Marine Specific versus Regular Appliances

[Woodland Hills]

Count us in on the home stuff and electric. Woodland Hills makes a good point about generator use.

Not that we are adverse to a little propane here and there...

That sure looks like a Hatteras galley and flybridge, not Boston Whaler.

 

[caltexflanc]

Well, it's a big 13 footer as they say.... ok, maybe customized just a tad...

 

[Bryant]

Marine appliances

Hi,
Im starting to think about redoing my galley stove, adding a dishwasher and replacing the laundry machine. As I've been looking at the options it seems most new larger boats are going with home units not marine specific although not at a cost savings often so curious if there is another reason.

Specifically I think I'm locked on a Bosch or Miele dishwasher and there aren't marine versions that I know of.

For Range why use a princess or force 10 when I could put in a 24" blue star LPG range? Lots more power, better oven, etc but I might be missing something?

Lastly on the washer dryer it seams like Splendide makes the marine one but LG also makes one which does things like steam, etc for a few hundred bucks more. The only disadvantage I see is I don't think the LG one is vented..

Would love thoughts from those who have looked at this while doing upgrades.

Thanks
Arthur

I abhor any form of LPG on a boat. Just my personal opinion. You can buy a Refrigerator from WalMart for $100, use it till it rusts and then get another one. Same thing with all the other appliances. The question is whether you are cruising the ICW and inland waterways on a weekend basis or are you headed to Fiji? How you are using your boat and where you are going is the deciding factor on what your equipment is (mostly). A little research will show you that much of the "marine" equipment on a boat is the same stuff they sell for RVs but if it says "marine", it costs twice as much.

 

[rslifkin]

I'm not a big fan of propane on boats either. Yes, a gas stove is nice to use, but it's a lot easier than it used to be to power an electric one at this point. In the case of my boat, I'm already carrying around a few hundred gallons of flammable gasoline, I don't need to add propane on top of that. Plus, there's no good space for a proper propane locker on this boat anyway.

 

[Symphony]

We have Bosch separate washer and dryer (vented outside) - they work as well as regular household units. my wife loves having them on board.
we have Gaggenau induction and convection for cooking. we've always had propane but this system is beyond awesome. (yes we have big generators onboard)
we also have a Bosch electric grill in the cockpit. I was super skeptical because I've always grilled with a Magma kettle, but after the first usage I am sold! no more propane on board.

As far as I know these are all household appliances.

 

[FF]

"Putting in a boiler and hydraunic heat this winter so will have little need to run the gen"

These too require electric , just lots less. Gravity water heat distribution can be done , but its a heck of a retrofit.

Pumps ,thermostat ignition, blowers, toe kick units all use electric.

 

[Arthurc]

"Putting in a boiler and hydraunic heat this winter so will have little need to run the gen"

These too require electric , just lots less. Gravity water heat distribution can be done , but its a heck of a retrofit.

Pumps ,thermostat ignition, blowers, toe kick units all use electric.

They do but it’s a few amps at 12v not 30a at 220 which is what my Heatpumps use when all on... I have a 2000ah house bank so plenty for anything 110v or 12. I don’t have dual inverters so can’t power any 220 stuff off it.

 

[caltexflanc]

If you are living on a boat full time in colder, damper climes, some sort of diesel heating makes sense to me, I think, even when hooked up at the dock. I'm curious as to how many gallons per hour does it take to heat a boat the size of a KK54?

Of course if you are in very cold water temps, the reverse cycle marine HVAC system may not work at all.

 

[Arthurc]

The boiler I’m looking at uses .5g per hour and delivers 60k btu which should be fine for the kk54.

 

[caltexflanc]

Thanks.

So not as economical as dock power after all.

 

[FoxtrotCharlie]

Would love to have separate washer/dryer, but no room. But our 10yr old Splendide is a vented unit and it works fine for us. We wash the big comforters and such at marina's. Our frig is a stainless steel Walmart unit - about 10 cu ft, and it also works great.

 

[Arthurc]

Prolly 4x the cost or more.

 

[BigJimB]

Just upgraded from Princes glass top electric to Induction and love it. Faster than my high end home gas, controllable temp, and relatively inexpensive. Will never have gas on a boat. Have seen to many fires. Also, if you’re only running your generator an hour / day you’re killing it. They need to run, and work. Same with batteries. Have used convection microwave for 20 years aboard ILO lousy marine ovens and will never change.

 

[Arthurc]

Maybe this is just me but having grown up on sailboats I don’t understand the fear of lpg? How many boat fires really happen due to lpg, versus improper use of equipment, electrical connection arcs, etc. If you have a well vented external locker, a modern default to off control system and sensors in the galley and bilge I’m struggling to understand what the risk vector is...

 

[caltexflanc]

The risk vector is about the same, perhaps a little more, than that of shore water hookups sinking your boat, yet there are boaters who are terrified of shore water. It is also much riskier than being violently attacked on your boat, yet there are many who insist on having self defense weapons on board. To me the only practical downside of a properly installed propane system is the hassle of getting refills and being a little more safety paranoid operationally.

Frankly, whether our boat came with electric or gas appliances was not a factor in our selection decision, both were fine with us as long as the oven/range was large and high quality, and we happily spent almost 7 years living aboard full time; loving our boat, and its all-electric appliance selection more with each passing year.

As I have illustrated on other threads on food here, we are avid cooks, eaters and enjoy entertaining. On a side note we also really enjoyed having a stacked separate washer and dryer, as well as our full sized dishwasher (which wasn't a must-have either, but glad to have it).

I think all of these played some role in what was planned to be a two year adventure becoming an almost 7 year one.

 

[Arthurc]

Very good points, are you on shore power often? If i was and lived aboard I’d love induction, had it in my condo years ago and was a huge fan. For me I’m never on shore power while onboard and can live at anchor with 3 hours of gen a day so nice to limit it to just morning use.

 

[BigJimB]

Maybe this is just me but having grown up on sailboats I don’t understand the fear of lpg? How many boat fires really happen due to lpg, versus improper use of equipment, electrical connection arcs, etc. If you have a well vented external locker, a modern default to off control system and sensors in the galley and bilge I’m struggling to understand what the risk vector is...

Your comment suggests you're well aware of the risks in a straight comparison of LPG/CNG vs no gaseous flammable aboard. I've witnessed three, one of which a good friend, fires on the hook / mooring related to LPG with all the modern equipment. None related to injury or boat loss caused by generator use. That's all the vector I need.

 

[BigJimB]

Very good points, are you on shore power often? If i was and lived aboard I’d love induction, had it in my condo years ago and was a huge fan. For me I’m never on shore power while onboard and can live at anchor with 3 hours of gen a day so nice to limit it to just morning use.

We're always on the hook / mooring. have 1,500a of 12vdc driving 2500w inverter with 8kw genset and work them all full time.