Gas or electric galley?

Xlantic · Mar 5, 2016

Our current boat came with an electric galley. At first I disliked the idea, having had propane galleys before. What I disliked was having to run the generators any time we wanted to cook.

But then I realised that I had to run the generator as long or longer just to charge the house batteries. And running the generator with the extra load from the cooker is probably better for it.

Not having a powerful enough inverter, the remaining problem of the early-morning cup of coffee was solved by acquiring a small portable camping propane stove (which, for safety, I store in a deck box outside the cabin when not in use).

ranger58sb · Mar 5, 2016

Hawgwash said:
Well, I guess one take away; propane would be more popular on resale.

I doubt that's a universal true-ism. Probably true some percentage of the market would consider propane a plus, but I'd expect another percentage (maybe smaller) would prefer electric anyway.

psneeld said:
Big difference between pressurized and unpressurized alcohol stoves.

Have used both and hate the pressurized, unpressurized wasn't bad....but still prefer my propane.

I don't remember which ours was. Sucked. Couldn't see the flame, took a year or so to boil water for tea or instant coffee (which isn't my cup o' tea, anyway).

caltexflanc said:
Why the phobia about running the generator? ... Generators are made to be run.

We have a tent for going camping, which we enjoy greatly.

Yep, and ideally under a decent load... so electric cooking helps us load the genset better.

Bay Pelican said:
Any stories from people with electric stoves where the generator stopped working at anchor? Especially before dinner and the nearest marina not reachable before dark.

Nothing against running the generator, but they are complex and they are known to need repair.

I'm looking around for some wood to knock on...

But we've not had a problem. Push button, genset starts, all good. Periodic maintenance, of course.

Xlantic said:
Our current boat came with an electric galley. At first I disliked the idea, having had propane galleys before. What I disliked was having to run the generators any time we wanted to cook.

But then I realised that I had to run the generator as long or longer just to charge the house batteries. And running the generator with the extra load from the cooker is probably better for it.

Not having a powerful enough inverter, the remaining problem of the early-morning cup of coffee was solved by acquiring a small portable camping propane stove (which, for safety, I store in a deck box outside the cabin when not in use).

Yep, ref gen usage; gotta charga batteries anyway, so in our case it makes sense to do that while cooking.

I forgot, I have a small one-burner propane thing too. Had it on board at one time, for early morning coffee... but now I think on it, I haven't noticed it in years. I might have to do some rummaging... for that, and for the percolator. OTOH, it doesn't seem to have been important, given how long I've not used it.

Bottom line for us is that an electric galley works better... given that we have a genset and I'm not afraid to use it. Can't say as that's a recommendation, though. Different strokes for different conditions.

-Chris

ksanders · Mar 5, 2016

caltexflanc said:
Why the phobia about running the generator?

The biggest issue I see with people here and generators is not wanting to spend the $$ to buy, and or properly install or maintain one.

Diesel generators are highly reliable pieces of equipment that require surprisingly little day to day maintenance to keep running.

The problem is here on TF there are allot of folks that have older boats where the generator is original equipment that is suffering from age related issues.

Instead of spending the $$ to revamp the aging unit, or buy a new one, people will go to great lengths to find ways around them, or to discredit their very existence.

This is all purely financial and represents circular reasoning. They do not want to spend the money so they think up reasons to justify that.

I love generators and would not own a boat (or a home for that matter) that did not have a functioning generator.

Hawgwash · Mar 5, 2016

Hawgwash; said:
Well, I guess one take away; propane would be more popular on resale.

ranger42c; said:
I doubt that's a universal true-ism.

What does universal mean?

Certainly applies to the large, wide spread majority here.

Hawgwash · Mar 5, 2016

ksanders; said:
They do not want to spend the money so they think up reasons to justify that.

I like the one; "well, generators can break down, ya know; then what?" A properly maintained gen set breaks down about as often as "aw rats, I forgot to fill the propane bottles."

psneeld · Mar 5, 2016

My experience with the "don't run the genset" crowd seems to stem from sailing mostly and lack of experience the other (often the same origin).

Purim and pristine anchorages seem to weigh in many a discussion...and has merit but only to a point. Mostly.just how noisy the genset running really is.. if it is drowning out the cries of a bald eagle fishing the anchorage..point taken. If the genset can't be heard over the constant sounds often experienced in many anchorages, including the wind....drink more rum.

