Onboard Bbq - Electric or LPG

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BruceK

BruceK

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The "new boat" has a fitted electric bbq with dome cover. More a grooved "frying plate', plus a flat section. Unlike the last boat,it has an electric cooktop and convection microwave, no LPG cooking.
We liked our Magma LPG kettle which gave a great char and grill flavour. But convenience, and no onboard LPG has appeal, and it did surprisingly well with porterhouse steaks this weekend.
What do people think? I feel a poll coming on.
 
BruceK said:
But convenience, and no onboard LPG has appeal, and it did surprisingly well with porterhouse steaks this weekend.
What do people think? I feel a poll coming on.
Click to expand...
My buddy has an electric grille and it works great! I wish I had one. :angel:
 
We had an electric grill given to us at home. I was thinking an electric grill was not going to let food taste like done on a bbq. I was mostly wrong. The electric grill worked good and is simple. No propane to refill. No flame ups and so on. We ended up liking it. On the boat we have a simple propane Magma. Thinking of a change to electric. Looking into electric induction BBQ? Example: https://www.thebarbecuestore.es/Hercules
 
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I have a propane grill. I am not overly happy with it but, it does work.
My stove is electric, I have an electric microwave, I based my choice on, how am I going to cook if the generator does not work? Propane was an alternative fuel choice.
 
OldDan1943 said:
I have a propane grill. I am not overly happy with it but, it does work.
My stove is electric, I have an electric microwave, I based my choice on, how am I going to cook if the generator does not work? Propane was an alternative fuel choice.
Click to expand...


Very good point worthy of consideration.

Good to have a backup, especially onboard.


.
 
We've 3 electric grills at home, two on the boat and one in current use at our family Colorado mountain retreat. All get used routinely. The electric grills are commonly used indoors under a range hood.

We've also got a large covered gas outdoor grill at home that can cook large quantities for group gatherings. No group gatherings due to pandemic darn it.

We gave up portable gas grills for boating a long time ago due to smoke, mess and cleaning hassle. Plus I really like George Foreman the man. Go get em champ.
 
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We have two grills on Hobo, one which is propane for when we’re away from the marina and an electric for when when we are there. The marina has a no gas grill policy.

We prefer the gas which has better temperature control and gets/stays hotter faster. The high temperature thermostat shuts down on the electric and the recovery is not fast on the electric which is a Weber Q1400.

Our gas grill is the Dickinson Sea-B-Que Small which has a dedicated 5 pound gas bottle

Both store easily and the size is good for 2-4 people.
 
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We have a Camp Chef backyard gas grill on our aft deck. It is a modular unit. It is two large gas burners on top of which is placed a grill box with a steel bottom. The bottom is heated by the burners which, in turn, grills by radiant heat which is how charcoal grills cook food. In addition, we have a Camp Chef domed pizza oven that can be heated to 700 degrees and cook a 16-inch pizza. We make our own dough and sauce. When we began the Great Loop in 2018 we had 50 pounds of Italian pizza flour aboard. By the way if you prefer a fresh-tasting sauce, pizza sauce should not be cooked.
 
I use a Magma gas grill with a dedicated 10 lb. bottle attached to the Seawise davit post on the swim grid. No disconnecting from the bottle (except when refilling once per season), just check fittings for "tightness" and cook. We also have gas for our stove/oven with it's own cylinder, and the 10lb provides "backup" gas for the stove (if ever needed).

I don't like being dependent on the generator for all cooking. Therefore, I recommend keeping the gas BBQ as it would provide the ability to cook if the generator acted up. But who ever heard of that happening??? :)
 
I'm generator dependent for all cooking (electric stove, microwave, George Foreman Grill). But for how we use the boat, if I have a generator issue when we're away from home, we'll just go find a marina with shore power for a day or 2 while I fix the generator. For those cruising remote areas, redundancy becomes a bigger concern.
 
I've used Dickenson SeaBQ for years. It's satisfactory. Have always had troubles with blow-out in breezy SF Bay. If I were to return to a BBQ, would figure out a Weber Q vs any of the marine units. Despite their modest Btu rating, the Weber Q's output a ton of heat.

But.....as part of my refit, I am designing a space for a Blackstone propane griddle instead of a BBQ. Steaks and burgers on flat-tops are almost as good on a grill, but flat top is much more versatile and clean-up is a lot easier. I see Camp Chef has a similar setup, but I like the hood on the Blackstone I have the 22-inch at home and love it. May go with smaller one for boat. Regardless, I cannot imagine going electric - I have room for a couple 20 lb bottles. I cannot stress how easy these things are to clean compared to a BBQ grill. Couple paper towels, a small splash of water and a 6-inch putty knife is all I need.

