Camp Chef Denali --- Problem? (1 Viewer)

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So I ordered two Denali 3 burner units (2 plus small grill) based on their reputation for performance. The units I received both have warped lids. They will open and shut alright and the wind flaps mostly work (at least one side) but before I put these in the field and live with the lids I want to hear from you. My recent Coleman Perfect Flow Grill/Stove units seem built better and with tighter tolerances. The CC lids are thin and flexible.

Should I return these and get the coleman 2 burner units? Is this a fluke and I got two bad Camp Chef units? Shoudl I just use them and not worry about the lids?
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IMG_2266.jpg
 
Looks defective to me. Something's askew. I'm pretty sure Camp Chef would agree. It's the sort of thing that might get missed in whaetver quality control that's done, as you'd have to do more than quickly than simply slamming the lid shut and checking it would latch.

If they're brand new, the vendor you purchased from may just want to make it good, depending on their policy. If not, contact Camp Chef. They seem like a stand-up outfit, although I've had no need for any warranty service with our Camp Stove.
 
Greentruck - I bought one and it was skewed - got the replacement - it was skewed - both brand new never used. Amazon is the vendor and they are totally easy to deal with for returns.

I contacted Camp Chef today by telephone and email and recieved an initial reply of that's they way it is. I reiterated my point to them in a reply and I'm waiting for their second attempt at customer service. I did include that photo.

The overall attention to detail in the construction of the stove seems less than stellar. I know the great rep they have for performance and frankly I'm willing to overlook cosmetics for great performance. But this seems pretty basic to me.

I'm not passing judgement about CC just wanting to get feedback from other users and maybe help others in the process.
 
Well, that's interesting. I'm sure no one drew it that way.

Sounds like there's a bunch of 'em out there, too. In fact, what it may do is help makes sure there's tension where the side shields hook in to give it more rigidity when set up. Depends on if it bothers you or not, as it works, sorta.

And if you have two and it bothers you, I'd take advantage of Amazon's good will to get you something that works the way you like.
 
... what it may do is help makes sure there's tension where the side shields hook in to give it more rigidity when set up. Depends on if it bothers you or not, as it works, sorta.

I sort of thought that at the beginning and it would certainly be true for one side but when you slot the second wind block into the lid notch it basically flops around.

I can probably make it work with a little "attention".
 
I brought the tensioned assembly idea up because there is something similar on the CC Camp Stove that actually works well after you get used to the idea it'll be a little cockeyed when in use.

The Camp Stove comes equipped with a decent thermometer for the oven. In the newer versions like we have, it's even well integrated into the stove, rather than the sort of stuck on original version.

But you don't have a way to set oven temp like with a home oven. You crank the valve to where you think is about right, then watch the thermometer to adjust. Works better than you'd think and gives a good stable temp.

However, it's another feature associated with the oven that I referred to above. If you get it too hot or even just need to set the temp toward the low end, the door has a, pardon the term for several reasons, "crack open" feature that let's you leave the door ajar to moderate the oven temp. It does kind of sit funny, but once you figure it out and ignore the slightly crooked look of the door when adjusted that way, it works great.

If it was me, and the one end is going to be flapping in the wind, that could be an issue. That's when you want it to work best, not gape open so it doesn't shelter your flame. There may be a way to squeeze it so that it does latch better -- maybe adjust the clip thingee that does the connection between back and side when it's open?
 
Thanks for the input guys.

From Camp Chef's Director of Engineering:

"... On this particular model of stove
because of the way the lid is formed it does have some warp to it. This is
normal and all of our production is this way."


So there you have it. It's not visually pleasing but on the other hand I'm interested in the performance for cooking. I went ahead and fired it up and all systems are working so I'm going to go ahead and keep it. I have given the unit some "attention" so I think it work out.

Anytime you get something new and it's different from what you expect or are used to can cause concern. I'm moving on.
 
Corey - Beautiful setup. Do you pull that out of the vehicle @ camp? I'm tired of having all my kitchen gear in a Rubbermaid tub... hard to find things and never packs up neatly when breaking down camp.

Glad the stove works good for you. I like that you heard from the Dir. of Eng. Interesting - you can see some deflection in the lid of the product image on their site: Denali 3 Burner Grill & Stove Combo - Camp Chef - The Way to Cook Outdoors
 
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I would return it and get another one.. or upgrade to more powerful model (yeah heavier and prob bigger).
 
Corey - Beautiful setup. Do you pull that out of the vehicle @ camp? I'm tired of having all my kitchen gear in a Rubbermaid tub... hard to find things and never packs up neatly when breaking down camp.
Thanks, I have more info here.
https://forum.ih8mud.com/camping-outdoor-gear/414210-chuckbox.html

Have not had a chance yet to take it camping, but it will be used first trip out this coming season.

