Origo Stove

[mrbill]

MrBill,

I would like to know how Coleman fuel worked in your old pressure alchohol stove. 

Coleman fuel worked great, but sooting of the burners during pre-heat was a problem...and pre-heating the burners produced a high sooty flame that was in my opinion too dangerous in the confined space of a cabin. But once warmed up, it burned with a nice blue flame and no soot or odor. I don't know if it was the fuel or the stove, but basically I had two temperature settings: "OFF" and "BLOWTORCH". I decided to replace the stove because of the lack of control, the pre-heating, and inability to get parts for it.

For the record, putting the RIGHT fuel in the Origo stove is a world of difference...a nicely controlled blue flame and no sooting. Just got to read the instructions...

[AdriftAtSea]

Geez... so serious about a joke... :)  I know Old Ironsides wasn't around for the Revolution.....

[Godot]

Mr Bill, how did the gimbals work on the Origo? I'm considering my galley options right now and I'm thinking about an Origo or the Cookmate clone.  I heard a rumor, once, that the gimbals didn't work too well, and the stove would overbalance with a heavy pot.  I'm drawing out my galley redesign now, and the stove is a major decision point.

Besides the gimbals, I'm also conflicted on whether to go with a two burner, or a one burner stove.  A bigger sink (in my opinion this is non-negotiable as I can't even fit a small plate in the current sink) and a two burner gimbaled Cookmate would pretty much take up almost all of the existing counter space.  I am looking at extending this into the quarterberth area; but that is a somewhat later project.

[SEMIJim]

I realize MrBill's last comments were three years ago, but in the hope that he's still around...

MrBill, I'm wondering how that Origo non-pressurized alcohol stove has worked for you, and how it compared to the pressurize alcohol stove it replaced, heat-generating/cooking-time wise?

Abracadabra has a two-burner pressurized alcohol stove that, quite frankly, scares the bejesus out of The Admiral and I, so we're very likely never going to even try to light it.  After examining the options, we've decided we think we'd like to replace it with an Origo or CookMate non-pressurize alcohol stove.

Jim

[s/v Faith]

Abracadabra has a two-burner pressurized alcohol stove that, quite frankly, scares the bejesus out of The Admiral and I

Reason enough to replace it.  I would not have anything aboard I felt that way about.  ;D

Might I suggest an interim replacement?



These are available from a variety of stores, we have used them for years and have been pleased.  The ones we have owned have been made of steel.. and require replacement every 5 years or so, but for $14 on ebay it is not a hardship.

We use a sterno sea swing under way, but on the hook or in sheltered water (much of the time you want to cook anyway) these are hard to beat.  (compact, easy to use, easy to stow, fuel is cheap)..

[Godot]

I have one of these butane stoves and it works well.  It's hard to simmer, though. Very hot.

[CharlieJ]

One thing to consider seriously if you are planning to cruise long distance. Alcohol is THE most expensive fuel you can use, and it is also the least efficient heat wise. A gallon of stove alcohol in the Bahamas is over $30.

As I've said earlier in this thread, we use pressure kerosene and love it. Laura refuses propane, as do I on this boat. Next one (if there is a next one) might be different.

[SEMIJim]

Abracadabra has a two-burner pressurized alcohol stove that, quite frankly, scares the bejesus out of The Admiral and I

Reason enough to replace it.  I would not have anything aboard I felt that way about.  ;D

Might I suggest an interim replacement?

I'll take it under advisement, and thanks for the suggestion.

Truthfully, the stove isn't all that's keeping us from cruising.  We also need to replace the foam in the cushions (I can sleep on anything, nearly anywhere, but The Admiral is a bit more sensitive), get proper ground tackle in order, and some other stuff.

One thing to consider seriously if you are planning to cruise long distance. Alcohol is THE most expensive fuel you can use, and it is also the least efficient heat wise. A gallon of stove alcohol in the Bahamas is over $30.

Is it also exceedingly expensive in the U.S.?  Reason I ask: I doubt we'd be sailing to the Bahamas in Abracadabra.  She's not a blue water boat.  Coastal waters, at best, and better kept to places like the Great Lakes and the ICW.

Quite frankly: At the rate we're going, I'll be surprised if she ever sees salt water.

As I've said earlier in this thread, we use pressure kerosene and love it.

I've read elsewhere that kerosene stoves can be quite odiferous.

Laura refuses propane, as do I on this boat. Next one (if there is a next one) might be different.

Propane's probably the best, all-around, except it brings back the very same kinds of dangers as gasoline-powered auxiliary power: Highly-volatile fumes that are heavier than air.  I do have one spot that is dead space that could be fitted with a propane locker--vented outboard, but it would require expen$ive glass work, and a relatively long line to the galley.  Then there's the sniffer (which tend to false a lot, I'm led to understand) and, of course, the stove itself.

Probably not going to happen.

I've researched it and we've discussed it extensively.  It's almost certainly going to be a non-pressurized alcohol stove, when we do it.  But it ain't done, yet, so that could change :)

Jim

[skylark]

I've read elsewhere that kerosene stoves can be quite odiferous.

For weekending or other short term use, a butane stove is a good solution.

Kerosene stoves do not smell of kerosene unless they are being used incorrectly.  Pressure kerosene gives a hot blue flame that has no odor.

Your alcohol stove can likely be converted to kerosene by switching out the burner nipples.  I converted my Princess pressure alcohol stove to kerosene by switching out the burners.

