Hi, I'm just about to move on my boat, first time living on a boat and I'm looking at gas cookers, camping burners, propane based cooking options to save electricity. Any suggestions?

If you chose gas then somewhere on the boat will be a tank of it which many think is a bit risky, especially since you then need pipes that are intact to bring gas to stove. Camping gas burners have a tendency to rust to bits on a boat aside from the risk of a cheap think leaking gas into an enclosed cabin.

Many off us, me included, use metho. You can get a methos from Whitworths. Heres one with a griller www.whitworths.com.au/lido-junior-marine-gas-stove-grill They have cheaper ones too.

Aside from being relatively safer metho has the advantage you can get the fuel from nearly any hardware store.

Hi and welcome to the forum

Is there any form of stove on the boat at the moment

Regards Don

I used to live on mine, sadly not anymore. I used a Maxine two burner metho stove inside and a "Weber baby q" outside on quick cheap home made mounts. Kept the gas bottle hanging off the side in a milk crate. Pic was taken while cruising inside from surfers to Redcliffe.

Solar panels pivot and are held semi horizontal by plywood strips. Effective just not very pleasing to the eye. Thought I would get in before the comments lol


but they look fantastic from this angle though. The Weber doesn't get that hot on the outside so if it's windy I used it in the cockpit. Oops I observed the use of it in the cockpit , on that trip the crew cooked every thing. Found we used metho stove for cooking underway and making coffee,Weber whenever stopped. Weber is a lot cheaper than " marine bbqs " and seem to stand up well. Welcome and keep us posted .

Cooking options also depend on where you live. Any galley cooking rapidly heats a boat and makes it very humid. Cooking meals will also make your boat smell like the last few days meals. Gas is popular, cooks hotter and quicker than a spirit stove, but spirit burners/grilles do a good job, especially if you're only cooking for 1-2 people, and not in a rush. There are significant explosion risks with gas, and the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning (death) as happened a few months ago. The $20.00 single ring gas burners that use disposable canisters work well but have a poor safety record. Rigid adherence to safety guidelines and good ventilation will make either spirit or gas work for you. Fitted gas cookers and hardware - bottles, lines etc require compliance certification or any gas related accidents won't have insurance cover.

A magma or other marine bbq, or the baby Webber as suggested, are great outside options, but less fun or useful in high winds or rain. Depending on your lifestyle, an insulated slow cooker could be a good investment.

Given space and storage limitations in boats, easy cooking and a good diet benefits from advice planning...

I had Compressed Natural Gas but it became impossible to fill the cylinders.
i now have a Dometic Origo 2 burner evaporative stove. I got mine after Andy59 recommended it and it works great, is safe and easy to use.

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MorningBird said..
I had Compressed Natural Gas but it became impossible to fill the cylinders.
i now have a Dometic Origo 2 burner evaporative stove. I got mine after Andy59 recommended it and it works great, is safe and easy to use.

It is a great stove MB. As I recall the regulator knob controls a flap/choke device. I just was not fussed on the odour on initial lighting.

As Bushdog says:- There are significant explosion risks with gas, and the potential for carbon monoxide poisoning (death) as happened a few months ago.

You only get to make ONE mistake with a gas stove, the upside of which is you will most likely not survive it or remember it.

On smaller yachts that are not used for full time live aboard, my vote is for metho or kero.

Smaller boat, 28, two burner gas stove with oven. Never had a problem. Fresh bread is good!
Gas bottle in separate gas locker, no chance to fill bilge in case of mishap.
Always wide open when cooking, no poisoning.

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sirgallivant said..
Smaller boat, 28, two burner gas stove with oven. Never had a problem. Fresh bread is good!
Gas bottle in separate gas locker, no chance to fill bilge in case of mishap.
Always wide open when cooking, no poisoning.

