Origo stove...gimbal or drop in?

woodster · Dec 11, 2014

I put gimbaled in mine i can use it gimbaled or stationary...i have two one for the boat and one for my shop

shemandr · Dec 11, 2014

How much do you cook underway? In an anchorage hopefully you're not rolling enough to need gimbaled.
We had the Origno in our Ranger and in the Mark 25 and found it very satisfactory. But we needed to cover the burners with a rubber disk to reduce evaporation on the Mark because I think the closures didn't seal very well. Neither were gimbaled.

Steve Dion · Dec 11, 2014

I do not think that the original H30's had a gimbal. They had the 4000 that you are referring to.

Alan Gomes · Dec 11, 2014

kito said:
I decided to not even mess with running propane into the cabin to my new drop-in Atwood 3 burner propane stove top. I am going to pull it out and find either a Origo 3000 with their gimbal kit or a drop-in 4000 that cannot be gimbaled. Question is, is having a gimbaled stove top worth it or more of a p.i.t.a.? I know propane cooks hotter but not a big deal. I used a Origo before and didn't have a problem with it except for maybe the horrible smell of burnt de-natured alcohol. I am leaning more towards the drop-in version with the pot holder kit.

I pulled my Force 10 propane cooktop and replaced it with a Cookmate two burner non-pressurized alcohol. The Cookmate is an Origo clone that uses non-pressurized canisters that are in every respect identical. It dropped into the same cavity with little modification. It is not gimbaled and I've not found that to be a problem so far, even in a rolly anchorage. There are clamp on pot holders made for it but I've not seen a need for them.

As for the smell, experiment with different brands of alcohol because I think there is a difference. I've not had a real issue with smell. I'm using the Crown brand from Lowe's. One bit of technique that can help is to first run the burner at low heat to let the alcohol vaporize. Most of the smell happens when the burner is not sufficiently hot. Also, there's usually no need to "floor it" for most applications. I truly don't miss my propane cooktop one bit; I find that that alcohol stove cooks my bacon and eggs and heats water for coffee just as well as the propane stove ever did.

As for covering the canisters, a cheaper way to go than buying the pre-made covers is to get a sheet of neoprene rubber from McMaster-Carr and cut yourself a few discs from it with a scissors. Try McMaster-Carr number 8525T31 for $3.92.

centerline · Dec 11, 2014

a gimbal can be a PITA, especially if it isnt balanced correctly.... good gimbaling isnt just a matter of putting a pivot pointl in the mounting of it.
if you dont get the pivot high enough, the stove will tilt out of level too far to be of any use when you put a pan of soup on the burner, and if you get the pivots too high, the swinging of the stove will get out of time with the motion of the boat and can actually buck the contents out of the pan....

and if there isnt a way to lock the gimbal on any gimbaled stove, it wont pass ABYC standards... but when they are set up correctly, they are nice., but im not sure the origo has enough weight to gimbal it properly without adding weight to the bottom of it. the plus side to the origo is that any pan that sets on it will be centered over the burners, unlike a 3-burner stove...

the pivot point should be about 2.5"-3 above the surface of the stove where the pan sets for the best results....

woodster · Dec 11, 2014

kito said:
You're right Steve, didn't see any evidence of a gimbal mount....just an empty hole when I bought it. But I did see an old rusted out drop-in Kenyon in his trash pile though Not sure if Origo was even around in 79.

the Origo stove invented by Bengt Ebbeson in 1979 and manufactured by Swedish company Dometic AB, the leading manufacturer of alcohol stoves and appliances worldwide. The Origo stove, recognized as the best alcohol stove available, is popular in the leisure markets in the U.S. and Europe, commonly for boating and camping use.[10] The stove’s working life is to projected to be 5–10 years for daily use.[10] Project Gaia works to adapt the stove to local cooking needs and habits. Some of the adaptations made to the CleanCook include the slight raising and redesign of the pot-stand to allow for larger pots and for more oxygen to reach the flame, and the addition of handles to make transport and refill of the stove easier.

