Change electric stove, install gas stove

[Simi 60]

Saying gas is dangerous because a few got blown up is as silly as me saying electricity is dangerous because many more get electrocuted.

[mvweebles]

So a first time skydiver jumps out of a plane only to find his primary chute doesn't open. No problem, pulls rip cord on auxiliary just as trained. It goes up in tatters and he's free falling at an alarming speed.

Suddenly he sees a guy going up as quickly as he's going down. The skydiver shouts "Hey - buddy! Do you know anything about parachutes?"

To which the guy going up responds "No. Do you know anything about propane stoves?"

[rolomart3]

Originally Posted by rsn48

Electric is good if you only do marina boating, or boating on the hook with a generator. If you enjoy the sounds of silence on the hook, gas is best. PNW boaters including coastal BC boaters who enjoy being on the hook a lot, tend to rely on gas. Anchoring and stern tying in Desolation Sound can often be tight so using a generator in God's country when silence is golden is the devil's work.

Perhaps this is a good time to think new. The combination of a 20 KW- Hour Li Ion battery bank with a 240 amp 24volt Balmar alternator from the main engine and a 3Kw inverter allows a boater to operate a whole day without a geny and without a shore power connection. Ther is no noise and even an air conditioner may be operated.
Probably it is the way to go given that from today on people will run away from any kind of fossil fuel as if it were the pest.

I like the idea of the induction range.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by rolomart3

Perhaps this is a good time to think new. The combination of a 20 KW- Hour Li Ion battery bank with a 240 amp 24volt Balmar alternator from the main engine and a 3Kw inverter allows a boater to operate a whole day without a geny and without a shore power connection. Ther is no noise and even an air conditioner may be operated.
Probably it is the way to go given that from today on people will run away from any kind of fossil fuel as if it were the pest.

I like the idea of the induction range.

So do I but the battery bank alone probably cost about $20,000 here

And when you aren't running the engine, what charges the battery then?
Magic?

[boan400]

Originally Posted by Newtrawlerowner

2003 MS 400 has an electric stove and grille in summer kitchen. Thinking of changing to gas. I know some 400s came with gas. Anybody done this conversion? I know I'll have to run a gas line. I'll find a certified marine mechanic to either advise or do that part.

We got our 400 2005 w gas stove w oven and grille installed by Mainship. The fact is that it’s the most common way here in Scandinavia. Electric’s are very rare here. We have the same in our motor home plus a heater.

The gas is kept in two boxes outside flybridge on each side.
It’s not more mantinance than electric’s.
Good to have solenoid on gasbottles w switch in kitchen, sensor for both lpg-gas and other gases.
A leakage controller is cheap and easy to use.
With gas and some solarpanel we dont need a diesel generator.

[Shay]

When I bought my last boat one of the first things on my list of things to do was to convert the stove to gas. I bought the boat in the Panhandle of Florida and by the time I got home (Morehead City) with the boat I realized that I needed to run the generator some each day to keep the batteries up. We used the time around supper and breakfast to charge the batteries. Never converted to gas. We did add a large battery bank and 660 watts of solar and was able to use the microwave running off our Magnum 2800 inverter.

I would still consider converting the outside grill to gas.

If you haven't had the boat for very long, I recommend you live in it for a while before making big changes.

Shay Glass

[David Ess]

Gas is dangerous. Ive even met guys who saidcthey wouldnt be able to sleep soundly on a boat using gas. Electric induction is best...safest.

[OldDan1943]

Originally Posted by David Ess

Gas is dangerous. Ive even met guys who saidcthey wouldnt be able to sleep soundly on a boat using gas. Electric induction is best...safest.

With induction cooking, you need a generator to support it and if you try to run it off an inverter, need a good size inverter and the batteries to supply the inverter while on the hook.
The above is only something to think about, not reasons to discourage you from changing to induction cooking.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by OldDan1943

With induction cooking, you need a generator to support it and if you try to run it off an inverter, need a good size inverter and the batteries to supply the inverter while on the hook.
The above is only something to think about, not reasons to discourage you from changing to induction cooking.

You might be surprised - the induction single-hob hot plate I've been using at home for the better part of a year has a digital display. You can either run it showing temperature or watts. I'd guess the vast majority of my cooking averages around 300-350 watts, or around 25-30 amps. That's a workable amount of AH for battery source. Many sailors are migrating to induction cooking with only moderate sized battery banks. Really depends on your appetite for consuming watts. Powerboaters tend to be a bit more voracious

Peter

[obthomas]

I'm all electric and I have a $10,000 generator in a sound enclosure. Why would I ever consider solar and batteries and inverters or propane and all the extra crap that goes with them. Generator humming is sort of peaceful to me.

[David Ess]

Originally Posted by OldDan1943

With induction cooking, you need a generator to support it and if you try to run it off an inverter, need a good size inverter and the batteries to supply the inverter while on the hook.
The above is only something to think about, not reasons to discourage you from changing to induction cooking.

I know all that, and about solar, and large battery banks too, and that its way safer than gas.

