What are thoughts on diesel cookers in a sail boat?

Posted by dignz@reddit | sailing | View on Reddit | 30 comments

I've taken the gas (propane) tank out of the boat because it is not compliant and my insurance isn't happy with it. I want a cooking and heating solution on the boat and have been considering a diesel cooker that does both. Boat is 28ft. I'm looking at the ceramic cook top versions with a blower lid.

Here's what I've discovered so far:

PROS:

I like the idea of a single fuel source, already have diesel on the boat, no longer have gas. Also to be compliant the gas bottle needs a dedicated locker which takes out a whole cockpit locker on my boat .
I like the idea of a heater option in the same appliance otherwise I'd need to install a heater anyway.

CONS:
Slow to start up and requires battery power.
Heats the whole cabin even on a hot day
Exhaust needs safe routing and another hole in the hull.
Wallas ones are expensive - there are Aliexpress versions for half the price, is that worth the price difference?
Aren't gimballed and require being very level I think.
No grill / oven (or not in ones that I can afford).

Anyone got strong opinions or experience on this?

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millijuna@reddit

We’ve switched to induction, and wouldn’t go back.

But we’ve got a 2000W victron inverter and 460AHr of Lithium battery.

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Lord-of_the-files@reddit

It's the way to go on a bigger boat, but on a 28ft boat there simply isn't enough space for the solar that you need to go along with it.

Maybe if the OP finds themselves motoring and/or staying in marinas a lot? Upgrade the alternator, carry an Origo as a backup?

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millijuna@reddit

We’re an Ericson 27.

That said, we’ve got an Origo Alcohol stove as a backup.

But the reality of sailing here in the Salish Sea is that if we’re not just hanging at the hook, we’re probably motoring 3 hours a day. Our Beta 16 is equipped with a 120A alternator so does a good job of keeping up with demand.

But the flipside is that an induction hob uses a lot less power than you’d expect. We were surprised. Yeah, running it at full bore draws north of 100A off the battery, but boiling a kettle of water only takes 3 maybe 4 minutes.

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Lord-of_the-files@reddit

Oh yeah you don't need up persuade me on the merits of electric cooking- we switched five years ago and have never looked back. But we have 1300w of solar!

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timeport-0@reddit

I'll second the induction though I'm hardly a cruiser so my opinion should carry little weight -- my longest trip has been 8 days.

But the induction worked a champ. Before that I used an electric skillet which worked pretty well too.

TriXandApple@reddit

Do you NEED an oven? If you only need a hob, I would highly recommend an Alcohol stove. They don't smell at all, easy to clean, cheap.

ez_as_31416@reddit

Alcohol is good, but it does produce water vapor - so expect more condensation in your boat. And a plain unglazed flower pot upside down over a burner makes a nice heater.

It also produces carbon monoxide. The only time we’ve ever triggered our CO alarm was when we were cooking with our origo in the winter.

erittainvarma@reddit

Well, the normal gas stove produces it also, not a step back in that regard.

But alcohol stoves produce about double the water vapor. They are also not as hot so things may take longer to cook.

dwkfym@reddit

I've cruised with an Origo 3000 and now have a 6000. Mine is missing a glass panel and still gets 350 degrees. I don't cook enough for condensation to be an issue, and I leave my companionway hatch cracked open when I'm burning anything down below so the stove stuff goes out right away though. YMMV.

The other nice thing about alcohol stoves is that you can put out a fire with water.

When I was little I used to wake up to the smell of the acohol stove on my dad's powerboat. My stepmom used to heat water for us to wash in. Then dad would make breakfast. Good times.

seamus_mc@reddit

They also dont put out a lot of heat. Just boiling water takes forever, you will have to relearn how to cook on it for most of them because you expect it to be faster than it is, also the flame is just about invisible during the day.

