I've used the Jaycar style for years in trucks, it's great for heating up tea while driving and couple of sausage rolls or whatever. A couple of mods I've made is an inline switch and a piece of cake cooling rack to sit on the bottom. The rack helps stop contact burning .
just brought the jaycar. been testing it out, cooked up mince ,rice, veg all raw just in bin worked great. Did a rice pudding. also excellent. waiting for a pie dish that fits in it to test out more recipes, testing has just been done on battery
couldn't wait for pie dish. did a single serve chilli con carne in a ramekin and when it was half way thru added a chocolate self saucing cup of cake just in a tea cup. both were very tasty. good fine.
i saw an American vid on something that looks similar to the Jaycar one. They put their leftovers from the night before into alfoil takeaway containers (mashed potato, sprinkled with cheese in one and left over roast meat in another).. They wraped each in alfoil and stacked them on top of one another in the little box, shut the lid and hit the road. When they stopped for lunch everything was nice and warmed through. So for that kind of thing - the Jaycar one looks good. (of course, you can do the same in a TB, and from what i have seen, is more versatile, being able to cook a smallish roast(4 hours), a bread cob (1.5 hours) and so forth). In addition.. the TB is Australian owned and Australian made.... so it gets my vote.
The TB is definetly more versatile, you can do pastries without having to leave the lid open to stop soggy crust. Though sometimes I'll take the jaycar in the smaller 4WD just because of the room.
G’day mate great vid, I have used the jaycar oven for about 4 years now in the truck & I have cooked everything from pies n sausage rolls in them ( my technique is a little diff) to reheating meals in foil containers to roasts, my roast was a one person roast but cooked to perfection after 1.15-1.5 hrs, everything I cook is from frozen solid straight out the freezer with no preheating of the oven, they do a bloody ripper job can’t fault them but I’m keen to give the travel buddy a burl
For smaller meals, the Jaycar works just fine! The only issue I've had is with pastries like pies, where I have to mess around turning the pies upside down and then leaving the lid cracked to crisp up the pastry. Though for a family, or when the oven is locked in a canopy or similar, a travel buddy or road chef is hard to beat!
Lock your Hubs 4WDing can’t say I have cooked them upside down but when they are done I do open the lid for 5-10 minutes before eating, I will have to try cooking them upside down for abit
We have a similar portable black warmer we heat left overs in no time or pre cooked snags,hot dogs, pies, sausage rolls or tv dinners it’s great. We wrap the snags or hotdogs in foil and just line the base with foil for pies or sausage rolls just so no clean up. When driving I use my car 12v or at the beach I use my kings portable 24ah battery and really uses very little power. I highly recommend the portable black warmer it’s not a jaycar but similar and was about $55 hope this is helpful, we also use at my grandsons football games so don’t need to buy food after the game😅.
we use the jaycar style over to cook roast on most of our trips. Just plan ahead and but your roat in at lunchtime and by teatime a loverly potroat cooked to perfection
I have the Jaycar and next time I use it I might sit the pies on a handful of rice to soak up the moisture as they warm and see what effect it has. Thanks.
yeah, but then you have to pull over, get out and get your food. the jaycar sits on my passenger seat or in the foot well if i have a passenger! hot food at your finger tips
First of all I love your reviews and the level of detail is perfect. Any plans to review the Kickass oven? A tear down comparison of the kickass would also be amazing it seems to have higher wattage than the other ovens on the market at the moment.
I always place pies on the bottom shelf, I understand the theory of heat rises but the travel buddy heats from the bottom and as the heat rises to the top it’s already lost heat. Bottom shelf for me cooks the pies much quicker
Gi'day cob...we have been using the jaycar cooker for about 6years now, frozen pies pasties sausage rolls take about 1 1/2 hrs turning after 1hr. We have cooked 8 lamb chops pieced pumpkin spud carrot broccoli cauliflower in oven bags,they take about 4 1/2 hours. I can't knock it.
63oC on approximately 1/6th of its surface area will lose a lot of heat in the Travel Buddy. I reckon a bit of insulation on the door of the travel buddy will get its internal max temperature even higher, conversely it will use less Whrs when the thermostat is set. I don't understand why the travel buddy people don't spend the extra 37c to insulate that door. The jaycar unit is well insulated and sealed and, being smaller, has less surface area, so it uses less Whrs. The maximum temperature can never go higher, otherwise the plastic will start to deform. Being sealed, it steams rather than bakes - hence the opening of the lid towards the end of the cooking.
You are not limited at all with the jaycar, I travel solo mind you , but I have cooked, scones and muffins from scratch, stews and lots of milk puddings in alfoil trays, cake in a cup .. for that just gotta have some crap evening. Baked potatoes come up a treat. Toasted sandwiches.. are fine .. I like to butter outside of bread and do them on baking paper I found in $2 shop which is reusable stuff. It really is endless what you can do. This week I brought some silicon bags will try omelette in one, maybe with a pudding in one at same time. ..
