How many degrees is it in the Omnia oven?
“A thermometer for the Omnia oven would be something useful,” I once thought to myself. But how should this work and for what should it be needed?
The first warm rays of sunshine had finally arrived and the weather was crying out for delicious barbecue meat. The invitation from friends to barbecue in a small group was quite fitting.
Our friend had a really gigantic Weber grill. And there was also a thermometer on this grill. We talked a bit about the barbecue, which he was totally enthusiastic about, and also about the thermometer.
At home I thought that such a thermometer for the Omnia oven could actually be quite practical. Many recipes are also given with gas temperature. But what is the temperature of the Omnia oven???
The large selection
I searched Amazon* for thermometers for the Omnia oven. There is currently a thermometer for the Omnia oven. However, this is hung in the middle, i.e. in the hole. At the same time, however, it is pointed out:
“The thermometer should not be too close to the flame when using a gas cooker.”
That’s why I found this thermometer absolutely unsuitable. Because what does “too close to the flame” mean? That is rather vague and already indicates that a guarantee is excluded if it scorches. Anyone who has ever experienced the heat rising from the centre of the Omina oven knows how hot it is there. I also didn’t like it when you always have to take the lid off the Omnia to see the temperature display. So I kept looking…
I then wondered what options there were for measuring the temperature of the Omnia oven using a thermometer.
The only possibility that seemed logical to me was to attach a thermometer to the lid of the Omnia oven. You might have to make use of the holes in the lid….
The installation
And then I found a thermometer, which has a rod for measuring that is actually meant for kettle grills. I found the Outdoorchef* thermometer the best from the reviews and ordered this from Amazon. Free postage as it was Prime and also a lot cheaper than the original from Sun and Ice.
It arrived the very next day. Fitting, because I wanted to make a potato gratin in the Omnia oven. However, the rod did not fit into the holes of the Omnia lid. But what are drilling machines for? So Frank got out the cordless drill, which is perfectly adequate for the aluminium lid, put the 6mm drill bit into the thread first and made one of the holes bigger. As it was still too small, he took the 8mm drill bit. Voilá, it fit!
Insert the thermometer through the hole and fix it with the locking screw.
The test
Update 25.01.2017:
I receive enquiries again and again because the thermometer does not indicate the temperature correctly. Of course, I have not tested all the thermometers on the market. Therefore, I cannot say anything about the individual thermometers. However, I noticed during the enquiries that some of the antennae are only 2 cm long. However, the filling ring of the Omnia has a diameter of 8 cm! This means that you should have a probe length of 4 cm so that the temperature can also be measured directly in the middle of the filling ring.
Others have the thermometer from the DIY store. I looked at the thermometers in two builders’ merchants and at Tedox. I was shocked to see that these thermometers were on a “rummage table”. So just poured it into a big box. So I think to myself: if you slam them all together in a heap like that, there’s a very high risk that the thermometer will be damaged. Can be…doesn’t have to be. That’s why I picked up a thermometer from every DIY store and from Tedox….
A thermometer was sent to me by Amazon completely crushed. The thermometer, in this case it was even one from Outdoorchef, was pressed into one of those standard packages at Amazon, so that the actual packaging of the thermometer was demolished. I could not detect any damage to the thermometer itself. I photographed it for a possible exchange and tried it out immediately afterwards. It did not show the usual temperature – complaint made!
So there can be many reasons why a thermometer does not work. If you want to know how high your thermometer reads, fill your Omnia oven a little with water and put it on the flame. After a short time, the temperature should already rise. If you have not yet installed your thermometer but would like to check the temperature, you should try my “oven method” as described below.
Incidentally, my test didn’t reveal anything new: Even if Outdoorchef’s price is as fickle as a pirate with a bottle of whiskey, it is still the thermometer with the best price-performance ratio. Thermometers from €5.26 to €21.90 were tested. Some came from overseas and had a loooong delivery time. The others were inaccurate. And others were accurate but quite expensive. Others were super cheap, but were not worth even that price. And then there were the specimens for which you had to order a magnifying glass separately so that you could read the temperature.
How did I test? Quite simple: Since I suddenly had 8 thermometers lying around here, I first wanted to know how accurate the individual thermometers were. For this, I preheated the oven to 100°. Then it went on to 150°, then to 200°. All thermometers that were too inaccurate were directly made ready for the exchange journey (one was from Bauhaus). All the others made it to the second round….
Round two:
5 thermometers were left! My family could now look forward to fresh bread for the next five evenings 😉 . And they did…
In the end, the two thermometers with the short probes, the one from Bauhaus and Tedox, were out.
What remains is the thermometer from THÜROS*. However, I personally find this thermometer quite expensive – but it is accurate 😉 . And has a feeler of 4 cm. And an appealing design. I kept it 😄. There was no reason to send it back – after all, I knew the price. What worries me a little, however, is that the thermometer from Thüros is designed for a temperature of up to 260°. Maybe OK as a lid thermometer on a kettle grill, but the Omnia oven sometimes shows 220-250° degrees for me, especially for muffins when the Omnia oven is filled with a lot of “air”. I think I’d rather use the Outdoorchef thermometer, which is designed for up to 350°…
Incidentally, most thermometers are not waterproof, only splashproof. Actually an absurdity, considering that these thermometers were developed for outdoor kettle grills. So consider a possible water leakage if you want to clean it.
What are the advantages of using a thermometer?
I am asked this question again and again. And after almost a year of daily use, this is what I can say about it:
Routine:
The routine about cooking and baking times sets in more quickly. It’s not as if we can look through a pane, as we can with the electric oven, to see how high and dark the cake already is or whether the chicken thighs already have the desired browning. If we take the lid off over and over again, we steal the top heat from the Omnia oven over and over again. Conclusion: Bright and raw on top – cooked to burnt on the bottom! Especially for inexperienced Omnia friends, a thermometer is a relief. This was the reason why I started this idea in the first place – I felt the same way!
Gas consumption:
Since you now have a better overview of the cooking and baking times, turn off the gas after approx. 30 minutes and not after 40-45 minutes. In the long run, these (useless) extra minutes become noticeable in taste and also in gas consumption. More efficient work with energy-conscious consumption is the pleasant consequence.
Different types of cookers:
Here are the video instructions
Die Weiterleitung erfolgt zu YouTube. You may need to change the privacy policy to see the video. You know…GDPR!
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