Irreverent_Alligator@reddit

I haven’t used my alcohol stove a ton, but I find it easy to see the flame any time of day if I’m looking for it, and I don’t really notice much more time to boil. I guess I’m not a fair judge since I boil relatively small quantities. There are pros and cons for every cooking option on boats, alcohol is a reasonably good choice. Unlike other options, the cons of alcohol relate to convenience rather than things like safety, expense, boat setup changes. There is no boat alcohol cooking is wrong for, it’s just a matter of if the owner is willing to deal with the inconvenience or if they’d rather deal with other issues.

It all depends on the type of alcohol stove as well. My pressurized alcohol stove on my old boat worked ok when it wanted to but was prone to flare ups if the pressure tank fluctuated. There are reasons nobody sells that type anymore.

The only benefit to an alcohol stove on a boat in my opinion is a fire can be fought with water.

wkavinsky@reddit

Dometic only stopped making Origo's because they couldn't figure out how to cut costs and make them fail.

An actual Origo from before they were bought out is solid stainless steel, and likely to last a lifetime - not technically a good product, because it's a buy once thing.

dignz@reddit (OP)

Don't need an oven, the grill is useful but not a NEED. I'll look into alcohol stoves.

Secret-Temperature71@reddit

We use pressurized kerosene, jet fuel. Works great. No chance if explosion.

New cookers are pretty expensive but you loose the expensive compliant fuel tank.

They were very common a long time ago but have fallen out.

There is a learning curve, people like to just turn on and off, these you have to preheat and then light. No big deal, but a learning curve.

We had Optimus cookers on our first two boats. Definitely cool technology and very satisfying to use, but in honesty I don't miss it. The second boat had one with an oven, it also had quick heaters which are like little blow torches using atomised fuel as mini blow torches to pre heat the burners.

I toyed with the idea of adding an electric pump to pressurise the tank, but never got around to that.

bernoulli33@reddit

On a 28’ boat, would running a gas line to a small 10# bottle or even 1# mounted outside be a solution? Just run the line out the companionway when in use. Another approach I did on my 33’ was to make a small locker out of a pvc pipe that just fit a 10# bottle. I did set that up with permanent plumbing and a solenoid. Sorry, I don’t know much about diesel stoves.

I've seen a lot of fishing boats who just have their gas bottles installed on the wheelhouse roof etc. I bet the regulator doesn't last long but it saves space.

Very good, very expensive.

There's a reason the arctic fishing boats all have on installed.

That said, if, like most sailors you're cruising the tropics, get decent solar and an induction instead - you don't need all the heat a diesel stove puts out.

Wouldn't risk the AliExpress knock offs myself, stick with Wallas or Dickenson.

fgorina@reddit

I have a Gaz stove. Camping Gaz bottle goes outside and has an electric valve so when disconnected no Gaz flow in the boat.

vulkoriscoming@reddit

Why not just use a portable stove with a one pound natural gas can intended for camping and cook in the cockpit. That is what I do. It doesn't heat the cabin or take much space and you can easily put it away.

For storage of the cans attach 12" of 4" PVC to a station and leave the top end cap unglued. The cans slide right in. Drill a small hole in the bottom cap or bottom of PVC on the outboard side. Use a small string on a "U" to fish out the cans.

Yeah, I'm currently using a gas camping stove in the cockpit. Great idea on the storage. I might stick with that and get a heater for the winter without combining both.

Let me know if you come up with something good.

whyrumalwaysgone@reddit

If you are doing any sailing in the tropics that would be a deal breaker. I installed one of these on a boat in Nome Alaska, and it heated up 50% of a 90ft boat very effectively in -17F weather. Great for cold sailing, absolute nightmare in hot climate.

Wow, ok, not in the tropics but temperate climes and that still sounds way too hot.

Waterlifer@reddit

Sketched it out a couple of times but ended up staying with propane because of the CONs you list as well as overall cost. The Wallas ones need regular maintenance, what do you do to get parts for the Aliexpress ones?

Available_Bowler2316@reddit

The Wallas is awesome if you're in the arctic. It puts out a HUGE amount of heat, and about 75% misses the pot.

It takes a long time to heat up and cool down.

I would not consider it unless you are in a location that requires a lot of heat.

W8th the lid down it is an AMAZING space heater.