Storing a Camp Oven

Storing a Camp Oven correctly is important and if taken care of will give a lifetime of use. So, you’ve cleaned your camp oven and either heading off to your next camp or heading home. Now, you need to store your camp oven for a few months and prevent it from rusting and going rancid. It’s not a difficult task, but it is important to take a few cautionary steps.

The results of neglecting a camp oven

Keep It Coated – a very thin film of vegetable oil should be applied after the last time you clean your camp oven. You should try to rub off most of the oil with paper towels so that there is the slightest film left behind which will help keep moisture away from the metal. Leaving too much oil on or in the oven can result in a foul, rancid smell when you pull it out of storage. If that happens, repeat the camp oven seasoning process again.

Keep it Dry – moisture is the worst thing for your camp oven so try to store it in a dry location.

Keep Air Moving – a useful trick is to prop the lid off the oven to allow a small amount of air circulation inside the oven. A good way to do this is to roll up some paper towel and use this as padding between the pot and lid. This also provides some padding and prevents the lid from banging up and down on the camp oven while driving.

Keep It Protected – there are camp oven bags and other accessories in which to store your cookware. A hessian sack works just as well and helps keep dust and grime off it.

Correctly cared for a camp oven will give a lifetime of service

If your camp oven happens to be rusty next time you head off on that camping trip, or if you found a camp oven in a garage sale that looked like someone had stored it in the junk shed for years, all you need to do is restore it by repeating the seasoning process. By storing your camp oven carefully, you will save yourself a heap of work next year.