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Old 19-03-2015, 12:12   #31
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

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Dangers of Carbon Monoxide and Incomplete Combustion in Propane Appliances

We had another blizzard 2 days ago.Lost power at our home for 9hrs.
As usual,went to basement , grabbed Coleman stove & green propane camping bottle.Set up on kitchen counter & enjoyed hot food & drink.
Lit propane camping light at dark.
My neighbors & I have been doing this for ever.
No supply of Natural gas in our area.We use propane (or electric) ranges in our homes,cottages,RV's & boats & think nothing of it.
What scares the hell out of us is the idea of living in a community that is fed by natural gas,run in pipes under streets,& all thru homes,offices,schools,etc.-like living on top of a bomb,in our minds-very scary.
Yes-we are very aware that propane is heavier than air-we take precautions & use our noses.Propane stinks-long before explosive concentration.
Nat gas is light & floats in air-explosive also.
My point is-we all tend to be afraid of the un-familiar,sometimes to the point of paranoia.
Use common sense & normal precautions-propane is no problem.
Also,as stated in above link,no CO is produced from a proper blue flame propane burner.Lots of H2O is produced & will make lots of sweat,if operated too long without ventilation.Normal cooking times should not cause any problem.
Using propane for heating requires venting,because of the sweating,more than CO danger-assuming burner is operating properly.
The above is from many years of personal experience. Cheers/Len
So you do know that your big tank of propane is many thousands of times more stored potential energy than what could flow through my 1/2inch natural gas pipe right? Natural gas also smells when it leaks FYI.

The rubber seals on the green bottles are not intended to be used and refilled. The cheap seals they use in the valves are only meant to be used once or twice. There have been many people on here that have had experiences with the seals leaking after the tanks are removed from appliances. I know I have, the worst part was it was a slow little hiss of a leak you could hardly hear.

I had one of the camp stoves on an Oday 22 I used to have. While on a trip under way I had it set up in the cockpit cooking a fresh caught salmon... (hmmm). Anyways it was a Coleman, only 6 months old and not Rusty (Great Lakes) and it promptly decided to shoot a VERY large flame out the top, about 3-4ft. I still don't know what exactly failed, as I kicked it out of the cockpit and over the side. I had a can of cold beans for dinner...
It did manage to slightly singe my mainsail as well. So I for one wouldn't ever consider using one of those pieces of crap underneath ANYTHING flammable, like say a bimini or your boom.

That being said I am leaning towards installing a proper propane system on our new boat. On our old Columbia 29 we used the Origo extensively and loved it. SO simple and nothing to worry about exploding or leaking, in my opinion they are a great stove and extremely safe. The only possible way to get in trouble with one is trying to refuel it while it is still hot, which is says not to do about 100 times all over the thing. We kept a spare canister to fill in case we ran out while cooking. Use your Origo Don in my opinion anyways MUCH safer, even when using your camp stove outside.
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Old 19-03-2015, 13:00   #32
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

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That's true. I am not a big fan of Atomic 4s for that reason, but there are millions of them out there running for many years. Now that you mention it though, staying in bed might just be the best option...
Hi Don, I agree with you....the point I was making is many people try to be so PC and have wonderful wisdom when it applies to other people. I wonder if they apply the same philosophies to themselves. You can read all sorts of horror stories on just about anything. Most cruisers are pretty pragmatic and many long distance cruisers carry a portable stove for when they camp, or cook at a beach or just as a back up. Ours are petrol as we normally carry spare (shock, gasp, horror) petrol for our outboards, as well as for our dive compressor. We use these cookers when we go car camping - an economical way to travel in many countries. Petrol is generally available just about anywhere (unlike mini gas cylinders) and we always know how much fuel we have - gas cylinders are a little less predicable when it comes to knowing the remaining quantities.
What is important is where and how you carry the cylinders as well as how you use them. Everyday, we can hear about some dreadful car accident but we all continue to use motor vehicles. An accident can be learnt from ----- the guy who had a flare up that scorched his main sail - lesson being ensure the boom is not over the cooker & have a fire blanket to hand; the lesson does not mean never carry a camping cooker. This also applies when using your braai (barbeque) on the boat - 'O' rings can fail, hoses can split, burners can rupture etc. Accidents happen and it is how we react that counts. I keep harking back to a statement that was made a little while ago: it was said that any RIB of less than 19ft is inherently unseaworthy.....a proven fact, apparently. That poster never did respond to my question of why many sea rescue institutes use 12-14ft RIB's and are prepared to go out in just about any weather if required.
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Old 19-03-2015, 13:38   #33
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

Not to hijack this thread but I've thought about trying to make some kind of T in my propane line to my oven so that I can use the main propane system for the heater. Because I rarely use the heater I would need to be able to disconnect it. Is there a way to safely do that?
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Old 19-03-2015, 13:58   #34
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pirate Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

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Not to hijack this thread but I've thought about trying to make some kind of T in my propane line to my oven so that I can use the main propane system for the heater. Because I rarely use the heater I would need to be able to disconnect it. Is there a way to safely do that?
Yes you can but its not allowed in some countries.. just fit an on/off at the same time..
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Old 19-03-2015, 17:01   #35
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

