Live aboards: what kind of oven do you have or wish you had?

[Lasivian]

I decided that I will go with induction as well, and just remove the oven. The space it takes up is high compared to how much I bake. I also plan to take a breadmaker along. (Did you know you can make brownies in a breadmaker?) Bread is a staple to me, and the ingredients store MUCH better than the finished product.

If no oven was not an option I would go with a smaller countertop-size unit. This is good enough for melting cheesy things. You could also do a small number of muffins, but i'm more likely to use the breadmaker and make one loaf then cut it up.

As for "keeping bacon and pancakes warm" I prefer to keep them warm in peoples bellies while I cook more! (I feel the "let's all sit down and eat at the same time" is nice, but in a tight space with the people you care about near you all the time it can be done away with.)

For me this is also goign to be onboard: https://www.amazon.com/All-Season-So...dp/B08HSGFH59/ It's limited to when the sun is shining, but it has the potential to cook a roast using no fuel and is a good backup if something goes haywire with the electric system.

[Amapola]

We got rid of our Princess and installed an electric surface unit. For baking, I have a Sharpe combination Microwave/Convection oven. We also have a toaster oven which gets very little use. I'm thinking of replacing the toaster oven with a Yedi Air Fryer Oven XL, 12.7 Quart.

[Auspicious]

Here is the previous thread https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...ng-234419.html

[Alawaiorion]

We have used a force 10 three burner stove for nearly 18 years. The first one came with the boat and I found it at times inconsistent but I easily adapted. After realizing it was over thirty years old we replaced it two years ago with a new force 10. The difference is remarkable- I cook a lot but have few extra appliances, in fact we have completely gone to an old fashioned water kettle on the stove and do tea or french press coffee. I cook roasts and casseroles all the time in my oven. In the tropics often we used the bbq especially on extraordinarily hot days. I place a thermometer inside my oven and find it comes up to temp and stays consistent if I set it just under the desired marked temperature. All electric would not work for us. Trying to use (or accidentally using) more than one high draw appliance would flip our breaker- As others have said if you are permanently at the dock or are comfortable running a genset or you have plenty of cheap electricity...then those are not considerations...for me, learning to master the propane force 10 and maintaining it has been the only galley appliance I need - and after 67 years I am a knowledgeable and accomplished cook- So I don't just toss a can of beans in a pan- I have no problem roasting chicken or turkey breast but like others said you can forget about cooking a 20 pound turkey LOL...such interesting responses to this question...I find it fascinating to read about how others navigate this lifestyle.

[fxykty]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

1) Sometimes people want silly things.

2) Battery is heavy and solar gets in the way.

3) Ha! If you sail offshore on a cat want you really want is a two axis gimbal. Cats in general don't have proper fiddles, the cookers are poorly designed, and the potholders aren't high enough. I just finished delivering a Saba 50 from Annapolis to St Thomas and cooking on the stove was a pain. The oven wasn't bad, but not gimballed.



Then there are the failure and safety implications.

Newhaul nailed it for the reasons why.

1) Silly?
2) The LFP bank is half the weight, twice the usable capacity and handles 3x larger loads and charges. More than enough for electric. The solar is in spots we don’t walk, so not in the way.
3) Not in our experience, fiddle rails were more than adequate. There really is only one axis for heeling and wave action; unlike the Saba our cat rarely hobby horses. A silicone mat will take care of that movement.

Failure - absolutely, a worry. We have a gas grill for large an/or long grilling/oven and a small butane camping stove for emergencies. Failures covered.

Safety???? 230V electricity that we already have and use on board via inverter, versus a heavier than air gas stored in portable tanks and distributed by hoses that has a single purpose? IMHO electricity is safer.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

1) Sometimes people want silly things.
2) Battery is heavy and solar gets in the way.
3) Ha! If you sail offshore on a cat want you really want is a two axis gimbal. Cats in general don't have proper fiddles, the cookers are poorly designed, and the potholders aren't high enough. I just finished delivering a Saba 50 from Annapolis to St Thomas and cooking on the stove was a pain. The oven wasn't bad, but not gimballed.

Then there are the failure and safety implications.

The gimbal thing I agree with, if you plan to use the thing underway in rough conditions. But that can be solved.



