the best galley stove for cruising

[Bill Stebbins]

When I bought my CD 28 (power)last year, it had no stove in the galley. Experience with alcohol pressure stoves on a previous sail boat (ok but a bit of a bother) and the newer alcohol stoves like the Origo from Sweden (fine for heating or boiling but very difficult to get the fine gradations in the heat for simmering) have led to me to ask the question: Of the smaller marine stoves what works best? I realize that propane is the most popular and has many advantages. But what about Butane which is lighter than air and wont descend to the bilge like propane, but the gas may be harder to find while cruising. Any comments from Butane users? Finally I know nothing about natural gas. Is it even feasible on a boat?



stebbins@umich.edu

[Tom]

When I bought my CD 28 (power)last year, it had no stove in the galley. Experience with alcohol pressure stoves on a previous sail boat (ok but a bit of a bother) and the newer alcohol stoves like the Origo from Sweden (fine for heating or boiling but very difficult to get the fine gradations in the heat for simmering) have led to me to ask the question: Of the smaller marine stoves what works best? I realize that propane is the most popular and has many advantages. But what about Butane which is lighter than air and wont descend to the bilge like propane, but the gas may be harder to find while cruising. Any comments from Butane users? Finally I know nothing about natural gas. Is it even feasible on a boat?

My CD 31 came stock with a CNG stove(Compressed Natural Gas). UPS used to ship the cylinders, but about 5 years ago decided you had to pay a surcharge to ship flammable gas. This made CNG impractical as the price became prohibitive. Well, I should qualify that to say that if you have a local dealer and only sail locally it would still work. For real cruising which you mentioned in your post I would say it's impractical as it has become very difficult to find. I switched my stove over to propane and have found it ideal, but of course you have to treat it with respect and design the installation properly. Virtually every cruising boat we run into uses propane except for a few people who have been reading old crusing books from the 30's that say that kerosene is the most readily available fuel. Not so. Even in remote parts of the world people now use propane.

I have never heard of butane on a boat. Butane is essentially propane and I never heard that it is lighter than air. I may be wrong but I wonder if you haven't mixed CNG which IS lighter than air with butane. I've used both kerosene and alcohol stoves and they are OK when you want to boil water or otherwise use them full bore, but they do not simmer well and the ovens are tricky at low settings, blow out, lose pressure, soot up and do a lot of other nasty things like start fires.

If you are talking about serious cruising, Propane is the fuel of choice and you need a sealed box with an overboard drain, a remote switch and all the things that make it safe to use. It's just my opinion but it's what I and most cruiser's have chosen after trying them all.



TacCambria@thegrid.net

[Buzz]

Although my boat is significantly smaller than yours, I have been a satisfied Butane user for years. I use a "Glowmaster" single burner marine stove, available in some chandleries. A similar stove, a "Kenyon" I think, is available at West Marine. Non-marinized versions are sometimes available at gourmet food shops, sold as a buffet server or warmer.

Unfortunately it seems to be a common misconception that Butane is lighter than air. It's not, and has all the risks attendant to propane.

The biggest problem with the Glowmaster is it seems only to have two heat settings: hot and real hot. That said we've used ours for six years with absolutely no problems. It operates on 13 oz. (I think-about as big as a can of "Raid") canisters, each providing about 4 hours operation. A canister sells for about $4.00, and we haven't had a lot of trouble finding them (again, West carries the fuel).

The unit is basically foolproof: a positive lock prevents misloading a canister, a thermocouple automatically shuts off the gas flow should there be a flame out from a boil over or wind, and it has piezo-electric ignition. The fuel has an oderant to help you detect leaks (which we've never experenced), although there is no odor when it is lit and operating. The burner unit is brass (maybe bronze) so we've never noticed any corrosion. You can get accessories for them (pot holders, etc.). The basic cost is about $60.00. I'm not suggesting this is a good substitute for a 3 burner propane unit with an oven and broiler, but if you want cheap, simple, reliable, space saving and absolutely no installation hassle you might want to look into it. And, at the end of the season, throw the unit in your bag and take it home. It does make a good buffet server or a back up in case of a power outage.



akpjr@landmarknet.net

[Jim]

When I bought my CD 28 (power)last year, it had no stove in the galley. Experience with alcohol pressure stoves on a previous sail boat (ok but a bit of a bother) and the newer alcohol stoves like the Origo from Sweden (fine for heating or boiling but very difficult to get the fine gradations in the heat for simmering) have led to me to ask the question: Of the smaller marine stoves what works best? I realize that propane is the most popular and has many advantages. But what about Butane which is lighter than air and wont descend to the bilge like propane, but the gas may be harder to find while cruising. Any comments from Butane users? Finally I know nothing about natural gas. Is it even feasible on a boat?