At the risk of being howled down, I agree, sirgallivant - gas is good...
In terms of thermal efficiency, LP gas is hard to beat.
I have 2 burner stove with oven.
Bottle in seperate external locker that drains leaking gas ( if it ever did) overboard. Fitted with a GasFuse which shuts off supply if pressure drops due a line break or excessive leakage.
Galley and nearby aft cabin fitted with CO2/CO/Smoke monitors.
Never use it for heating and always ensure ventilation whilst cooking.
What's not to to like? - there are far more likely potential catastrophic events to worry about....
regards,
Allan

The howlers can howl as loud as they will, would not change an iota.
Yeah, gas is good as long as it's not used by idiots.
Got gas monitor-alarm as well.
I personally find a quantity of easily inflamable liquid fuel on board in largish quantity rather disturbing. Filling the metho tank must be a nightmare on rough seas!?
Just put your thinking cap on for a short while for heavens sake!
We are talking about cruising on the high seas, not sitting at the marina.
I never ever had a flare up on gas, however, l have seen a flare up using metho, last time HG published a vid of his flare up and nobody - l mean flaming nobody - had a comment about it. Some people must have their heads buried in mud.
It is more than enough to carry a quantity of extra diesel and much less petrol for the outboard when on cruise.
I carry a Primus as a spare stove, if ran our of gas, l can use any liquid fuel in an emergency. Petrol, diesel, used cooking oil, kero, metho, sump oil or whatever.

Yes, gas is good as long as you are prepared to pay as much as the stove cost to get a gas certificate, AND, if you can find a gas fitter who will do the job.

Not many are prepared to do it anymore because of the liabilities involved.

Today I bought a 2 burner gimballed kerosene stove in near new condition for $100 with spare burner, 10 litres of aircraft fuel and the metho primer bottle. I am chuffed.

Good. Happy for you!
Where are my fotos?

Can't for the life of me see why everybody is so set against gas stoves on boats!! They have been using them in cavavans for ever and how often do you hear of death and destruction there??
It all boils down to maintenance and common sense. I have had a fire on my boat when one burner on the the Maxi stove went out and the metho flowed into the drawer and cupboard underneath and the other burner ignited it. I found out when I checked the pan on the stove and singed the hair off my arm! Couldn't see or smell the flames.
BIG SPHINCTER CLENCHING MOMENT !!!!!!
Luckily, bucket of water fixed it but I would only use one burner at a time after that till I got home and stripped it down and refurbed every-thing that I possibly could on the stove.
I still carry an "exploder" and use that if I want a quick cuppa.
cheers john RL28 Pinnaroo series 100 landcruiser

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lloydyboy53 said..
Can't for the life of me see why everybody is so set against gas stoves on boats!! They have been using them in cavavans for ever and how often do you hear of death and destruction there??
It all boils down to maintenance and common sense. I have had a fire on my boat when one burner on the the Maxi stove went out and the metho flowed into the drawer and cupboard underneath and the other burner ignited it. I found out when I checked the pan on the stove and singed the hair off my arm! Couldn't see or smell the flames.
BIG SPHINCTER CLENCHING MOMENT !!!!!!
Luckily, bucket of water fixed it but I would only use one burner at a time after that till I got home and stripped it down and refurbed every-thing that I possibly could on the stove.
I still carry an "exploder" and use that if I want a quick cuppa.
cheers john RL28 Pinnaroo series 100 landcruiser

Adams 31 burnt to the waterline and sank near Nowra with a similar metho stove fire. Put the kettle on and returned to the cockpit. Fire started and could not get back to fight the fire.

I guess one small safety consideration with gas is, if you are in the cockpit and a fire starts on
the stove you can turn the gas off at the remotely located bottle. At least it will stop the continous
feed of fuel to the fire. Just a thought.

I have a steadfast rule at home and aboard my yacht. It is "NEVER leave a lit stove unattended."

If you are single handing and want to have a cuppa, what is wrong with making up a thermos or two of the required beverage beforehand and stashing it in a grabbable place.

Going below, lighting a stove be it gas, metho or kero, putting something on it and going back on deck, to my mind is sheer lunacy.

It is not hard folks. Keep It Simple Sailor!!!

When sailing it is best to keep the number of onboard operations going on at any time to the minimum required for the safe operation of the vessel.

This mindset takes your choice of stove type out of the equation.

