Ok, now I am really confused. Do you use the Dutch Cap only when using a gas burner and not coals? OR, can you use it with coals only and not gas? This thing is too big to put on my camp stove - it is 13" high and 17" round. That is the only size they had and honestly, I didn't ask if they came in other sizes. Now, if I do use coals, do I still use a heat deflector, which I think would make the bottom uneven when the coals began to shrink. I need your expert knowledge on this one Steve.
Rebecca
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CAJUN LADY - Donating Member
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by sdtripper2 » Tue Sep 25, 2007 2:12 pm
CAJUN LADY wrote:Ok, now I am really confused. Do you use the Dutch Cap only when using a gas burner and not coals? OR, can you use it with coals only and not gas? This thing is too big to put on my camp stove - it is 13" high and 17" round. That is the only size they had and honestly, I didn't ask if they came in other sizes. Now, if I do use coals, do I still use a heat deflector, which I think would make the bottom uneven when the coals began to shrink. I need your expert knowledge on this one Steve.
Rebecca
Rebecca:
As you know one of the reasons for using the Dutch Cap is for situations where fires or danger of fires are a concern. Some campgrounds have restrictions. That said, the Dutch cap can be used with coals and it becomes more of a heat shield. Under these circumstances you may very well need some coals on toP of the oven during cooking but it stands to reason that the top of the Dutch Cap will hold more heat and thus radiate heat down more than the usual coals on toP and heat loss. So you will have to practice to see what is best for coal distribution.
Now using the Dutch Cap as I would try to do uses a stand alone burner that uses a deflector over the flame.
See here for a visual representation of both ways of heating your DO under a Dutch Cap.
Here is the reason I would want to use the Dutch Cap, Rebbecca.
"What do I Do when there are fire restrictions?
It seams that the forest service is getting a little crazy. every year the fire restrictions come out earlier and earlier. but what do we do if we can't use fire with our Dutch ovens? There are many solutions but I will talk about two.
Nick Manos may have been a little ahead of his time when he invented the Dutch cap. Now that Fire restrictions seem to be almost a forgone conclusion. He developed an idea that will help us. the Dutch Cap is a round Metallic tube that is closed on one end. it also has vent holes for adjusting the heat. the purpose of this apparatus is to trap the heat from a propane burner that is under a Dutch oven. essentially you are putting your Dutch oven in an oven. there is a problem however, the burner is casting direct heat on the bottom of Dutch oven and that causes hot spots. this problem can be alleviated by using some kind of heat diverter. (a plate above the burner that distributes the heat over the whole area.
Another method is to use two lids for your Dutch oven. You will still need a diverter but the way this works is, you preheat one lid then put it on your oven and while it is baking you are preheating the second lid. rotating lids until your food is done.
These two methods may seem a bit simple but then again isn't Dutch oven cooking easy?"
"A man who is good enough to shed his blood for his country
is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards." -------Theodore Roosevelt
Steve
is good enough to be given a square deal afterwards." -------Theodore Roosevelt
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sdtripper2 - Search Garoux
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