Thank you Cindy.

What no one is revealing is, other than Origo's [what price is it ?],

what is the lowest price fuel brand that is minimally satisfactory in
that there's no odor, low water vapor production, no soot, etc.....and
where's it available ?

Home Depot wants $10/gal for denatured alcohol. Ever used theirs ?

Cordially,
Courtney



Cindy Ballreich wrote:

Courtney Thomas wrote:


Do you know where I can find the exact combustion byproducts of an
Origo and in what amounts they are produced ?


Courtney ,

Any time you have a flame below decks you should use caution. A CO
detector and good fire extinguishers are good ideas on *any* boat. Don't
let the people who've never used these heaters/stoves convince you that
they're dangerous.

I don't know the exact proportions of gases - perhaps you can find out
from Origo. I can say that we've never had a problem using our Heat Pal,
even while we are sleeping. Alcohol is a very efficient fuel and I think
that the amount of CO produced is very low. We've found that different
brands of fuel will have more or less smell and those smells probably
mean that extra gases are being produced. I think this has to do with
impurities in the fuel. There are some types of fuel that smell so bad
we won't use without having the companionway open. I also believe that
the quality of fuel is related to the amount of water vapor produced.
The Origo brand fuel seems to be the best, but it is very expensive. I
suspect that a filled cartridge can pull water out of the air, so we
keep ours in a plastic bag when we're not using it.

The worst problems we've ever had with our Heat Pal are running out of
alcohol half way through a two week trip, and water vapor condensing on
the aluminum hatch frame and dripping on our faces while we sleep.

Cindy

(I should disclose that we're looking into getting a Sigmar diesel heater.)


--
s/v Mutiny
Rhodes Bounty II
lying Oriental, NC
WDB5619