# SMEV Grill. Any way to turn up the wick?



## Hymer_Bay (Feb 6, 2008)

Hi all, I have a combined SMEV Oven/Grill in my 2000 Hymer, the grill of which is painfully slow and puny (not that the oven is that fierce)  Is there any easy or known fix for this? ...bigger jet, a screw to twidle etc?

Thanks


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## Plankton (Apr 9, 2008)

*SMEV oven grill*

You are not alone, I have the same oven and the same grill which I agree is puny and takes a long time to bake a pizza.
Frank


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## WiltonShagpile (Apr 10, 2008)

Same here, it's hardly enough to warm ur plates. Take a toaster, but don't try burgers in it.

 [/size]


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## vicdicdoc (May 14, 2005)

The simple way to 'cure' your slow & puny grill is to purchase one of these . . 
Superfast & cheap !

http://www.argos.co.uk/webapp/wcs/s...Id=-1&searchTerms=camping+toaster&Submit=GO+>


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## rowley (May 14, 2005)

I have a SMEV grill in my Adria. I am not very impressed with it. Like yours the flame is weak. It is very tinny and the quality is poor. I have had to super glue the hinges and the magnet. What happened to the British manufacturers?


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## Wizzo (Dec 3, 2007)

A tugger friend of mine complained about their oven/grill recently and it set me thinking about gas pressures. 

The newer vans and motorhomes use a 30mbar regulator for both butane and propane, whereas the older vans use a 28mbar for butane and 37mbar for propane.

To my simple mind it would seem that in the newer vans when running on propane the gas is going to be under pressured and therefore not as effective. If you run on butane then it would be 2mbar greater than it used to be. Would it not burn better on butane?

Anybody care to comment? Is everyone who has said their oven/grill is weak on propane by any chance?

JohnW


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## Hymer_Bay (Feb 6, 2008)

Thanks to everyone for their comments and help. Have not tried a Propane regulator, but I think you are probably right Wizzo; more pressure would give more flow on both the grill and oven which is what is needed. 

Given that I want to carry on using Butane and not upset the other gas appliances, I suppose I should pluck up the courage to take out the grill jet, measure its orifice (in case I need to go back to the original size) and open it it by say 20% of it's area and see whether it still burns cleanly. Sadly, it is a major strip-down to get at these parts. I can then try it out in my garage on a rubber hose from the regulator. 

I guess it must burn with larger flames after incraesing the jet drilling, but maybe the air entrainment holes will need operning up too, and I don't think I want to start playing with them as well. :? There may also be an issue with surface temperature of the oven if it gets hotter inside, but there seems to be a healthy factor of safety there!


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## geordie01 (Apr 20, 2006)

good grief
dont even think about messing about with the gas jets. big bang springs to mind.


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## Bagshanty (Jul 24, 2005)

I've been meaning to post on this topic for some time, so I'm disappointed there isn't an obvious answer. It's so useless we just use the oven as a cupboard.


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## Hymer_Bay (Feb 6, 2008)

Just sent this query to www.smev.com/contact...

"many UK owners have a problem with series 311FG/T oven/grills. They are very weak and slow. I raised it as a discussion topic on a UK forum. http://www.motorhomefacts.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=452926#452926

Please can you advise if there is any remedy? maybe a jet upgrade or some other retrofittable remedy?

Thanks and Best Regards

Simon Jackson (aka Hymer_Bay)"

Will let you know the outcome.....


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## javea (Jun 8, 2007)

Quote:

Anybody care to comment? Is everyone who has said their oven/grill is weak on propane by any chance?

Running mine on propane and it is not very good at all, just about does toast if you are prepared to have a leisurely breakfast and turn it around so that the bread becomes an even colour, but forget it for anything else.

Will be interested to hear any reply from the manufacturer.


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## Fuzzyfelts (Apr 23, 2007)

The answer to this must be because of the drop in pressure from using a normal propane regulator to these multi purpose ones that are fitted in modern vans? Replacing the dual regulator with one specifically for propane would sort out the problem, surely?


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## richardjames (Feb 1, 2006)

I have a full SMEV cooker and it is slow on propane especially the grill and oven
regards
Richard


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## Suenliam (Mar 22, 2006)

Rowley - we must have the same grill. It is only poor bit of design on our Adria. The toast eventually browns, but that is after turning each piece several times and because it is so slow, the bread dries out and the toast is so crisp. Good job I like it that way if I can be bothered to wait. 

Tried ours on both bupane and propane. Both useless.

No problem with the magnet closing thing or the hinges.

Sue


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## Hymer_Bay (Feb 6, 2008)

OK, I plucked up the courage and opened the grill jet out...3 MINUTE TOAST....WOOHOO!

Here's what I did...
1. Turned off gas.
2. pulled off panel below oven.
3. disconnected Electrical cable and Gas feed. 
4. removed all front bezel screws (8) and supporting over from inside (by opening door) lifted oven out.
5. removed RH side cover..maybe 10 or 12 screws.
6. removed gas pipe that goes from control valve to elbow on Grill burner
7. unscrewed elbow from end of burner assembly
8. removed jet from elbow (with a ring spanner in a vice)
checked nozzle for blockages/sooting up/deposits...seemed clean enough.
9. gauged jet size with tiny drills, found it was bigger than 0.5 but smaller than 0.7mm
10 drilled out on lathe to 0.7mm. on the basis that if 0.6 then 6x6 =36 and 7x7 =49 so flow should be increased by about 49/36ths or 36%. If it was only just over 0.5 then flow might have been increased by 60% or so. 
11 tested on bench with a rubber hose from a regulated camping Gaz cylinder...seemed fine
12. reassembled in reverse order taking care to tighten gas fittings firmly ensuring no cross threads, no dirt in joits etc. managed not to forget Elec cable. 

I now get 3 minute medium-brown toast from a cold start with using sliced white at about 1" below the bottom edge of the burner. 

Truth be told that I think I may have overdone it a little, perhaps 0.65 or 0.62mm bore would have been enough. maybe I will get an 0.65mm drill and plug the bore and try again.....I'll see how it performs over time. 

Flames are now about 30mm long, blue (before the mesh is red hot). They were previously about 20mm. 

I notice that the flame holes in the burner tube come right up to the edges of the radiator/reflector above it and tend to lick over the ends. it seems a couple of bits of Stainless sheet are needed one each end or the end holes need blocking, but I expect it is just a theoretical issue...I'll let you know if it turns out not!

No plans yet to mess about with the oven burner jet, but maybe one day...

will post here if SMEV reply to me. 

Simon 

PS:- I am not a gas engineer and I am NOT reccomending this as a safe or sensible procedure ..its just what I decided to do. if in doubt DON'T...I don't suppose sane gas engineers drill jets out so I suppose it is risky. Certainly it may cause the oven casing to heat up above the grill more than previously and I won't be using it with the oven door shut!


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