The other is the concept of having the genset last forever by only running it 10 hours year....doesn't make sense to me...but has to have a lot to do with not understanding the whole concept of gensets and their care and feeding.

Many will never really change..so setting up their boats to not require one might be best.

Nomad Willy · Mar 5, 2016

Non meaning to be argumentative but I don't think most TF members are looking to find excuses to change the way they do things or the equipment they have. How others do things and what stuff they have is interesting to read about but only on very rare occasions have I actually changed my opinions or habbits. In this regard I don't think I'm different than most here on TF. This TF experience is for talking about things not finding new things and/or new ways. Some start a thread on that pretense but I think it's just an excuse to get into the conversation. People are very apprehensive about posting as evidenced by the larg numbers of lurkers.

I'm certain I have learned new things but much much more often I just read and talk about things .. and have a good time doing it. I don't think people come on here thinking "I'm dumb and I need TF to show me the way." No ..... This is a social experience centered around trawlers and other boats.

Re the generators I just don't like listening to them. And if I had one I don't think I could bring myself to start it up unless there was nobody around and then I would want it off very soon. Running a gen in a transient marina is over the top .. IMO. Don't think I've ever heard that though. Just heard it mentioned here. Some people actually like hearing engines running. My neighbor is one. I like some engine noise at times but not as monatenous seemingly never ending irritating background noise. I've never yelled at anybody for running a gen and I won't bad-mouth you ... but I may move.

MYTraveler · Mar 5, 2016

When we spec'd our boat, against the builder's strong advice (based primarily on resale -- but I wasn't building the boat to resell it), we went with a propane cooktop (but electric convection oven and everything else in the galley). Our motivation was not genset related (we knew it would be run it 24/7 so electricity would always be available), and we were not concerned about safety (IMO, very minimal risk with a proper install) or the hassle of running out or refilling propane (we have two large (30lb?) tanks, so when one runs out the other is online with the flip of a valve and we have weeks of daily use (which includes lots of bbq'ing) to get the refill. Our only consideration was what is best for cooking and as to that, to us at least the clear answer was propane.

dhays · Mar 5, 2016

psneeld said:
My experience with the "don't run the genset" crowd seems to stem from sailing mostly and lack of experience the other (often the same origin).

This describes me, sailor and lack of experience. This has definitely colored my view of gensets. Now I find myself looking at getting a boat that will almost certainly have a genset. My initial inclination is to run it as little as possible. Very likely, this inclination will change as I gain experience.

I still will be very sensitive about any noise I make in an anchorage, just as I am now. If my genset can be heard by neighboring boats, I am going to be reluctant to run it at certain times of the day.

manyboats said:
Non meaning to be argumentative but I don't think most TF members are looking to find excuses to change the way they do things or the equipment they have. How others do things and what stuff they have is interesting to read about but only on very rare occasions have I actually changed my opinions or habbits. In this regard I don't think I'm different than most here on TF.

Keep in mind that there are plenty of folks here on TF (maybe mostly lurkers) who like me, don't have any experience or knowledge of the boats or systems being discussed. I am always learning new things because it is all new to me.

fryedaze · Mar 5, 2016

I don't have anything against running a genny everyday to recharge batt banks, make hot water or cook. If that is what the boat setup needs then its cool. I just like having the flexibility of not having to start and run them if not needed. With our house bank size, solar and consumption we can go two days in fair sun conditions. The down side is a good piece of equipment set idle and will decay away before it wears out.

Codger2 · Mar 5, 2016

ksanders said:
The biggest issue I see with people here and generators is not wanting to spend the $$ to buy, and or properly install or maintain one.

I love generators and would not own a boat (or a home for that matter) that did not have a functioning generator.

Britannia · Mar 5, 2016

MYTraveler said:
When we spec'd our boat, against the builder's strong advice (based primarily on resale -- but I wasn't building the boat to resell it), we went with a propane cooktop (but electric convection oven and everything else in the galley). Our motivation was not genset related (we knew it would be run it 24/7 so electricity would always be available), and we were not concerned about safety (IMO, very minimal risk with a proper install) or the hassle of running out or refilling propane (we have two large (30lb?) tanks, so when one runs out the other is online with the flip of a valve and we have weeks of daily use (which includes lots of bbq'ing) to get the refill. Our only consideration was what is best for cooking and as to that, to us at least the clear answer was propane.

My thoughts (as I have expressed before) almost exactly. Only one difference - I don't run a genny all the time and really appreciate making breakfast in a peaceful anchorage without firing it up.

