electric stoves??

Folks that want to stay basic , but have a fully powered burner (12,000BTU) might consider a Primus kerosene stove.


These do require a splash of alcohol to pre heat the burner , but are hot , and 5 gal of kerosene , or mineral spirits will last a year or so.


Primus stove - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primus_stove


The Primus stove, the first pressurized-burner kerosene (paraffin) stove, was developed in ... The Primus stove's design, which uses pressure and heat to vapourize the kerosene before ignition, results in a hotter, more efficient stove that does ...‎Construction · ‎Principle of operation

Seems most have a noise maker but for us with no genny we use propane for our stove and bbq. We carry 2 tanks, check the system for leaks regularly and have a 900 AH battery bank and inverter for microwave etc. Twin alternators help as well. We have recently purchased an induction cooktop for times when we have shore power. Life is good

Have a propane stove--Like cooking with gas! It is another fuel to manage safely but lots of cruisers are already storing portable bbq bottles and gasoline cans for their dinghy motor.

I suppose if you are 100% diesel electric you are at less risk.

O C Diver said:

My boat came with an electric oven cook top. It was on the list of things to change when I started the refit. By the time I started the refit, I realized I didn't use either the cook top or the oven. In three years I've used the oven twice and never the cook top. I do use my propane grill almost every day.

As others have mentioned, I have a 900 amp battery bank and 3KW inverter which easily runs the microwave, coffee maker, Crock pot, or almost any other electric appliance.

My advice if buying a used boat, would be to keep an open mind and try adapting to what it comes with. Could also install that washer, and put the convection MW in in place of my current standard microwave.

Ted

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Yes, we too almost never use the Princess oven. Also have a 3000 watt inverter, works great with everything when needed. I think I used that stove top only 4 times and the oven 3 times in 15 years of ownership. If I lived on this boat, which wont happen, I might take out the oven, rework the cabinet to fit a vented washer-dryer. I need 2 more inches of width, so would have to slide over the middle partition and move the cabinet doors.

If I really like cooking, I might replace the oven with a convection microwave in place of my standard MW, and a seperate induction stove top, the oven is just a waste of space. And it does not cook well anyway.

siestakey said:

Same with us

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Same here.
I think most of us just accept 'what came with the boat' unless, it is a new build.
Gosh, a new build, I cannot fathom all the decisions that must be made, the stove being a minor decision.

When we were first looking for our trawler back sveral years, we came across a relatively new Krogen with a full size 48 inch Thermador range weighing in at 500 lbs. I am guessing it ran on propane, and that the lady on board really liked to cook!

Chrisjs said:

When we were first looking for our trawler back sveral years, we came across a relatively new Krogen with a full size 48 inch Thermador range weighing in at 500 lbs. I am guessing it ran on propane, and that the lady on board really liked to cook!

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Must be a big Krogen.
I guess you had it removed? They had to re-ballast the boat?

Seems part of the requirement depends on how much and what kind of cooking you do, and whether the boat is also a full time home or day/weekend and occasional vacation cruiser. Marina vs not sounds like a factor too, and how loud your generator is.

Our old Hatteras was our only home. We like to anchor out or be on a mooring, so prefer few trips to shore merely to eat. Ann is a tremendous cook, and we had a boat with ample refrigeration and storage place. A very large and complete galley was extremely important in our boat purchase criteria. So the full size range and oven were used virtually everyday.


Our generator was almost unhearable outside the boat, and quite tolerable inside, and it was in a room right beneath the galley. Got run typically 4 hours a day. Including holidays; here's a pic I've posted here a few times, just as an example:

FF said:

Folks that want to stay basic , but have a fully powered burner (12,000BTU) might consider a Primus kerosene stove.


These do require a splash of alcohol to pre heat the burner , but are hot , and 5 gal of kerosene , or mineral spirits will last a year or so.


Primus stove - Wikipedia

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Primus_stove


The Primus stove, the first pressurized-burner kerosene (paraffin) stove, was developed in ... The Primus stove's design, which uses pressure and heat to vapourize the kerosene before ignition, results in a hotter, more efficient stove that does ...‎Construction · ‎Principle of operation

Click to expand...

I'd heard of Primus stove... but, never looked into it. Anyone on TF have experience with usage... maybe like to share?? FF - at 5 gal per year do you mean for all cooking needs if you lived aboard?

