And so it begins
- Thread starter 25yearslater
- Start date
Electrical, check. Engine, check. Mast, standing by. Bottom, prepped and ready for paint. Stove, stove? What stove? Oh yeah the stove. So afterr looking at the alcohol stoves and recovering from the sticker shock I went a different way. YOT came with an old Homestrand pressure alcohol stove that quite honestly scared me with its' age. After testing it off the boat it was quite evident that this was going to render 2 years of work all for nothing. What to do. A conversion that was efficient and super safe. I started by finding two dog dishes of stainless steel. Cut the existing pans out to a size slightly smaller than the lips of the dog dishes. Buy some stainless strip, .062 X 1" and make straps that are attached to the dishes. Attach these to the bottom of the stove and insert, get this, Sterno can. The socket head cap screws affixing the dishes hold the Sterno in the center. Solid alcohol fuel. No problems with storing gallon cans of alcohol and the ever present danger of a fire when refueling. Simply replace the cans.
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interesting solution. I have seen them used to keep things warm but is there enough heat output for actually cooking? How long say to boil water for coffee? I'm not being a critic, I am wondering if you've tried to cook and what the results have been. i have a propane stove and want to replace it with an Origo alcohol stove for safety and because I need a new solenoid (high dollar item) and my oven doesn't work. At 27 years old I have to assume hoses are shot too, so a new propane upgrade will be more expensive than an Origo, but the Origo is quite pricey. I installed a two burner Origo in my old Catalina 25 and I loved it. Simple, fuel easy to find but expensive, and safer than pressurized alcohol or a bad propane installation.
Thanks boatsail. Hi jibes. As it happens the water is boiling after 25 minutes for a full up teapot. Not great but adequate. A smaller pot might be better. Defender has a cookmate 2 burner for about 240.00. Next year I will probably upgrade. Wife says first thing she is going to cook is bacon. Thanks dear love ya lots.
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Hi Joe,
Don't sell that sterno stove short. Sterno is used everywhere in the restaurant business. It's a great product for sailboats. Get a electrical hotplate for cooking at the dock. I'm starting to fool with the propane BBQ that came with my boat. You may want to consider such an item. You could keep your sterno stove since this BBQ can cook everything else.
Don't sell that sterno stove short. Sterno is used everywhere in the restaurant business. It's a great product for sailboats. Get a electrical hotplate for cooking at the dock. I'm starting to fool with the propane BBQ that came with my boat. You may want to consider such an item. You could keep your sterno stove since this BBQ can cook everything else.
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Not sure about the sterno thing. Don't think that you'll get the heat you want. I've rebuilt my alcohol stove it's not the best, but it works. I can cook up an omelette pretty quick. Best would be propane, but the cost to retrofit gets pretty high. Best thing about going propane is that you can always use it to run a heater too.
Ruidh, where have you been? I've got the emblems for you. So back to this stove thingy. It does seem to work and definately easier to mange than the fireball emanating from the pressurized unit. Since this will be the year of training a crew and short hops as well as wringing her out it will do. Next year as I said an upgrade will be in order. One thing I am not fond of on the 27 is the stove is under the quarter deck. It seems there isn't much room to locate it in an area where the vertical clearance provides a buffer to the heat. This alone is a limiting factor on this particular Oday model. Besides all that when I cook I am always aware we are carbon based creatures so we need our daily ration of carbon. So much for my culinary skills.
Cooktops
This sounds like a nice discussion for the off season.
I have a few things I can add about cook stoves:
Sure Marine out in Seattle rebuilds / stocks important parts that are no longer available for old O"Day and other stoves. I sold them many parts of my old stove/oven before I pitched it. I encourage everyone to do this as well. The store credit is nice and we all need to to do our share in keeping these boats alive.
I want to put another plug in for a gas grill. For about the same $$ you pay for an alcohol or propane cook top, you can get a very nice stainless outdoor grill.
