Kerosene stove and cabin heater

[Captain Smollett]

I don't know why, but I've been having a bit of trouble tracking down kerosene galley stoves.  But Taylors makes what looks to be some good models and I like their cabin heater, too.  Any experience with or thoughts on these:

Taylors Ideal K Two Burner Gimballed Stove


Taylors 028 Two Burner Gimballed Stove


Taylors 079K Cabin Heater

[CharlieJ]

The why is because few make them anymore. When I was a LOT younger MANY people made kero stoves, because they were THE choice aboard boats. People like Shipmate have dropped out of the market entirely, even on propane models.

Every one is switching to propane or alcohol, except for a very few luddites like myself. And as far as I'm concerned, alcohol isn't worth talking about for long term cooking usage. Too expensive and not hot enough.

The Taylor brand has been a well built quailty product for quite some time. I don't think you can go far wrong with one . That 028 sure is a pretty stove ;D

[Bill NH]

I have the 028 stove with oven underneath on my Voyager 26...  the PO/builder ordered it from the U.K.  It can run on kero or diesel, and the workmanship and materials are quality, very well made!  Spare parts are a bit pricey though...

[AdriftAtSea]

I think one reason a lot of companies have stopped making kerosene stoves is the lack of ease of use they present.  Most people want a stove that is simple to use, not one that you have to pre-heat before you can use it.  IIRC, diesel and kerosene stoves generally needed to be pre-heated with alcohol before they could be used.  If you're going to bother doing that....just use an alcohol stove.  The ease of use of a propane stove is really tough to beat.  Open the gas valve on the bottle, turn on the solenoid... light the burner. 

[Captain Smollett]

If you're going to bother doing that....just use an alcohol stove.  The ease of use of a propane stove is really tough to beat.  Open the gas valve on the bottle, turn on the solenoid... light the burner. 

Alcohol burns nowhere near as hot as kerosene.  High quality alcohol can be hard to find and compared to other fuels, it's expensive.  No, I think there is a BIG difference between alcohol and kerosene.

I know propane is very popular.  This topic has been discussed to death (here and elsewhere), and I have my own reasons for wanting something different aboard.  I have propane now, and that will work for the short term.  But, eventually, my A-30 WILL have a kerosene stove on board.

I like the look of the Taylors stoves and EVERYTHING I've read suggest they are extremely well made.  A Taylors tops my list for one to look for (or save for, to be more accurate  :)  ).

[Bubba the Pirate]

I too will will have a diesel or kero stove at some point.   Alcohol is installed, not yet sure if it works.   I have a propane camping stove as well.   

Ideally, I would only carry one fuel.   However, if it has to be more than one, I'd prefer the safest  possible. 

TrT

[AdriftAtSea]

Capn Smollett-

I agree that there is a big difference between an alcohol stove and a kerosene stove, and that kerosene is far more readily available and far cheaper as a fuel goes.  However, my point was that kerosene and diesel stoves both require pre-heating... that means you have to carry alcohol as well as diesel or kerosene.  Propane stoves are dominating the marine market because of their ease of use.

[CharlieJ]

That's probably the reason, yes. Making true marine stoves that burn kerosene harder to find.

But I'll keep using my kero lamps and stove for as long as I can keep them running. Right now I have three working kero stoves- two one burners and a  two burner, packed away for future needs.

For one thing- they lack the finalty of exploding. And I've seen two supposedly safe propane installations blow up.

And on the need for carrying alcohol- yep- you do, but a bottle of 91% rubbing alcohol from the grocery is really pretty cheap and lasts for MONTHS.

[maxiSwede]

That's probably the reason, yes. Making true marine stoves that burn kerosene harder to find.

But I'll keep using my kero lamps and stove for as long as I can keep them running. Right now I have three working kero stoves- two one burners and a  two burner, packed away for future needs.

For one thing- they lack the finalty of exploding. And I've seen two supposedly safe propane installations blow up.

And on the need for carrying alcohol- yep- you do, but a bottle of 91% rubbing alcohol from the grocery is really pretty cheap and lasts for MONTHS.

I can only second that. That said I must confess to being a kerosene user for 30 years. In Rode Orm I've got a Taykor 030 w oven. A true piece of art. Interestingly enough, the Taylor is using the Primus burner. Primus is an invention from the late 1800.s by a swedish guy. Don't remember his name raight at this moment.  Spare parts and burners are cheaper to be bought from Sweden than from Taylors. Just send me a PM if you're interested and I could provide you with the contact.

second hand Primus/Optimus 2-burner SS marine stoves are sold here in the price range of 35-100 € depending on their status.

BTW it takes no more than a minute to pre-heat a Primus type burner. I think the reason they are about to go into oblivion is that people nowadays don't remember how to use them properly.