Electric

When we bought our boat I removed everything propane and installed a two burner Induction cooktop and Convection Microwave.
AND an inverter which will run both.
If batteries run low I can always start the engine for a few minutes.
Maybe not for everyone but works for us.
Bill R.

Art said:

I'd heard of Primus stove... but, never looked into it. Anyone on TF have experience with usage... maybe like to share??

Click to expand...

Used by hikers. Good control of heat between medium high and rocket thruster engine levels. Simmers poorly.

When used while sea kayaking corrosion may occur below burner resulting in pressurized fuel escaping in dramatic horizontal flames. Not recommended for enclosed spaces.

Nothing cooks a fantastic juicy roast lamb and vegs dinner like a gas oven. We have a multi $1000 dollar electric oven in our home and our little gas oven on the boat cooks a better roast or any meat for that matter so I will never worry about anything else.

MurrayM said:

Used by hikers. Good control of heat between medium high and rocket thruster engine levels. Simmers poorly.

When used while sea kayaking corrosion may occur below burner resulting in pressurized fuel escaping in dramatic horizontal flames. Not recommended for enclosed spaces.

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Besides our standard Princess 3 burner cook top with full oven, a rather small microwave oven and a propane BBQ [which all work very well - with gen set on or shore power, or propane tank] we also keep aboard a "Heat Mate" alcohol fueled heater. Also would work as small cook stove - if needed. We have occasionally used the heater feature [where and when we boat... most days, not too much need for heat and no AC required]. Never used the stove feature.

Back in the early 1960's Dad picked up exact same unit for warming our boat in NY climate [it was used before or just after annual winter haul out]. Looks, design, color, printed words, functions, workings and model has not changed in 65 yrs. Good run for an inexpensive boat/camp heater that works very well. Would be a bit expensive in fuel if kept on high and used often for many hours at a time. Flame adjustment is easy, instant and accurate. Refilling takes a bit of finesse... to do it quickly and cleanly .

gaston said:

Nothing cooks a fantastic juicy roast lamb and vegs dinner like a gas oven. We have a multi $1000 dollar electric oven in our home and our little gas oven on the boat cooks a better roast or any meat for that matter so I will never worry about anything else.

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My wife feels exactly the opposite having used both in a variety of configurations. She mentions it about every time we use our gas oven here in our new land home.

AlaskaProf said:

You binary thinkers are overlooking an excellent alternative. I have ScanMarine diesel stove and oven. They came with the boat, but with three years experience, I wouldn't have anything else.

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Any issues with soot from the stove? I’ve never seen one of those but my experience with a diesel stove/heater was that it was pretty dirty.

dhays said:

Any issues with soot from the stove? I’ve never seen one of those but my experience with a diesel stove/heater was that it was pretty dirty.

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We had the cook top on a prior boat. Zero soot. One advantage is that an option is a fan that converts the cooktop into a heater. There was a fold down lid on mine that activated the fan, and on a 28' Albin, supplied all the heat we needed, plus cooking. Very nice units, and pretty expensive.

Delfin said:

We had the cook top on a prior boat. Zero soot. One advantage is that an option is a fan that converts the cooktop into a heater. There was a fold down lid on mine that activated the fan, and on a 28' Albin, supplied all the heat we needed, plus cooking. Very nice units, and pretty expensive.

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Delfin, my TF boater acquaintance: You are a dichotomy away-from/off-of/in-respect-to my expectations about you... having read your "leanings/background" in your posts for years now. Just sayen!

Art said:

Delfin, my TF boater acquaintance: You are a dichotomy away-from/off-of/in-respect-to my expectations about you... having read your "leanings/background" in your posts for years now. Just sayen!

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Yes, I had a dichotomy in the 90's. Helped with the seizures.

Delfin said:

Yes, I had a dichotomy in the 90's. Helped with the seizures.

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In all we have to do, now are and will be. When you least expect it - Expect IT!

dhays said:

Any issues with soot from the stove? I’ve never seen one of those but my experience with a diesel stove/heater was that it was pretty dirty.

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Absolutely none with the stove and oven.



I also have a big cylindrical SIG Marine cabin heater, and it can be quite dirty if you don't get the combustion just right. But it gives lovely silent heat and the windows provide a nice fireplace feel.