Great detailed review, was just researching the BCF Wanderer. One thing that doesn’t make sense, the larger oven has a 60° higher peak temperature. How the heck can the travel buddy be slower at heating that pie haha 🤯.
@@LockyourHubs4WDingdefinitely, I do see though (on your awesome graph btw) that both ovens peaked at 120c at pretty much exactly the same time so oven size didn’t affect the temperature especially due to preheating, then the Travel Buddy keeps going to 180c. My mind can’t comprehend why the pies didn’t reach temp either at the same time or much faster as the data clearly indicates they should have excelled in the Travel Buddy. I have used the “Dick Smith” oven (yes it was actually sold in Dick Smith stores before Jaycar I reckon) - My theory is that the small oven doesn’t have shelves and the pie is directly on the heated surface and so is acting at a hot plate and transferring the heat much faster, the Travel Buddy is only using convection, the bottom shelf would probably heat the pies faster I might have to try it out. What’s your thoughts 💭
I have a Cheap) same as the Jaycar, I bought for $20 when Dick Smith Closed Down. Its not the Greatest by any stretch of the Imagination, But It goes OK. And for $20 Or even $50, Ya can't really Complain.
What did you think would happen when you sit the pies on the surface of the element for the jaycar unit. Suspend the pies in the jaycar unit like you did with the TB and that thing is virtually useless.
Whilst you're right that the pies in the Jaycar oven are eseentially in direct contact with the element, that's the way both manufactures intended for their ovens to be used, so that's how we tested them.
Im interested in using the jaycar version on the mrs macs pies and sausage rolls they are not frozen just frudge cold how long does should i cook them for ?
heyya guys, im in the market for a RV oven, Saw the travel buddy and felt it was a strong addition to my set up, but the jaycar's price and this video is swaying my choice now tho, lol quick question to Travel buddy owners..? Can the swing door be reversed to open in the other direction ? (Retro fitting the item) thank you in advance :)
I've used the Jaycar style for years in trucks, it's great for heating up tea while driving and couple of sausage rolls or whatever. A couple of mods I've made is an inline switch and a piece of cake cooling rack to sit on the bottom. The rack helps stop contact burning .
Like a trivet in a camp oven, that's a great idea! I might knock up one myself.
I've used a couple of egg rings to stop the burning
just brought the jaycar. been testing it out, cooked up mince ,rice, veg all raw just in bin worked great. Did a rice pudding. also excellent. waiting for a pie dish that fits in it to test out more recipes, testing has just been done on battery
They're suprisingly handy, especially is you're tight on space.
@@LockyourHubs4WDing My thing really is that i try to eat basic food with no chemicals etc so this makes it very easy..
couldn't wait for pie dish. did a single serve chilli con carne in a ramekin and when it was half way thru added a chocolate self saucing cup of cake just in a tea cup. both were very tasty. good fine.
@@barba5537 wow, I'm usually happy with pies!
i saw an American vid on something that looks similar to the Jaycar one. They put their leftovers from the night before into alfoil takeaway containers (mashed potato, sprinkled with cheese in one and left over roast meat in another).. They wraped each in alfoil and stacked them on top of one another in the little box, shut the lid and hit the road. When they stopped for lunch everything was nice and warmed through. So for that kind of thing - the Jaycar one looks good. (of course, you can do the same in a TB, and from what i have seen, is more versatile, being able to cook a smallish roast(4 hours), a bread cob (1.5 hours) and so forth). In addition.. the TB is Australian owned and Australian made.... so it gets my vote.
The TB is definetly more versatile, you can do pastries without having to leave the lid open to stop soggy crust. Though sometimes I'll take the jaycar in the smaller 4WD just because of the room.
G’day mate great vid, I have used the jaycar oven for about 4 years now in the truck & I have cooked everything from pies n sausage rolls in them ( my technique is a little diff) to reheating meals in foil containers to roasts, my roast was a one person roast but cooked to perfection after 1.15-1.5 hrs, everything I cook is from frozen solid straight out the freezer with no preheating of the oven, they do a bloody ripper job can’t fault them but I’m keen to give the travel buddy a burl
For smaller meals, the Jaycar works just fine!
The only issue I've had is with pastries like pies, where I have to mess around turning the pies upside down and then leaving the lid cracked to crisp up the pastry. Though for a family, or when the oven is locked in a canopy or similar, a travel buddy or road chef is hard to beat!