[mvweebles]

Originally Posted by obthomas

I'm all electric and I have a $10,000 generator in a sound enclosure. Why would I ever consider solar and batteries and inverters or propane and all the extra crap that goes with them. Generator humming is sort of peaceful to me.

Generator run-time is a bit of a holy war I suppose. East/Gulf Coast it's common to see boats with more generator hours than the mains. That's rare on the West Coast. Folks in that camp would say "When you add-up all the costs of ownership, maintenance, and operation, a generator is at least $10/hour. Why would I consider that when I can have solar and the accompanying quietness?"

Different strokes.....

Peter

[Sharpseadog]

That doesn't work if you spend more than 1 day on the hook. Or you must run your great big main propulsion engine with almost no load which is very hard on it. If you are running main engine just to recharge batteries, same issue. And you won't heat much water with solar electricity. I cook with propane and heat with diesel forced air. My 3.5KW NextGen is quiet (even without a sound shield), and very economical to operate. Lots of hot water and recharges batteries in about an hour.

Originally Posted by OldDan1943

Generator to make HW? Why not install a loop to the hot water tank and let the main engine make the hot water?

Converting to gas, get it done professional. Much safer.

[DDW]

Originally Posted by David Ess

Gas is dangerous. Ive even met guys who saidcthey wouldnt be able to sleep soundly on a boat using gas. Electric induction is best...safest.

Hogwash. Lightening is dangerous, and you are more likely to be struck by lightening than die in a propane explosion. If you like electric, go electric. But if risk aversion is keeping you from propane, then don't ever get out of bed again. It is dangerous to do so.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by David Ess

Gas is dangerous. Ive even met guys who saidcthey wouldnt be able to sleep soundly on a boat using gas. Electric induction is best...safest.

That actual facts disagree

Propane Explosion Facts

There are an estimated 60 million propane-fueled devices in the United States, according to the National Fire Protection Association.
<snip>

Overall, propane is one of the safest fuels available. Data for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration found just one propane-related death in 2018 among 13 incidents. That did represent a sharp decline from 2017, when there were 5 propane explosion deaths from 22 incidents, one of which involved an employee who was hit and killed by a propane delivery truck. One of the injuries occurred while a worker was moving propane tanks and did not involve fire or explosion.

https://www.shefflaw.com/how-common-...ne-explosions/

Vs

According to the CDC’s NIOSH, the construction industry comprises approximately 8% of the U.S. workforce, yet it accounts for 44% of job-related fatalities. Consider the statistics:

Electrical hazards cause more than 300 deaths and 4,000 injuries each year among the U.S. workforce.

https://www.electrocuted.com/safety/statistics/

[FWT]

Just maybe The Answer begins with AC, not the galley.

If you know you need AC, its pretty clear you will want a generator.

If you already know you will have a generator, why not simplify life and go electric in the galley? Eliminate a system, eliminate sourcing an additional fuel, eliminate whatever degree (high or low) of risk comes with propane.

So long as an electric galley is acceptable to the chef to work in, of course.

[Simi 60]

Originally Posted by FWT

Just maybe The Answer begins with AC, not the galley.

If you know you need AC, its pretty clear you will want a generator.

If you already know you will have a generator, why not simplify life and go electric in the galley? Eliminate a system, eliminate sourcing an additional fuel, eliminate whatever degree (high or low) of risk comes with propane.

So long as an electric galley is acceptable to the chef to work in, of course.

Or look at gas as redundancy
If my genset or electrical system has issues I can still cook a meal with gas.

As for simplicity do you really think generator, inverters, batteries and wiring is more simple than a gas bottle and hose? (A little bit more complicated if inside)

[David Ess]

Simi 60....bogus comparison. Our topic is boats, where a heavier than air gas can sink to the bottom of it and blow up. This cannot happen with electrical induction stoves on boats. Do we know the stats on comparing those two things, on boats? I dont, but ill bet my comment is accurate that the electric stoves are safer, and that a boat with NO gas is safer.

[OldDan1943]

Originally Posted by obthomas

I'm all electric and I have a $10,000 generator in a sound enclosure. Why would I ever consider solar and batteries and inverters or propane and all the extra crap that goes with them. Generator humming is sort of peaceful to me.

I have 3X4D AGM batteries, 2X130 solar panels, 1800 watt inverter and a 6Kw generator in a sound shield. No more room for additional batteries unless I duct tape them to the swim platform.
With all that, I still have to be careful when using the electric stove anything else.

[David Ess]

Originally Posted by DDW

Hogwash. Lightening is dangerous, and you are more likely to be struck by lightening than die in a propane explosion. If you like electric, go electric. But if risk aversion is keeping you from propane, then don't ever get out of bed again. It is dangerous to do so.

Another bogus comparison. The one we are talking about is gas stoves compared to electric induction ones. Has that heavier than air gas ever leaked to the bottom of a boat and blew it up? Yes. An electric one? Ive never heard of such. In fact, do boat insurers consider whether there is gas on board?