My current boat came with an electric stove. I couldn't wait to dump it. Running a generator just to cook doesn't make sense to me. I'm not in a hot climate so a diesel stove serves me well. On the few hot days I use a couple induction hot plates or my bbg that also has a burner and can function as an oven. In cold weather it's additional heat. But I've been cooking on a diesel stove for a long time and I already have the fuel on board. And the stove also heats my hot water tank.
I use less fuel cooking on the diesel stove than I used running a generator to cook on the electric stove. And then there's the generator maintenance and hours.

Bill R. said:

When we bought our boat I removed everything propane and installed a two burner Induction cooktop and Convection Microwave.

AND an inverter which will run both.

If batteries run low I can always start the engine for a few minutes.

Maybe not for everyone but works for us.

Bill R.

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[emoji1303]

With today’s technology, a good spread of solar panels and the setup that you described, it seems evident that a boat can be run all-electric without a genset (except for the aircon issue).

DDW said:

The problem with electric is the genset must be running, even if all you want to do is heat some tea water. On the east coast often it's running anyway for AC, but on the west coast and the PNW, this means anchorages are forever plagued with the drone of multiple gensets.

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We do not run the generator when using our portable, countertop induction cooktop. Yes, it draws up to 1,800 watts so one must pay attention to battery drawdown. But, the fact is that boaters do have a good electic option sans generator. By the way, we love the versatility of the portable unit.

"I'd heard of Primus stove... but, never looked into it. Anyone on TF have experience with usage... maybe like to share?? FF - at 5 gal per year do you mean for all cooking needs if you lived aboard?"

Yes ,5 gal of good kerosene will usually be enough for a year of liveaboard .

The big question is how long an oven has to preheat and how often its used.

The Primus has a burner that needs its own heat from operation to vaporize the fuel , so they do not simmer well.

2 cures , a pot spacer for use when very modest heat is needed, or the use of mineral spirits as that vaporises easier than kerosene.

In an emergency the unit will burn diesel fuel, but low temps are not an option then.

Living aboard we would light the Primus as the espresso pot was being readied.

The old style burner (not silent) would make enough HSSSS that we could dive back in the bunk, in safety and wait for the different hiss of the espresso pot to announce coffee is ready.

A large Tea kettle would replace the coffee pot , with a low burner there was plenty of time to drink coffee and the hot water was used for galley chores.

In winter the tea kettle would be placed on the Dickinson furnace , for hot water as needed during the day.

Works as well for NYC winters as for Bahamas northerners.

caltexflanc said:

Most high end (and not so high end) professional chefs have converted to induction cooking. Much more precise control.

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I am not a professional cook but am a damn good cook. We have a two-burner induction cooktop and a one-burner butane cooker, both of which I love. However, I find the gas burner much easier to temper. The induction unit is certainly easier than glass or spiral burners but not a gas burner. I watch a lot of cooking shows. I have yet to see a single TV chef using induction.

gaston said:

Nothing cooks a fantastic juicy roast lamb and vegs dinner like a gas oven. We have a multi $1000 dollar electric oven in our home and our little gas oven on the boat cooks a better roast or any meat for that matter so I will never worry about anything else.

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Our $80 Oster tabletop oven cooks roasts and bakes baguettes just fine.

caltexflanc said:

My wife feels exactly the opposite having used both in a variety of configurations. She mentions it about every time we use our gas oven here in our new land home.

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That's why today's ranges oven are gas burners on top with electric oven below.

dhays said:

Any issues with soot from the stove? I’ve never seen one of those but my experience with a diesel stove/heater was that it was pretty dirty.

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Aside from the potential exterior soot issues (never noticed by those with dry stacks) the diesel stoves are quite nice in cold climates for keeping a boat warm and dry. The great smells of cinnamon buns or bread cooking every day on a drizzly PNW day cannot be beat.

AlaskaProf said:

Absolutely none with the stove and oven.



I also have a big cylindrical SIG Marine cabin heater, and it can be quite dirty if you don't get the combustion just right. But it gives lovely silent heat and the windows provide a nice fireplace feel.

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That is really interesting. I have propane and am happy with it. I’ve had propane stoves/ovens on boats for years with no issues. However, if I could eliminate another fuel on the boat I would be happy to do so. My concerns would be cost, soot, and any diesel smell. My wife really doesn’t like the smell of diesel. A diesel stove would be a perfect solution on a diesel powered boat.

Wish I had a gas stove rather than an electric at home. Propane gas on boat: no genset, and one less engine onboard to pamper.