Propane vs Alcohol Stove

[W3GAC]

I also have both... propane on our bigger 46' cruising ketch and alcohol on a 28 O'Day in the Chesapeake. I do prefer propane both for cooking and as a source of morning heat in Fall/ early Winter and early Spring mornings. But our Cal 46 came with original propane locker built into the center cockpit back rest. Was easy to install required solenoid, drill/ seal holes for propane line run to stove & BBQ. Installing the 'gas sniffer' & alarm buzzer was very easy. In Caribbean, one 20lb tank lasted almost a year! Hardly used stove (too hot!) but used BBQ a lot.

Regarding the O'Day 28 alcohol stove... yes it's ok. But! Surprised no one is talking about a microwave oven. Yes with an inverter it needs 100a from your battery. But to warm up cold soup, left-overs, make tea/ coffee, get water hot enough to make pasta,... all the usual alcohol uses... the microwave only needs to pull that 100a for 2-3 minutes. In watt-hour speak (the better measurement of battery depletion) that only a small drop in your batteries 'fuel gauge.' Now that pre-supposes that your application isn't just hanging on the hook months on end w/o typical cruisers engine run/ natural battery charge times. If I had to give up one or the other (alcohol stove or microwave) for how we use the O'Day... we'd clearly keep the microwave and jettison to alcohol. But I like back-ups and since alcohol is already on the boat and useful for making coffee/ breakfast on those chilly Fall/ early Spring mornings/ evenings with the side benefit of cabin heat! So much so that not only for safety, but it would get too hot down below if we didn't open the hatch 6"-12". 2000w inverters are only abt $300 these days, small 900w microwaves abt $70. Pretty low cost/ easy install option that is very versatile and no need to carry/ find special fuel. Wife 'invented' a microwave crock- pot by taking a non-metal pot and wrapping it in towel. She pre-cooks on grill or uses already cooked left-over and adds the other 'one pot' recipe to it and puts it in the microwave and occasionally zaps it every 15 minutes to replace heat lost. Future nights can warm it all up again by microwave, alcohol, or outside on BBQ. In Caribbean/ and during Summer in Chesapeake... we do very little 'flame' cooking down below. It just make toooo much heat below.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by WhistlingGypsy

OK, I know this is sort of a DUH topic among cooking sailors, but here's my dilemma:

We want to upgrade our pressurized alcohol stove. No one on the boat is Bobby Flay, so low-fuss is possibly an advantage. Initially my instinct was to go with a modern absorption alcohol stove (like Origo makes). But after cruising in the Caribbean for a couple weeks I was told by many the heat is so low it's almost useless. I thought about propane, but every time I saw propane systems I got scared: most seem to agree you shouldn't keep a tank inside a boat because of the fire hazard. I don't want to drill any holes to fit a propane stove in the boat -- if it comes to that I'd likely just go with alcohol and eat warm oatmeal. So I got thinking about a third solution, using propane but with the small Coleman camp stove bottles instead of the bigger tanks, using an adapter. Those bottles would be stored when not in use outside the boat in a bag along the rail (like sailors do with propane bottles for their grill). It wouldn't require any surgery to install and it would use a fuel that's easy to find.
Does anyone see an inherent problem with this idea?

As previously mentioned here, the problem is with the small cans leaking.

All I have ever used on a boat for fuel for cooking was CNG and propane and butane. I like it.

I don't like alcohol, because it can spill, and its flame is sorta invisible. It creeps me out.

Your avatar doesn't say what size boat you have, so for reference, the boats involved for me have been 30 ft., 36 ft., and 46 ft.

A number of boats in Australia have their propane canister mounted aft, at the pushpit, where the breeze would take any leaking gas away at anchor. Some of those installations have a box, over a platform, to protect the canister. Also, you can have such canisters galvanized prior to their first use, and that does a good job of weather proofing them.

On our 36 footer, we had a hand turn-off knob, next to the galley, directly into the propane locker. This is useful because you don't rely on a solenoid to allow you to cook, and you can feel it to be sure it is all the way off.


Ann

[NevisDog]

Originally Posted by WhistlingGypsy

...We want to upgrade our pressurized alcohol stove. ... Initially my instinct was to go with a modern absorption alcohol stove (like Origo makes). But after cruising in the Caribbean for a couple weeks I was told by many the heat is so low it's almost useless. ...

The Origo 6000 (absorption alcohol) is not slow, in fact we were shocked how much heat it produces. Compared to any previous non-pressurised alcohol stove, it's in a different league, so don't listen to those who haven't tried one of these new generation types. I agree pressurised stoves are inherently dangerous though, but I feel the same about propane.

FWIW, when we bought our current boat, which came to NZ via Italy, France, Spain, Caribbean, Pacific islands, and all points in between, it had at least six different propane reducers to suit all parts of the globe, and almost as many propane tanks to match, all of which would have been illegal here if the boat had been inspected.

