Has the all-electric galley come of age?

[Capt. Ray]

Don't get your knickers in a twist, it looks like you may have misread - I didn't see where anyone, including me wrote that stove and ovens MUST be replaced when switching from butane to propane. But in multiple yachts ranging upwards of 50 to 65 feet over the last few years I've HAD to replace the burners. In most cases a new burner kit was in the spares locker so I got lucky. But in each case before getting down to the conversion I tried to run the other gas and each time it "kind of" worked but VERY poorly. In one case my propane burners started glowing red hot using butane so I put a stop to that experiment pretty quickly. Butane flames are considerably hotter than propane.

I suspect that some stoves are set up as a compromise and can handle both depending on mixture but I haven't been so lucky.

Originally Posted by travellerw

Really.. I have no idea what kind of equipment people are running that stove and oven MUST be replaced... Thats just pure ********..

We have gone from Cuba (straight butane) to the USA (probably a butane propane mix in southern USA) to the Caribbean (mixture of both). We have run the same stove and oven (and jets) in all those places with ZERO problems. The pots don't get black, it cooks exactly the same. Down here we switch back and forth regularly. So does pretty much ALL our buddy boats.

[travellerw]

Originally Posted by ZULU40

What they do is adapt burners and mixers, not the whole thing
These gases are, depending on where you are, different and in some places you will run into problems. Places which are euro centric will run threads common to their motherland (I think French are UNEF). Chemical constituents of fuels more or less the same unless they acquire fuel regionally in bulk.



It probably IS the same
and according to my guides also true of central America

Not at all.. I will take pictures of the bottles.. They are not the same at all and have stickers to show the gasses in the bottles.. Not to mention that the butane bottles are 1/2 the pressure of the propane bottles.

Further to this.. We have multiple friends travelling in the south Pacific. They are using the "butane" in the south Pacific in their equipment... Again NO PROBLEMS.. Friends in the med running Butane in their propane grear (USA based grear), no problems.

I'm not going to fight about this.. Its just ********. Modern equipment can run either without issue. Older equipment may have some "sooting" issues. Hell, a simple google search will go all the way back to Bumfuzzle and show them running whatever they could buy in their equipment while the sailed around the world (they are just one example).

[ZULU40]

Originally Posted by travellerw

I'm not going to fight about this.. Its just ********.

I dont BS anyone ah

f this Im out

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by wingssail

In our case we've found propane to be reliable and simple. We cook with it and heat domestic water with it (hot showers, always).

Propane water heater? On a boat? I didn't think anyone did that.

Thinking about providing 2000-3000watts from a 12 volt battery source, unless I've got it wrong, seems like it would take over 200 amps. Holy cow, that is more than my engine starting draw and my windlass draw together! I think you'd need a very robust battery and solar system or a good sized gen-set. This is not a more simple system than a propane system.

Well, if I were building an electrical system for a boat with an all-electric galley, I would use 24 volt batteries and a ~4000 watt inverter-charger. That is, yes, just under 200 amps, requiring large cable but still feasible to work with. Similar load to a good sized bow thruster.


Whether it is simpler depends on how much of that you need anyway. If you're going to have a bow thruster, inverter, generator, regardless of the galley, you need most of the pieces.

[travellerw]

Alright.. Since I would insist that you back you argument up.. I will back mine up..

Here is the link to Defender where it clearly states a modern ENO stove can run on either.
https://www.defender.com/product.jsp?id=1125588

If you look at other products (and in the manuals), you will find similar statements.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Propane water heater? On a boat? I didn't think anyone did that.

Are you kidding? My last boat and current boat being built both have marine rated on-demand propane-fueled hot water heater.

Plus I have a propane BBQ pit in the cockpit that is used for most of the cooking. I can't imagine heating hot water with electric, or an electric BBQ.

New boat to have no generator, dual 25 hp Yamaha high thrust outboards, 800 watts solar, 450 amp-hr bank, deep freezer, counter fridge. There are leak sensors with alarms at each of the interior gas appliances. On previous Seawind with similar gas appliances, a 10 lb propane bottle lasted about 1-1/2 months while cruising.

[Sawbonz]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

Man, don't forget safety. Propane has more explosive power per gram than TNT. In my opinion, the number one reason for ditching propane is safety, and all the precautions we have to take to make using it reasonably safe. It would be fantastic to be free of that risk and that hassle.



