Propane vs Alcohol Stove

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by SecondBase

The danger of a propane stove, ABYC or not, comes from any Point of Failure.

They are safe until they aren't. .............

A proper ABYC compliant propane stove has redundant safety features. There's a solenoid valve in the propane locker that must be activated by a switch near the stove to turn the propane on. Turn it off when not cooking.

The only connection allowed in the piping is at the stove itself. This minimizes the chance of leaks inside the boat.

Each burner on the stove has a thermocouple that shuts off the burner if the flame goes out.

There is a propane detector mounted near the stove that sounds and alarm and turns off the propane if it senses propane.

The propane locker is sealed and has a drain that terminates on the outside of the hull below the level of the locker.

And, there is a provision for conducting a leak test.

It would be safer to just eat cold food out of a can but it's a matter of risk management. Boating, you are more likely to be injured or killed by something else rather than a properly installed and maintained propane marine stove.

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by W3GAC

........... Surprised no one is talking about a microwave oven. ...........

A microwave oven is great on a boat if your battery system has the capacity to run it. Many things can be cooked in a microwave and they are great for reheating leftovers. When we are at a marina and eat in a local restaurant, we usually have leftovers so we take them back to the boat and eat them a day or two later.

A microwave can't do everything well. A steak cooked in a microwave would be very disappointing. You can scramble or poach eggs but you can't fry them.

We have a propane stove and a microwave on our boat. Our cooking needs are met.

[SURV69]

My choice ... absorption alcohol ... it is very simple and it cooks plenty fast enough and it's very safe. I used to take mine home to use(much better than an electric stove).

Plus denatured alcohol has other uses too... can't think of them right now though.

[Pegu Club]

An Origo stove works great, we have baked bread on the stove top, cooked everything that one would cook at home. Those that say an Origo stove is useless are likely not so adept as it were... The biggest test gap I have read showed all of 180 seconds difference in boiling water tests. So there you have it, choose the inexpensive low cost longer life span option (our Origo is 40 years old) or.....

[ramblinrod]

At one point or another, I have used pretty much every type of stove fuel possible.

While I have used, really like, and can confirm that the heat output of absorption alcohol stoves is perfectly adequate (as long as moisture is kept out of the alcohol and stove wicks) I do loathe adding yet another combustible fuel to our vessel already laden with:

1. Diesel (for the engine and forced air heating).
2. Propane (for the barbeque).
3. Gasoline (for the dinghy).
4. Lamp oil (for the lights).

Even though an absorption alcohol stove is much safer from an explosion risk standpoint, it may be less safe from a refueling fire risk, and fuel spill standpoints, so we have a propane stove in the galley of our current personal boat. If we didn't have a propane BBQ, I would have no issue with replacing the propane galley stove (when it dies) with alcohol, but because we will always have a propane BBQ, we will likely always have a propane stove.

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by rwidman

...I had an alcohol stove on my previous boat and have an ABYC compliant propane stove on my current boat. The difference is night and day. Propane wins hands down.

But was it an Origo 6000? Don't discount the value of progress!

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by four winds

Don't leave the stove while cooking.

This too is a safety hazard. I can't tell you how many times I've had crew come down while on watch to make coffee and had to chase them back to the cockpit. Don't stand there watching thermodynamics in action. Your duty is to watch. A quick head call or setting up a percolator is fine. Watching water come to a boil takes too long. THAT means leaving something unattended on the cooker.

That said, I've encountered flameouts on both propane and alcohol burners. With propane it usually means no one has cleaned the burners in a 'coons age. That's trivial to fix. Alcohol flameouts are less easily diagnosed.

Originally Posted by rwidman

The only connection allowed in the piping is at the stove itself. This minimizes the chance of leaks inside the boat.

Technically two - from a hard pipe to a rubber hose to accommodate the gimbal and from the hose to the cooker.

Originally Posted by rwidman

A microwave oven is great on a boat if your battery system has the capacity to run it.