[AJ_n_Audrey]

I had a scary experience with propane, and I still do not quite understand it. I installed a new solenoid this January, tested it, all was good. Sailed over 30 days to and around the Bahamas, hung around on the hook or in marinas at least another 15, all the time cooking with the burners, mostly to boil water. Was very careful to turn on / turn off everything and close the valve at the tank which is in a vented storage locker at the stern (I had heard enough horror stories to put the fear of god in me). Then one day offshore Florida while returning home, the burner the flame went out unbeknownst to me. Luckily, because of my aforementioned caution about propane, I tend to hover a bit around the stove, checking it frequently. On one check, I smelled gas. So I shut everything down, turned on the blower, cabin fans, flapped towels, etc. Used my gas sniffer (handheld) to check the bilge etc, until all was clear. It hasn't happened since, but it was scary. It has me thinking about an alcohol stove, even though I'm sure there is an explanation, and likely it was something I did or failed to do.

[nwdiver]

My experience with a new alcahol stove was a ruined meal......took 4 gal stock pot, 6 big Dungeness crabs, wok and fixings to a friend's new 35 foot boat to cook up for them for dinner, first I fast steam crabs for 8-10 minutes, then wok with garlic black bean and ginger........well the stove never got hot enough to steam the crab properly, maybe it would over an hour or two so then I thought ok I'll wok them a little longer.......no way it was a soupy mess.....

I use a Dickinson two burner propane that has a 7000btu and an 11,000btu burner.......now that's for woking.........post note my buddy's boat now has propane his wife tired pretty quick of their alcohol stove........I will admit it simmers well

[nwdiver]

Originally Posted by AJ_n_Audrey

I had a scary experience with propane, and I still do not quite understand it. I installed a new solenoid this January, tested it, all was good. Sailed over 30 days to and around the Bahamas, hung around on the hook or in marinas at least another 15, all the time cooking with the burners, mostly to boil water. Was very careful to turn on / turn off everything and close the valve at the tank which is in a vented storage locker at the stern (I had heard enough horror stories to put the fear of god in me). Then one day offshore Florida while returning home, the burner the flame went out unbeknownst to me. Luckily, because of my aforementioned caution about propane, I tend to hover a bit around the stove, checking it frequently. On one check, I smelled gas. So I shut everything down, turned on the blower, cabin fans, flapped towels, etc. Used my gas sniffer (handheld) to check the bilge etc, until all was clear. It hasn't happened since, but it was scary. It has me thinking about an alcohol stove, even though I'm sure there is an explanation, and likely it was something I did or failed to do.

I would have a tech, replace the thermo couplings on all the burners and the oven to be safe.........your thermo coupling failed.....

[markpierce]

Alcohol is useful for priming a kerosene stove. Otherwise, Alc is almost useless for cooking.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by nwdiver

I would have a tech, replace the thermo couplings on all the burners and the oven to be safe.........your thermo coupling failed.....

Never heard of a thermocouple failure on a boat but have seen many, many propane stoves on boats that were not fitted with thermocouples.

[nwdiver]

Originally Posted by boatpoker

Never heard of a thermocouple failure on a boat but have seen many, many propane stoves on boats that were not fitted with thermocouples.

For 30 years I've never had a stove without thermocouples.........maybe it's a non marine stove installed in a boat......

[four winds]

Twenty year old marine gimbaled propane stove in my boat. Label says Gas Systems brand. Livaboard seven years no maintenance or failures, to either stove or locker solenoid.

I'm no chef but cook something everyday. Don't really use the oven much lately. Ten pound tank lasts for months. 11$ refill.

No experience with anything else.

No thermocouples, BTW.

Edit,... actually the oven has a thermocouple. It has a pilot light and thermostat control for temp selection.

[Hoodsail]

What no methane option? I am using methane for burners and stove...heats water & food quickly, akin to being at home. Tank resides in cockpit lazarette. Feel a bit safer than with propane due to its density less than air, but still routinely check for breaks in line and connections with soap suds.

[dgarces]

The specs on camping butane/propane stoves generally make reference to vertical clearances of greater than 60 inches that makes then unsafe unless you use them in the cockpit.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by nwdiver

For 30 years I've never had a stove without thermocouples.........maybe it's a non marine stove installed in a boat......

Here are 4 of 64 photos I have taken from my survey reports of stove burners on boats without thermocouples. These four are from an O'Day,Catalina, C&C and a CS.

Hillerange, Tasco and Shipmate sold many such stoves to boat builders in the 70's until the very late 80's

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by four winds

No thermocouples, BTW.
It has a pilot light and thermostat

Don't let your insurance company find out and please don't dock next to me.

[gjordan]

If you cruise with propane and a solenoid be sure to carry the fittings to by-pass the solenoid if it fails or you have a complete electrical failure. You will have to go to the locker to turn the gas on and off, but it beats being half way across an ocean with plenty of propane and no way to get it. Just ask Boaty. Grant.