Gas or electric galley?

Is your galley gas or electric? Or maybe oil, wood or coal?

I like the convenience of propane and consider it safe if installed and used properly.
I don't like the condensation caused by propane cooking especially around here.
Next boat will be diesel, so no need for propane heat.

Electric is drier and eliminates lugging propane tanks around.
Electric is slower.
That's about it, right?

What do you have and would you change if you had to replace existing?

Should be (yet) another survey. BTW,you omitted the efficient and safe alcohol fueled cookers.
I don`t see a diesel boat as a reason to reject propane. It`s easy to use without the need to start a genset, quiet, simple, quick.
That said, there are times we use the genset for the kettle, the toaster, the electric roaster/frypan, especially if the genset is already running for another purpose . It`s nice to have options and alternatives.

"Australia" we cook everything on the BBQ its even warmish enough in winter to cook out but we do have a 2 burner gas cook top with grill and a portable 240v induction cook top .

Much prefer gas in the galley and on land...except for the BBQ....but charcoal and boating don't really mix well, right?
Gas (propane) allows for a lot more heat control than electric. You can cook as well on electric but it does take more attention and fiddling IMHO.

Propane cooktop and oven, diesel engines and heater, inverter to run slow-cooker crockpot, genny to do frypan, toaster or microwave. We like options too.

Propane. Don't need the bulk, expense, and maintenance of another engine (genset). Propane is convenient.

Propane. Wouldn't consider electric or oil. We used less than one 20 lb tank over 10 weeks.

Jim
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Propane for cooking, diesel for heat, unless tied to the dock then it's electric heat.

Be nice to have a propane fridge but not going to happen for me.

I hated to toss the diesel stove but you had to have it running all the time to cook on it.

I burn a 20 lb tank of propane every 4 to 5 months as a liveaboard, that cooks daily. Steam from cooking can be an issue not so much from the actual propane.

OFB; said:

Steam from cooking can be an issue not so much from the actual propane.

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Every pound of propane burned indoors produces 1.5 pints of water that has to go somewhere.

We have propane stove and oven. Electric refrig, microwave, and other appliances. We also have a gas grill on the boat deck. We carry 2 20lb tanks and those pretty much last all season.

BTW-I also learned my lesson re tank exchange or refill. When tank prices went up to around $20, the companies, especially Blue Rhino, are only filling with 16-17 lbs, rather than 20. My local gas stations, which does refills told that. I did not believe him so I did one last exchange and took the brand new tank to him and he could put 3+ lbs in it.

Electric vs propane for the galley depends in part on what you plan to do with the boat. If you are going to live at marinas with only an occasional one night stay at anchor, electric works well. If you are going to be at anchor all the time then everything depends on the genset working. Thus when the genset goes down you are without ability to cook or make coffee.

People differ on how important it is to have a backup or alternative such as a propane stove and a microwave/coffee pot etc. Figure out how you feel about being dependent upon one system.

This occurred to me last weekend. On Saturday afternoon at 2 pm I noticed water in the oil in my genset. I was in an anchorage off of Martinique. The stove still worked, we cooked and ate dinner. Generated enough electricity without the genset to get by, and were lucky to get a mechanic on Monday. Think of how you would handle this with an electric stove. Goes back to how you use the boat, if there will always be a marina nearby, you should be fine without a genset.

Both!

Gymboled 4 burner propane range with oven for cooking ,

a Dickinson Pacific range to stay warm all winter when up north.

2 ft of space extra in the galley/salon for year round comfort is no biggy.

Think the bigger issue is self evaluation of your cooking needs. Was convinced I wanted a propane stove / cook top when I was shopping for my boat. What I purchased has an electric stove / cook top. No problem, it would be very simple to replace with propane. Started using the boat and found that most of my cooking was either with the microwave or the gas grill. Only thing I've used the oven for is pizza. Haven't even used the cook top yet. Coffee is from an espresso machine. When I make pasta, it's done in the microwave.

I tend to eat simple and let somebody else (restaurant) cook when I want fancy. So I would evaluate your needs before deciding how important a propane stove / oven will be to your boat.