As far as batteries and solar and/or a generator, depending on other systems choices, equipment on board, and general wants/needs, the infrastructure may already exist to support electric cooking. If you'd need to add a ton of gear just to power the stove, it doesn't make sense, but if it only needs a little extra or nothing at all, might as well.

[Lasivian]

Originally Posted by rslifkin

As far as batteries and solar and/or a generator, depending on other systems choices, equipment on board, and general wants/needs, the infrastructure may already exist to support electric cooking. If you'd need to add a ton of gear just to power the stove, it doesn't make sense, but if it only needs a little extra or nothing at all, might as well.

Well, for me it's rather "I don't want to deal with propane or diesel". An all-electric system of cooking, water making and propulsion has a much higher up-front cost, but I never have to deal with fuel except for a small backup gas generator and my outboard.

Often I think we just consider "what's already there" as an expense already paid for and don't look at the ongoing hassle or expense.

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Lasivian

Well, for me it's rather "I don't want to deal with propane or diesel". An all-electric system of cooking, water making and propulsion has a much higher up-front cost, but I never have to deal with fuel except for a small backup gas generator and my outboard.

Often I think we just consider "what's already there" as an expense already paid for and don't look at the ongoing hassle or expense.

The not dealing with propane thing is my big reason for the electric galley. I've got a gas boat, so I've already got liquid flammable stuff on board. I don't need to add pressurized flammable stuff on top of that. Plus, my boat has no place for a proper propane locker anyway. It already has a generator that's periodically needed for other purposes, so needing to run it to cook while away from the dock is no big deal. And by the time I'm done making dinner, I've got hot water for showers too.

[DeValency]

The first thing I threw out of the (cruising) boat when purchased was the built in microwave oven (I wouldn’t call it an oven at any case). The Force 10 stove oven is new and I like cooking with the propane cooktop but rarely use the oven.
A small Panasonic toaster oven actually covered all the baking/grilling needs for up to 4 diners.

Recently added a small air fryer (Ninja 10x10”) that is perfect and extending the cooking possibilities really well.

The propane oven is mostly used for dry packed food and bread storage

[Auspicious]

Originally Posted by fxykty

1) Silly?
2) The LFP bank is half the weight, twice the usable capacity and handles 3x larger loads and charges. More than enough for electric. The solar is in spots we don’t walk, so not in the way.
3) Not in our experience, fiddle rails were more than adequate. There really is only one axis for heeling and wave action; unlike the Saba our cat rarely hobby horses. A silicone mat will take care of that movement.

1) Because from an engineering perspective it doesn't make much sense. See the previous thread I linked to above. To start with it's expensive and dangerous.
2) Catamarans--even big ones--are weight sensitive. You'll need more of everything - more batteries, bigger inverters, more solar, more controllers, bigger wires and cables, bigger ... more ... bigger more.
3) Even offshore in weather? I haven't sailed an Outremer but I've sailed lots of big cats on passages and they all move a good bit in both pitch and roll in a big fully developed sea.

Originally Posted by fxykty

Failure - absolutely, a worry. We have a gas grill for large an/or long grilling/oven and a small butane camping stove for emergencies. Failures covered.

Some of them. Not all. See the other thread.

Originally Posted by fxykty

Safety???? 230V electricity that we already have and use on board via inverter, versus a heavier than air gas stored in portable tanks and distributed by hoses that has a single purpose? IMHO electricity is safer.

I'm not talking about opinions. I'm talking about data and statistics. In the other thread I pointed out the effects of thermal cycling on wires and especially connections. I-squared-R losses (heat) are huge at those power draws even at 230V. I linked to insurance information that points out that in homes (not subject to the same stresses as boats) most fires start in the kitchen and most of those are electrical in nature. BoatUS data show that most boat fires are electrical in nature, and that data is BEFORE induction cooking became a fad.

Now there were a lot of loud voices in the other thread arguing for electric cooking who plugged their ears. I can say with confidence I am the only naval architect and marine engineer in that thread. Electricity is not safer than gas. We've been cooking over gas on this planet for a long time and have it pretty well figured out. Gas is still the most common cooking fuel on the planet. You can smell a gas leak. You cannot smell a loose electrical connection until it heats and starts a fire by which time it is probably too late.

