I am looking into purchasing a 1984 C-30 that has a pressurized alcohol stove with oven in the galley. I currently own a C-22, without any cooking facilities. In the past I believe that I have heard horror stories about pressurized alcohol stoves being dangerous. Is it user error/fear that is perceived as dangerous, or should the stove/oven never be used? What experience have y'all had with this setup? Thanks, Mark
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Jamie Taylor
Yes, they can be a problem.
I also have a 84 C-30 with this stove and after using it twice (once OK, once with big problems) have removed the fuel and will not use it again. Yes, achohol stove can be dangerous because the flame can be hard to see. If you do use it make sure you have fresh fuel.
I also have a 84 C-30 with this stove and after using it twice (once OK, once with big problems) have removed the fuel and will not use it again. Yes, achohol stove can be dangerous because the flame can be hard to see. If you do use it make sure you have fresh fuel.
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George
Good and Bad
Let me start by saying that I have a pressurized alcohol stove on our '76 C27 with no oven. Its just the two burner Princess model. My understanding is that the pressurized alcohol stoves have pluses and minuses to them, like everything else. The big risk is flareups of the alcohol if too much is permitted to be exposed by excess pressure, etc. In essence you start the stove by letting enough alcohol out to partially fill the little pool in the bottom of the pan. You then turn the burner off, and then light the alcohol sitting in the pan so that it will burn off and in the process "preheat" the burner. Right before it all burns away you slowly turn the burner on and in theory it will be hot enought to vaporize the alcohol that now is delivered to it, and then burn that vapor. The risk of flare-up as I understand it is that if you turn it on too fast or too far, you will supply too much alcohol for it to vaporize and the excess in liquid form will catch fire and flare up. As long as you are careful you should be able to avoid that. The big benefit of alcohol stoves as I understand it is the fumes. The alcohol fumes, vapor, etc. are lighter than air, and as a result, any that leak out will tend to rise and dissapate out through the hatch, etc. Propane (LP gas) on the other hand is heavier than air and will tend to fall and collect in the lowest area it can get to. Thus in the event of a leak or accidental release of gas it will tend to sink to the floor or bilge and collect there. As such it takes it alot longer to dissapate. If you don't know about a leak or accidental discharge and light something or have a spark, you can in theory then cause the propane to ignite (ie - blow up). You also get into issues surrounding proper storage of the propane tanks, etc. which can be a bit of a pain. My understanding is that CNG (compressed natural gas) essentially works the same as propane. If money weren't an issue, I'd probably opt for the non-pressurized alcohol stoves that are available. I think an outfit called Origo or something like that makes them. I believe that the risk of flareups is supposed to be much smaller with the lack of pressure. If you ckeck around on the C27 websites, you may be able to find a copy of the manual for the Princess alcohol stoves which does a pretty good job of covering what the situation is. Let me close by saying that I'm not an expert on these so if I have mis-stated something, hopefully someone will correct it. George
Let me start by saying that I have a pressurized alcohol stove on our '76 C27 with no oven. Its just the two burner Princess model. My understanding is that the pressurized alcohol stoves have pluses and minuses to them, like everything else. The big risk is flareups of the alcohol if too much is permitted to be exposed by excess pressure, etc. In essence you start the stove by letting enough alcohol out to partially fill the little pool in the bottom of the pan. You then turn the burner off, and then light the alcohol sitting in the pan so that it will burn off and in the process "preheat" the burner. Right before it all burns away you slowly turn the burner on and in theory it will be hot enought to vaporize the alcohol that now is delivered to it, and then burn that vapor. The risk of flare-up as I understand it is that if you turn it on too fast or too far, you will supply too much alcohol for it to vaporize and the excess in liquid form will catch fire and flare up. As long as you are careful you should be able to avoid that. The big benefit of alcohol stoves as I understand it is the fumes. The alcohol fumes, vapor, etc. are lighter than air, and as a result, any that leak out will tend to rise and dissapate out through the hatch, etc. Propane (LP gas) on the other hand is heavier