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.

"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...
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.


I have a pressurized alcohol stove on Essie at this time, and I have to take
issue with the idea that the flame is "invisible" (or nearly so). The flame
is blue, perhaps a bit dimmer than propane, but hardly invisible. The tank
is located in the head -- filling it cannot result in flames all over the
stove. Nor would I attempt to fill it while the stove is burning anyway, as
that would result in a loss of pressure and the stove going out.

If your non-pressure alcohol stove runs out of fuel mid-meal-prep, it's the
result of poor planning. That aside, following proper stove usage procedures
(allow the stove to cool before adding fuel) provides a perfectly safe
cooking experience. "Safe" in the sense that we're playing with fire, of
course.

KLC Lewis wrote:
"Wayne.B" wrote in message
...

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.



I have a pressurized alcohol stove on Essie at this time, and I have to take
issue with the idea that the flame is "invisible" (or nearly so). The flame
is blue, perhaps a bit dimmer than propane, but hardly invisible. The tank
is located in the head -- filling it cannot result in flames all over the
stove. Nor would I attempt to fill it while the stove is burning anyway, as
that would result in a loss of pressure and the stove going out.

If your non-pressure alcohol stove runs out of fuel mid-meal-prep, it's the
result of poor planning. That aside, following proper stove usage procedures
(allow the stove to cool before adding fuel) provides a perfectly safe
cooking experience. "Safe" in the sense that we're playing with fire, of
course.



Hi KC,

The flames show up better because the stove is pressurized.

But a spill won't burn the same way and will indeed be less visible.

Careful!

Richard

Gordon wrote:
Propane, Lpg, alcohol, diesel. What's the consensus of the sailing
community?
Gordon

Nothing is perfect, of course, but
non-pressurized alcohol has a lot going
for it: low initial cost, no chance of
explosion, extreme simplicity and
legendary reliability.

For about 75 cents worth of materials, a
dozen "emergency" alcohol stoves can be
made in a half-hour if the galley stove
fails. Something to think about even if
you choose another fuel.

Unless you are feeding a large crew, the
cost of alcohol fades into
insignificance on a cruising boat. It
would take a couple years of full-time
cruising to spend more on alcohol than
on the necessary safety devices for
propane. (I made that up, but you get
the point).

Availability and price of alcohol
outside the US is an important
consideration. We spent several months
in the Bahamas with alcohol purchased in
the US and still had a lot left when we
returned (Tartan 34, 4 persons on board,
cooked 95% of meals).

There is a contingent of posters who
view alcohol as a "dangerous" fuel,
suggesting that coal, diesel, propane,
butane, and, I suppose, uranium are much
safer. Choose your company as well as
your stove fuel.

A fairly extensive thread on this
subject has already been posted. Do a
search and read some of the older posts.
Things haven't changed much since.

Chuck

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I recall now that one of the negatives
listed for alcohol stoves was that
burning alcohol releases more water
vapor into the air than burning other fuels.

Absolutely not a problem with warm
weather cruising. Never really noticed
it even in colder weather. When it is 30
degrees outside and there's very little
heat in the cabin, you'll get plenty of
condensation whether you have an alcohol
stove or not.

Others may have a different take on this.

Chuck

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In article ,
Gordon wrote:

Propane, Lpg, alcohol, diesel. What's the consensus of the sailing
community?
Gordon

I have had two fires on board with a pressurized alcohol stove. I have
switched to an Origo non-pressurized. It works fine but it is slow. I
wish I had propane.

I have cruised twice on a boat with propane. The safety features were to
switch the gaz off at the tank first until all the propane in the tube
is burnt out, a solenoid switch, the reservoir stored outside and in a
place where it vents overboard.

Have fun
--
stormtacticATvideotron.ca

In article ,
Gordon wrote:

Propane, Lpg, alcohol, diesel. What's the consensus of the sailing
community?
Gordon

No solar ovens in your list?

h

--
To respond, obviously drop the "nospan"?

Harlan Lachman wrote:
In article ,
Gordon wrote:

Propane, Lpg, alcohol, diesel. What's the consensus of the sailing
community?
Gordon

No solar ovens in your list?

h


Or a composting manure pile! Would go good on the Mac 26! Just
kidding!!!!!!
Gordon

On Jun 14, 8:58 pm, Gordon wrote:
Propane, Lpg, alcohol, diesel. What's the consensus of the sailing
community?
Gordon

Hi;
I've had alcohol, both the Origo and pressurized. The Origo was
nice. You can burn about any alcohol but smells vary and some might
be offensive. I've also had propane and now have a Tasco 2 burner
propane with an oven on my M34. For longer cruising my wife and I
prefer the propane.

Bob

On Thu, 14 Jun 2007 17:58:32 -0700, Gordon wrote:

Propane, Lpg, alcohol, diesel. What's the consensus of the sailing
community?
Gordon

I had a friend with a C&C 24 that had pressurized alcohol. Rumour had it
that one day, there was much swearing and fuming, and suddenly an on-fire
alcohol stove flew out the companionway and into the water...
I had similar experience with one: on fire so often I gave up using the
fire extinguisher and just used water, or let it burn itself out. I also
hated having to "prime" it every time you wanted to heat something up. And
of course there's the very apt pic of "alcohol stove: winter operation"
that has a guy sitting on it for warmth: they boil a cup of water in about
4 hrs.

Switched to propane and have never looked back.

druid
http://www.bcboatnet.org