Cadac overrated?

[Glenn_5132962]

Is anyone else disappointed with their cadac? I bought mine in June after reading on here about how good they are. While the griddle plate is brill for English breakfasts or cooking thin meats i'm not impressed with the bbq which doesn't cook well or the fact that the slightest wind blows the flame out.

Even worse, the ignitor failed after only being used twice so I got a new base. Now this weekend while cooking it started making a funny popping noise. After it had cooled I inspected the burner only to find it has completely melted & distorted into a molted blob of alloy!! So its gonna have to be replaced for a second time.

I was using it on Camping Gaz originally but I just changed to propane. I know propane burns hotter than butane but it says its ok to use propane in the manual & I was using the correct regulator. Anyone else had this problem?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Glen.

There are many similarities between Butane and Propane, which is why appliance manufactures can usually allow either fuel to be used.

The temperature of the flame is dependant on the fuel and in fact Butane is hotter at 1991C compared to Propane at 1980C. That represents only 0.5% difference which is minimal and most people could not tell the difference.

However that is not the whole story. You may recall that here in the UK we used to have different regulators depending on which gas was being used. Butane was delivered at 28 mBar and Propane at 37 mBar. That may seem that propane was delivering more gas than Butane, but the truth is that due to the relative caloric values and densities of the two gasses, the pressure differential was needed to ensure that roughly the same amount of energy was released by the appliance.

we now have a situation where a single pressure (30mBar) is used regardless of whether it is butane or propane gas. This now means that Butane delivers more heat energy to the appliance compared to Propane through the same regulator.

So it is purely a fairy tale that Propane burns hotter. Not only is it 0.5% cooler, through current appliances there is approximately 15% less heat from Propane due to the reduced regulator pressure.

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

Glenn, we've now used our Cadac for the fourth year. OK the ignitor no longer works, but it cooks beautifully!

We've used it in the wind, if it becomes troublesome, then we just use a windbreak for shelter.

As John L suggests, it could be the gas!

 

[Glenn_5132962]

John,

You made some valid points about the different gasses. I was running the cadac off a separate propane cylinder with its own regulator so I presume this would be 37mbar?

Is it a coincidence that only the second time I use propane it melts??

Wendy, what gas do you run your on & is it connected to the van or on a separate bottle?

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Glen,

As I am sure you can appreciate I cannot diagnose your problem accurately as I do not have the appliance and any other equipment at hand to inspect or test.

I have given you the facts regarding the gases, but what I have written assumes the equipment is functioning normally.

I have to point out that you must only use the gas type and pressures specified by the appliance manufacture. If propane is not listed on the data plate, then you must not use it.

My own Cadac which is almost certainly a different model to yours is definitely only to be used on Camping Gaz Butane because it connects directly to the top of the 902 bottle without a regulator. If it could be connected to a Propane bottle, the bottle pressure would definitely overrate the appliance.

If the problem only occurs with your Propane, then my suspicion falls on the regulator. It may be faulty and giving out more than its specified pressure. Have you tried the BBQ with a different regulator?

Your propane regulator should have its nominal output pressure stamped or printed on it. If it is an old standard UK regulator then yes it should be 37mBar. Perhaps it is a continental regulator that may be set to an old German/Danish standard or 50mBar?

 

[forestgump]

hi run mine on small propane bottle no problem ignition packed up from new use gas cooker lighter been ok for 3years

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dean,

It only aright if the manufacture has stated the appliance is rated for Propane.

 

[forestgump]

i find its time delay to get cooking plates hot is slow but then need to catch heat before it gets to hot

so i start of med temp and leave to warm up never use full heat

and its been fine

y to not over heat or it all burns

 

[ProfJohnL]

Hello Dean,

I repeat:

Its only aright if the manufacture has stated the appliance is rated for Propane.

