Has the all-electric galley come of age?

[Kenomac]

We’ve been all electric for six years, it’s easy with a Nuwave infrared oven and induction cooktop.

[seandepagnier]

What you need is a vacuum insulated pressure cooker with hot plate inside. This uses a fraction of the power of conventional electric.

I made a less efficient version without vacuum insulation, and it can cook a meal in 40 minutes drawing 6 amps which is not a problem from solar, or even old batteries.

As for solar power. Why not use a solar oven? This is far more efficient than using panels. I have a parabolic mirror that can cook with the same power as an alcohol stove. I don't have to wait for it, only need 20 minutes of sun and quinoa is done. It can also distill 1-2 cups of water per hour, and it's a dish-network dish, so not very big.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by ursuss

We have an induction stove and a diesel (yes, diesel) stove and oven.
The diesel stove is a bit sluggish and hard to control the temperature, but the oven is super awesome.
And of course the induction stove is great (we have 1600W solar and LiFePo batteries, no generator)
Link to oven: Wallas | Wallas 86 D boat oven | 86 D diesel oven | Convection oven for boats

I often thought that a diesel stove plus induction would be a great combination, especially for those of us cruising in cold latitudes where you can also use space heating from the diesel stove.

[arcwi]

Originally Posted by travellerw

... However.. Of all the boats I know, none of them have an oven. One of them had a small "Air Fryer" as seen on TV type of device, but it was only run when the generator was running. I just don't think its possible to have an oven on all electric, unless you are prepaired to run the generator.

It is possible. We have Whirlpool's JetChef on board, we use it for everything - including to fry fish in the crisping pan - that is when we are not making pizzas.

Also, to make things bit easier, the crisping pan fits in the dishwasher... :-)

PS edited: Oh, we do not have a generator, house batteries and a backup inverter running off the engine batteries in case of prolonged overcast - we run the engines as a last resort...

[ngmayo]

Hybrid gas/ all electric here. If anyone is curious, the nuwave inductive oven draws 86 amps off a 12 VDC system intermittently when ran through a 3000W Victron Inverter as it heats and kicks off during the cook time. Im sure ambient temp probably effects cycles. It's about 6 amp during the fan only cycle. I was just cooking off batteries/solar offshore yesterday. Oh, and battleborn gave me a discount for buying 8 batteries. They are marine grade (bronze fittings) and $699 a year ago for a 100 AH size 27 battery after discount. I replaced three AGM 4Ds with five of these in a row then the starting battery and 2 thruster/windlass batteries for a total of eight. Pretty good warranty too though I hope to never find out if they honor. Obviously weight was nice too.

[billknny]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Hydrogen is quite safe, being extremely light. It can't collect in a bilge to form a fuel-air bomb, as propane does. I think there is practically no risk posed by hydrogen on a boat. We already have hydrogen on board -- produced by our batteries in fairly large quantities, while charging.

I am sure my friend who just had a hydrogen explosion in an properly externally vented battery compartment will be happy to hear that such things can not happen. And NOT the first time I know of that happening...

Originally Posted by Dockhead

People are killed in propane/butane explosions on boats almost every year, just in the UK. LPG is a major safety issue on boats -- that's a fact. And not just the risk, but the expense and hassle of maintaining and operating the system in a manner that makes it reasonably safe.

And people die in electrically caused fires on boats at least as often. That's the piece that is missing in this discussion. High amperage DC circuits cause fires more often than propane.

Originally Posted by Dockhead

The all electric galley is a great thing which I am sure we will see more and more of very soon...

"A great thing"? Does ANYBODY actually PREFER cooking on an electric stove over a good gas stove? I certainly don't. I wouldn't have an electric stove in a house, and I sure wouldn't have on on my boat for the same reasons...

[sailcrazy]

Pelagic....very interesting chart you posted; I'd like to see more( smaller gensets, heavier load, etc). Where did that chart come from?
FWIW...We are a total elect galley, but we run our 6.5kva genset 2x each day. In the morning we recharge the batts as we make coffee and toast, run the watermaker( about every 4th day), pull down the freezer and refer boxes, etc, for about an hour. In the evening we cook (elect Force 10 stove + M/W), recharge batts as needed, pull down the freezer and refer(as needed), etc, again, for about 1 hr. The admiral far prefers to cook elect, and our boat is set up that way-the refer, watermaker, and stove+oven are all 230vAC; the system has worked well for us for the past 16 years, thru Asia, the Medd, and now the Caribb. The only propane onboard now is rail-mounted, for the BBQ; I converted the ex propane locker into a 2nd hanging locker in our mastersuite-a much better use of the space! PS: we also have 320w of solar and a med-size windgen installed to augment our 675 amphr L-A batt bank. We also have a 2000w inverter, should we need it.

[Chotu]

Originally Posted by Simi 60

Rubbish

Definitely rubbish. How many boats have electrical fires vs how many have propane explosions?

[Jammer]

Thanks for everyone who posted the details of electric setups that are working for them.

Originally Posted by billknny

I am sure my friend who just had a hydrogen explosion in an properly externally vented battery compartment will be happy to hear that such things can not happen. And NOT the first time I know of that happening...