[Dave9111]

I have a 33 ft sailboat that I single hand most of the time. Single handing means I AM the watch and also means that making elaborate dishes while underway is not happening.
If I need a cup of coffee, its the microwave heating a cup of water for instant coffee. Some of the instant coffee is pretty good and even better when you are cold! For me a microwave running off an inverter is key. Heating up food via microwave, running off the inverter, may mean I need to fire up the Atomic 4 gas engine for a few minutes to avoid draining the two group 27 deep cycles too far. Not a big deal. The Atomic 4 sips gas at low speed. A 92 amp alternator puts out serious amps at just above idle. And the Atomic 4 is fairly quiet. I have an induction plate and pots but haven't used them yet although it does work well in my testing. I'm not big into dish washing either.

Simple is good. But I don't know how or why you guys go without a cheap microwave. 1. They are very efficient electrically. 2. They easily run off an inexpensive inverter. 3. If it breaks, you buy a new one, they are cheap! When was the last time you bought something for your boat that was cheap ??

There is some talk of going with resistance heating appliances like toaster ovens and cook tops. You should know that those are very inefficient uses of electricity. If you have generator onboard, it might not matter. But I bet that most people would be unhappy with resistance heat cooking devices unless they have 5 KW plus generator onboard that is fairly quiet. If you are on a smaller boat without a generator, I think you are stuck with gas, induction, or microwave. Electric resistance is just not viable without a generator or shore power.

[Lasivian]

Originally Posted by Auspicious

I can say with confidence I am the only naval architect and marine engineer in that thread.

If you are in fact a professional perhaps you should accept that some people want to change from gas to electric and help them determine the safest ways to do that?

[Lasivian]

Originally Posted by Dave9111

There is some talk of going with resistance heating appliances like toaster ovens and cook tops. You should know that those are very inefficient uses of electricity.

Actually, Microwaves are about 50% efficient, worse than a normal electric stove. An induction stove is around 85% efficient.

A Watched Pot: What Is The Most Energy Efficient Way To Boil Water? | Inside Energy

I can't find the efficiency of a propane stove, but natural gas stoves are about 40% efficient.

https://www.leafscore.com/eco-friend...-or-induction/

[rslifkin]

Originally Posted by Lasivian

Actually, Microwaves are about 50% efficient, worse than a normal electric stove. An induction stove is around 85% efficient.

A Watched Pot: What Is The Most Energy Efficient Way To Boil Water? | Inside Energy

I can't find the efficiency of a propane stove, but natural gas stoves are about 40% efficient.

https://www.leafscore.com/eco-friend...-or-induction/

In my mind, the efficiency of a microwave isn't from its absolute efficiency. It's from only having to heat up 1 small object, rather than the food plus a pan to contain it (like on a stove). For larger quantities of food, that benefit is lost to the greater efficiency of an induction stove.

[Kit_L]

Anika J came with a 9kVa Kubota-driven generator, and I fitted a Victron 24V 3000VA inverter charger, and a 400W/MPPT-controlled solar panel. The boat has never had propane fitted.

For cooking, if I want to use the two-plate stove (I will replace this with a two plate induction cooktop, in time) or the Bosch combination oven-microwave, I run the generator. If I only want to boil a kettle, I plug it in to the GPO in the galley; or if I want to heat food (rather than cook from scratch), I use a single-plate induction stove also drawing from a GPO in the galley.

So, for example, running the single-plate induction stove last night at 300W drew the house bank down from 100% to 95%; the 240V small fridge drew the system down to 92% overnight (plus I read for a while, 24V light, and computer and phone charged overnight too), and I boiled the kettle for morning coffee and the system is sitting at 83% as I write this. IOW, the house bank allows silent power use, although only relatively light loads, but typical for a single person living aboard.

I had never seen a combination oven–microwave device before I stepped on to Anika J, but I think they are excellent. When designing the modest solar system, I had agreed with the electrician that I would run the generator once a day for cooking (the same genny will run the AC units, too, and the day before yesterday it was 39°C on the water...). And the genny will charge start and house batteries at the same time. As the boat is 240V shore power tested and certified and the Victron uses the same 240V circuits, I am not concerned with overheating circuits.