Propane vs Alcohol Stove

[SecondBase]

OP - what is the furthest distance you intend to be, during your travels, from a hardware store on your boat?

[Cheechako]

Alcohol is worthless. Takes forever to cook.
I would never use a camp stove inside the boat. Outside ...OK.
I have used them enough camping to realize the containers leak, the fittings may leak, etc. Sometimes you find a container you used last fall is completely empty in spring without use.
For a proper propane stove you dont need a complicated system or a propane storage locker. Just mount a small bottle on the stern pulpit. You do need to drill hole or two for the piping.
Just as easy as screwing on a cheap camping bottle would be to have a long hose from a real tank mounted on the pulpit. Screw it on the stove for each use if you want to do this camping style.

[astokel]

I go with non-pressurised alcohol. it's safer, cheaper and almost as hot.

[hamburking]

I'm a big fan of the origo stoves. They are awesome.

Forget your bad experiences with your ancient pressure stove.

I've installed origo stoves on almost every boat I've owned....love them!

I've cooked everything you can imagine on an origo. Yes, they are a little cooler than propane, but not by much. The origo is totally silent, so it gives the impression that nothing is happening...and then presto your pot is boiling, like magic. It may be that without that comforting propane "hiss" it just seems like nothing is happening.

Also, the origo needs to "heat up". The fuel canister gets hot after a few minutes, effectively pre-heating the fuel and creating a bit of pressure. Once the stove is warmed up, its hotter than the initial startup temperature.

The origo is super safe, needs no holes, and usually fits the existing stove hole in your boat. Buy the fuel in bulk and its super cheap too. What's not to love?

My only complaint is that its not hot enough for really "hot" cooking, like a stir fry.

I even have a single burner portable origo for car camping and blackouts at home.

[bailsout]

Here's some old school. My lamps, Optimus stove and cabin heater all use kerosene, alcohol for starting. No propane.

[oleman]

All the vessels I ever sailed on used all electric or steam heated appliances much safer than anything else.
A small gen-set would work for a mini electric kitchen and also provide for AC when you want to travel to the middle east in August.

[foufou]

When I was a teenager we had an alcohol stove. It behaved well and many a fine meal was enjoyed. Once anchored in eastern Long Island we heard shouting in the morning and it was a couple exiting their companionway post haste followed by flames from an alcohol stove. So while "safe" they are not foolproof. No fuel or system is. Good installation and practice are helpful. I prefer propane and use care. Knocking on wood And propane at $3/gallon it's a bargain

[oregoncycle]

I have an amazing camp stove that uses the small 1# propane bottles. It cranks out more btu's than my gimbaled stove on board and when it is hot you can cook up on deck instead of adding more heat to the galley. Look for the BTU's per burner not the total as once was fooled with 25k btu's that turned out to be only 12.5 per burner. My current camp stove is 25k per burner and makes cooking faster and easier. perfect time of year as camping supplies are on sale and mine listed for $149 and on sale was just $100.

[CarinaPDX]

Originally Posted by bailsout

Here's some old school. My lamps, Optimus stove and cabin heater all use kerosene, alcohol for starting. No propane.

I have been very happy with my Taylor Paraffin (kerosene) stove. Getting kerosene has rarely been a problem - the alcohol for starting can be more difficult and expensive, depending on country. It is relatively safe, and produces a lot of heat. The downside is that it requires high quality kerosene (clear as water only) and occasional rebuilding of burners. Also it is necessary to learn the technique for starting/using, and many have given up before mastering this. Done wrong the result is a yellow, sooty, stinky flareup - which rarely happens for me at this point. Some people complain of the smell, but again that is more a problem during the learning period. I am reluctant to recommend kerosene to others as the stoves, burners, parts, and expertise are becoming scarce. That said, Taylor still makes nice stoves and there is even a new burner design from Germany.

I also have three beautiful gimbaled overhead kerosene lamps. They provide a very appealing ambience. They also kick out a lot of heat, so not so fun in the tropics or summers. And they can be smelly. These days with warm white LEDs and their negligible power draw I don't fill the lamps so the kerosene doesn't evaporate.

I have not seen any kerosene heaters that I would want, but of course kerosene can be used in diesel pot burners (Dickinson, Sigmar). I use diesel in a Sigmar bulkhead heater.

Starting from scratch I would install a Wallis diesel cooking stove for world cruising. While expensive, it is probably no more expensive than propane when the entire system costs are tallied. That would eliminate the safety problems, and fuel would not be an issue. In a cold climate I might go for a diesel pot burner, with an Origo on top for the summers.

To each his own...

Greg

[a64pilot]

1 lb of propane has enough explosive force to destroy the average cruising boat, don't put those bottles inside the boat, or where they could leak into the boat, like an outside locker that drains to the bilge
https://youtu.be/sooBQp1RLDc

[Mike OReilly]

A previous boat of mine came with a pressure alcohol stove. Used it for years and it worked fine. About the only time I noticed the lower BTUs vs propane is when I was boiling a lot of water. Otherwise it was a non-issue, and we cook a lot on board.

My current boat has a propane system, and I prefer it for long-term cruising. All comes down to volume for given BTUs.

My assessment is that pressure alcohol is not inherently more dangerous than propane. Both must be used and installed properly, and both can lead to disasters. I'd love to see actual data on accident rates. I doubt there's a significant difference.

All of this is to say, if you have a functioning pressure alcohol system, and are not doing long-term cruising, I'd keep the existing stove.

BTW, I agree that storing propane bottle inside IS a bad idea.

[Cadence]

My only concern would be your cost of the cylinders even if your not a chef?

[sailpower]

I bought a single burner Butane stove to use with my round bottom cast iron wok.

It gets HOT (12,000 BTU) quickly and the wok is ready to go after a minute or so.

I take the bottle out when not using it and put the cap back on.

I haven't researched butane on a boat.

https://www.amazon.com/Iwatani-Corpo...e+butane+stove

[a64pilot]

I believe that all liquified petroleum gases are heavier than air.
I think of the compressed gases you would likely see on a boat used for coking only compressed natural (methane) is lighter than air.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Alcohol is worthless. Takes forever to cook.
I would never use a camp stove inside the boat. Outside ...OK.
I have used them enough camping to realize the containers leak, the fittings may leak, etc. Sometimes you find a container you used last fall is completely empty in spring without use.
For a proper propane stove you dont need a complicated system or a propane storage locker. Just mount a small bottle on the stern pulpit. You do need to drill hole or two for the piping.
Just as easy as screwing on a cheap camping bottle would be to have a long hose from a real tank mounted on the pulpit. Screw it on the stove for each use if you want to do this camping style.

An armored hose.