I very much want an electric galley, and it would be fine on my boat. I would need to have the main engine or generator running during any kind of extensive cooking, but I have to run the generator a couple of times a day anyway, so this is really not skin off the back.


Also, what percentage of cooking is done when the boat is on shore power?


I do actually already use an induction hot plate a lot when I'm on shore power and alone.



Future boat will have lithium batteries and much more capacity, and it will be even easier.


I think a lot of boats are ready for electric cooking, and we are only waiting for decent gimballed electric stoves. I might even convert my present boat if I could find a decent one of those.

Here’s an option https://www.cookwithkenyon.com/shop/...rner-trimline/

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by Jammer

Propane water heater? On a boat? I didn't think anyone did that..

We put our first instant, on demand, propane water heater onboard in 1986. We have lived on board and sailed continuously since then, and have always had hot water. Now we are on the forth one; they don't last forever. In Mexico we bought our current one, a very nice unit, totally automatic, for $150. Down under they are called califont's and are quite common.

Originally Posted by Jammer

..I'd have a bow thruster, inverter, generator, regardless of the galley, you need most of the pieces.

I like a simple boat. If I was building a boat it would have a good inverter, no gen set, and definitely no bow thruster. Come to think of it, I pretty much did build this boat, and it has none of those pieces. I've save a lot of money, weight, and definitely a lot of time that would have been spent on keeping it all going, and we're really quite comfortable.


Hey, here's a thought: When you do build that boat with everything on it, and you are 70 and your wife is 70, and the boat weights 60,000lbs, who is going to leap off onto the dock and hold it when you come is a bit too hot?

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by wingssail

I like a simple boat. If I was building a boat it would have a good inverter, no gen set, and definitely no bow thruster. Come to think of it, I pretty much did build this boat, and it has none of those pieces. I've save a lot of money, weight, and definitely a lot of time that would have been spent on keeping it all going, and we're really quite comfortable.

Hey, here's a thought: When you do build that boat with everything on it, and you are 70 and your wife is 70, and the boat weights 60,000lbs, who is going to leap off onto the dock and hold it when you come is a bit too hot?

We all make our tradeoffs.


I'm on the water today in 25'. I have increasingly specific plans to move to something around 37'-40' in 2-3 years. This craft will in fact displace approximately 20,000 pounds. No one leaps off of my boat onto the dock when I come in too hot today because I have cultivated a docking approach that involves warping in under complete control and scrubbing the landing attempt if it would require any leaping. I do not believe that moving to a larger boat will change my approach to landing.

[KASHMIR]

I am in the process of setting up a gasless caravan, induction cooktop, large LFP battery, diesel hotwater and heating. I have the advantage with the caravan on being able to fit about 750W of solar. Next on the list is our 12m yacht. We don't use much gas on board now with electric kettle, and portable induction cooktop but only 400w solar. We tend not to anchor for too long in one place so when we move we will charge with 100Amps from our two alternators. I will also fit diesel instant hotwater and central heating. The boat lends itself to that as we have 270L fuel tank and the diesel hotwater only uses 0.1l/hr

[john61ct]

Links to marine-rated propane HWS units please?

[wingssail]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Links to marine-rated propane HWS units please?

I've never seen a propane water heater with a marine rating. When we bought our first one we were told, shortly afterwards, that they could not get marine ratings, they were dangerous, and should not be installed on a boat.

Good, keeps the price down.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Links to marine-rated propane HWS units please?

My last one was a Bosch. I think new one same thing. Boat built in Australia had installation certified by whatever authority was responsible there. Good enough for me. Even in US.

[sailjumanji]

Originally Posted by john61ct

Links to marine-rated propane HWS units please?

Show me a marine rated electric hot water heater! I suspect a very inefficient unit. I guess you use the diesel motors for that, but I prefer outboards. No dragging props. And my 16 yr old Bosch propane on-demand hot water heater still worked beautifully when I sold the boat.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by sailjumanji

Show me a marine rated electric hot water heater! I suspect a very inefficient unit. I guess you use the diesel motors for that, but I prefer outboards. No dragging props. And my 16 yr old Bosch propane on-demand hot water heater still worked beautifully when I sold the boat.

Marine water heaters that are powered by electric elements or engine coolant, or both, are readily available from many sources, e.g.:


https://www.defender.com/category.js...|51&id=2234308