Merlin Clark · Dec 11, 2014

Big difference between the old style alcohol stove and todays. Only fire I've ever had on a boat in about 30 years of sailing was a pressurized stove. It now resides in Davy Jones locker!
The Origo I have burns almost as hot as propane and doesn't stink. May be your fuel.

Benny17441 · Dec 11, 2014

A while back I ran into a two burner non pressurized Origo stove but the kicker is that it also has two electric elements over the burners. I always thought it would be a good hybrid to use under way or with a marina shorepower. I have not been able to justify parting with our propane stove but I do use the Origo for outside cooking in an RV. Forgot what the number model for the unit was but it could have been 5000 or 6000. I made a wood frame for it and it looks and works great.

Kestle · Dec 11, 2014

I regularly go to Catalina Island, and have an Origo. I've considered the gimbals, but have not found a set that work with the stove on a countertop (we don't have a cutaway).

If you don't use gimbals, you WILL WANT potholders...especially with beams narrower than 9 feet.

Jeff

Charlie Jones s/v Tehani · Dec 11, 2014

LOL
well, gimbaling can be nice when you want coffee

Pic NOT adjusted for heel angle

Ron20324 · Dec 11, 2014

shemandr said:
... But we needed to cover the burners with a rubber disk to reduce evaporation on the Mark because I think the closures didn't seal very well.....

The unit should have come with rubber discs to put on the burners for that purpose. Also, the later models had a flame spreader over top the burners.

centerline · Dec 11, 2014

Kestle said:
If you don't use gimbals, you WILL WANT potholders...especially with beams narrower than 9 feet.

Jeff

gimbals or not, the potholders are a safety thing that should be used ANYTIME the stove is being used while the boat is away from the protection of the dock...

before I got my potholders, when the boat rocked on anchor during a powerboat wake, the tea kettle, half full of water could walk itself off the burner as the water sloshed inside of it...

I highly recommend the potholders or a fiddle around the stove on any boat to prevent hot spills....

Kito..... there is no provision on the stove for adjusting the heigth of the gimbal.
its all in how the gimbal is built.
the origo 3000 cannot have gimbals attached to the sides of the top half of it... the stove has to open to access the fuel canisters, and the sides have to swing up with the rest of the stovetop, as its all one piece.
i think the ones that can be purchased have the pivot a bit lower than it should be, but thats the way it is

Ron20324 · Dec 11, 2014

centerline said:
...the origo 3000 cannot have gimbals attached to the sides of it... ....

Wrong- there are gimbals for the 3000. Defender, $110.

Running Late · Dec 11, 2014

cookmate and stove

I had a 1981 Hillerange pressurized alcohol stove/range that worked, but with spouse/guests not so much.

After using a fire-extinguisher once to often, I came up with a compromise that works remarkably well. I wanted to keep the gimballs, did not want pressurized EtOH top stove but wanted the oven.

My solution:
Dismantle the top range burners and replace with a Cookmate nonpressurized 2 burner range. The original Hillerange pressurized stove remains and the frame remains gimballed. The Oven works well and is useful for occasional baking but is not fraught with flashback issues that the top range was. (I actually bought a new Campstove ETOH tank for the oven a fews years ago)

I love the Cookmate. It fills and lights easily, it boils a large teapot in 5-7 minutes and has no flashback issues. I was able to retain my original Gimbal setup for Stove/range and have functional oven and range for cost of the Cookmate which was pretty darn cheap (from Oswego).

Will try to post pics of this setup-it looks like standard stove setup unless carefully inspected.

Took me 20 minutes to take apart the top of the Hillerange. Only regret was not doing this 6 years ago when I bought the boat.

Chris O

Running Late
Original deathtrap
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=83010&stc=1&d=1418370965

top burners replaced with Cookmate nonpressurized stove with Gimbals and oven intact
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=83006&stc=1&d=1418370434

Teapot after 5 minutes-ready to make coffee
http://forums.catalina.sailboatowners.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=83011&stc=1&d=1418371019

Origo stove...gimbal or drop in?

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