Alcohol Cooker

I should have added that the ‘Highlander S/S Folding Grill‘ although sold for gas burners, does work very well on the Origo and produces very edible toast, I don’t know if using meths might taint the flavour as we use bio-ethanol on our Origo.
 
our (new) little boat has just had the gas condemned as a DIY installation from years ago so I'm also looking at getting a spirit stove as a cheaper alternative to getting the gas re-done. However it doesn't appear that the stoves can be found anywhere, except Compass24 who have awful reviews. Are there are sources for stoves still going? It looks like Origos have been discontinued!!
 
I've had two boats with Origo stoves. Both worked well with Bio Ethanol but I always seemed to be filling them up all the time. Some people who are not comfortable with gas on boats find them ok.

The cheapo cannister gas cookers provide flames on a par with a blow lamp. Cannisters are about £5 for four and are widely available. They are my cooker of choice and are easily disconnected after use.
 
LONG_KEELER said:
The cheapo cannister gas cookers provide flames on a par with a blow lamp. Cannisters are about £5 for four and are widely available. They are my cooker of choice and are easily disconnected after use.
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How long do the gas canisters last (in terms of, say, kettles boiled)? There seems to be an awful lot of waste there compared to a 5 litre jug (albeit plastic) of meths/bioethanol.
 
I have never really calculated to the last drop, but I don’t recall using any more than 5L of bio-ethanol in our Origo over a season.
This has covered boiling kettles, and cooking various stews etc. Oh, and I forgot making toast with a Highlander toast thingy.
 
syvictoria said:
How long do the gas canisters last (in terms of, say, kettles boiled)? There seems to be an awful lot of waste there compared to a 5 litre jug (albeit plastic) of meths/bioethanol.
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About 2 days for 2 people cooking all meals & making hot drinks. They can be bought for under £1 each on eBay in boxes of 56 which makes them considerably cheaper per kg of gas than Camping Gas 407 refills.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
About 2 days for 2 people cooking all meals & making hot drinks. They can be bought for under £1 each on eBay in boxes of 56 which makes them considerably cheaper per kg of gas than Camping Gas 407 refills.
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5L meths lasts us (again 2, eating and hot drinks) about 5 weeks, so 35 days. So that would be the equivalent of 17.5 canisters... :eek:
 
syvictoria said:
5L meths lasts us (again 2, eating and hot drinks) about 5 weeks, so 35 days. So that would be the equivalent of 17.5 canisters... :eek:
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5 litres of meths & 17.5 220g gas cannisters have about the same mass of fuel, both just under 4kg. However, butane/propane mix has 50kJ/g while meths has only 30kJ/g. I doubt that there's much efficiency difference between a meths & a gas burner, so 5 litres of meths is equivalent to about 10 cannisters for the same energy content. Either way, it's still less than 50p per day for the gas. 10 (or even 17) gas cannisters is hardly a lot for a month. Maybe you're thinking of bigger ones.
 
AngusMcDoon said:
5 litres of meths & 17.5 220g gas cannisters have about the same mass of fuel, both just under 4kg. However, butane/propane mix has 50kJ/g while meths has only 30kJ/g. I doubt that there's much efficiency difference between a meths & a gas burner, so 5 litres of meths is equivalent to about 10 cannisters for the same energy content. Either way, it's still less than 50p per day for the gas. 10 (or even 17) gas cannisters is hardly a lot for a month. Maybe you're thinking of bigger ones.
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No, I'm thinking of the environment with regards to the manufacturing energy and waste created.
 
syvictoria said:
How long do the gas canisters last (in terms of, say, kettles boiled)? There seems to be an awful lot of waste there compared to a 5 litre jug (albeit plastic) of meths/bioethanol.
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A cannister lasts about two days cruising. Five hot drinks and an evening meal each day. I'm a single hander and I measure a mug of water each time I boil a kettle. The kettle boils very quickly. It's normally done by the time I've put coffee and milk into the mug and scanned the horizon. I take your point about the spent cannisters causing waste.
 
Vicarage said:
our (new) little boat has just had the gas condemned as a DIY installation from years ago so I'm also looking at getting a spirit stove as a cheaper alternative to getting the gas re-done. However it doesn't appear that the stoves can be found anywhere, except Compass24 who have awful reviews. Are there are sources for stoves still going? It looks like Origos have been discontinued!!
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Yes, I have seen a few posts on here where customers have ordered a Compass cooker from abroad but never received it so probably need to be cautious if going down this route. You do sometimes see Origo's second hand on Ebay but they seem to fetch quite a bit.
 
Having read through this thread, now quite interested in replacing our aged gas cooker with an origo. Saving having to renew the gas lines which are overdue replacement, fit a sniffer and cart around heavy gas bottles.
 
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coveman said:
Yes, I have seen a few posts on here where customers have ordered a Compass cooker from abroad but never received it so probably need to be cautious if going down this route. You do sometimes see Origo's second hand on Ebay but they seem to fetch quite a bit.
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I've seen some second hand Origo's go for double the cost of a Compass cooker!!! If I could find a Compass supplier in the UK, then I would definitely go for one of them!
 
We converted to Origo + Omnia about 5 years ago having been gas users for decades.
Our bioethanol (which we dilute 10% with water) usage is about 5 to 6 litres/season with mostly 2 aboard. Soot residue is minimal. We occasionally use a stove mounted heater on top at the beginning and end of season.
The 'limp wristed' toaster we have works really well (so long as you really do not need more than 2 slices at the same time.
I am trying to source an Origo 1500 for another project so I guess I am a convert?
Gordon
 
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