BoatBanter.com - View Single Post - How about a lively discussion about marine cook stoves

Wayne.B

On 15 Jun 2007 05:53:45 -0700, wrote:

Gotta squawk at alcohol being dangerous comment. It is not a cheap fuel, though
for a weekend/couple of weeks cruiser as many are in northern climes, the delta
cost to another fuel is negligible.

There are several issues with alcohol but the biggest is the fact that
it burns with a nearly invisible flame. Folks run out in the middle
of cooking their meal, add more fuel, spill some, and next thing you
know the curtains or boat are on fire. It used to happen all the time
when alcohol was more popular.

My unpressurized Origo stove works just fine. And if I spill some fuel, I can
put it out with water, which dilutes the alcohol to the point where it will not
burn.

Unpressurized alcohol is safer, no question. There are still the
issues of spillage, invisible flame, low heat content and high cost
however. If you look at serious cruising boats, i.e., many thousands
of miles under the keel, most of them are using propane. Larger power
boats are mostly electric.