CatalinaJack: Intrigued by the pizza oven. Wonder if it would fit on my Blackstone? Have you tried baking bread in it?
 
I installed a Kenyon electric and LOVE it. I built a small cabinet in the cockpit and set it in. Lots of battery bank and lots of solar lets me run it off the inverter for several nights on the hook.

Full project writeup here: Cockpit grill and cabinet
 

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boathealer said:
I installed a Kenyon electric and LOVE it. I built a small cabinet in the cockpit and set it in. Lots of battery bank and lots of solar lets me run it off the inverter for several nights on the hook.

Full project writeup here: Cockpit grill and cabinet
Click to expand...
Very slick install. Smart to adapt an off the shelf dock box for enclosure.

I've hear several people give enthusiastic thumps up for Kenyon grills. Griddle plate looks useful too.
 
We only use electric on boats and have been thrilled with them. Kenyon is good. Gagginau is excellent. 110 works, but 220 is better. The food is tasty and healthy and they're trouble free.
 
I have a Napoleon all stainless (except for the regulator) table top gas grill (which they've discontinued). Works great and heats / burns off very quickly. With only one generator and mostly anchoring out, I prefer the redundancy of propane. I have composite propane tanks which are better than steel, but if I had to do it over, I'd buy aluminum tanks.

Ted
 
mvweebles said:
I've used Dickenson SeaBQ for years. It's satisfactory. Have always had troubles with blow-out in breezy SF Bay. If I were to return to a BBQ, would figure out a Weber Q vs any of the marine units. Despite their modest Btu rating, the Weber Q's output a ton of heat.

But.....as part of my refit, I am designing a space for a Blackstone propane griddle instead of a BBQ. Steaks and burgers on flat-tops are almost as good on a grill, but flat top is much more versatile and clean-up is a lot easier. I see Camp Chef has a similar setup, but I like the hood on the Blackstone I have the 22-inch at home and love it. May go with smaller one for boat. Regardless, I cannot imagine going electric - I have room for a couple 20 lb bottles. I cannot stress how easy these things are to clean compared to a BBQ grill. Couple paper towels, a small splash of water and a 6-inch putty knife is all I need.

CatalinaJack: Intrigued by the pizza oven. Wonder if it would fit on my Blackstone? Have you tried baking bread in it?
Click to expand...

100%. Flap tops are the way to go. You can do so much more on them.
 
firehoser75 said:
I don't like being dependent on the generator for all cooking. Therefore, I recommend keeping the gas BBQ as it would provide the ability to cook if the generator acted up. But who ever heard of that happening??? :)
Click to expand...
Damn good point! I'm scrapping the electric barbecue idea. (unless it's a George Foreman type) We do have a NuWave induction cooker but I need a plastic cake save to catch all the splatter.
 

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Ted,
Both of our tanks are aluminum. Expensive, so I am told (mine came with the boat), but worth it.
 
BrianG said:
100%. Flap tops are the way to go. You can do so much more on them.
Click to expand...

My propane Magma with a pizza stone is a terrific flat top :)
Evne heat, no flare ups, no blow outs, great pizza, great steaks.
 

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BrianG said:
ever tried frying eggs and bacon or stir fry on it?
what is it made of?
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I have done bacon and eggs on it. No problem if properly pre-heated.

Seems to be some sort of ceramic, a matte surface.

We also put a tight fitting rectangular one in our propane oven under our rack. It made a huge difference in how evenly the heat is distributed. Bread is now much more consistent in the oven.
 
boatpoker said:
My propane Magma with a pizza stone is a terrific flat top :)
Even heat, no flare ups, no blow outs, great pizza, great steaks.
Click to expand...
Eventually I think we`ll get another Magma LPG to replace the electric, but meanwhile there are other things to resolve. The Magma itself is not overly pricey, but the fittings you have to buy to install it are a rip off, here at least.
 
boatpoker said:
My propane Magma with a pizza stone is a terrific flat top :)
Evne heat, no flare ups, no blow outs, great pizza, great steaks.
Click to expand...


Now that is smart. I will have to try that. Makes good sense.
Thanks for sharing.


.
 
Velocity grill. It’s amazing. YouTube reviews of it. It runs off chunks of wood. A bag of applewood chips will last you a long time. The fan runs odd a standard plug or even AA batteries. This thing will get to 1000 degrees yet the base stays cool. The whole thing is cool in 20 minutes after use.
 

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BruceK said:
Eventually I think we`ll get another Magma LPG to replace the electric, but meanwhile there are other things to resolve. The Magma itself is not overly pricey, but the fittings you have to buy to install it are a rip off, here at least.
Click to expand...

Agreed, they are pricey but I've never bought one :) . I have three different mounting systems that I got dumpster diving in various marinas
 
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