Kitchen unit & Propane supply

Cooker and sink

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The standard Land Rover kitchen unit is a steel cabinet that contains a two burner cooker with broiler and a sink.  A top front door opens downward to expose the burner controls and the broiler area. This picture shows the top door lowered for access to the burner knobs and the broiler space.  Just below that can be seen the door for the lower storage space.  It is held in place by 2 top latches and hinged at the bottom.

The kitchen unit is painted Hammerite silver and has hinged aluminium lids covering the top of the unit.

Early series 2a stove
Stove controls are a very early type
Early 1960s Land Rover Dormobile kitchen unit

The pictures above and  below shows a cooker unit with both top lids open and the top front door open. The sink is a pale salmon (pinkish) coloured perspex plastic.  Shown is an early 1960's Calor propane stove and a broiler pan. The dual lids allow the stove top to be used as a counter when washing dishes or the sink top to be used as a counter whilst cooking.  Note that the stove unit and broiler pan are off the shelf purchased units and as such change over time as the manufacturer revises their products and as different broiler pans are sourced.

Early Dormobile stove with broiler pan

 

There is a gas shut off valve  located inside the cabinet on the right side. The Dormobile operational manual instructs owners to keep this valve in the off position except while cooking. The manual also instructs owners to verify that this gas valve is in the off position prior to turning in the the night.

Also in this picture you can see one of the mounting points for the cooker cabinet.

Land Rover Dormobile gas shut off valve

Martin Walter used the Calor brand propane stove, manufactured by Stoves Ltd. as their standard unit.  The design of the Calor stove changed over time and is reflected in differences found in different year Dormobiles.

Dormobile Stove manufacturer plate
The manufacture plate is attached at the rear of the stove. The date of manufacture stamp, top right, shows this stove was manufactured in August 1966

The Calor stove this plate is attached to is type 0174 and produces 20,000 BTU/hr with both burners and broiler turned on high.  That's in the range of small heater units an can quickly heat up the interior of a closed up Land Rover Dormobile.  Please just don't fall asleep with the stove lit.

Early Land Rover Dormobile stove

This Calor cooker unit came on a 1962 Land Rover Dormobile.  The grill is made of two cast iron units.

The top door is in the up position protecting the controls from being accidentally turned on.

This stove has the first version of the steel rod grill. The grill was used in the mid 1960's .  Early versions appear to be black oxide finished and later versions seem to be either chrome plated or stainless steel.

The slot in the centre of the cooker is a vent above the centre of the broiler.

Mid 1960's Land Rover Dormobile cooker

Early 1970's Land Rover Drmobile Calor stove

This stainless steel grill is usually associated with late sixties and early 70's Dormobiles.  This stove uses new taller burners than previous versions.

Notice the aluminium lids in this picture.  They provide a drain board surface for cooking or washing dishes depending which side is down and protects the unit whilst traveling.

This is a mid sixties stove with a late Series III grille.  This grille is identical to one found on a 1972 and 1974 Land Rover Dormobile

Here's some helpful measurements from Mic in case your cooker support brackets are missing:

"The brackets are formed out of 20 gauge steel into a channel with uneven legs. The channel is fitted with the legs down. The leg bolted to the cooker unit measures 1 1/2" (38mm), the web measures 1 13/16" (46mm) and the leg bolted to the cooker measures 5/8" (22mm). There are three bolts through the Cooker unit and two bolts through the cooker. The length of the bracket in 12" (300mm)"

Late Land Rover Dormobile  cooker

Below is a cooker unit in a 1974 Land Rover Dormobile.  Note that the cooker knob style has changed and the front of the cooker now has two labels.  Also the sink was made of white plastic and not salmon coloured plastic.

1974 Land Rover Dormobile cooker unit
1974 Land Rover Dormobile cooker

 

Dormobile cooker underside
Underside of a stove showing the broiler, gas manifold and the 3 gas knobs

Broiler pan used in a Lad Rover Dormobile

Thin sliced meats work best because of clearance.  Meats cook quickly in the broiler.  With a little practice you can broil some delicious foods.

This is one of the ever elusive broiler pans that often gets lost out of Dormobiles. The details of the pan construction changed over the years but to the best of my knowledge they all were a rectangular shallow pan with a handle at one end and a grill insert.  There is no one correct design.

If you are missing an original broiler pan, any broiler pan will do that provides a cooking surface about one inch above the broiler compartment floor. Toaster oven broiler pans are usually the correct size.

A wall mounted latch holds the cooker lid in the upright position.   Without it the lid over your stove could slam shut while you are trying to cook.

Latch for Dormobile cooker lid

 

Land Rover Dormobile kitchen cabinet
Kitchen cabinet with all front doors closed. The stove is the late 1960's style

The standard Land Rover Dormobile sink is light pastel pink Perspex plastic.  It drains through a plastic tube at the bottom of the sink.  The plastic tube goes through a hole in the floor and does not have a holding tank.

Rubber stop for Land Rover Dormobile kitchen unit

Left: The sink is secured to the cabinet with four sheet metal screws.  An over tight mounting screw is often where a sink cracks.

There is a rubber bumper at each of the two front corners of the sink for the lid to rest on.

 

Right: This is the snap located at the centre front flap of the lid covering the sink.  The other half of the snap is located on a short strip on the wall. 

The snap is to keep the sink lid raised. In real life it stays up very well without the snap.

Tab for Land Rover Dormobile sink lid

 

 

Right: This is a side lit picture of a section of the aluminium cooker lid showing the pattern stamped into the cooker cabinet lids.

