|
Haven't had a chance to cook aboard yet, just sandwiches and cold stuff.
Boat came with a new 2 burner with oven propane force 10 stove. But it didn't work.
found that the solenoid was bad. So I decided to upgrade to a propane sniffing one. Found that wire to be bad, with no fuse and corrosion all thru. (boat is a 1983 so it is to be expected...) Also found that while inside the boat the propane hose was in good shape, where it exited to the propane locker, it was not. And of course you can't just splice it out. Also no one ever grommeted the opening so there is chafe... after a few hundred bucks later, with new fiberglass tanks, new sniffer, new hose and regulator ect, I now find that I have to rip out the galley to replace said hose. ENOUGH I think.
So it got me thinking. What is the best way to cook aboard? Safety is primary concern, then efficiency, ease of use, ease to resupply fuel, heat and moisture load.
So I now have a better idea. NO propane inside the boat. I will remove the stove /oven.
I will replace it with 2 induction cook tops. at 1800 watts full on, they can be run one at a time via the inverter. They are more efficient than propane. They don't explode. They add very little heat to the boat.
A microwave convection oven will be used quite a bit. The convection part will make it much like a regular oven, browning meat chicken fish. And the locking door is a plus.
A bread machine will be used every few days. I have had one for years and it works well. Just make sure the yeast is good.
And finally a propane grill on the aft deck. My 2 20 lb tanks will last a long time that way. No propane in the boat, and the space I gained from removing the oven will give me more storage space for pots pans etc.
Good pans that are magnetic are a must, and I have porcelain coated iron pans.
A pressure cooker. Blender. a microwave rice cooker. Electric coffee pot with thermos. Coffee roaster. Coffee grinder.
At sea, meals will be reheated that were vacuum sealed prior to sailing. Soups and stews in vacuum bottles.
How am I going to power this stuff you ask. Mostly with a a/c generator, 2400 or 3000 watt via a shore power plug. A 3000 watt victron inverter charger and 600 amp hours of TPPL batteries from odyessy. 500 watts of solar panels. A KISS wind generator. And while the gen set is running, its charging my batteries, heating water for a shower, and cooling the sleeping areas a bit. Not expected to run for more than 2-3 hours. then shut down for the night. They are relatively quiet, and drink a lot less fuel than my Perkins.
The induction cooktop I have at home now and it works fantastic. I have a restaurant stove in my house now with 6 burners that puts out incredible amounts of heat when cooking, and with the induction cooktop, its minimal. touching it is not a problem. The pan gets hot but little else. It goes from warm to hot to full at a touch of a button.
When I redo my kitchen at home this is what I would get only a much large one at 220v drawing 50 amps tops. Not for boats!
Bob
|