I got tired of having stuff for cooking scattered around too, and with the chuckbox it is all together now.
 
I would return it and get another one.. or upgrade to more powerful model (yeah heavier and prob bigger).

The replacement was in the same condition as the first unit. Size and weight do matter. I'm building a box similar to Corey's and anything larger would be a problem.
 
So I took this stove out and used on a two nighter this past weekend. The warped lid isn't a functional problem but one of design esthetic. It does work as intended.

Here are the two standout things that are apparent after this camp out.

1. The burner performance and control is very good. Much Better than my Coleman Insta-start. Plenty of heat. The small grill functions well - I grilled 4 Pork chops on it to perfection. Clean up was pretty easy. One thing to note on the grill - the burner tube's last two inches (toward the control side of the stove) doesn't have any flame holes. It seemed to run slightly cooler in that spot.


IMG_2432.jpg

2. The fit and finish of this stove leaves a lot to be desired. Aside from the aforementioned lid issue the tolerances on the assembly seem haphazard on both of the units i received. Moreover paint is already coming off the outside of the lid. I expect the cosmetics of the stove to deteriorate quickly.

The bottom line is that the stove is a great performer and thats more important to me than the paint - I hope this fit and finish detail doesn't portend long term reliability.
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Glad it is working out for you.
I only had a chance to use mine on vacation last August, and I will be keeping an eye on the paint this year.

I was going to go with the expensive Partner Steel stove, but I took a chance on this one.
If it craps out on me, then I will fork over the big bucks for the Partner Steel one.
I only wish the Partner ones had the piezo starter on them.
Have been using that on the past two stoves now, and I like the feature.

I wonder if you could drill a few more holes in the tube for the grill, or would that compromise it?
 
I think the stove will continue to work well - I just expected it to at least be Coleman quality in it's finish. It was $90 so it's not the end of the world. I have a chuck box under construction similar to yours Corey so size and weight are considerations.

I considered the drill method - I need to take the stove apart to see whats what. If you look at yours you will see some kind hole below the missing holes. I need to determine what that does. The drip hole is at the back of the stove.
 
A couple of observations---

That CampChef would excuse this type of poor quality is really disappointing - they are trying to save money by doing a single shallow draw on the lid and it does not work. Bad juju.

I have a CampChef River Runner with welded aluminum case (a discontinued model that is simply an awesome stove). CampChef DOES have an advantage over Coleman in that the burners put out about 2X or 3X the heat that a Coleman does. When camping out in the mountains or heating a large kettle of wash water this is a significant advantage, IMO.
 
I bought a Camp Chef stove similar to the one above, except it had a bigger grill and one burner. The lid did not seem to have that problem yours did. One thing I did notice on it, the gas tube you screw into the stove is pretty tuff to thread in all the way! The grill works awsome! I can cook about 6-8 burgers at once and it does seem to be faster at cooking than my coleman, also lighter and easier to clean! I would buy another one. I am very happy with mine, other than that damn gas tube!
 
I bought a Camp Chef stove similar to the one above, except it had a bigger grill and one burner. The lid did not seem to have that problem yours did. One thing I did notice on it, the gas tube you screw into the stove is pretty tuff to thread in all the way! The grill works awsome! I can cook about 6-8 burgers at once and it does seem to be faster at cooking than my coleman, also lighter and easier to clean! I would buy another one. I am very happy with mine, other than that damn gas tube!

I'm moving from the coleman single with grill to the one above. We've needed two burners more than a bigger grill. YOur main burner should be the same as what my dual is - and that's a good thing. I found the control of flame to be better than the coleman. my beef is with the workmanship and finish.
 
A couple of observations---

That CampChef would excuse this type of poor quality is really disappointing - they are trying to save money by doing a single shallow draw on the lid and it does not work. Bad juju.

I have a CampChef River Runner with welded aluminum case (a discontinued model that is simply an awesome stove). CampChef DOES have an advantage over Coleman in that the burners put out about 2X or 3X the heat that a Coleman does. When camping out in the mountains or heating a large kettle of wash water this is a significant advantage, IMO.

That's my thoughts mike. I really want to like the product and so far i like the performance. But as stated the fit and finish is suspect to me.

I did see an improvement over my coleman insta-start stove in performance but not 2x or 3 x. I'm not sure if I could quantify it but it's better.
 
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I think Camp Chef's quality may have dropped with the Chinese manufacturing. I have several of their products and I don't think they are what they used to be.

When you are manufacturing in China, you need to have someone there full time to monitor quaility control, or it won't be very good.
 

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