I'm with you Cisco. Its better to have only one part with a 1/10000 chance of failure than five! Gas has too many possible failure modes. Apollo 13 found that out when their gas tank failed ( forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=34478.0;attach=578678)

Metho failure possibilies = stove
Gas failure possibilies = - stove -piping - shut off valve - gas detector - lpg tank

Aside from metho (never tried kero) working fine I love that I can get it anywhere. A while back when I did my big cruise around NZ I found how handy it was to get metho from any little old hardware shop then carry on board in a dinghy. Not so easy gas and a gas cylinder

Seems like this topic was done about three years ago. It went from LPG compliance to talking about the best Metho stove. The Dometic Origo. The one with the cartridge you fill with metho. It's what I have and it's slow to cook, but I believe the safest of the lot.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/LPG-Compliance?page=2

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sirgallivant said..

Just put your thinking cap on for a short while for heavens sake!
Some people must have their heads buried in mud.

Don't assume we are all ignorant fools. Many of us HAVE thought about it and not had our heads buried in mud,

I've lived on board for four years cooking with metho and used gas on other boats, so like many others here have a lot of experience with both types. No, it's not really hard to re-fill metho at sea. Yes, I've had flare ups (about one per year while living on board) and chucked water over them - no issue.

Gas explosions do occur, as a simple Google shows, and they are often disastrous. Yes, in a perfect world no such thing would occur, but this is not a perfect world and those of us who choose not to take some chances ARE thinking and do NOT have our heads buried in mud.

If anyone applied anything like the same sort of precautions to metho that are necessary with gas there would be no uncontrolled metho flare ups. To compare poorly-handled metho stoves with well-handled gas is not logical - you have to assume that both are being used and installed with equal levels of competency. For example, the issue with the Adams 31 could probably have been easily solved if a bucket or extinguisher had been placed in the right area, or the forehatch open. A similar lack of foresight with gas could have been fatal.

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MichaelR said..
Seems like this topic was done about three years ago. It went from LPG compliance to talking about the best Metho stove. The Dometic Origo. The one with the cartridge you fill with metho. It's what I have and it's slow to cook, but I believe the safest of the lot.

www.seabreeze.com.au/forums/Sailing/General/LPG-Compliance?page=2

It's very subjective to call the Dometic "the best"; our latest boat came with one and despite years of experience with another Dometic device (their metho heater) and wanting a Dometic oven, we found the Dometic stove unsuitable for our purposes and we've now got a Maxie sitting on top of it. Each has its own strong and weak points and surely neither can be called "the best".

Yes, the Dometic has no chance of flare-ups. I find it harder to fill and having the use the caps to prevent evaporation is annoying, as is the extra cooking time. Others, of course, may have different needs and tastes and prefer the Dometic.

Meanwhile if anyone wants to sell a Dometic oven, drop me a line!

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lloydyboy53 said..
Can't for the life of me see why everybody is so set against gas stoves on boats!! They have been using them in cavavans for ever and how often do you hear of death and destruction there??
It all boils down to maintenance and common sense. I have had a fire on my boat when one burner on the the Maxi stove went out and the metho flowed into the drawer and cupboard underneath and the other burner ignited it. I found out when I checked the pan on the stove and singed the hair off my arm! Couldn't see or smell the flames.
BIG SPHINCTER CLENCHING MOMENT !!!!!!
Luckily, bucket of water fixed it but I would only use one burner at a time after that till I got home and stripped it down and refurbed every-thing that I possibly could on the stove.
I still carry an "exploder" and use that if I want a quick cuppa.
cheers john RL28 Pinnaroo series 100 landcruiser

One man killed in NSW in 2015; two dead in 2011 in WA; two severe injuries in 2015 in NSW; one man "fighting for life' in Victoria in 2016; four hospitalised in 2015 in one blast; the ACCC issues a recall notice because of caravans being "potential bombs".... it seems that even a quick Google shows plenty of death and destruction related to gas explosions in caravans.

Isn't there one basic and fundamental difference between a caravan and a boat? Caravans should normally allow gases to sink down and outside, where they can dissipate. In boats, gases sink and pool inside the boat where they can explode. Even then, people are getting blown up.

You can fight a fire but you can not fight an explosion

Whatever gas detector that's in our boat is super sensitive. Ignition lighter in oven doesn't work so we use a hand lighter. Fraction slow on the lighter and the gas shuts off. The sensors (2) are at floor level.