Steve and Karen
Ranger
In a couple other posts about the C-I stovetop I mentioned that I acquired a vintage Griswold cooker in an attempt to retrofit it to the trailer. It didn't work, as it was sized too differently. But I was able to to tear it down, refurb it, and turn it into a dual-fuel cooker, that can be be used with a either propane tank or natural gas.
View attachment upload_2024-5-29_16-54-36.jpeg
But not using both fuels, or both burners, at the same time.
The stove came with two propane-sized orifices, stamped #73. These have a small hole and are only suitable for propane that is being delivered at 11" WC. If you try to run household natural gas through it, it simply won't light; household pressure can vary, but is typically only half of what propane ends up being at the end.
I made a bunch of quick-connects so I can easily switch between the two fuels:
View attachment upload_2024-5-29_16-45-25.jpeg
When it is running off a propane tank with an 11" WC regulator (that you see in the pic above), and the #73 orifice, it gives a decent flame at 2/3 "on":
View attachment upload_2024-5-29_16-47-36.jpeg
In order to run natural gas through it, I took one of the orifices:
View attachment upload_2024-5-29_16-50-6.jpeg
... and drilled it out to 1/16th" on my press. This allowed enough flow through at the lower natural gas pressure to mimic how the other side burns. I didn't take a pic because the flame was essentially invisible. (If you're going to do this, experiment by working your way up to the properly sized hole, as your house pressure may differ from mine.)
Obviously, I can't run both burners at the same time, but I preferred flexibility over capacity. I didn't think I was going to be using both burners at the same time very often anyway.
The valves are conical and require some greasing with a specific grease which also acts a leak sealant:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00PDFDU1I/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I used a high temp paint, which didn't require any heat-curing:
Stove Bright® High Temperature Paint | FORREST Technical Coatings... just to see how it would differ from my recent attempt at re-painting the Camp-Inn stove with a baked-on ceramic coating.
I doubt we'd take this with us and the trailer. But I throw this out here as some don't bother at all with the OEM trailer stove, and wish to have something a little more portable, or versatile. Meaning: they like to cook on the picnic table or the C-I side tables because their T-Rex arms don't reach all the way to the back of the galley.
And it's got a cool vintage vibe too.
There's no reason this can't work off the side propane port; you'd just need an 11" regulator on a hose like I have here as the side port delivers 20 psi, which is more than 40X what you need for the burner.
And if you do do a dual-fuel set-up like I have, conspicuously label your valves and burners for the appropriate fuel. Running higher pressure propane through a natural gas orifice will turn the burner into a flame-thrower. There is no way to easily mitigate this result by way of controlling the air-flow and gas-flow at the valve.
Switching out orifices is a 5-minute job if you want to keep your fuel choice uniform and/or use both burners at the same time.
View attachment upload_2024-5-29_16-54-36.jpeg
But not using both fuels, or both burners, at the same time.
The stove came with two propane-sized orifices, stamped #73. These have a small hole and are only suitable for propane that is being delivered at 11" WC. If you try to run household natural gas through it, it simply won't light; household pressure can vary, but is typically only half of what propane ends up being at the end.
I made a bunch of quick-connects so I can easily switch between the two fuels:
View attachment upload_2024-5-29_16-45-25.jpeg
When it is running off a propane tank with an 11" WC regulator (that you see in the pic above), and the #73 orifice, it gives a decent flame at 2/3 "on":
View attachment upload_2024-5-29_16-47-36.jpeg
In order to run natural gas through it, I took one of the orifices:
View attachment upload_2024-5-29_16-50-6.jpeg
... and drilled it out to 1/16th" on my press. This allowed enough flow through at the lower natural gas pressure to mimic how the other side burns. I didn't take a pic because the flame was essentially invisible. (If you're going to do this, experiment by working your way up to the properly sized hole, as your house pressure may differ from mine.)
Obviously, I can't run both burners at the same time, but I preferred flexibility over capacity. I didn't think I was going to be using both burners at the same time very often anyway.
The valves are conical and require some greasing with a specific grease which also acts a leak sealant:
https://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B00PDFDU1I/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I used a high temp paint, which didn't require any heat-curing:
Stove Bright® High Temperature Paint | FORREST Technical Coatings... just to see how it would differ from my recent attempt at re-painting the Camp-Inn stove with a baked-on ceramic coating.
I doubt we'd take this with us and the trailer. But I throw this out here as some don't bother at all with the OEM trailer stove, and wish to have something a little more portable, or versatile. Meaning: they like to cook on the picnic table or the C-I side tables because their T-Rex arms don't reach all the way to the back of the galley.
And it's got a cool vintage vibe too.
There's no reason this can't work off the side propane port; you'd just need an 11" regulator on a hose like I have here as the side port delivers 20 psi, which is more than 40X what you need for the burner.
And if you do do a dual-fuel set-up like I have, conspicuously label your valves and burners for the appropriate fuel. Running higher pressure propane through a natural gas orifice will turn the burner into a flame-thrower. There is no way to easily mitigate this result by way of controlling the air-flow and gas-flow at the valve.
Switching out orifices is a 5-minute job if you want to keep your fuel choice uniform and/or use both burners at the same time.