Lock your Hubs 4WDing can’t say I have cooked them upside down but when they are done I do open the lid for 5-10 minutes before eating, I will have to try cooking them upside down for abit
We have a similar portable black warmer we heat left overs in no time or pre cooked snags,hot dogs, pies, sausage rolls or tv dinners it’s great. We wrap the snags or hotdogs in foil and just line the base with foil for pies or sausage rolls just so no clean up. When driving I use my car 12v or at the beach I use my kings portable 24ah battery and really uses very little power. I highly recommend the portable black warmer it’s not a jaycar but similar and was about $55 hope this is helpful, we also use at my grandsons football games so don’t need to buy food after the game😅.
It says a lot of money on take away!
Sweet! Very objective testing. Well done!
Thanks mate!
Great test me old mate! Hard to go past the Jaycar for value and space for a sneaky dog's eye on the road.
Yep, they're a bargain! And I do love. dog's eye with dead horse!
we use the jaycar style over to cook roast on most of our trips. Just plan ahead and but your roat in at lunchtime and by teatime a loverly potroat cooked to perfection
They're still a decent thing, especially if you're short on room.
Jaycar when the 🌞 is not out and when I'm not using my solar oven. We had 5 days of constant rain recently and I wished I owned the Jaycar.
They're a great little oven, and the price is hard to beat!
Great review mate
Will go the jaycar now as I wasn’t sure how good they would be
Thanks again 👍
No worries mate, you won't be dissapointed, they're a great little unit.
Great revue, very informative and helped me make my decision to buy a jay car
Thanks, they're a very underrated little oven, especially for the money!
I have the Jaycar and next time I use it I might sit the pies on a handful of rice to soak up the moisture as they warm and see what effect it has. Thanks.
Let us know if it works!
@@LockyourHubs4WDing Will do.......
My oven sits in the canopy and cooks while driving. I'm not stopping to do all that turning and popping of lids that the jaycar needs.
Yep, it's definitely a disadvantage if you don't have access to the oven.
Me neither i just buy a pie when i get fuel.
iampennochio i like hot food and having a hot pie when it’s snowing in the high country beats a cold servo pie. :)
yeah, but then you have to pull over, get out and get your food. the jaycar sits on my passenger seat or in the foot well if i have a passenger! hot food at your finger tips
@@shannondennis1021 I plan my lunch stop to coincide with when the foods ready and its safer not to be reaching into the footwell while driving :P
First of all I love your reviews and the level of detail is perfect. Any plans to review the Kickass oven? A tear down comparison of the kickass would also be amazing it seems to have higher wattage than the other ovens on the market at the moment.
No plans as yet, I'll have to see if I can borrow one from someone!
I always place pies on the bottom shelf, I understand the theory of heat rises but the travel buddy heats from the bottom and as the heat rises to the top it’s already lost heat. Bottom shelf for me cooks the pies much quicker
I've heard it being an issue with the trays, not so much without.
@@LockyourHubs4WDing only just come across you vids, love the reviews much better information than 99% of reviews out there 👍🏽
@@furnituredoneright6375 thanks!
TravelBuddy for me 👍
Yep, definelty better sometimes!
Gi'day cob...we have been using the jaycar cooker for about 6years now, frozen pies pasties sausage rolls take about 1 1/2 hrs turning after 1hr. We have cooked 8 lamb chops pieced pumpkin spud carrot broccoli cauliflower in oven bags,they take about 4 1/2 hours. I can't knock it.
It's a great thing! I've noticed Jaycar now sells a different version, I don't know if it's any better.
Nice video cobber, nice comparison
Cheers!
63oC on approximately 1/6th of its surface area will lose a lot of heat in the Travel Buddy. I reckon a bit of insulation on the door of the travel buddy will get its internal max temperature even higher, conversely it will use less Whrs when the thermostat is set. I don't understand why the travel buddy people don't spend the extra 37c to insulate that door.
The jaycar unit is well insulated and sealed and, being smaller, has less surface area, so it uses less Whrs. The maximum temperature can never go higher, otherwise the plastic will start to deform. Being sealed, it steams rather than bakes - hence the opening of the lid towards the end of the cooking.
We've gotten hold of an insulated door kit. The results will be in an upcoming vid.
@@LockyourHubs4WDing Whoa!!! I didn't expect that! Brilliant - looking forward to the next vid! Big thankyou.
My jaycar oven latch just broke. Nice
Bugger, yours is the first I've heard of.
Thanks for this vid. Very helpful
You're welcome!
Hahahaha anything to cook a few pies hey cobber! For me the Travel buddy as it seems more versatile than just a pie warmer from Jaycar.
You are a little limited to what you can cook in the Jaycar, so the Travel Buddy wins there.
You are not limited at all with the jaycar, I travel solo mind you , but I have cooked, scones and muffins from scratch, stews and lots of milk puddings in alfoil trays, cake in a cup .. for that just gotta have some crap evening. Baked potatoes come up a treat. Toasted sandwiches.. are fine .. I like to butter outside of bread and do them on baking paper I found in $2 shop which is reusable stuff.
