Campstove turned Galley Stove

Maine Sail · Oct 30, 2012

Nice convert but please use that carefully and with caution as it meets none off the LPG safety standards for marine use..

arf145 · Oct 30, 2012

That is a slick, very nice job. But I have to say, I wouldn't feel comfortable having a propane tank right inside the boat.

Benny17441 · Oct 30, 2012

We had a setup like that for years, and it was actually a 20 year old Primus marine stove. Ours did not come with a propane hose nor regulator so we deviced a fixture based on a regular gas grill regulator, a pressure switch (shut gas off in case of a major leak) and an adapter to use the 1lb bottles. Our stove had thermocouple switches offering protection in case the flame went out by shutting gas off. I guess we had everything but a propane tank locker which brings me to the recommendation of disconnecting the gas bottle after every use. I would not rely solely on the stove valves. I do like the gimbaling mechanism and pot holding frame on your stove. Did it come with the stove or was adapted? First class, clean installation. Never mind I just realized you used the gimbaling frame of your old alcohol stove. We could never get pot holders for ours.

sailaway78 · Oct 30, 2012

Similar setup

I have a similar set up, as I too didn't like alcohol much. Have had it for several years with no problems. One thing that I do is fill the bottles off a 20# tank. You only get about a half a bottle fill from the tank. Not a lot of propane inside the boat. The only drawback to my set up, is the bottles don't last nearly as long when half filled.

Benny17441 · Oct 30, 2012

Phil, if you stick the empty bottles in the freezer for a couple of hours before filling you can get more propane into them.

MrBill_FLL · Oct 30, 2012

I've had problems with the 1# bottles leaking after initial use. I either leave them connected, or unscrew and move them topside. the schereader (sp?) valve is suspect. I would not refill them for marine use. you could run a longer hose to a 10 or 20# bottle.

Ken Cross · Oct 30, 2012

Nice installation. The good thing I see: small bottles limit your risk in event of a leak. On a different school of thought, I"d leave the bottle connected to the stove and the shutoff at the bottle as well as turning the burner(s) off when not in use. I'd only disconnect if I were going to move the bottle topside. My reasoning is the only leak I've ever had with those small bottles was at the valve when disconnected and I've seen that a bunch of times.
I'd still love to have an oven on our boat, but don't want to give up the storage.

Merlin Clark · Oct 30, 2012

Ken Cross said:
Nice installation. The good thing I see: small bottles limit your risk in event of a leak. On a different school of thought, I"d leave the bottle connected to the stove and the shutoff at the bottle as well as turning the burner(s) off when not in use. I'd only disconnect if I were going to move the bottle topside. My reasoning is the only leak I've ever had with those small bottles was at the valve when disconnected and I've seen that a bunch of times.
I'd still love to have an oven on our boat, but don't want to give up the storage.

How about one of these?

http://www.google.com/shopping/prod...&sa=X&ei=blOQUIxcibDwBKbBgJgM&ved=0CH8Q8wIwAg

anchorclanker · Oct 31, 2012

Every bottle I have tried to unscrew and save, leaked itself empty. It would be much safer running a line from a bottle outside the cabin, with a shut off at the bottle. Then the bottle could stay connected. Just shut it off when its not in use, as well as in an emergency.

I would also steer clear of refilling them for the very reasons above, and they have no pressure relief and can too easily be overfilled and rupture.

While I am sure its not even remotely approved, its probably reasonable safe to leave the bottle connected under the stove, as long as their is a shut off at the bottle, and the bottle is in some type of mount, not free to roll around to and fro like a loose cannon.

Chris Patterson · Oct 31, 2012

The last cruising boat that I took down south had a Magma grill, and the bottles were stowed in a mesh bag, hanging on the lifelines. While I cringe a little at some of these "gypsy" boats with all manners of garbage strapped on deck, this wasn't TOO bad, considering that their propane locker was already full of the big bottles. And it appealed to my sense of cost effectiveness, even though it was a very high end cruiser.
At least they weren't rolling around down below. And on this last trip, rolling around is EXACTLY what they would have been doing..

Sail123 · Oct 31, 2012

Most everyone here knows propane is a heavier than air gas when not in liquid form, and that gas once escaped, pools in lower areas of the boat. Not a good thing.

Butane is a safer gas to use for cooking in a boat, because of the lessoned fire / explosion risk.

Your install looks nice, but your insurance company will not like it, and your modification to a standardized off the shelf camp stove made for camping, and turned into a built in marine galley stove, is not going to fly well with them.

Propane is a deadly choice, if one little leak, places fumes outside your tank, and quietly fills the bottom of your boat with explosive fumes.