My CD 31 came stock with a CNG stove(Compressed Natural Gas). UPS used to ship the cylinders, but about 5 years ago decided you had to pay a surcharge to ship flammable gas. This made CNG impractical as the price became prohibitive. Well, I should qualify that to say that if you have a local dealer and only sail locally it would still work. For real cruising which you mentioned in your post I would say it's impractical as it has become very difficult to find. I switched my stove over to propane and have found it ideal, but of course you have to treat it with respect and design the installation properly. Virtually every cruising boat we run into uses propane except for a few people who have been reading old crusing books from the 30's that say that kerosene is the most readily available fuel. Not so. Even in remote parts of the world people now use propane.

I have never heard of butane on a boat. Butane is essentially propane and I never heard that it is lighter than air. I may be wrong but I wonder if you haven't mixed CNG which IS lighter than air with butane. I've used both kerosene and alcohol stoves and they are OK when you want to boil water or otherwise use them full bore, but they do not simmer well and the ovens are tricky at low settings, blow out, lose pressure, soot up and do a lot of other nasty things like start fires.

If you are talking about serious cruising, Propane is the fuel of choice and you need a sealed box with an overboard drain, a remote switch and all the things that make it safe to use. It's just my opinion but it's what I and most cruiser's have chosen after trying them all.

For the record, butane is heavier than air. Butane is a 4 carbon hydrocarbon (CH3CH2CH2CH3) with a molecular weight of 58. Propane, a three-carbon hydrocarbon (CH3CH2CH3) is lighter,with a molecular weight of 44, but it is still heavier than air. Remember, air is about 80% Nitrogen (N2) with a molecular weight of 28 and 20% Oxygen (O2) with a molecular weight of 32 so both butane and propane are heavier.



Smileyj@cofc.edu

[Rich]

When I bought my CD 28 (power)last year, it had no stove in the galley. Experience with alcohol pressure stoves on a previous sail boat (ok but a bit of a bother) and the newer alcohol stoves like the Origo from Sweden (fine for heating or boiling but very difficult to get the fine gradations in the heat for simmering) have led to me to ask the question: Of the smaller marine stoves what works best? I realize that propane is the most popular and has many advantages. But what about Butane which is lighter than air and wont descend to the bilge like propane, but the gas may be harder to find while cruising. Any comments from Butane users? Finally I know nothing about natural gas. Is it even feasible on a boat?

I agree that the Glowmaster is an excellent alternative to the Origo alcohol stove. There is certainly plenty of room in the galley for it and its much less of a hassle to light and control. I first used it on board our F-27 which because it was a trimaran, had very limited galley space.
Another alternative (portable) is the Seacock stove. It is a gimbled one-burner stove which uses the standard propane bottle. It is attached to a mount from which it can easily be disconnected. Care must be given to select the right place in the galley so that it has room to swing, as well as room for the propane bottle which hangs below it. It worked well in our CD-33 but I have not used it in our power CD-28. It requires 14" swing radius and 15" out from the bulkhead.



RADenning@aol.com

[sam]

I agree with Tom. Propane. I have had boats with alcohol which power squadron used to tell us was safe cuz a fire could be put out with water. We had one doused it with water and the flame rode happily on the top of the water all around the counter. It has little heat value and is expensive to get. We had a shipmate kerosene stove and a kerosene 'sea swing' on another boat. Worked well until we got some bad kerosene and then I never could keep the jet clean. So if you go this way put in good filters. You will need to pre heat the burner with alchol as well. The fumes can be smelly especially at start up.
CNG is essentially unavailable outside the US, where you can get it, it is expensive and a tank of it does not last as long as Propane.

You need the outside venting with propane. You will want a remote shutoff solenoid at the tank. You might want to consider a 'sniffer' to warn you of any leaks altho mine packed it in after about a year. We turn off the remote solenoid before turning off the burner to drain propane from the line and are always alert to the smell of propane. After 14 years of cruising with it we have had no problems. Force 10 makes great propane equipment, if one of their products meets your needs I'd recommend you consider it.