than air and will tend to fall and collect in the lowest area it can get to. Thus in the event of a leak or accidental release of gas it will tend to sink to the floor or bilge and collect there. As such it takes it alot longer to dissapate. If you don't know about a leak or accidental discharge and light something or have a spark, you can in theory then cause the propane to ignite (ie - blow up). You also get into issues surrounding proper storage of the propane tanks, etc. which can be a bit of a pain. My understanding is that CNG (compressed natural gas) essentially works the same as propane. If money weren't an issue, I'd probably opt for the non-pressurized alcohol stoves that are available. I think an outfit called Origo or something like that makes them. I believe that the risk of flareups is supposed to be much smaller with the lack of pressure. If you ckeck around on the C27 websites, you may be able to find a copy of the manual for the Princess alcohol stoves which does a pretty good job of covering what the situation is. Let me close by saying that I'm not an expert on these so if I have mis-stated something, hopefully someone will correct it. George
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Stu
CNG does not act like propane
George, I agreed with your response except for the part that CNG (compressed natural gas) is the same as propane. CNG is lighter than air and will dissipate as alcohol does. The CNG fumes do not "sink" as do those of propane.
George, I agreed with your response except for the part that CNG (compressed natural gas) is the same as propane. CNG is lighter than air and will dissipate as alcohol does. The CNG fumes do not "sink" as do those of propane.
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Jack Gilmour
15 years of good service.
Our two burner Optimus Princess gave good service for 15 years. Burners then needed replacement and the fuel tank developed a leak. We couldn't obtain repair parts so replaced it with an origo. The Origo worked well but was much dirtier. It blackened our cooking utensils severly. If I could keep up the Princess I would use it. Never had a "Flare-up" in 15 years. Our new boat has propane which is much scarier than alcohol due to the possibility of gas in the bilge. It has a solenoid but we always shut it off with the tank valve. It is also harder to come by than alcohol.
Our two burner Optimus Princess gave good service for 15 years. Burners then needed replacement and the fuel tank developed a leak. We couldn't obtain repair parts so replaced it with an origo. The Origo worked well but was much dirtier. It blackened our cooking utensils severly. If I could keep up the Princess I would use it. Never had a "Flare-up" in 15 years. Our new boat has propane which is much scarier than alcohol due to the possibility of gas in the bilge. It has a solenoid but we always shut it off with the tank valve. It is also harder to come by than alcohol.
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Michael McCann
Alcohol Stove
Mark; I used the stove on our C25 from 1986 to 1993 (when we bought the C36) with no problems, and I liked it. A friend had the Origo stove which was quieter, but you couldn't tell if it was lit or not. Learn how to use it and you will be fine. I also used one on a C34 I chartered. It had an oven, and seemed to work a lot nicer than the one on the 25. The fuel tank was in a cockpit locker, and was pumped up with a tire pump. People that say they are dangerous do not know how to use one. Mike
Mark; I used the stove on our C25 from 1986 to 1993 (when we bought the C36) with no problems, and I liked it. A friend had the Origo stove which was quieter, but you couldn't tell if it was lit or not. Learn how to use it and you will be fine. I also used one on a C34 I chartered. It had an oven, and seemed to work a lot nicer than the one on the 25. The fuel tank was in a cockpit locker, and was pumped up with a tire pump. People that say they are dangerous do not know how to use one. Mike
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George
Upkeep of Princess - Jack
Jack - Somewhere I have an address, phone number, email and fax number for the company that now handles upkeep and repair and rehabilitation of the Princess stoves. I'll try to find it and post it for you. I will have to say that all things being equal I am comfortable with our Princess. I do wish we had the oven model, but . . . George
Jack - Somewhere I have an address, phone number, email and fax number for the company that now handles upkeep and repair and rehabilitation of the Princess stoves. I'll try to find it and post it for you. I will have to say that all things being equal I am comfortable with our Princess. I do wish we had the oven model, but . . . George
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George
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