Ted

Propane cooktop, with an oven the oven is mainly used as a locker, the Cooktop is seldom used, the bulk of the cooking is done on the BBQ pit, a round Magma, microwave, and electric slow cooker. The slow cooker will run off the inverter so can be pugged in, placed in the sink and cook while cruising.

Since we use our microwave, ice maker, refrigerator, big TV, electric skillet and electric toilets...it doesn't make sense that our cook top would be propane.

We had a full size all-electric kitchen on our Hatt and loved it. We ran the generator in the morning and evening during cooking hours, which also served to charge the batteries, heat the water, do laundry, run the dishwasher, etc. No schlepping propane tanks around to get them refilled.

Ann is an outstanding cook, as I have illustrated in photos here before, and she got used to the glass top range quickly, which had as much heat control as our gas ranges on land have had. Electric makes for a superior oven as well. Keep in mind the boat was our only house for years, the great majority of that time on a mooring, at anchor, or underway. We seldom ate at restaurants. We did have a big gas grill that uses the small pint-sized bottles, which was heavily used as well.

Hawgwash said:

Every pound of propane burned indoors produces 1.5 pints of water that has to go somewhere.

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Seems high but believable...but I guess I agree with OFB that the steam and just normal personal respiration is going to fog up a boat anyway without air change.

The worst on our 40 footer is the cold mornings and the time for 2 showers right before getting underway. If freezing outside...we aren't likely to crack doors and windows when shower g versus later when cooking.

BruceK said:

Should be (yet) another survey. BTW,you omitted the efficient and safe alcohol fueled cookers.

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From BoatUS Seaworthy magazine .....

The incidence of fires due to stoves has decreased with the gradual replacement of alcohol stoves with propane stoves and electric ranges. Two percent of fires were caused by stoves, more than half resulting from problems with lighting alcohol stoves. Given how few alcohol stoves there are on boats these days, they are significantly more dangerous than those that use other fuel sources. If you still have an alcohol stove on board, you may want to consider upgrading. Most people agree that they don't heat very well, anyway.

We prefer to go out for meals. Our propane system is mainly decorative.

Our boat came with genset... Given genset, wouldn't want to deal with propane galley.


Electric galley: cooktop, combo microwave/oven, countertop appliances (toaster, coffeemaker, etc.). No fuss, no muss.


Augmented by a propane grill in the cockpit... when I feel like cleaning up afterwards.


Induction would be faster in the galley, although our ceramic cooktop works fine.


Had alcohol on a previous boat. That sucked.


-Chris

ranger42c said:

Our boat came with genset... Given genset, wouldn't want to deal with propane galley.

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I can understand that but I don't want to fire up a generator every time I want a cup of coffee and since I'm up around 0500 my neighbours in the anchorage don't want me to either.

boatpoker said:

I can understand that but I don't want to fire up a generator every time I want a cup of coffee and since I'm up around 0500 my neighbours in the anchorage don't want me to either.

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Yep, that's the one issue I haven't yet completely solved. My follow-thru is a bit slow.

The easy answer will be an inverter for small loads like the coffeemaker and microwave... and that's in my plan, just haven't done it yet. Wallet problems (not always big enough.)

Does happen we can't really hear our genset when more than about 50' from the boat, though, so we've not had much of an early-morning issue in anchorages. And I'm mostly down to coffee only at breakfast time anyway, these days <sigh>...

-Chris

Electric seems crazy to me.
That's like trying to turn one's boat into a house.
If you have an electric cooking stove your boat is a houseboat.

Like most people our preference for cooking at home extends to out boat preference as well.

We use electric at home and prefer electric on the boat as well. (Although we do use the grill almost every night as we love BBQ)

All boats are different but our boats design and operation centers around electricity.

We need electricity to run the water maker, the trash smasher, the clothes washer, the satcom and entertainment systems.

And the stove, microwave, even the crock pot uses electricity.

So, for us, with our habits, on our boat an electric galley "fits". I can see where it would not fit on all boats for all people though.