When I teach navigation I always tell my students of the advantages of kero stoves (and lamps of course). I also tell them that half a coffee cup full of kero contains about the same energy as a fully charged 75Ah battery... ;)

Fair winds to you all

[maxiSwede]

And I forgot to tell you, I have worked with propane professionally for some years, so my love for kerosene doesn´t emanate from fear. But I must admit that I am suffering from nostalgia. Couldn´t have a boat built after 1975, a car built after 1974 or a house built after 1960     ;D

Just love that lil smell when I am litting up a kero lamp or the stove. Propane does NOT smell good in my nose at least.

You can see a couple of pic's of an Optimus 155 Marine stove here. They came in a gimballed model too, or one could easyly make a gimball brackets for it.

http://images.google.se/images?q=optimus%20155&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a&um=1&sa=N&tab=wi

[sailor]

John,
have you considered diesel instead of kero?
I guess even smallest Dickinson would be kind of big for A30, but maybe one of small Wallas-es would fit?
https://www.svb.de/html/svb_0001_e_0316.html
The cool thing about them that they can be used as cabin heaters (I think C-Dory 22, a small power boat uses this arrangement).

[skylark]

I have a formerly pressure alcohol Princess two burner stove and converted it to kerosene by putting diesel/kero burners on it.  I use mineral spirits sold as paint thinner.

Its hard to find the burners anymore, last time I looked Defender did not carry them (this is somewhat frightening)! Anybody have a good source for Optimus burners?

I'm thinking about getting a gimballed stove like CJ's and Yacht Atom's and getting rid of the double burner altogether. I rarely need more than one burner. Anybody know where you can buy the old fashioned style kerosene cookers? Apparently they are still made in India. On the Yacht Atom site he says he likes roarer burners better than the silent ones.

Here's the one place I can find in North America that has them:
http://www.stpaulmercantile.com/Buttbrass.htm

Here's a place in Germany that has them:
http://www.pelam.de/index.php?cPath=29_47

[CharlieJ]

Take a look here for stoves and stove parts.

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

I converted the one we have from a roarer burner because although the roarer gives a hotter flame, it also cannot turn down as low as a silent with fuel control knob. Very hard to simmer something on a roarer.

In fact, the stove is a SeaCook- a very old model that was propane. I had to do some hacksaw and drill work to convert it and make it fit our Burmos stove.  The stove originally had a steel plate as a pot plate, sitting on three steel legs. I made three new legs from an old .22 rifle cleaning rod, fitting the lower ends in tubes on the stove body and threading the upper ends to fit square nuts I made to hold the stove to the SeaCook stove body.

I have a newer Sea Swing stove but it won't work as well since the entire set up is different. So the burner body I took from that is my spare. Figure with just one burner, we'd best have a spare along.

Here's what the original stove looked like-

[maxiSwede]

Nice work, Charlie!  :)

And some good sources for kero stoves too (Charlie & Skylark) Regarding spare parts for Primus/Optimus burners , www.fogas.se/  is the one I am using here in Sweden. Dunno if they ship overseas. If anyone is interested I could volunteer in assisting you. Could be an idea if you join forces to bring down the freight costs.

www.blakes-lavac-taylors.co.uk/  have the same items (spare parts) + the Lavac head /boat toilet which IMHO is something of the state of the art too.

India sounds interesting, Skylark. It would not surprise me if that's where they are made these days  given that kerosene stoves is still 'a selling item'  in the third world.

A few years I read somewhere that the Poryuguese manufactures a Primus type burner that according to the author of that article was both cheaper and longer lasting than the swedish made.

Anyone having some more info on that??

Fair winds

Theo -s/v Rode Orm

P.S. I found this link. Quite informative:  http://www.spiritburner.com/manufacturers_country.htm

apparently the poruguese company closed down in 1999     :P
. D.S.

[skylark]

I have Hipolitus burners on my stove, which I got from Defender.  They are working fine.  Defender sent me one burner with a defect in the threads, and it always leaked.  I could not get it to work until I bought another burner and replaced the one that always leaked.

I don't actually need any parts right now, but it is good to have a source!

Here's the English page: http://www.fogas.se/?me_group=english
Apparently you have to write them through the contact page to order.
Optimus Burner: Fotogen Brannar - 26-207

[maxiSwede]

@Skylark

Does the Hipolitus/defender burner fit on a Primus type stove?

[skylark]

Yes, it has the same thread and fits right on the stove I had.  However, note that my stove was formerly a pressure alcohol stove.

[Parrothead]

Where can you buy the Taylor? Is it available online? I want to check prices.

[CharlieJ]

 ;)

A quick google search on "taylors marine stove" brought up 302,000 references. I bet some of those places sell 'em.

;D

[psyche]

St. Brendan's Isle, Inc. 411 Walnut Street Green Cove Springs, Florida 32043   800-544-2132 sbi@boatmail.net  for information info@lavac.com
St. Brendan's is the U.S. Importer & Master Distributor of Lavac Marine Toilets and Blake Taylor Stoves, parts, seacocks and other Blake Taylor products. Dan