Otherwise you are using it outside its approved area of operations and it may not perform satisfactorily

 

[Glenn_5132962]

The Cadac i've got (carry chef) can work off propane - it clearly says so in the manual. The propane (uk 37mbar) reg i'm using is the one I took out of my last caravan before I part exchanged it 2 months ago. That reg never caused any issues in the caravan so I assume that its good.

 

[Wendy-Norfolk]

John,

You made some valid points about the different gasses. I was running the cadac off a separate propane cylinder with its own regulator so I presume this would be 37mbar?

Is it a coincidence that only the second time I use propane it melts??

Wendy, what gas do you run your on & is it connected to the van or on a separate bottle?

Glenn, we use propane gas, and the BBQ is connected to the 'van. :O)

 

[parker1158]

Hi Glenn

Would not be without our Cadac Carri chef - its about the only thing we use when away. Had it four years now still works perfect. The flame only blows out in higher winds. We have run ours on the caravan gas but generally use a gaz bottle with 28 mbr reg

 

[JeremyClarksson]

We use our Cadac on Propane on the gas bbq point on the side of the van, this is fed via the bulkhead regulater.

We did have a problem where the igniter stopped working, the switch was loose and the wire had dislodged - fixed it myself no problem.

We have no problem with heat and use a windbreak on windy days, sometimes moving it into the lee of the awning is enough.

 

[Icemaker]

we have had 2 cadac's now our last one we had for over 4 years and never had a problem we only stopped using it since we received one of the newer carry chef models as a gift. the newer model has been used around 30 times now and has been faultless, if its windy i just do what most others do and erect a wind break. i will admit though ive never used the barbecue attachment as i really cant see the point, a barbeque to me is all about the charcoal and the flavour given to food through the smoking effect so gas barbeques of any description seem pointless. the cadac is superb for cooking a full english or griddling meats etc and allso a usefull tool for heating large pans or a wok on the pan attachment.

 

[Icemaker]

we have had 2 cadac's now our last one we had for over 4 years and never had a problem we only stopped using it since we received one of the newer carry chef models as a gift. the newer model has been used around 30 times now and has been faultless, if its windy i just do what most others do and erect a wind break. i will admit though ive never used the barbecue attachment as i really cant see the point, a barbeque to me is all about the charcoal and the flavour given to food through the smoking effect so gas barbeques of any description seem pointless. the cadac is superb for cooking a full english or griddling meats etc and allso a usefull tool for heating large pans or a wok on the pan attachment.

should have stated, we use ours off the van gas point on propane.

 

[ProfJohnL]

we have had 2 cadac's now our last one we had for over 4 years and never had a problem we only stopped using it since we received one of the newer carry chef models as a gift. the newer model has been used around 30 times now and has been faultless, if its windy i just do what most others do and erect a wind break. i will admit though ive never used the barbecue attachment as i really cant see the point, a barbeque to me is all about the charcoal and the flavour given to food through the smoking effect so gas barbeques of any description seem pointless. the cadac is superb for cooking a full english or griddling meats etc and allso a usefull tool for heating large pans or a wok on the pan attachment.

Hi Icemaker,

You might be interested to know that the majority of the BBQ tatse comes from the fat dripping onto the hot coals/briquettes below the food, and being heated rapidly, vaporising and caranmalising and re condensing on the cooler food above. Very much the same effect can be created with the lava rocks on a gas BBQ.

There may be some flavour from the a actual fuel, but the bulk is from the foods own fat.

 

[Glenn_5132962]

Well I got my replacement cadac carry chef yesterday & there are several differences to the old one. The most obvious is the bbq which is now a cast pate with big slots in it instead of a chrome wire mesh. This should be easier to clean. Also the black metal drop in "moat" that is used with all the plates has higher sides that project about an inch higher that the blue base (last one was flush). The griddle plate appears to be lighter.

The salesman in the caravan shop showed my melted one to the cadac rep & he said he'd seen this happen before & the cause was too many air bubbles in the burner casting - so its a manufacturing fault!