SMEV 333 Two-Burner Cooker

Cooker Of Choice

General Description

This is a very stylish Italian-designed cooker. It has two hotplates (although there is a four-burner version too), a thermostatically controlled oven and an internal grill. The exterior faces of the cooker are stainless steel, while the oven interior is made from enamelled coated steel. The ignition system is powered by an external 12V supply and there is an oven light (A).

Effectiveness and functionality

SMEV use unique burners on the hotplate that are very efficient. Pans are held in place by sturdy clamps that are easy to adjust and the grill is also very effective. The grill deflection plate pulls out from the top of the oven. The harbour lock system is absolutely superb as the cooker can be locked in a positive firm manner at various angles. There are two systems available; the deluxe version includes a crash bar. The oven has a small burner that is susceptible to fluctuations in gas pressure and takes a long time to heat up, but once it’s at temperature the thick insulation helps keep it there. On the downside, the pan supports (B) do not cover the whole cooker top, which makes moving pans around a bit awkward, and there are no rear or side rails.

Cleaning

The pan supports can be removed and the spillage tray cleaned easily. All the edges are smooth and rounded with nowhere for dirt and grease to collect. The large glass door does show up any grease or finger marks.

Installation

The cooker is wider than the Nelson and Neptune, and taller and deeper than the Gascogne, so careful measurements will be required for installation. It requires a 12V DC electrical supply for the ignition system and light.

Servicing

It’s a little trickier to carry out servicing on this cooker as all the main components are only accessible via the right side-panel, precluding any chance of doing maintenance work in-situ. The whole cooker is held together by small screws, and there are lots of them. As with other cookers,
thermocouples are the first parts to fail, but once the cooker is apart they are very easy to work on. Apart from that the cooker has a proven history of reliability – which ironically makes other spares difficult to obtain quickly.

The Verdict

This is a quality cooker. It is very reliable, functional and it looks nice. The drawbacks with the pan support and clamp system are not an issue with the four-burner version. It’s not cheap, but if it fits, it would be a good investment.

Buy the SMEV 333 Two-Burner Cooker from the Marine Shop