The prudent thing to do, is rethink this project with a safe stove.

anchorclanker · Oct 31, 2012

Well, sailing is dangerous. Just walking out on the dock you could fall in and there you go. RV's have used propane for over half a century. Propane stoves and ovens, gas refrigerators, furnaces, water heaters, gas lights. Yet the leading cause of fires in RV's is electrical. Also, RV appliances are generally some of the cheapest garbage on the market, and most RV's are built so shoddy its amazing that more dont spontaneously combust.

Yes, propane is heavier than air. But one of its properties is its very narrow range of combustibility. Too little or too much oxygen and .... nothing. Not that thats an excuse, just something to note.

Propane detectors are available, and anyone considering using propane anywhere, in an RV, house, or boat, would be VERY wise to have one that works.

Most people with even a small modicum of common sense and intelligence can operate some of the most dangerous objects without any problem. On the other hand, some people are so stupid and ignorant, that no matter how hard society tries to protect them from themselves with safety devices and warning labels, they can still find a way to maim or kill themselves. And increasingly, many of the dumbest people actually have college degrees.

During the 1991 Halloween Blizzard, when 29 inches of snow fell in Minneapolis, over 1,100 people were admitted to Emergency rooms from sticking their hand into the chute of running snowblowers in an attempt to clear the clogged chute of heavy wet snow. Even though every snowblower since the 1950's have a flag on the chute, as well as warnings all around the chute, warning you not to. Many only had fingers amputated, some lost whole hands.

Think about it. The old sailing ships were made of wood, had wood burning stoves for heat and cooking, and carried a load of black powder below decks as well as having every rope, sail and piece of cloth soaked in cooking fat. Heck, the Whaling ships cooked down the blubber right on deck, boiling barrels of oil over wood fires, with a crew constantly three sheet to the wind. Yet imagine the screams of insanity if someone fired up a turkey fryer in their cockpit.

jsalley · Oct 31, 2012

I carry 1 pound propane bottles for my grill, and didn't want to expose them to the weather by storing them in the elements above deck. Here's what I did:
I used about a 2 ft length of 4" Schedule 40 PVC drain/sewer pipe, capped one end, and glued on a threaded cleanout fitting and screw-in cover on the other end. I installed a 5/8 ID hose barb fitting in the capped end (all of this is air- and fluid-tight). I mounted the pipe with large hose clamps under the deck, in a cockpit locker that is adjacent to the boat's propane locker. A section of 5/8 hose connects the barb on the pipe cap to a "T" barb in the propane locker's overboard drain. The pipe is precisely the right diameter to slide in 1-pound bottles, and in my installation can hold 2 of them. Just as added security, I added an extra sensor to my cabin propane sniffer system, in the bottom of the cockpit locker. Here's a couple of pix of the pipe before installation; couldn't find one after it was installed.

Bob J. · Oct 31, 2012

I think your stove & the installation looks great!
Once your done cooking you close the tank valve, doesn't get much simplier than that.

You do not have a remote tank so a pressure guage is not needed to detect a leaking gas pipe. You do not have a remote tank so an electric solenoid valve is not needed.

I'm not sure why this doesn't meet the LPG standard for marine use. Only thing that comes to mind is on a camp style stove there's no thermo coupling (sensor) to shut the gas off in the event the flame goes out on a burner.

Other than that, what else about this installation does not meet the standard because I've considered doing this very thing?

Chris Patterson · Oct 31, 2012

I will agree. The stove, and the mounting look great.

Anchor, those were beautiful words. I swear, a little tear welled up in my eyes when I read it. And while this may not meet the counsels criteria for a sailing installation, well, I submit there may be a lot out there that doesn't. A little common sense does go a long way.

I have done some incredibly stupid things in my life, and the Supreme Architect has seen me through them all. They say that God looks out for drunks and idiots. So I quit drinking and cut his work in half.

And, the P.V.C. idea is cool too.

Benny17441 · Nov 1, 2012

I cannot help but referring to the breakeage of a natural gas main in the Jersey Shores. In high concentrations even natural gas is explosive. One of their main concernes in Jersey is the danger of gas collecting in pockets under homes. Always be on guard wether you are using propane, butane or natural gas.

SayGudday · Nov 1, 2012

Nice idea.

MrBill_FLL · Nov 1, 2012

Benny17441 said:
I cannot help but referring to the breakeage of a natural gas main in the Jersey Shores. In high concentrations even natural gas is explosive. One of their main concernes in Jersey is the danger of gas collecting in pockets under homes. Always be on guard wether you are using propane, butane or natural gas.

Natural gas is lighter than air. propane and butane are not and sink. but don't know of anyone selling natural gas in bottles. (LNG)

Campstove turned Galley Stove

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