If I went electric it would be with an induction top. I've used a few and think they are probably as controllable as gas. In fact, since I have limited space on the burners of my propane stove, I may buy a single standalone induction "burner" to add capacity when I need it. Only one problem - none of my pots and pans are ferrous!

Richard

JDCAVE · Mar 5, 2016

We carry 2 X 20 lb tanks. One tank lasts the entire spring-summer cruising season. The genny was near-new when we bought the boat. I change the oil and zinc in the fall. At the end of the season, we run it up to flush out the seawater (we tie up in the Fraser River). We are pretty much always above the saltwater wedge.

Jim
Sent from my iPad using Trawler Forum

ranger58sb · Mar 5, 2016

Hawgwash said:
What does universal mean?

Certainly applies to the large, wide spread majority here.

Heh... I meant in the "100%" sense... but I take your point about majority. Still, it's only looking like maybe 70/30 or even 60/40?, though? (I didn't actually count...)

-Chris

Hawgwash · Mar 5, 2016

ranger42c; said:
Heh... I meant in the "100%" sense... but I take your point about majority. Still, it's only looking like maybe 70/30 or even 60/40?, though? (I didn't actually count...)

I knew what you meant. Your chain was just swingin' in front of me so I yanked it. :lol:

I did count.
I'm a counter.
Ask me how many ceiling tiles there are in my dentists office.

Anyway, up to my challenge of you, almost half made no pick of one or t'other and instead chose to jibber jabber about something else. The rest? Most are ok with their own gas.

Hawgwash · Mar 5, 2016

Ok, so, after 75 posts and some meandering, I guess for me now, it really doesn't matter. As far as the range goes, looks like I could be happy with either.

I still like to have an element of camping so on an early summer morning, I like to fry up pig parts and spuds on the BBQ out back anyway; stink up the anchorage; clean up is easy. If it's a lousy morn, most people stay in so a gennie isn't going to hack the peace.

No TV though.

boatpoker · Mar 5, 2016

I do have a generator, I just don't want to hear it any more than I have to and I certainly don't want a quiet anchorage disrupted by the constant drone of someone elses .... I know, I know .... your generator is silent ... I must have better hearing than most

AKDoug · Mar 5, 2016

To me a large issue is that I don't want to hear a generator running. On a 30' boat there is no getting away from the noise. If my boat was large enough to get away from the noise by closing a door or having it otherwise isolated it might be a different story.

I enjoy my coffee in the morning made to the hissing of the stove rather than the racket of a generator. It seems a shame to wake up the world just to make coffee when anchored out in perfect solitude...

psneeld · Mar 5, 2016

Like many things discussed here on TF....so many possibilities...and really so easy for those with experience to figure out...just harder to pass along to those with questions.

I was in an anchorage not too long ago that was very remote. With 15 knots of wind you couldn't hear a guys 2 stroke outboard from boat to boat and a pair of F-15s were using the anchorage as a visual break point to start their bombing runs. Easy peezy...run the genset under the noise of thunderous jet engine noise.

Now by sunset the wind died off and the Jets were gone...very peaceful...and everyone either respected it or had quiet enough gensets.

My genset isn't perfectly quiet...but on one side of the boat it is noticeable out to 100 feet or so...the other side it is barely perceptible. So I try to make sure the quiet side is facing neighbors.

Polite isn't a hard thing to try and attain....as long as you try.

Nomad Willy · Mar 5, 2016

Psld,
Where on the east coast is there a remote anchorage? Remote to me after a few years in Alaska is no chance of reaching a place to tie my boat up to a float in a full day underway. Or no point in waiting for another boat to come into the anchorage. Get on the VHF and have flown in whatever you need or want. Docks are almost unheard of on the west coast. But remote to someone like yourself on the east coast may be very different. How remote is the anchorage you mentioned in the last post? There is no remote in Western Washington state where I live now IMO.

boatpoker · Mar 5, 2016

manyboats said:
Get on the VHF and have flown in whatever you need or want. There is no remote in Western Washington state where I live now IMO.

Clarify please. You have to have supplies flown in but thats not remote ?
Do we have different interpretations of what "remote" means ?

Hawgwash · Mar 5, 2016

boatpoker; said:
Clarify please. You have to have supplies flown in but thats not remote ?

