Like most RVs lil' yeti has a propane stove. No oven, just two burners that strike a nice balance. Gas burners get my large skillet hot enough to fry! Yet the flame can be turned low to gently simmer. LP cooking works especially well for off-grid boondocking. Built in means always ready for travel. Plus self defense of counter space in such a tiny space. It's a keeper.
That said, it's not perfect. Burning any fuel makes heat of course. In hot weather, I'm sometimes reluctant to cook inside and opt for cold supper instead. Of course proper ventilation is a must. Exhaust fumes are mainly carbon dioxide and water vapor (like we exhale). So long as the flame stays blue it's safe. Still, extra moisture can become a problem in some climates. So there's room for improvement.
The main alternative to cooking with gas is electricity. A particularly appealing option while parked with hookups in a volunteer village, for example. I researched a number of different technologies that are readily available. Induction and infrared cookers are both intriguing but neither won me over. The two main contenders were the conventional coil and die cast type burners.
Coils are old school, proven technology that's hard to beat in some ways. They're super cheap, light weight, simple and efficient. They get red hot quickly. In fact some might consider them a burn hazard. I bought a one-eye unit locally to test.
I found its temperature control was a bit moody. My big turn off was cleanup. I'm not the world's neatest cook.
Alternatively, die cast burners have a heating element embedded inside. I found a two-eye model locally that I tried. At first I was bummed that it took 20 minutes to start percolating a quart of coffee. But that's where the die cast burner kicks in. It had enough thermal mass to keep perking the coffee for 10 minutes with the power switched off! Hm.
Even though the operating manual disclaimed that it was designed for gently boiling not frying or browning, it pays to experiment. I discovered that the large burner eventually got my large cast iron skillet hot enough to bake. That turned my frown upside down. I can be patient. For a good cause.
The larger/left burner draws 900W. The smaller/right burner draws 600W. That affords some flexibility, depending what's on the menu. One recent, cool day I got a hankering for some chili.
Of course ya gotta have corn bread. For a bake off I used my large skillet to make corn muffins. Versus Johnny Cake in the small skillet. Both passed muster. Yum!
I love how the cast burners are easy to keep clean. Once cooled down just wash 'em with a soapy scrunge. Done.
