Manifold Cooking

60seriesguy

Adventurer
There are two things I never saw on expedition in South America: onboard hot-water showers, and manifold cookers. Both initially struck me as gadgets, but the first time I had a chance to take a hot shower in 40 degree weather after two days of four-wheeling (couldn't stand my own smell), I was sold on the first. Then a few years ago, on another trail ride in the snow, we took a short lunch break only to see a guy whip out two very hot foil-wrapped steak burritos from somewhere inside his engine compartment and start to eat, while we waited to use a stove to heat up our lunch. I was intrigued, and since then I've seen several different setups.

Last September, as a birthday present, my wife bought me a manifold cooker which is a step above the homemade ones I'd seen. This is the first chance I had to install it, which was a cinch on the square manifold of the 4BT (plus there was plenty of room). I'm *psyched*, can't wait to fire up some PopTarts to test it out!

The next step is to re-install the onboard shower on the new engine, maybe next week....

Anyway, here's a couple of pictures of the setup. The base mounts permanently on the manifold, the container itself snaps into place. It's hard to see the size but I calculate it will hold an 8-pack of hot dogs.
 

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Scott Brady

Founder
HA! That is fantastic...

I have been a manifold chef for over ten years, and always get a kick out doing it. The Jeep I6 is practically built for two burritos, so no modification is required. The Tacoma has room for them, but the engine runs so cool (and is aluminum) that it doesn't quite "cook" enough. I will need to investigate some options.

On my Trooper, I built a little cooker over the exhaust manifold. I call it my burrito bucket :eatchicke
 

The BN Guy

Expedition Leader
Pretty sweet invention! Beats just laying something up there and hoping it doesn't slide off. Gotta figure something out for my V6 and the overhead intake manifold.
 

chet

island Explorer
my dad has a few off hiway logging trucks and they all have a large (because they have the room) basket on the manifold. Two sections one for cooking and one for heating. when you are miles from nowhere in the snow and cold a hot lunch is a big deal. We have put a can of beans or chili in the cooker side and a few burritoes in the warmer section.

It was funny because the one cooker busted off on a truck and no one wanted to drive it! The last guy into work got that truck! haha cold lunch for you! :coffee:
 
S

Scenic WonderRunner

Guest
OK..........60seriesguy....!

Looks Great!:chowtime:

Now you need to come up with a manifold recipe book for us.......showing how many miles per 1 pound burrito!.....etc!:eatchicke

OH NO!...............now what do us Downey Header guys do>?!!:rolleyes:
 

HongerVenture

Adventurer
Scenic WonderRunner said:
Now you need to come up with a manifold recipe book for us.......showing how many miles per 1 pound burrito!.....etc!:

You mean like this?
0375751408.01._SCLZZZZZZZ_.gif


You can find this here, but it is pretty pricey. I've seen it in a book store somewhere for much cheaper... wish I had picked it up. It really did have some killer recipes.

Joel
 

HongerVenture

Adventurer
Best quote from the synopsis of Manifold Destiny:

They may even change the way people select new cars: the Chevrolet Celebrity GL offers six servings, while the Camry has only three but sports a bun warmer, a feature seldom mentioned in Toyota ads.

I wonder where that bun warmer is on our rigs?
 

goodtimes

Expedition Poseur
I'm curious....how many people actually "cook" on their manifolds? I usually reheat something that I have cooked at home (sloppy joes, burrito's, fried chicken, etc). I generally just stuff "whatever" on top of the injector rail. I had a burrito up there when I went through Hiway to Hell a month or so ago, and if that trail doesn't knock it off, not much will. I have never had anything fall off the injector rail. There really isn't much room for a "burrito bucket" on the new jeeps as the exhaust manifold is hidden under a bunch of crap....but the injector rail works really well.

So, who "cooks", and who "reheats"?
 

goodtimes

Expedition Poseur
mcvickoffroad said:
Do you need to be concerned with fumes from the engine while doing this?

No concerns about CO....all the "bad stuff" is heading out through the tail pipe, not into the engine compartment. Even if it does (like when you have an exhaust leak), CO is a gas that is not going to condense onto your food, and poison you. If you had a bad exhaust leak, I certaily wouldn't stuff my head under the hood for extended periods taking nice deep breaths with the engine running...but it isn't going to hurt your food.
 

Steve Curren

Explorer
I was wondering if I could find the size of the fixture that was put on by 60seriesguy? I found the item and was going to see if it would fit in my TJ, cooking like that sure sounds like the way to go.
Steve
 

0utback

Observer
Haha! I do this all the time.

It still amazes my Jeep buddies when during a winter or cool spring / fall run I open the hood at lunch break and whip out 4 toasty Pizza Pops, a couple of burritos or egg rolls, hot dogs, or something. Meanwhile the rest of them are standing there eating cold sandwiches or subs. In fact, they almost expect it of me now and I usually get the question posed... "so what are ya cookin today?"

I would just like to now if I decide to heat a can of soup or beans or chili if it will explode and make a mess under the hood, or if it would be safe to try?
 

bh4rnnr

Adventurer
So most of the club has been using what is now called the "Snackster" in honor of the creator, Tim Nakari. Uncle Ben once called him "Snack Man" and the name stuck. Tim found a deep frier/grill type thing at Home Depote. Cost 10$. Cooked many goodies on it. Tim has cooked on or two roast, think one of them for Cruise Moab. I had some steak on there for one run, the forest service ranger riding along could tell it was done:chowtime: . For the low cost, it works awesome. I'll try and find some pics. Matt, post up if you beet me to it.
 

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