Everything Eric said from here;
--->>Remote to me after a few years in Alaska is no chance of reaching a place to tie my boat up to a float in a full day underway. Or no point in waiting for another boat to come into the anchorage. Get on the VHF and have flown in whatever you need or want. Docks are almost unheard of on the west coast.<<---to here, is describing remote on the west coast and not supplies but parts and stuff you need to get you going again. Or guests. Or grog.

The only way to be more remote is to have no VHF.

boatpoker · Mar 5, 2016

ok, I get it. The statement seemed contradictory until I read three times.

Insequent · Mar 6, 2016

My boat had a propane cooktop/oven combo unit in it, with a pilot light in the oven. If I used the cooktop, after turning on the solenoid valve, and did not light the oven pilot light as well, then the propane detector would scream partway through boiling a pot of water and turn the propane off. PITA.

I replaced it with an Eno 3 burner propane cooktop. No oven, I converted the space into two deep drawers. I keep the toaster, bread slicer and misc. bulky items there.
I do roasts in the Zeigler & Brown BBQ on the boat deck, and although I have a pizza plate for it as well I'm yet to use it.

With a 3000W inverter running the microwave, rice cooker, breadmaker and Nespresso coffee machine it is nice and quiet, anytime of the day. My crock pot is 12V.

I ditched an old 7.5 kW Onan as it was getting past its use-by date. Also a 2.5kW diesel MASE unit, 3000 rpm, that was taking up a huge amount of space in the lazarette and did not offer enough reward for space consumed.

I contemplated installing a Northern Lights gennie, but having decided to not have A/C I settled for just a Honda 2000 portable instead. House bank is recharged by 1820W of solar and/or 2 x 200A alternators. System is working quite well.

FF · Mar 6, 2016

"but having decided to not have A/C I settled for just a Honda 2000 portable instead."

Great choice IF air cond is not a regular requirement.

wyoboater · Mar 6, 2016

My wife prefers to cook on gas, either on a boat or in a house, however, my boat came with electric and a genny to run it, soooooooo "overcome and adapt"..........it works fine.

ranger58sb · Mar 6, 2016

Hawgwash said:
I knew what you meant. Your chain was just swingin' in front of me so I yanked it. :lol:

I did count.
I'm a counter.
Ask me how many ceiling tiles there are in my dentists office.

Anyway, up to my challenge of you, almost half made no pick of one or t'other and instead chose to jibber jabber about something else. The rest? Most are ok with their own gas.

In later years, I was able to task "my peeps" to count stuff for me.

-Chris

sunchaser · Mar 6, 2016

The game changer on land and sea for us is the induction cooktop. Our latest house has a gas cooktop, hate it in comparison to our previous induction cooktop.

Many of our cruising meals are done in a crockpot, on in the AM and ready for dinner after the anchor is set. For baking anything, convection microwave on the boat is perfect. For many blue water power boat vessels, conversion to simple all electric cooking systems with genset off has become quite common.

Now with so many solar panels out there keeping batteries topped up, low amperage all electric cooking becomes even more rational. Get a set of Li P or Firefly batteries with a bazillion discharge cycles and electric galleys are even better.

Propane is so old school and just a carryover from our old sailing days. Ever seen a propane I Phone? And if one likes propane so much how about a propane water heater on your boat?

:hide:

caltexflanc · Mar 6, 2016

Bay Pelican said:
Any stories from people with electric stoves where the generator stopped working at anchor? Especially before dinner and the nearest marina not reachable before dark.

Nothing against running the generator, but they are complex and they are known to need repair.

No, They need maintenance. If maintained and run regularly a good diesel generator is extremely reliable and long lived. NOT running the genset regularly under some sort of load is bad for it.

Ksanders was spot on in his post.

As for noise, it is easy to get a boat and genset combination that is not very noisy, especially on the exterior as well. Even our old Onan in our Hatt couldn't be heard over ambient noise more than about 10 yards away, other than the gentle splashing of the cooling water. As mentioned, we lived on moorings or at anchor, and never got a complaint. Just to be courteous, nevertheless I made a point of anchoring upwind of other close by boats where practical, and shutting off the genset no later than 8pm if we were in a crowd.

I have known a few boaters who've run to of propane while anchored, two of which we had over for supper when they came over to see if we had any.

RT Firefly · Mar 6, 2016

Greetings,
"Ever seen a propane I Phone?" Looks to be both an I-phone AND a water heater...Just sayin'

Gas or electric galley?

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