As the name indicated the Big Bertha is BIG, on the inside at least! It has a huge 13l cooking volume, so it is almost twice the volume of the Road Chef’s 6.6l. As you can imagine we needed more heat to fill this area, so we ramped the element up to 10A and put not one but TWO in it. One in the traditional place at the bottom of the oven, and the second one on the TOP, providing a more consistent even cook throughout the oven. Not satisfied with just having two elements we made it adjustable through a third knob, so you can choose BOTH elements, just the TOP, or just the BOTTOM according to what you are cooking or your power requirements. When running BOTH it has a 20A draw so there is no cigarette lighter plug provided (just Anderson plug) with Big Bertha and a minimum 6mm2 wiring is required, jumping up to 8mm2 for distances greater than 2m return.
Bertha is larger than the Road Chef, but not significantly so and weighs only 8kgs. We beefed up the mounting brackets making them longer, with three securing hooks and two attachment holes, so no matter how rough it gets you can have confidence in it. Due to the extra heat, we improved the door insulation keeping it cool on the outside. She comes with the two standard telescopic baking racks, but we have also included a custom designed stainless steel baking tray that hangs on the top rail. The tray is designed with air circulation in mind that creates a quicker, more even cook.
POWER SUPPLY
The BIG BERTHA Road Chef Oven runs from a 12 Volt power supply. Like many high-end 240-volt ovens BIG BERTHA has two elements, one underneath the oven box, and one on the top. Each element will independently draw 10 Amps / 120 Watts at 12 volts when operating fully. When both are used at the same time, they will draw 20 Amps / 240 Watts at 12 volts.
The ONLY power option that you must have to power the BIG BETHA is via the supplied Anderson Plug. Other 12 Volt ovens, offer the options of a cigarette lighter or Merit Plug using a vehicle ‘cigarette lighter’ plug. However, these cannot be used for the BIG BERTHA as the wiring is typically designed to take a maximum of 10 Amp. This wire will overheat, melt, and potentially catch fire is used with the BIG BERTHA. The Anderson plug provides a superior connection and will reduce the chance of a poor connection. The oven is fitted with an internal fuse. If the fuse does blow then there is most likely a problem that you should diagnose and rectify before replacing the fuse.
MOUNTING BRACKETS
Big Bertha includes ‘tie down’ clamps that can be used to securely attach it in your vehicle, boat, or the like. There are slots at the top and bottom of the oven allowing you to secure it to a shelf or roof of your vehicle. Simply insert the three prongs into the slots in the side of the oven and screw the brackets dow
INCLUDES BAKING TRAY
BIG BERTHA comes supplied with a baking tray that is designed to create optimum cooking inside your oven. As the oven is not fan forced it relies on natural convection, so the Baking Tray allows for maximum air flow around the meal you are cooking. Reduced air flow allows cooler air to build up near the meal surfaces. By allowing hot air past the product, it picks up the heat faster cooking more evenly. The baking racks can slide in and out of the oven making it easier for you to reach your food.
INSULATION
The oven is insulated on 5 sides using fibreglass insulation. This should keep the outside temperature below 40°C although this can vary depending on the ambient temperature. The door is double insulated through a double wall and silicone inner which minimises its ability to heat it up. However, over a longer cook or in an area with reduced ventilation it may become hot and care should be taken
DUAL ELEMENTS
The BIG BERTHA 12-volt oven gives you the choice of cooking with just the TOP element, just the BOTTOM element or BOTH at the same time. The benefit of this is you can tailor it to what you are cooking. Each person likes their food prepared differently so some experimentation will be required but as a rule using the TOP elements is great for things that need grilling like nachos or pizzas. The BOTTOM element is great for baking and will make great scones. Using BOTH elements is the best for roasting or anything where you need all round heat
TEMPERATURE
While BIG BERTHA is an oven, it is a 12-volt oven, not a 240-volt oven like you have in your house. While it is very efficient at turning 12 volts of energy into heat so that you can bake, roast, and reheat, on the road, it is not a 240-volt oven, so it is important not to expect the same performance. It will take about 20/30 minutes to preheat your oven to 150 degrees C. After the first 20/30 minutes the incremental increase in temperature reduces to about 10 degrees per 10 minutes with the maximum temperature achieved after about 50— 60 minutes. The more food you put in your oven, and the lower the temperature (if its frozen or room temperature) the longer the cooking time will be
12 MONTH WARRANTY
The BIG BERTHA oven comes with a guarantee designed to protect you as our valued customer. RPM Innovations Pty Ltd; will repair or replace the oven, at their discretion should it fail due to faulty materials or manufacture for a period of 1 year from the date of sale.
ROAD CHEF BIG BERTHA DIMENTIONS (millimetres)
External: 362w x 255h x 297d (add 16mm for the knobs)
Internal: 308w x 150h x 282d