In fairness many people make the argument that all electric cooking is safest. I find the sheer number of failure modes disconcerting and the prospect of going hungry on passage to be quite unsettling.

[Zven]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

In fairness many people make the argument that all electric cooking is safest. I find the sheer number of failure modes disconcerting and the prospect of going hungry on passage to be quite unsettling.

I am so happy I have electric cooking on my boat. It works great and is the safest option by far.
Admittedly, I have a diesel generator, which is used regularly anyway ... hence makes it a no-brainer in my opinion.

I'm now adding solar panels, more batteries and a suitable inverter which I intend to use for cooking most meals.

If I were worried about failure on a long passage, I'd store a spare small camping stove in a locker ... knowing full well that it's not ideal but better than nothing in a pinch.

[h20man]

Originally Posted by Pizzazz

<snip>
Whatever you do, please install a proper, gimballed, stove/burner inside the boat. If you want to use portable gas canisters, leave those for the barbeque on the rail. Just take my word for it, it is not worth arguing the point.

This is just a little camping propane bottle... PARTIALLY emptying......


https://youtu.be/Yxm3uMy6MPI


and if you plumb in gas/propane.. it is heavier then air.. so will go to lowest point... Best to insure that you have a gas leak detector... and use rubber hose designed for GAS....

Otherwise tragedy shall result:

Tragedy in Ensenada - Cruising Anarchy - Sailing Anarchy Forums

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Zven

I am so happy I have electric cooking on my boat. It works great and is the safest option by far.
Admittedly, I have a diesel generator, which is used regularly anyway ... hence makes it a no-brainer in my opinion.

I'm now adding solar panels, more batteries and a suitable inverter which I intend to use for cooking most meals.

If I were worried about failure on a long passage, I'd store a spare small camping stove in a locker ... knowing full well that it's not ideal but better than nothing in a pinch.

With a range of only 266 miles I doubt you'd starve

[rwidman]

Originally Posted by Zven

......... If I were worried about failure on a long passage, I'd store a spare small camping stove in a locker ... knowing full well that it's not ideal but better than nothing in a pinch.

That's the last place you should be storing propane or a propane stove with the tank attached. You should store it out in the open where any leaking propane will dissipate into the atmosphere.

[SecondBase]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

Alcohol is worthless. Takes forever to cook.

I had this same observation early on. The wind over the bow was taking the heat back horizontally-not up to the pot.

By using an old camping windscreen I had on hand this issue was resolved.

Picture is of referencing the windscreen only not an Origo.

[zboss]

Those 1 lb propane bottles rust in days. Within a few weeks they rust through the bottom and leak. They are almost useless in a saltwater environment. I once saw someone that used pvc pipe to make a storage solution so they got exposed to as little salt air as possible. You are better off buying a 6lb tank and hanging it off the side and when you need to cook something inside the boat run a 20 foot propane hose down from the tank to the stove in the boat.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by rwidman

That's the last place you should be storing propane or a propane stove with the tank attached. You should store it out in the open where any leaking propane will dissipate into the atmosphere.

I used to store my little 1 lb grill bottles in a shallow cockpit locker.
Then one day if got water in it and as I was cleaning it out, I discovered it had a drain, that drained to the bilge, drain happened to be clogged was the reason it got water in it.
Well that wasn't going to work obviously so I then started storing them under the Bimini in a plastic bag, but somehow the bag wore a hole in it and the blankety things rusted on my coach roof.
I have now just given up on the things completely, mounted a 10 lb aluminum tank to the railing and use a hose to connect it to the grill.

Just no good way to carry the things, even if you see yourself up a nice bag to hang them on the rail, they are still going to rust

[CarinaPDX]

If I needed propane tanks I would go with the new fiberglass tanks from Trident Hose, in 11, 17, and 22 pound sizes. They are lightweight, don't corrode, and the liquid level is easily visible. They use an internal bladder. NB: A previous range of fiberglass tanks (I don't remember the manufacturer) was pulled off the market due to defects. Presumably these tanks don't suffer the same problems.

Greg