Alcohol Stove
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Pressurized Alcohol vs Origo
You can either spend your time and money constantly fixing, cleaning and replacing parts on a presurized stove or go out and replace it with an Origo and spend your time sailing. In my opinion, they're much safer and easier to operate as well.
You can either spend your time and money constantly fixing, cleaning and replacing parts on a presurized stove or go out and replace it with an Origo and spend your time sailing. In my opinion, they're much safer and easier to operate as well.
Pressurized Alcohol
I don't know what kind of stove you have but if it is pressurized I would get rid of it and get an Origo. We had a pressurized one and you pump it a few times and get a little bit of alcohol in the primer cup and light that. As it heats up the line with alcohol in it you start to open the valve to get the burner to light. Before this you may want to have your picture taken so you can remember what you looked like while you still had eyebrows. If the alcohol isn't hot enough to vaporize you get more alcohol in the cup and then it flares up or if the boat rocks now it is running under the stove and you have fire where you don't want it. If it gets to hot and you open it up now you have the top of the cabin on fire or at least melting the liner. All this just to heat up some hot dogs. Then you come to the expence of keeping them going. The needle valve always seems to need work and the filters always need cleaned or replaced. Other that that they work fine. On the other hand with the origo you dump alcohol in the container that has some kind of wool in it, open the valve and light it. It works on the same principle as the old bunson burners you made at camp in the 6th grade. This is my humble opionion on alcohol stoves. Others may have not had any problems. We have an Origo and we love it. Rob Morton
I don't know what kind of stove you have but if it is pressurized I would get rid of it and get an Origo. We had a pressurized one and you pump it a few times and get a little bit of alcohol in the primer cup and light that. As it heats up the line with alcohol in it you start to open the valve to get the burner to light. Before this you may want to have your picture taken so you can remember what you looked like while you still had eyebrows. If the alcohol isn't hot enough to vaporize you get more alcohol in the cup and then it flares up or if the boat rocks now it is running under the stove and you have fire where you don't want it. If it gets to hot and you open it up now you have the top of the cabin on fire or at least melting the liner. All this just to heat up some hot dogs. Then you come to the expence of keeping them going. The needle valve always seems to need work and the filters always need cleaned or replaced. Other that that they work fine. On the other hand with the origo you dump alcohol in the container that has some kind of wool in it, open the valve and light it. It works on the same principle as the old bunson burners you made at camp in the 6th grade. This is my humble opionion on alcohol stoves. Others may have not had any problems. We have an Origo and we love it. Rob Morton
Pot of water
Take a pot and fill it half way with water. Place it over the burner you are going to light. Open the valve to allow alcohol into the cup under the burner. Shut off the valve. Light the alcohol in the cup. When it is burned off, turn the valve on. Light the burner and adjust for usable height. The pot will keep any tall flames from reaching too high and give you a chance to adjust the flame. You should be hearing a whoosh sound from the burner. If the flame isn't blue or almost invisible, the air vent needs to be adjusted on the burner; this is done with the valve off and no flame.
Take a pot and fill it half way with water. Place it over the burner you are going to light. Open the valve to allow alcohol into the cup under the burner. Shut off the valve. Light the alcohol in the cup. When it is burned off, turn the valve on. Light the burner and adjust for usable height. The pot will keep any tall flames from reaching too high and give you a chance to adjust the flame. You should be hearing a whoosh sound from the burner. If the flame isn't blue or almost invisible, the air vent needs to be adjusted on the burner; this is done with the valve off and no flame.
Cookin' with gas
The BEST thing out there is the Forespar Mini-Galley or the similar Sea Swing Stove formerly marketed by J Stuart Haft. $100. Can't beat it. It is fired by plain old bottled gas, the same spin-on cans we use for the cheap little picnic grille in the cockpit and the Coleman lantern in the cabin. It can be used underway at even awkward heel angles. It can be moved to alternate mounting brackets-- like out to the cockpit! It will boil enough water for 4 cups of tea or instant oatmeal for the family. It will heat pork'n'beans or Dinty Moore or Spaghetti-O's or anything that comes in a can. There are other cooking-tins you can get for it to fry and percolate coffee. It is all stainless and very high-quality, made for long-distance voyaging. Many a guy has gone to sea with only this to cook hot meals, and no one ever complains about it. I guess you really have to ask yourself how much chef-style cooking you are going to do on a 25-ft boat in which you can't even stand up. JC 2
The BEST thing out there is the Forespar Mini-Galley or the similar Sea Swing Stove formerly marketed by J Stuart Haft. $100. Can't beat it. It is fired by plain old bottled gas, the same spin-on cans we use for the cheap little picnic grille in the cockpit and the Coleman lantern in the cabin. It can be used underway at even awkward heel angles. It can be moved to alternate mounting brackets-- like out to the cockpit! It will boil enough water for 4 cups of tea or instant oatmeal for the family. It will heat pork'n'beans or Dinty Moore or Spaghetti-O's or anything that comes in a can. There are other cooking-tins you can get for it to fry and percolate coffee. It is all stainless and very high-quality, made for long-distance voyaging. Many a guy has gone to sea with only this to cook hot meals, and no one ever complains about it. I guess you really have to ask yourself how much chef-style cooking you are going to do on a 25-ft boat in which you can't even stand up. JC 2
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