The Vanagon Westfalia stove makes camp cooking easy and efficient.
The stove in our Westfalia Camper has enabled us to start countless days of roadtripping with a belly-filling breakfast, whip up a quick lunch or a hearty dinner, or to enjoy a cup of hot cocoa while watching snow flurries descend from the icy peaks surrounding Crater Lake.
The Westfalia galley kitchenette is one of the distinguishing features which truly makes a Vanagon a Campmobile!
Introduction
The Westy stove is fueled by the same external LP (Liquid Propane) tank as the Dometic refrigerator. Just after the main shutoff valve and two-stage LP regulator attached to the tank, the supply splits into two copper lines: one feeds the fridge, and the other the stove.
Inside, prop the kitchen cabinet lid open to reveal the stove, right next to the sink. A large oval grate covers the two gas burners, and beneath that the large stainless steel base catches the inevitable spills.
Above, mounted to the kitchen cabinet lid, is a stainless steel heat shield to protect the underside of the cabinet lid. On Canadian models, this deflector is permanently affixed; on US models, this heat shield can be unsnapped and hinged downward to lay flat, to serve as a drain board when washing & drying dishes (note the angled surface and small drain slot over the sink).
NOTE: Many new Westfalia owners mistakenly assume this heat shield/drain board is a griddle or hot plate, and commence to fryin’ bacon or flippin’ flapjacks on it. This will quickly discolor and buckle the heat shield, and food will stick and burn. DO NOT USE IT AS A COOKING SURFACE.
If your Vanagon’s previous owner neglected to remove the blue plastic protective film from your heat shield, do it now.
Lighting
The burner controls for the stove are located on the front kitchen panel. Look for the three flame symbols on the edge of the control knobs, indicating OFF, HIGH, and SIMMER.
To light the stove, first make sure the main valve is opened on the external LP tank. Depress and turn the stove burner knob to HIGH, and listen for the quiet hiss of gas from the burner. Use a butane lighter or a stove ignitor to ignite the flame, and adjust for cooking. Just as with your home barbecue grill, if it’s been awhile since your stove was used, or you ran completely out of LP before refilling the tank, you may need to run both burners for awhile to prime the supply line before it will light.
Once lit, simply adjust the flame for whatever type of cooking you’re doing. A larger pan or pot on the stove can block your view of the flame, but the flame can be seen reflected in the stainless steel base beneath the burners.
Cooking
On some Westfalia stoves, the SIMMER setting may allow the flame to go out, so set the control knob just a little higher.
Note that the burner grate stands on ten short ‘legs’; two of these legs engage in a couple of holes in the lower stove base. To remove the grate for cleaning, grasp the leg nearest you when standing in front of the stove, and firmly pull toward you to disengage the leg from the base, and lift the entire grate free.
Propane generally provides very even heating, but hot spots and scorching can be further prevented by using pots and frypans with fine heat-dispersing grooves engraved on the bottoms. We typically use lightweight nesting backpacking pots and frying pans with folding or detachable handles to save space. Be careful when using very small pots on the stove though, as these may tip or topple through the rather large central gaps in the grate. You can add versatility to your stove by adding a double-wide griddle for large-volume frying.
We also use a vintage teakettle for heating water for tea, instant soups, dishwashing, etc.. When not being used, it rests inside the sink, wrapped in a dish towel to prevent rattles.
Always allow the stove to cool after using and before stowing away for travel. To prevent annoying metallic rattles of the grate and the heat shield while underway, lay a couple of hot pads or dish towels over the grate before closing the lid.
Finally …
The stock stove is a crucial feature that adds great utility to the Westfalia Camper. We use ours on a daily basis when traveling, for everything from simple hot water to full-on multi-course meals. With adequate ventilation and tidy cooking habits, you can avoid lingering food odors unless you enjoy a lot of bacon or fried fish.
A comparable Coleman two-burner camping stove requires frequent refills of a highly flammable fuel which must be handled and carried somewhere on board. By contrast, the Westy stove-and-fridge combo will run on LP cleanly, safely, and economically for at least 30 days and nights before requiring a $7 refill.
I will never forget the taste of a pair of fresh pan-fried brook trout, resting on warm beds of wild rice, accompanied by cold bottles of beer, enjoyed with a longtime friend on the grassy banks of the very stream in which he’d caught them only minutes before.
Few things bring together family and friends like good food, and the Westfalia stove often makes it possible …
Greetings.
We have just imported (from France/Austria to Canada) a 1995 Westfalia equipped T4 Caravelle California camper.
All is great so far…. except! working out a conversion/modification to allow our 2-burner cooktop to work in North America.
It was designed (obviously) for Europe and took a CampingGaz r907 refillable butane tank (about 10.5″ diam by 16″ tall).
