Quote: Originally posted by stacetop on 05/5/2011
I'm in the to buy or not to buy camp too! It's mainly the price that puts me off.
When you say the BBQ part is hard to clean can someone please explain why?
The size also puts me off, fellow caravaners can u store them ok?
I'm with you on the cleaning issue - I don't understand "why" either. We use our 2 cadacs (easy and safari) for everything including bbq'ing. When cleaning it goes into hot soapy water and wiped clean. Any marks, greasy or burnt bits that stay on, stay on! Neither of our cadacs look new and shiny, they look well used and, for want of a better word, clatty LOL. But then again so does our garden bbq. And that is my point, nobody bothers much with their garden barbeque (at least no one I know). We have no intention of selling them on so don't care about how they look so they get well used. And before I get tarred and feathered anyone who likes to scrub their cadacs clean I'm also with them - its just that I cant be bothered!
I use a small amount of water whilst the flat plate is still hot or heat it back up again after your meal and a few sheets of kitchen towel.
Use a spatular / plastic fish slice to wipe the kitchen towel around the plate to more or less "steam wash /clean" the plate and it cleans very easily without any trips to the sinks.
If you do really want to use the BBQ sections of the Cadac (but i cant see the point really as you are still "cooking on gas" and not BBQ coals, then to ease cleaning cover all sections, without blocking vent holes etc.. with foil then when finished collect up the foil and dispose of in the bin, not so environmentally friendly / cost effective but you dont have to then use cleaners and detergents etc.
The new one gets quite messy on top and underneath and with either you also have to clean the drip tray and some people also clean the deflector plate. Thats a lot of scrubbing, so many people simply choose to use the ridged grill plate instead, which is much quicker and easier to clean.
Not a fan of the new BBQ plate. I wrote to Cadac complaining that it was a complete pain to clean. They sent me a new non-stick double sided grill plate instead, which I have kept for spare and have purchased an old style BBQ grill from Towler & Staines.
Quote: Originally posted by asdj45 on 06/5/2011
If you do really want to use the BBQ sections of the Cadac (but i cant see the point really as you are still "cooking on gas" and not BBQ coals..........
Andy
We use the BBQ grill as it means you get less fat.
We use the griddle and the drip tray ring for less fat cooking, line the drip tray with foil or similar and easy to keep clean then. Never really liked the Cadac idea of putting water in it so that the fat can congeal then you still have to get rid of the fat and still clean the ring - too much double work for me. Cheap foil from the "basic" section of any store provides an easy cleaner solution
Just seen Riversway Leisure have got the
Cadac Carri Chef Deluxe on offer at the moment for £129.95 makes it sound a bit more reasonable! Now where did the OH put the credit cards
Just bought a Weber Q120. What a superb piece of kit. Really easy to use and clean - all the drips collect in a foil tray at the bottom. Bit pricier than other BBQ's but well worth it.
Btw, we've not heard a bean from Cadac even though I have phoned and sent emails.... thought they were supposed to have good customer service!!
I had a older Cadac BBQ that needed a replacement part, but CADAC did not keep spares for this part. Sticking with the brand name, we purchased the larger CADAC Carri Chef for home use and the CADAC Safari for use with the caravan.
Build quality leaves a lot to be desired for the money spent on them, in the base unit(burner pan) of the Carri Chef on some rubber grommets, these are forever dropping out and being lost. The temperature guage suffered with condensation, which has left a watermark inside, some metal parts of the body have suffered with slight corrosion and ill fitting masking points have popped out. Last but not least the storage bag is somewhat difficult to master when trying to store things away.
The Safari seems to have faired better. The paint on the fat pan has all crackled. Both items have always been cleaned after use and dried. I agree with other comments, the non-stick properties, are at best useless. WOULD I BUY AGAIN......NO!
Went to buy one but left with Campingaz Party Grill 600 reduced down to £50 (display model) with cooking tools, similar but deal worked for me lol cher chinggggg
Random resurrection of an old thread, but always a question that continually comes up
But.... I had a debate with myself for nearly a year and then asked a similar question on here and thanks to some great advice, bought ourselves a Beauclaire and absolutely love it!
So glad I didn't buy the Cadac
We use one of those tapanyaki electric grills on a table when on site electrics. So easy to wipe clean with paper towel, large cooking surface, and using the electric we have already paid for anyway.
Cost us £25. When off grid, just use disposable BBQ from supermarket.
I too have been considering a Cadac, but have decided I cannot justify the purchase price to myself.