If you decide you don't want the pressure alcohol stove, I might be interested in purchasing it.

[SEMIJim]

Kerosene stoves do not smell of kerosene unless they are being used incorrectly.  Pressure kerosene gives a hot blue flame that has no odor.

Your alcohol stove can likely be converted to kerosene by switching out the burner nipples.  I converted my Princess pressure alcohol stove to kerosene by switching out the burners.

That's interesting info, skylark.  Thanks!

I believe our pressure alcohol stove is probably a Kenyon.  Those were common on Pearson boats of our boat's vintage.  I'll look into the feasibility of converting it.  If kerosene really works well, after all, the conversion is cheaper than a new stove, and it's cheaper to operate, then that'd be a good way to go.

If you decide you don't want the pressure alcohol stove, I might be interested in purchasing it.

I'll keep you in mind.

Whatever we do, we plan to supplement the galley stove with a grill that clamps to the pushpit railing--cooking outside whenever possible.

Jim

[SEMIJim]

Good grief  ::)

So all these years... okay, less than four years, but still... The Admiral and I have been scared to try the pressure alcohol stove on Abracadabra because of all the horror stories we've heard about them.  (One of which, btw, was a boat that burned [nearly] to her water line, as a result of a pressure alcohol stove mishap, that used to be either in our slip or the one next to it.)

Then skylark mentions that maybe our pressure alcohol stove can be converted to a pressure kerosene stove.  So I do a little searching.  That led me to this Kenyon stove thread on another forum, which led me to this Pressure Alcohol Stove Information page, which led me to these Kenyon Alcohol Stove Instructions.

So: Do it wrong and they flare up.  Do it right and the don't.

Maybe we'll send the thing in to Kenyon for a reconditioning (it is 35 years old, after all) and use it.

Jim

[Leroy - Gulf 29]

CJ will correct me if I'm wrong, but IIRC, he uses 100% mineral spirits in his stoves.  Sometimes easy to find in hardware stores, jut make sure it's 100%

[CharlieJ]

Correct. And that's what I've used for over 30 years now. Actual
kerosene is usually harder to find, more costly, and doesn't burn nearly as cleanly.

It isn't as well refined as it once was when many people used it in lamps and stoves.

We tried the 'low odor' stuff- went back to 100% mineral spirits.

[Godot]

One thing to consider seriously if you are planning to cruise long distance. Alcohol is THE most expensive fuel you can use, and it is also the least efficient heat wise. A gallon of stove alcohol in the Bahamas is over $30.

Whenever alcohol stoves are discussed these two complaints always come up.  Everything is a tradeoff.  When I someday take off, and assuming I haven't changed boats to one with a decent propane system, I'm pretty sure the negatives of alcohol are outweighed by the positives. 

As to the second point where alcohol is the least efficient, I've cooked on a non-pressurized Origo a couple times, and found it plenty hot enough for the kind of cooking I do (I make simple meals; serious chefs might disagree), and actually had more trouble keeping the heat down when simmering. 

As to the cost of the fuel, if the alternative is spending a couple thousand dollars installing a propane system (on my boat it would be even more as I don't have any place decent to put the propane tank) instead of spending three hundred or so on a non-pressurized alcohol cooking system (which is inherently simple), well, you can buy a LOT of alcohol for the difference, even at $30/gallon.  If going far afield for an extended time, I think I'd be more concerned with fuel availability than cost (a concern I'd share with the 1lb propane and the butane canisters as well).  It would be worthwhile to stock up before leaving if local availability was questionable.

Kerosene stoves are hard to find, now-a-days.

[skylark]

Parts are hard to find, that is the biggest drawback of kerosene, in my opinion.

[CharlieJ]

Oh I agree. If Basecamp.UK ever gives up I'll probably be forced to propane.  But since we have two complete stoves, four extra burners, and some parts, it probably won't happen inmy cruising lifetime.

But it is sorta  aggravating that a really good system is going away.

[Rick Westlake]

$30-a-gallon stove alcohol is , well ...  :o

But compared-and-contrasted with the price of a new stove ... less so.  Especially when I add the costs of a propane-tank installation into a boat that doesn't have a propane locker ... or the risks of an improper propane installation.  It is a damnable pity that kerosene stoves have left the marketplace!

My Bristol 29.9 came with a two-burner Origo stove, which I used a few times last summer.  Maybe it took a little longer to bring my pressure-cooker chicken and quinoa to a boil and to full pressure than a butane buffet-stove would have taken; I don't know.  But it did the job well, and one fill of the stove (actually a partial fill) lasted for a good amount of time.  So I'm going to go with it for the time being.

Funny hint for Origo owners:  "Cr? 82" vodka is sold in rugged, gasket-sealing, stainless-steel bottles, very much like the Sigg fuel bottles that used to be sold in the backpacker stores.  Each bottle is 750 ml, or a "fifth" in old-style parlance (one-fifth of a gallon) - enough to fill an Origo cartridge most of the way, but not overfill it.

[CharlieJ]

But kero stoves haven't left the market place. Just that they are hard to find in THIS country.

Check out-

http://www.base-camp.co.uk/

That's who I get all my spares from

[ntica]

also have an Origo... from the earley -70ties ;D (need to get some paint on it)
belive it or not but still working... it's heat regulated with a "draw", simple!
Yes I'm on a tight budget ;)

[Grime]

Here is a link to a source here in the US that sell a stove very similar to the Origo stove.

http://www.stpaulmercantile.com/index.php?action=store&item=BrassPressureStove