Product Review (Rip) Princess Hillerange Oven

[forsailbyowner]

Ok gotta pipe up here. When I was shopping for stoves I didnt do my homework well. I found out I could retrofit my alcohol shipmate stove with propane for about the same price I would have to pay for a Princess Hillerange new unit; I made a big mistake. The shipmate had been in the boat for almost 30 years and was in basically the original condition, No corrosion damage or issues except that it was alcohol. So I dished out nearly a grand for a new stove. 6 years later the stove is in need of replacement, Now I liveaboard and use the stove daily, Hillerange replaced the crappy weak poorly built knobs 3 times before I gave up and just started twisting the metal coming out of the valves, Now everywhere a screw passes through the porcelain ferrous metal used on the stove there is significant corrosion. The oven burrner mounts corroded through and the whole assembly fell into the bottom of the oven. The ferrous plates around the burners are rusted through. My galley has no saltwater leaks and never has. The corrosion is simply from being exposed to the salt air of the ocean. I was an idiot and did my shopping online where I didnt have a chance to examine the construction details. In a nutshell this oven cost me about $130 a year to own. A poor value and I was a sucker.

[onestepcsy37]

i also have a shipmate - but it's an original lpg version dating to 1979. the oven no longer works but i haven't tried to fix it because neither me or the admiral would use it anyway - makes good storage for pots. back in the 1990's practical sailor did a survey of stoves and called the shipmate the 'rolls royce' of boat stoves. ours still works perfectly.

i once had a pressure kerosene stove but would never have one again - too dirty. i did try my friends origo non pressure alcohol stove and i have to say i was impressed. if i were to replace the shipmate with one i could remove the tanks (or use them for alcohol storage), remove the hoses and solenoid valve and worry less about leaks in hard to reach places. it's just that invisible flame that worries me....