It really is endless what you can do. This week I brought some silicon bags will try omelette in one, maybe with a pudding in one at same time. ..
Great detailed review, was just researching the BCF Wanderer. One thing that doesn’t make sense, the larger oven has a 60° higher peak temperature. How the heck can the travel buddy be slower at heating that pie haha 🤯.
It's about the size of the oven, not only the highest temp. It's easier to heat a smaller space than a larger one.
@@LockyourHubs4WDingdefinitely, I do see though (on your awesome graph btw) that both ovens peaked at 120c at pretty much exactly the same time so oven size didn’t affect the temperature especially due to preheating, then the Travel Buddy keeps going to 180c. My mind can’t comprehend why the pies didn’t reach temp either at the same time or much faster as the data clearly indicates they should have excelled in the Travel Buddy. I have used the “Dick Smith” oven (yes it was actually sold in Dick Smith stores before Jaycar I reckon) - My theory is that the small oven doesn’t have shelves and the pie is directly on the heated surface and so is acting at a hot plate and transferring the heat much faster, the Travel Buddy is only using convection, the bottom shelf would probably heat the pies faster I might have to try it out. What’s your thoughts 💭
One hour driving for a frozen pastie is good for me, think I paid $50 from BCF years ago👍
I still use mine!
@@LockyourHubs4WDing me too 👍
5 Jaycars
I only own the one!
'Nobody likes microwave pies', hmmmm generalist statement. I like microwaved pies and no others that also like them.
I still maintain they're a crime against nature! :)
@@LockyourHubs4WDing agree
Put small wire tray in Jaycar oven then you don’t need to turn them
Have you tried it?
Lock your Hubs 4WDing yep works with wraps too
what about for a tradesman that just wants warm meals on the go - not overcooked ???
Both are thermostatically controlled, so no issues there!
I have a Cheap) same as the Jaycar, I bought for $20 when Dick Smith Closed Down. Its not the Greatest by any stretch of the Imagination, But It goes OK. And for $20 Or even $50, Ya can't really Complain.
I would never complain about a hot pie!
What's your choice, Jaycar stove or Travel Buddy?
Travel Buddy all the way. More versatile which is what I need. Good to see I'm not the only one that struggles talking to the camera 😉
Any idea how the various containers used in microwave ready-made meals would hold up to the element? such as plastic/polystyrene or card types?
Hmmm, not sure. Any container that could be used in a conventional oven should be fine though.
They'd probably melt... I'd wrap the contents in alfoil and put the bundle into a low cake tin.
cheers - have you sussed out bcf and other mobs ovens
The travel buddy knock offs? Only the Road Chef. Though recently looked at the 24v TB powered from a 12 to 28v step-up. That's my new setup!
What did you think would happen when you sit the pies on the surface of the element for the jaycar unit. Suspend the pies in the jaycar unit like you did with the TB and that thing is virtually useless.
I only tested as the units were supplied, though you make a very valid point.
Your point is that an insulated oven with a heating element at the bottom will not heat the oven.
Someone find the thief who stole the heat!
With the jaycar the pies are essentially touching the element whereas the travel buddy your relying on the hot air, not really a fair comparison
Whilst you're right that the pies in the Jaycar oven are eseentially in direct contact with the element, that's the way both manufactures intended for their ovens to be used, so that's how we tested them.
Im interested in using the jaycar version on the mrs macs pies and sausage rolls they are not frozen just frudge cold how long does should i cook them for ?
Hmmm, no idea! Grab a temp probe and wait for the magic 74C internal temp I guess!
i am looking for a12 volt hot plate for coffee and fried vegies
not all ockers subsist on pies alone
Wash your mouth out with soap! :) I suppose there is bacon as well.....
heyya guys, im in the market for a RV oven, Saw the travel buddy and felt it was a strong addition to my set up, but the jaycar's price and this video is swaying my choice now tho, lol quick question to Travel buddy owners..? Can the swing door be reversed to open in the other direction ? (Retro fitting the item) thank you in advance :)
It could be done, but not easily.
if the tb holds higher temp, then why did the jc pies measure higher temps
Can you double stack the pies in the Jaycar oven?
There's enough room, though you might have to rotate the pies during the cooking.
$75 my Jaycar 1 , 3 days old"
How's it going?
@@LockyourHubs4WDing
All good on Security works well but over paid @ $75'
@@PNew123 I noticed it's a completely new design, I killed the latch on mine unfortunately, so have been looking at the new one.
Travel Bubby, Jaycar too small, no room for the wifes pie.
Haha, as they say, happy wife, happy life!
Thumbs down twice lol!
It's gotta catch someone out one day!