Add this guy. http://www.chefscatalog.com/product...de=DW1GG1036&gclid=COCmoubij7MCFQSqnQodYWkAAA
and you can cook anything on it. Steaks to eggs.
I admit, This is not a great solution for coffee. I'm still researching this myself. Coleman has an automatic drip coffeemaker that is designed to sit over a gas or (other) cook top. Looks just like a standard drip coffeemaker but does not have a heating element.
I'm also considering a standard drip to run off my inverter.
This sounds like a nice discussion for the off season.
I have a few things I can add about cook stoves:
Sure Marine out in Seattle rebuilds / stocks important parts that are no longer available for old O"Day and other stoves. I sold them many parts of my old stove/oven before I pitched it. I encourage everyone to do this as well. The store credit is nice and we all need to to do our share in keeping these boats alive.
I want to put another plug in for a gas grill. For about the same $$ you pay for an alcohol or propane cook top, you can get a very nice stainless outdoor grill.
Add this guy. http://www.chefscatalog.com/product...de=DW1GG1036&gclid=COCmoubij7MCFQSqnQodYWkAAA
and you can cook anything on it. Steaks to eggs.
I admit, This is not a great solution for coffee. I'm still researching this myself. Coleman has an automatic drip coffeemaker that is designed to sit over a gas or (other) cook top. Looks just like a standard drip coffeemaker but does not have a heating element.
I'm also considering a standard drip to run off my inverter.
Panta, thanks for the heads up about Sure Marine.
For coffee when off the grid, I use a French Press. Just boil a pot of water, pour, stir and steep for a few minutes.
For coffee when off the grid, I use a French Press. Just boil a pot of water, pour, stir and steep for a few minutes.
Scott, your use of a french press says you have our taste in coffee. We use that as well but we are hoping for a less labor intense solution and one that generates a larger yield. It's common to have 4 or more serous coffee drinkers on board.
We found the french press to require too much water for cleanup. Switched to the Aero Press. Can make up to 8 cups weak or 4 strong coffees. MUCH easier cleanup.
Yes indeed the French press is a pia to clean. Does make some righteous coffee though. I usually make several batches and put in our trusty Stanley thermos.
Thanks for the tip gettinthere, never heard of an Aero Press before, but definitely gonna get one.
Thanks for the tip gettinthere, never heard of an Aero Press before, but definitely gonna get one.
OK so I checked the BTU ratings for various fuels and stoves. The sterno is going to be weak at 2500. Surprisingly the CookMate alcohol delivers 6800 which is 200 more than the propane. That will be a next year project as my big expenses are about to hit with moving, registration, dockage and so forth. The Aero press looks like a good idea. I love coffee in large volumes so that is a must have for Lake Ontario this year. Thanks guys.
Once again thanks 25 for your research. I thought that Sterno would be low, but never thought that alcohol would beat out propane. Perhaps the difference is the particular model of propane stove. I also thought that the non-pressurized alcohol would be closer to Sterno's output, being similar technology.
Interesting developments. I checked out an Origo and they are 7000 btu's. Not sure what the difference is to a cookmate except 200 btus and 100 dollars in cost. I had a two burner Origo for several years. I really loved the simplicity of it. In my 35 I am thinking of going with a 2 burner Origo and then mounting a microwave below it where an oven would normally be. Later 35's installed a microwave in the cabinet above the stove but my year didn't. Microwaves are great to heat water for coffee. I really like instant coffee, fast, no messy grinds. Not much space used up to store all the ground coffee. An origo stove with oven is 1500 bucks, a two burner is 349 plus the gimbal so call it 400. Another hundred or so for a microwave and some wood to install it, maybe 500 bucks versus 1500.
I was at Gander Mountain today. Found a propane powered coffee maker. Intended for work sites and campers. Don't think I would trust it below.
Also found high quality vinyl fenders for a fraction of the west marine price. I checked them on line. They are made in china for Overton's. same life time guarantee.
Also found high quality vinyl fenders for a fraction of the west marine price. I checked them on line. They are made in china for Overton's. same life time guarantee.