And people die in electrically caused fires on boats at least as often. That's the piece that is missing in this discussion. High amperage DC circuits cause fires more often than propane.

I read through the house fire statistics for the USA and the safety record of gas and electric cooking equipment is nearly identical in terms of number of injuries and fatalities. With gas equipment, there are fires and explosions. With electrical equipment, there are fires and electric shocks. Around 90% of the households in the USA that have gas cooking equipment use natural gas, 10% propane. There are no statistics on relative safety of natural gas and propane, but propane is widely considered to be somewhat less safe because it is heavier than air.



I believe that either propane or high-amp DC systems can be safe on a boat. Each poses its risks and requires ongoing inspection and maintenance. There are best practices, and they are evolving. If I were to install a high-amp DC system on my boat, I would use two-bolt lugs wherever feasible, for example, even though they haven't caught on for marine use. Two-bolt lugs cannot twist loose, have a greater contact areas, and have been in widespread use for years on high-amp telecommunications DC systems.

"A great thing"? Does ANYBODY actually PREFER cooking on an electric stove over a good gas stove? I certainly don't. I wouldn't have an electric stove in a house, and I sure wouldn't have on on my boat for the same reasons...

In general I feel the same way, but I have an open mind regarding the induction cooktops. Perhaps they're as good as gas, or nearly so.

[Colin A]

Here is an induction cook top marketed to the marine world with a nonskid mat from the factory.

https://www.cookwithkenyon.com/shop/...rner-trimline/

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by Jammer

But the tradeoff seems like a good one aboard because of the costs, space, complexity, and fuel availability problems with propane

Wait. Stop. You have trouble getting the single most common source of cooking fuel on the planet? How is that?

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Man, don't forget safety.

Have you looked at the fire risk associated with electricity? *BOOM*

Originally Posted by oleman

Electric is the safest and easiest for temperature control in a galley.

ROTFLMAO.

[CatNewBee]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Wait. Stop. You have trouble getting the single most common source of cooking fuel on the planet? How is that?





Have you looked at the fire risk associated with electricity? *BOOM*





ROTFLMAO.

I guess, you never have been in Europe / sailed the Med. Every single country has its own standards regarding bottles and fittings, most propane / butane refil stations are just replace the empty bottle with the same full, no filling of foreign bottles. Only the small 3kg CampingGAZ buthane bottles are available in many countries, but super expensive, around 40..50€. You need differen fittings, regulators and adapters and have to buy in each country the local standard while throwing away the tanks from the last one.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

Wait. Stop. You have trouble getting the single most common source of cooking fuel on the planet? How is that?

There are locations, generally tropical ones, where butane is the preferred fuel and propane is largely unavailable. The two fuels are not interchangeable. While many appliances can be converted from one fuel to another, they then must be converted back when switching to the original fuel.


There are also fairly serious logistics problems posed by the fact that propane filling equipment is specialized, and so the bottles have to be taken ashore to a propane dealer. For the cruiser, this can pose fairly serious logistics and regulatory problems, because propane bottles are often prohibited on public transportation, because in many countries propane dealers will only fill bottles owned by them on an exchange basis, and because the valves, bottle sizes, and inspection requirements are incompatible among jurisdictions.

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by CatNewBee

I guess, you never have been in Europe / sailed the Med. Every single country has its own standards regarding bottles and fittings, most propane / butane refil stations are just replace the empty bottle with the same full, no filling of foreign bottles.

I have been. Sweden, Norway, UK, parts of the Med. It isn't that hard if you are do a little research. I had no trouble in Scandanavia, Western Europe, UK, Azores, Bermuda, and the US.

Originally Posted by Jammer

There are locations, generally tropical ones, where butane is the preferred fuel and propane is largely unavailable. The two fuels are not interchangeable.

Not true at all. What is called "propane" in the US is a mix of propane and butane. That mix changes with seasons. The same is true with "butane" in the EU. Propane is C3H8. Butane is C4H10. No change in jets or orifice sizes. The biggest difference is freezing point. Perhaps you are confused with CNG or LNG?

Originally Posted by Jammer

There are also fairly serious logistics problems posed by the fact that propane filling equipment is specialized, and so the bottles have to be taken ashore to a propane dealer.

Certainly minor logistics. Nothing serious. Over two-thirds of the planet it has never taken me more than a few hours to sort out a fill. I've spent more time in Bermuda dealing with transporting provisions, and in Sweden getting crew from airport to boat. Not hard.



1. Propane = butane for all intents and purposes. 2. Adapters and conversions are easy to manage if you are nice to people. Done and done. Read the articles by Jack Tyler and consider that it is easier than Jack's experience. Just a little schmoozing.

[ZULU40]

Lots of reasons your boats equipment either wont be appropriate or legal

liquefied natural gas, LNG
liquefied petroleum gas, LPG
compressed natural gas CNG

regulations
by country or nationality
by state or province

availability
according to local logistics
in some cases depending on supervising political persuasion
ie Solomons US, Cook Is NZ, Tahiti Fr for example