Because of that our generator is an integral and necessary part of the boats operation. We bought the best generator on the market (northern lights). Not because we like spending more for things, because we realized the generators importance to out boating "lifestyle" and opted for the most reliable unit we could find.

We also have a 3,000 watt inverter. This provides power to most of the boats AC systems while away from the dock.

For our lifestyle we want all the comforts of home.

ksanders said:

We need electricity to run the water maker, the trash smasher, the clothes washer, the satcom and entertainment systems.

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My wife is my entertainment

Although preferring gas cooking at home ... With a gen given I would never decide for propan again (safety, humidity and need the gen anyway to recharge the batteries at anchor).
What is sometimes annoying with this is that we need to run the gen also when cooking in a marina since shore power is fused with too low amps here in Europe.


best regards / med venlig hilsen
wadden

THD; said:

...the companies, especially Blue Rhino, are only filling with 16-17 lbs, rather than 20. My local gas stations, which does refills told that. I did not believe him so I did one last exchange and took the brand new tank to him and he could put 3+ lbs in it.

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Rhino had it right as they were filling according to the 80% rule which, in many places is mandated.

Most new properly fitted tanks up here, and I suspect most places, have a limiting valve that stops a "20lb" fill at 16bs. FYI, propane expands 17 times more than water for the same temperature rise.

I like to cook. I live aboard and even though I'm single I cook multiple times per week. I currently have a Force10 3 burner propane stove with oven on my boat. The stove top cooks fine - but is "boat sized" - meaning that I rapidly run out of space if I want two or more large pans on the go at once. The oven is small and is fine for roasting (I can just fit a 12lb turkey in there) but too uneven for good baking.

I've remodeled two kitchens in my two previous dirt homes. In both cases we opted for gas cook top and electric convection oven. When I do my galley remodel I plan to install a full sized, 4 burner gas cook top and an electric convection oven. I've measured up and there's room for that combination in my galley without sacrificing significant storage or counter space. At the same time I will replace the twin sinks with a larger single sink that will fit full sized pots and dishes.

Since I already have propane on the boat this plan makes a lot of sense. I like being able to make breakfast at anchor without running a generator. It's a peaceful time that I don't want to be interrupted by the noise. I have enough battery capacity that I can typically go for a two day, one night weekend without having to fire up a generator. I don't use the oven as often, and will most likely be at the dock, or fine with using a generator at that time.

As for propane causing condensation - I don't find that at all on my boat. Any condensation I see is related to boiling water not the propane.

Richard

Hawgwash said:

Every pound of propane burned indoors produces 1.5 pints of water that has to go somewhere.

Click to expand...

We've been cooking on propane for the last ~40,000 nm on the Inside passage, and never had any concern with the moisture released. Maybe it's not really all that much - we probably use only 15-20 lb or propane for the whole summer. Would hate to have to fire up a generator to cook or even make coffee at 5AM. (don't have one anyway)

Alcohol, OTOH - we had an Origo alcohol stove for a while on our little C-Dory. Nasty fumes, black on the bottom of pots and pans, spilling while refilling, flames you cannot see, low heat output. Yuck!

Switched the C-Dory from that to a Wallas that ran on kerosene. No mess, and could also provide some cabin heat at anchor, but its ceramic cooktop never provided adequate and well-controlled heat like our current propane cooktop.

At home we removed a quality electric stove and replaced with gas with electric convection oven. We like the instant heat control of the cooktop burners.

manyboats said:

Electric seems crazy to me.
That's like trying to turn one's boat into a house.
If you have an electric cooking stove your boat is a houseboat.

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I admit to having the same initial reaction. To be honest, in my case I think it is just a reflexive one. I started out with small sailboats, little more than camping on the water. It takes me me a while to get used to newfangled ideas like heat and pressurized water systems.

I am looking for propane stove and oven and an easily accessible, vertical propane tank. That works great at anchor or at the marina without depending on a genset. I have run out of propane before however, I have yet to run out of diesel.

In the 35-40 ft range, I seem to see more electric galleys in the SE than in the PNW. I think it is because here we don't have to be running a genset for AC anyway.