There are separate lids for the cooker and sink that are hinged to a stationary back section made from the same material.  The lid over the cooker uses three hinges, the lid over the sink uses two.  These hinges are the standard chromed hinges used in the lower front door and the wardrobe.

Pattern finish for Land Rover Dormobile kitchen cabinets

 

Land Rover Dormobile cooker unit

This is a cooker unit in a 1966 Land Rover Dormobile that retains two items that are usually missing:

The sink lid still retains the original decal on the underside.  These usually do not survive many cleanings.

Also if you look at the top of the sink lid you will see the retaining strap.  The straps is fixed to the body at the underside of the spice cabinet and snaps to the lid snap to keep the lid from falling down during use.

The stove also retains its Calor decal as well.

 

This picture show the routing of the sink drain hose. The hole on the bench adjacent to the wall secures the hose out of the way.  There is a second hole in the floor where the hose exits the vehicle.  There is no catch tank.  It empties gray water on the ground.

Note: that the bottom hole can become a source of dust and water  intrusion into your lower storage area. I have found that it helps to calk around the hole.  My Land Rover doesn't have a water tight seal between the toolbox floor and the body side so calking that edge helped keep storage item clean and dry as well.

Routing of Land Rover Dormobile drain hose

 

Mounting locations for Land ROver Dormobile cooker unit

 

Accessory shelf (AKA spice rack)

Like the rest of the standard cabinetry the accessory shelf is constructed of steel and painted with silver hammerite paint.  Initially this was an open lipped shelf but by Series III production it came with a door that is bottom hinged.

 

 

 

Cooker latches and knobs

The top door of the cooker (broiler door)  is locked into the upright closed position by a Nylon latch that is caught by a two prong catch.

Land Rover Dormobile broiler door latch
Nylon latch pop riveted to top left side of the cooker's top door (broiler door).  This one is well worn and painted over.
Land Rover Dormobile broiler door catch
Catch for nylon door latches

 

Land Rover Dormobile broiler door catch

The broiler door nylon latch and catch came from the factory unpainted.

The Calor cookers came with a red lettered gold coloured label attached to the front left side.

 

Land Rover Dormobile sink lid latch
Cooker lid latch

The catch consists of two sheet metal screws  that go though the sheet metal, through a thin threaded metal plate and stick out on either side of the latches' closed position. A short section of nylon tubing is threaded onto each screw, providing the actual contact point for the nylon latch.

Left is the nylon latch that is pop riveted onto the cooker's top cover.  It uses the same catch arrangement as the broiler door.

Right: Here is the black plastic knob that fits at the top centre of the broiler door.

Just above the knob you can see the heads of the two screws that are part of the catch for the lid latch.

Land Rover Dormobile broiler door knob
Broiler door knob

Land Rover Dormobile broiler door hinge
This chrome plated hinge design was used on both the cooker's front doors and lids as well as the wardrobe  cabinet door

Land Rover Dormobile storage door latch
This chrome plated latch assembly was used on the cooker lower door and the wardrobe cabinet door. One latch was located at each side of the lower cooker door, one at the top and one at the bottom of the wardrobe cabinet.

 

Propane

The Land Rover Dormobile cooker and optional propane refrigerator receives propane from a pair of 2 gallon propane tanks.  The tanks are mounted in a basket that is suspended from the underside of the seat box on the right side.   A pressure regulator connects directly to the valve of the active gas tank.

Butane is a popular gas in Europe and propane is the standard for North America.  The regulators are different for the different types of gas.  So if your Dormobile is imported from a country that commonly uses a different type of gas and your stove is not working correctly you may have the wrong pressure regulator.  Replace it with a new one of the proper type and see if that fixes your problem.  Before you do though, be sure to check the diaphragm air hole to make sure it is not clogged.  A pressure regulator uses a big diaphragm, one side of which needs to  be at ambient atmospheric pressure.  There is a tiny hole on that side.  If that hole is plugged then the regulator will not work at different altitudes.  A small thing always worth checking before buying a new pressure regulator.

Land Rover Dormobile propane bottles in place
Here you can see the two propane tanks.  When one tank runs out the propane pressure regulator needs to be moved to the other tank.  Note these tanks have a hinged handle to make it easy to lift the tanks out of the cradle for refilling.

 

Land Rover Dormobile propane bottle
With one tank removed you can see the basket that fits into the right seat box.  It has a centre divider to keep the tanks in place.  Top left you can see the SU electric fuel pump on this 6 cylinder NADA Land Rover Dormobile.  The propane pressure regulator is secured to the tank.

 

Calor Land Rover Dormobile propane bottle

Here is a picture of the 3.9 KG (2 US gallons) Calor propane tank.  The tank is 9.75 inches in diameter and the overall height is 13.5 inches.

These tanks may have changed in detail over the years and I believe GAZ fittings came standard on bottles fitted to Series III Land Rover Dormobiles.

Based upon my past experience I estimate that a single tank is good for about a week of use cooking 2 to 3 meals a day and warming water for washing and cleaning.

For safety, the valve to the active propane tank should be closed when the Dormobile is not camped.

1KG of LPG = 0.5 US gallons of LPG

Top of Land Rover Dormobile propane bottle Valve on Land Rover Dormobile propane bottle


These pictures show the Propane valve and lifting handle. Note that propane suppliers in the United States can no longer legally fill a tank with this type of valve.  The valve assembly needs to be replaced  by the new style that has a triangular valve handle. Commercial propane companies can usually handle the swap.

Land Rover Dormobile carrier and propane bottles

Bottles and carrier removed from Dormobile

 

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Copyright 1996, 2004 by John Hess, 2005 by TeriAnn Wakeman and John Hess                  All rights reserved