I am 99.5% sure these are not available in NA and not refillable if they were.
So, I am trying to figure out the retrofit I need to do to make coffee on the road.
could someone show me a photo of, or describe the couplings their NA Westfalia burner system has?
my orange gas line seems to be 1/2″ male one end (normal thread), 1/2″ female the other (reverse thread, where it connects to the regulator.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/A8s1KuGbjJHWJMej2
What kind of tank do you use?
and what kind of fuel? (propane?)
many thanks
Peter
Peter, sounds like a nice Camper!
As for the thread sizes on the LP lines, you can find more info here:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=674984
In fact, since yours is a T4, you may want to post your question in the Samba Eurovan forum, as you’ll probably find a larger audience of knowledgeable T4 owners:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewforum.php?f=48
Those thread sizes sound correct, and adaptors & couplings should be available from a good RV specialist, or a hardware store.
Also, keep in mind that CampingGaz r907 is a blended fuel of butane AND propane; before proceeding, make sure the stove you have will indeed safely run on whatever fuel you decide to use.
Good luck!
Hi Folks:
I’m looking for a gas valve for one of the burners on my Westfalia camper stove and can’t find one anywhere. Do you know where I could purchase one, and if so, how much it would cost. I have already gone to the Go Westy site with no success. I don’t even know who made the stoves nor do I have any model numbers. Any advice/help will be greatly appreciated.
Warmest regards,
Gary
Gary,
Not sure if you’ve already determined to replace an entire burner valve, but I’d start by contacting Dometic, the original mfr.. They’re still in the business and may be able to at least direct you to a source for parts:
https://www.dometic.com/
You could also watch or search the Samba classified ads for someone selling an original valve or stove parts:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/classifieds/cat.php?id=57
Here’s a tutorial on rebuilding the original burner valves:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=544333
And if you only need to replace a broken stem, these are available here:
https://www.vancafe.com/VCSTOVESTEMPOSTLT_p/vcstovestempostlt.htm
Hope this helps!
HI :
Where can I get a burner valve for one of the elements in the stove for my 1989 Westphalia. I can’t even find the manufacturer of the stove. Any advice will be appreciated.
Best,
Gary
Gary, please see my reply to your earlier post above.
I believe the stove mfr is Dometic.
If my 1984 Westy stove knob does not turn anymore… It pushes in but it does not turn… would you know what this would indicate and what part I would need to purchase or how I could fix this? I can’t even determine how I can get back in there to see the mechanism behind the knob.
Leeda,
Sorry to hear of your stove troubles.
Are both burner knobs stuck, or just one knob?
Here’s a good write-up on how to clean & lube your burner valves:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?p=6813795&highlight=#6813795
If needed, the valves can be completely disassembled too:
https://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=544333
Good luck!
How do I get to the gas fitting on the stove of my 85 Westy. I’m smelling gas even with the burners off and I would like to tighten and test the connection but I can’t figure out how to access where the fuel line connects to the stove. Bentley was useless in that regard.
Sean, sorry to hear of your stove troubles!
From the external regulator, the LP supply line runs up through the under-sink cabinet. Just before the line passes through the cabinet wall to connect to the stove manifold, there is a hex flare fitting joint. When looking into the cabinet with the cutlery drawer removed, you can see the joint high and to the left-hand side. Please see Figures 77-073 and 77-074 on Bentley page 76.21.
It can also be seen here in the upper-right of this photo, and of course should be checked.
But there could also be a leak further downstream, somewhere in the burner manifold assembly, so if the errant gas leak persists, you’ll need to check there too. This area is best accessed by removing the front kitchen stove panel.
I don’t know how you’ve capped off your fridge supply line, but this should be double-checked as a source of your gas leak, too.
Does this help?
Got it! Thanks. I had followed the fuel line all the way into the back of the stove and somehow missed that there was an inline connection.
I took my stove apart for cleaning (was having some burner issues) and during reassembly, I cracked the metal housing that holds the valve stem. Looking for replacement part and coming up empty handed. Ideas? Recommendations?
This older Dometic stuff is getting harder to find. I suggest contacting the Bus Depot. Even if they don’t have something on their website, they may have some older parts around, or a source for them.
https://www.busdepot.com/camper-parts-accessories/camper-propane-stove-and-refrigerator-parts
Good luck!
Hi all I’ve been looking for an after market replacement burner top for my Westfalia 1989 cooker they are very rare to find, and seem expensive I’ve been quoted $35
Paul,
I don’t know of any source for many of the replacement parts for these Dometic stoves. Those available are rare and expensive.
You might contact Dr. Bjorn’s:
https://vanagonwestfaliaparts.com/collections/camper-parts-and-accessories/Appliances
Or, try contacting Dometic directly:
https://www.dometic.com/en-us/us/support/spare-parts
Hope this helps!