I use a camp chief everest. FWIW The reason I chose that stove is that a lot of coleman brand stoves I have used never had a nice simmer point, they seemed to be full on or off. The camp chief simmers nicely and high will boil water fast. I mounted it in place of the curtain burner in my catalina. I never leave it unattended obviously while is on and as soon as Im done cooking I disconnect the bottle and leave the bottle out in the cockpit until clean up is done. I will then sniff the top of the bottle for any leaks and then put it away. You can smell propane like natural gas...it reeks. Is it safe? Is fire on any boat safe? That's something you have to decide. I don't like alcohol stoves simply because they burn with a pretty much invisible blueish flame and if you leave them on its hard to see and can start fires. Sure any stove can start a fire that way but being able to see it "seems" safer IMO. For the price of a real marine stove, I can buy a new camp stove every 3 yrs for 100 bucks and after 12 yrs still have a new stove instead of a worn out cheap marine one although maybe a marine one would last longer than 12, I dunno but that was another reason I went with the camp stove. That's my .02 cents

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Old 19-03-2015, 17:20   #36
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

What about these stoves on small boats like the Seascape 27, Pogo 30, Mini Transat, etc.? Something like a Jetboil on gimbals:

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Old 19-03-2015, 17:28   #37
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

Ahoy Sailors:

Don C…yes you can safely use a camping stove if you use the right one. See the many Magna Grills/Stoves. Magma Grills & Accessories.

Personally, I would stay away from Coleman on the boat as other have noted.

Sailm8: I had a similar problem with the solenoid. I quickly disassemble it…if I remember all the steps…by removing the clip on top, removing the bracket that held the electrical magnet in place, unscrewed the shutoff unit, removed the little stopper and spring that was the guts of the shutoff and reinstalled the shutoff unit. Checked for leaks with a little soapy water. Propane flows freely without the stopper and spring.

It took about 5 minutes. I got a new one from the local RV dealer the next weekend. Remember, you no longer have the shutoff protection of the solenoid so shut off the valve at the tank when not in use.

Scott30: yes, you can put a T and manual shutoff valve after the solenoid and run a gas line to the heater. See sample products in West Marine and Defender catalog or at your local RV dealer.

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Old 19-03-2015, 17:37   #38
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

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Originally Posted by Mark Stillwell View Post
Ahoy Sailors:

Don C…yes you can safely use a camping stove if you use the right one. See the many Magna Grills/Stoves. Magma Grills & Accessories.

Personally, I would stay away from Coleman on the boat as other have noted.

Sailm8: I had a similar problem with the solenoid. I quickly disassemble it…if I remember all the steps…by removing the clip on top, removing the bracket that held the electrical magnet in place, unscrewed the shutoff unit, removed the little stopper and spring that was the guts of the shutoff and reinstalled the shutoff unit. Checked for leaks with a little soapy water. Propane flows freely without the stopper and spring.

It took about 5 minutes. I got a new one from the local RV dealer the next weekend. Remember, you no longer have the shutoff protection of the solenoid so shut off the valve at the tank when not in use.

Scott30: yes, you can put a T and manual shutoff valve after the solenoid and run a gas line to the heater. See sample products in West Marine and Defender catalog or at your local RV dealer.

Magma LPG Propane Gas Hose Conversion Kit
Thanks Mark. That's exactly what I was thinking about creating. Finding it already put together is excellent.
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Old 19-03-2015, 18:06   #39
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

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Thanks Mark. That's exactly what I was thinking about creating. Finding it already put together is excellent.
If I remember correctly, any T connection must be outside the boat or in an externally vented compartment like the propane tanks.

By the way, a nit picky point, propane and natural gas smell because an odorant called mercaptan is added to the gas. Natural gas which is commercially a mixture of various gases may contain some sulfur compounds that give it an odor but pure propane is odorless.
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Old 19-03-2015, 18:33   #40
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

I run an outdoor program professionally. We have 10 or so propane camp stoves we routinely rent out. When disconnected after use, those green cylinders can leak. We have one sitting outside now for that reason.

That said, I've used such camp stoves on boats myself. They can be very economical. As long as the propane is stored outside, I see no reason why it would be notably more dangerous than boats equipped with a larger propane tank. Shut off valves on such systems can fail and people can forget to turn them off.
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Old 19-03-2015, 22:37   #41
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

What is there to write - NO
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Old 21-03-2015, 06:14   #42
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

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Lots of us use the small canisters for our Magma barbecues on the rail. I store the cans in my propane locker when not in use. Can't see a small camp type propane stove as any more dangerous if used out in the cockpit NOT below decks.


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Old 21-03-2015, 06:41   #43
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

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What is there to write - NO
.....and it is interesting to note that zero explanation is given - just 'no' ?
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Old 21-03-2015, 06:53   #44
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

Lol. 99 percent of the grills you see hanging off the back if boats are propane and use a green canister. And 99 percent of all stoves run on propane and run thru the boat with gas tubing.

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Old 21-03-2015, 07:41   #45
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Re: Can a propane camp stove be safe on a boat?

So am I right to assume that most folks are not concerned so much with the stove itself as the canisters? I have seen those gimbaled little stoves and I am assuming those folks do not disconnect their canisters when not in use. I know nothing is 100%, and everyone has their own risk tolerances, but it sounds like a camp stove isn't necessarily more dangerous than a marine propane stove as long as the canister is removed when not in use and stored in a properly vented locker. Actually, since nothing on a camp stove is hidden or buried, and that the whole system can be checked easily at one time, could be a point in favor of it. (?)
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