage electric oven 14L. It has three cooking functions – grill, roast and bake. It has a bell timer, up to 60 minutes, with an automatic shut-off. Its wattage is 1200. Its capacity is 14 litres and its dimensions are 26cm x 43cm x 32cm. It weighs only 5.15kg, so it is super easy to put away in a cabinet should you choose to do so when not in use.
Expect to pay £69.99
Find out more: www.homesteadcaravans.co.uk
We also found something enticingly called Wonder Oven. It has a charming retro appearance – and it comes in a choice of four colours: cream, blue, dark grey or apricot.
It offers six ways to cook – that’s air fry, bake, roast, toast, broil and reheat. It has a steam infuser function- you add one to two teaspoons of water through an aperture in the top to produce a crisp-on-the-outside, juicy-inside result. It has two racks so that you can cook two items at the same time.
Its size is 29cm x 26.9cm x 29.2 cm and has a 12.3-litre capacity. It weighs 5.26 litres.
It has a 60-minute timer and a heat range of 93 degrees to 230 degrees.
Included is an air fryer basket, a wire rack, a baking pan and a crumb tray.
Expect to pay £155
Find out more: www.fromourplace.co.uk
Air fryers
Air fryers are fabulous – if you haven’t yet become acquainted with this type of cooking, take it from us that they’re efficient, easy to use, easy to clean, and they don’t take up much space on your kitchen worktop. Importantly, they use less fat than traditional ovens and cook much faster.
A great example is the Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Digital Air Fryer – and we have one of these up for grabs (add link when ready).
The Ninja Foodi Dual Zone Digital Air Fryer has a 7.6-litre capacity, designed to cook for up to eight people. It has two drawers, and each is large enough for a chicken weighing 1.6kg, the manufacturer advises. The drawers are independent, so you can cook two different dishes at the same time.
It has six cooking functions – that’s air fry, max crisp, roast, bake, dehydrate and reheat.
Expect to pay £199.99
Find out more: www.ninjakitchen.co.uk
Mini ovens
From Cooks Professional comes the 48-litre fan-assisted mini oven with two ceramic hobs. It’s quite stunning in styling; black with copper-effect knobs and handle, or black with silver-effect knobs and handle, or white or grey with gold-effect knobs and handle.
The advantage of having two ceramic hobs is that if you opt to use these rather than your static caravan’s gas hob, you’ll use less gas. So, depending on what you pay for replacement cylinders or your gas supply from a central tank on your holiday park, you might save money by switching to mains power for hob cooking. Also, if you’re fond of cooking on your decking, this is a self-contained cooker that you can easily take outside and is perfect if your park doesn’t allow gas barbecues to be used on decks.
Its heat range is from 90 degrees to 230 degrees.
It comes with two wire racks, a baking tray and a removable handle.
Its dimensions are 38.5cm x 57cm x 42.5cm. It weighs 13kg. The wattage of the oven is 1800; one of the hobs has a wattage of 1500W, the other is 1000W.
Expect to pay £199
Find out more: www.cooksprofessional.co.uk
Slow cookers
Whether you’re attuned to slow cookers depends on how far ahead you’re prepared to plan meals. Slow cookers are perfect if you buy ahead and prepare ahead – you can leave the slow cooker to cook your meal while you go out for a day.
A great advantage of slow cookers is that they ‘e designed to cook cheaper cuts of meat – that’s because the tough connective tissue in the meat becomes tender when slow-cooked. There are lots of slower cooker recipe book, but if you’re following a recipe that’s not designed for slow cookers, a top tip is to halve the amount of liquid you put in the slow cooker. That’s because very little evaporation takes place. Another top tip is that root vegetables work well; soft vegetables work less well because they can become mushy.
There’s a huge variety of slow cookers on the market. Sizes range from 3.5 litre capacity to around 6.5 litres. Prices start around £24.99 and go up to around £64.99.
Halogen ovens
Halogen ovens use infrared energy emitted from a halogen lamp. The infrared energy causes the molecules in the food to vibrate, producing heat. The nice advantage is that cooking takes place in a glass bowl so you can watch the cooking take place!
Microwave ovens
Many holiday caravans come with built-in microwaves. If yours doesn’t have one, they’re easy to buy, and there’s a vast choice. Microwaves cook by using short radio waves, which cause rapid movement of molecules inside the food, and this generates heat. Prices start at around £60.
Remoska electric cooker
A Remoska electric cooker (which has its origins in the Czeck republic) bakes, grills and roasts. It has a heating element in the lid. It’s ideal for one-pot meals. Most have a two-litre capacity.
Expect to pay £179.99 for a Standard Remoska Electric Table Top Cooker.
Electric ovens for static caravans
Here’s a market overview of what’s available from holiday caravan and lodge manufacturers…
All-electric holiday caravans from Willerby
Willerby, with its eyes firmly on eco-solutions, launched its Willerby GreEN Standard in 2022, which applies across all Willerby’s holiday caravan and lodge ranges, and includes upgraded insulation throughout, and thicker exterior walls, making them more energy efficient.
The introduction of the GreEN Standard was followed by the innovation of the All-E option. Now, all Willerby holiday caravans can be built with All-E spec which, of course, automatically changes the spec to an electric oven. Willerby explained to us that All-E spec incorporates intelligent technology to monitor and optimise electricity usage at all times, to avoid the supply to your holiday caravan being exceeded.
Victory Leisure Homes oven options
Buyers of Victory Leisure Homes can choose an electric oven provided that it’s available on the model they select – and Victory tells us that this option is available on 99% of its models.
Pemberton electric oven options
Pemberton Leisure Homes buyers can opt for an electric oven. Pemberton tells us: “We also offer an all-electric spec, so no gas at all.” And this advice: “It’s important to ensure that the park can cope with the increased electrical demand, as some wouldn’t be able to support the load these units require.”
Omar Group
The giant Omar Group, which manufactures caravan holiday homes under its Regal brand, and lodges under its Omar and Wessex brands, plus park homes, installs electric ovens as standard throughout its ranges.
Swift Group
The Swift Group, which has a range of seven holiday caravan and five lodges, offers electric ovens as an option in place of gas ovens across all models.
So there you have it. The expression ‘cooking on gas’ is dictionary-defined as ‘to be making rapid progress or performing efficiently’, which may have been fine in the 1930s when the phrase originated, but when applied to today’s holiday caravan gas ovens, many owners disagree.
The array of alternatives on the market, though, offers great solutions – in many cases, for not a lot of money. If cooking is a significant element of your holiday caravan lifestyle, it’s worth the investment.
Bon Appetit!
