The Simple Art of Making Toast

The Simple Art of Making Toast

Easy Toast

There are some pathetic toasters for use on gas stoves on the market, but this one made by Companion is really good! The only drawback is you can only do a single slice at a time. The gauze side goes closest to the flame. Ours came from a camping shop in Penrith and was under $20.00. You should be able to pick one up at any large camping outlet. Companion Part Number COMP9221FS. As usual we bought the wrong type first up hence this story.

This little gadget made by Companion makes fantastic toast on any A'van stove. It stores flat when not in use. Chrissy has made a little padded bag to keep ours in! Very quick in operation and it doesn't make the bread go extra hard. Make sure that the gauze side is nearest the flame. Now this story is all about mainly what not to get and the damage they can do, to your stove!

The Wrong Way to Make Toast

Yes folks we got sucked in by the picture on the packaging showing four slices cooking all at once. Well we are all a bit lazy aren't we? The Campstove Toaster sold mainly in K-Mart stores is an absolute disaster in recent model A' liners using the very spunky looking SMEV Italian stainless steel top stoves with the black glass lid. What happens is the large flat base deflects the flame to the back and melts the plastic bolts holding the glass on. This is actually a very serious problem as you CANNOT replace these bolts as the nuts fall into the inside of the stove. Jeff is aware of this, BUT it's Camec's job to fix it under warranty. Best to head straight for Camec if you also have melting bolts instead of worrying Jeff.

Now to fix this you MUST use a qualified gas fitter as the stove has to be completely removed and split in two. The designer certainly wont be a winner of the Prince Phillip Design Award! We suggest that all A'vanners with this particular stove check out the hinge bolts to see if ours is a one off or there is a safety problem. Camec the importers are aware of this - they were the ones that dropped the nut inside! We have written to the manufacturers requesting they supply metal bolts. Jeff was most concerned with this problem which is definitely not his fault and arranged for Camec to look at it immediately. At present our hinge is held up by 3 instead of 4 bolts. Camec gave us a spare plastic bolt to be fitted at their expense under warranty. We feel this is a waste of their money, as you don't need a degree in gas fitting to work out that the same thing will happen as soon as we use a large saucepan or frying pan - hence why we have written to Italy. The screws obviously should be made of stainless steel. Plastic screws near open flame is just plain daft! Now back to the iffy toaster - notice how it looks a zillion years old. Well all that rust and corrosion occurred after just two uses and it being carefully stored in its original packaging. In a word - DON'T!

The close up shows a melted plastic bolt and a brand new one

Bob & Chrissy Eustace