Suggestions for double burner alcohol stove for new Mac 26?

[Ellen Bailey]

Had an Origo stove on a previous boat and loved it. Had a pressurized alcohol stove on a previous boat and hated lighting it. We ordered our new 26 without a stove because no one could tell us if a two burner would fit. Now find that Origo's two burner will not fit. Using a Coleman camping stove (propane) in the mean time. I like the Origo with cutting board that goes on top, but just won't fit the galley in the new 26. The maximum dimensions are 17" Wide X 21.5" deep. Any suggestions?

[Ellen Bailey]

Oops! I guess I should have posted this in the mods forum, sorry

[DLT]

First, keep that camping stove and its propane out of the cabin.


How often do you need two burners?

I don't do much besides heating water for coffee, but have been real happy with my sterno stove/grill. I got a sterno grill from Wal-mart for $10 IIRC. I bought a $3 trivet that fits onto the grill and gives me a better cooking surface. So, together with a can of sterno, I've got ~$15 into it...

If you really cook, then Sterno may not be your ideal solution. But, if not I'd suggest you at least consider it. Also, it might be a perfect "second" burner when needed. My sterno setup stores away, when not in use...

Personally, I see very little difference in a sterno v. Origo setup besides the price. Yes, I know the Origo is a built-in model, which allows for all sorts of features such as pot holders, etc...

But, I don't use it enough for that stuff, and the counter space is much more valuable to me. For me, overnighting on the boat is more like camping, and therefore a cheap sterno setup works fine... YMMV

[Ellen Bailey]

I do use 2 burners at a time. When I had a single burner, I could make it work, but it really was hard to cook pancakes, sausage and eggs and it all be hot to eat it together. Guess I got spoiled using the 2 burner camp stove that uses little bottles of propane - what's the problem with propane?

[DLT]

search on "propane"

The consensus seems to be that propane will settle in the bilge, inconvienent to detect down there, hard to get out, easier to ignite, and therefore more dangerous than alcohol fuels...

I like the idea of propane stoves/grills/etc, but only in the cockpit... I store all fuels in the fuel lockers...

[kenny]

Te issue is that propane, and even more so, butane that is used in some replacable can single burner stove devices, and also including cigarette, BBQ lighters etc. are both heavier than air, thus any leakage that occurs and is not burned up at the burner tip, will drop to the lowest point, being heavier than air, and displace it.
It's like pouring a liquid; will go to the lowest point in the boat, and is not easy to then get rid of.
Hence the advice to not take it down into the cabin.
I smoke, use little bics etc, and a longer BBQ lighter, and neither or these ever go into the cabin, just on priciple.

Hope this helps undertand the issue better. Best to stay away from propane, particularly using the replaceable cylinders, which are prone to leak if disconnected via unscrewing them, throught their built in valve.

[Dubraque]

Stove choice may depend a lot on how you use the boat. Ours is kept in a slip, and we tend to spend at least a couple of days at a time at the our or other marinas where we connect to shore power, and we seldom anchor out for more that a few hours or part of a day, so for us the choice was a tiny combination microwave/convection oven (size of a small standard microwave) made by Sharp for the college crowd. I think it's the "Warm and Toasty" model, but don't hold me to that. Though we have never used an inverter, I beleve using the microwave option on low or medium would not overtax an inverter should we need to heat water or a can of prepared something at anchor. Lucy has actually baked croissants and other breakfast goodies at the slip in it, which is kinda neat. Cost is a little high, compared to standard microwaves of the same size, though, $125 to $140 at Bed Bath and Beyond depending on sales. All the comforts of home!

[Chip Hindes]

Low or medium settings on a microwave do not reduce the power level required to run the oven. When the magnetron turns on, it runs at full power no matter what the power setting. On high the magnetron runs 100% of the clock time. Medium means the magnetron cycles 50% on, 50% off, low 25/75, etcetera.

You'll probably need the inverter to be able to provide full rated power as required by the microwave. Some inverters can be run for short periods at higher than their continuous rated power, but constant pulsing above rated power may not work and could eventually damage the inverter.

I'm pretty careful with my inverter as a replacement high power fuse is something like $12.

[Dubraque]

Good to know, Chip, I had always assumed reduced power output to mean a reduced power input. Thanks.

[Moe]

Chip's correct about the on/off full power, but I don't know of any microwave oven that runs the magnetron near 100% duty cycle on high. That's typically somewhere around 60-70%. In other words, a 600W cooking power microwave draws somewhere between 900 and 1000W 60-70% of the time on high. Plus there's the light bulb wattage, and that required for a motor to rotate a turntable, if so equipped running 100% of the time. What's important is the wattage rating on the UL tag, not the cooking power wattage, which is an average over time, and much lower.

The surge when the magnetron comes on can be 50% or more higher than that on the UL tag. Typical quality inverters can handle that for a few seconds before overloading, and that's enough for it to start. Cheap inverters sometimes can't.

When trying to figure battery amp-hours used by a 120VAC appliance on an inverter, divide appliance wattage by 10 to get amps and that will account for the inverter inefficiency. Then, for a microwave, compressor refrigerator, multiply by the duty cycle, i.e. 0.7 for 70%, and multiply again by operation time in hours.

[norbert]

ellen, i have a 2 burner origa on the galley of my 26x. it is not the flush mount model, but the surface mount origo 3000. it is mount gimballed (home made by previous owner, but i think a gimballed mounting set is available). the 3000 is smaller than the flush mount type. but i have got no idea whether it is fitting on a 26m or not.

[Catigale]

I do use 2 burners at a time. When I had a single burner, I could make it work, but it really was hard to cook pancakes, sausage and eggs and it all be hot to eat it together. Guess I got spoiled using the 2 burner camp stove that uses little bottles of propane - what's the problem with propane?

Ummmm...looking at your menu, I wouldnt mind cruising with you - when are headed out East??

Propane can be used safely on board, it requires extra care and attention -some would say more common sense. If you cant look yourself in the eye and promise you will follow the 'rules' then get rid of it and go alcohol or alternative

I fall probably pretty far on the Boy Scout side of safety, but do use propane to cook BBQ, and hot shower on board.

1 No cylinders below, unless attached to stove, cooking and supervised.
2 When burners go off, cylinder comes off and goes up top.
3 replace every year
4 store in fuel locker in baggie, kept dry.

I dont keep propane cylinders in my basement at home for this same reason.