Kenyon pressurized alcohol stove

David in Sandusky · Oct 17, 2009

Gas stove dangers

Propane, butane, and other gases are heavier than air. If they leak, they will fill your cabin where they can suffocate sleepers, or blow up and burn down the boat.

So a safe inside installation has safety cut-off switches, sensors for the gas, and storage outside the hull/cabin with drainage outside the boat.

If you can pressurize the alchohol tank on your stove, you can find a leak by looking/smelling for dripping alchohol. Or, the pressure will drop if the leak is above the alchohol in the tank.

If there is no leak, and the tank holds pressure, then I'd give a try at lighting it. Absent visible signs of serious corrosion, it may well light. If not, you can release the tank pressure, then dissemble and clean the burner assembly.

I think the dangers of the alchohol stoves are overrated by some. The two danger points I have seen are burning of a little puddle of alchohol below the burner to heat up the vaporizing mixer when a flammable curtain or towel over the burner could catch fire, or losing the flame on a burner leading to a cloud of alchohol vapor that somehow gets ignited. But alchohol will dissipate, rather than pooling, and does not have the explosive energy of a gas fuel.

higgs · Oct 17, 2009

The pressurized alcohol stove is really not any more dangerous than propane or butane, but they are such a pain in the butt to use and the flare ups are disconcerting. Propane can gather in a bilge, but I have never heard of an explosion so related. Most of us turn off our tanks when not in use, thus making the possibility of build up extremely remote.

The Origo will cook anything a pressurized stove will cook with a lot less hassle. There is no pumping, no burning off a cup full of alcohol, just light it and cook. You don't have to take the Origo off the boat to learn how to use it. Light it and cook. Very simple.

Ron20324 · Oct 18, 2009

I would think the hard part would be expecting guest crew to use the stove. You know, like "first one up makes the coffee"?

Stu Jackson · Oct 18, 2009

Stove instructions

Ron20324 said:
I would think the hard part would be expecting guest crew to use the stove. You know, like "first one up makes the coffee"?

If they can't figure that out, what are they doin' on your boat?

(joke)

higgs · Oct 18, 2009

Stu - if the stove is so complicated one needs training to use it - what is it doing aboard?

zeehag · Oct 19, 2009

first one up better be me--i am only one allowed in my galley, and i awaken early and my kat doesnt make coffee..LOL

Bret O. · Oct 19, 2009

You can find a Kenyon 206 operating manual here.

Scroll down the stove manual link.

Bret O.

Ron20324 · Oct 19, 2009

zeehag said:
first one up better be me--i am only one allowed in my galley, and i awaken early and my kat doesnt make coffee..LOL

I've heard ya just can't train cats. Maybe you need a dog? ... I fix the coffee pot the night before, and use propane.

Sanjuan26 · Oct 21, 2009

For those who ar interested here are the orginial instuction for teh Kenyon stove

higgs · Oct 22, 2009

Stu: Heads Vs Stoves

When it comes to marine heads we really have no choice but to educate visitors about usage. When it comes to stoves there are certainly units a visitor can use with little training. At any rate, no one has to take their head ashore to test it out unlike what is being suggested for alcohol stoves. This is a common sense issue. I will take a stove that does not need to be shore tested and practiced.

Gail R · Oct 23, 2009

FWIW... our Pearson 30 came with a Kenyon stove. I don't recall ever removing it for "testing." We used it for years and not once did I set the boat on fire. However, I did sometimes feel the urge to move the curtains out of the way as I was lighting it.

I was perfectly happy with it, but the skipper decided it needed to be replaced with an Origo. I think he was getting tired of the whole lighting process.

I've heard that the pressurized stoves use less fuel than the non-pressurized Origo, but I never really kept track.

Once we got the Origo, I eventually made a deal with an Internet friend who was rehabbing a boat to sell and needed a stove. We met in the parking lot of the NH liquor store -- he got the Kenyon, I got some Pussers and Mount Gay, and everyone left happy.

RAD88 · Oct 23, 2009

1st of all - Call Kenyon and ask them for advice. They are very helpful.
2nd - pump up the stove and look for leaks. No leaks? proceed to
3rd - Allow a small amount of fuel into the depression below the burner and light it. Let this burn off completely. This is the pre- heating step - the most important part. Then open the valve and light the burner.
I have used this kind of stove for 40 years and never had a problem. You have to follow the procedure or it will flare up. The pre-heating is the key to no flare ups. There is no reason to remove the stove from the boat to try it. If the stove does flare up just - turn the valve off and the flame will burn out in a second. Then open the valve and relight. There is no need to be afraid of this. You will be in control of the situation if you follow the directions. As for complicated - I just re-read the directions - all 4 of them. So, its not too complicated.
The only reason everyone is afraid of this stove is they probably did not learn to use it correctly.
You can also use the stove to heat the cabin on cold days. Alcohol does not give off carbon monoxide. It produces carbon dioxide - same as we exhale on every breath.
As for the other fuels, propane is only usable if you have an outside storage locker. There are documented cases of boat explosions due to propane in the bilge. A leaking hose from the outside locker could have the same effect. Butane is alittle safer but still pressurized in a can and the seal between the can and stove can leak and the can can rust through.

higgs · Oct 23, 2009

Using an Origo - compare to last post

1. Remove rubber seal over pot
2. Use a long necked lighter to ignite canister
3. Cook

sailingdog · Oct 24, 2009

I'd point out that a very large number of boat-related fires were due to pressurized alcohol stoves, as pointed out in BoatUS's book Seaworthy, and as the use of pressurized alcohol stoves has gone down, so has the number of fires.

A couple of points about alcohol as a fuel...

First, the flames from alcohol fires can be very difficult to see, as they often burn a very light blue or nearly clear. This is especially the case in daylight. This can make it hard to tell if there is a fire or not... until you get close enough to feel the heat.

Second, alcohol fumes are heavier than air, and as such can collect in the bilge.

Third, alcohol fires can be spread by water, and water is NOT a good medium to use to put out an alcohol fire for this reason. Alcohol can burn fairly well down to about 40% alcohol by volume... if you don't believe me, try lighting some whiskey or brandy on fire some time.

Personally, I wouldn't recommend using a pressurized alcohol stove on a boat. The Origo-type non-pressurized stoves are far safer...if a bit more primitive.

Samwill557 · Nov 14, 2009

Re: Bob M

higgs said:
I got by with pressurized alcohol stoves for many years thinking they were just fine. Once i ran into an Origo stove my perspective on this subject was forever altered.

Which Origo stove is best? I have a new-to-me Hunter H26 that is stoveless, but has a big whole where the original had been.

Sam

Stu Jackson · Nov 14, 2009

Samwill557 said:
Which Origo stove is best?

Sam, they only make one kind of stove, choice is one burner or two. Other models include electric heat above the canisters. most likely not applicable to your size boat.

bffatcat · Nov 15, 2009

for higgs

and some of us dont have any trouble Alcohol stoves are reliable All you have to do is know how to use it correctly 40 years no trouble on a pressurized stove read my other post on this thread

Kenyon pressurized alcohol stove

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