An idiot’s guide to Origo Spirit stoves?

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Billy_Mizzen

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I have just become the custodian of yet another archaic and dilapidated wooden boat and lurking in the galley is an Origo 4000, two burner spirit stove. Unfortunately being something of a simpleton, I have as of yet, not manage to get the thing going.

If anyone familiar with these bits of apparatus could spare the time to give me a brief description of the starting procedure I would be more than grateful! (Oh and by the way I’ve already worked out, that the canisters that bare a striking resemblance to land mines are for putting the Meths in, if that helps!)

Thanks in advance.
 
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My Googles tell me you have the posh version :p

But on the basis that the 4000 operates in the same manner as the 3000.........

1) fill the "Landmine" - don't be shy about the amount you put in - it's not 20 year old Malt Whiskey :D

2) to help prevent evaporation when not in use the 3000 has round black rubber mats that can be placed ontop of the Landmine - if you don't see any ontop of the landmine, check it hasn't become stuck on the underside of the cooker :o.......it won't light through the rubber mat - trust me on this :rolleyes:

3) make sure you turn the knob to on :D (and the flame snuffer moves)....it's not gas so no need to worry about leaving it on for 5 minutes whilst you fath around with the matches - indeed, unless warm already it won't always light in 1/2 a second like gas (fumes a bit slower to rise than gas).

4) use a gas cooker lighter, rather than matches - less faffing and you get the lighter head and flame right into the hob. At this point you are just lighting Meths with a naked flame - so not really anything Origo related that can prevent ignition.


Of course it maybe that the 4000 is full of electrickery and clever gummins and the above is therefore of no use :rolleyes:.................but from my Google it don't look so.
 
We used a single burner Origo stove for 4 years and, having changed boats 6 months ago, now have an Origo 6000 cooker. I'm not familiar with the 4000 but I expect that the basic operation is the same.

1. Open the stove and remove the squat, cylindrical canisters (each about 180 diameter x 60 high). Take them outside.

2. Pour about 1 litre of meths (we use the ordinary purple stuff) into each canister. Do this where it doesn't matter about run off of meths.

3. Put the canisters back into the stove and close it up.

4. Fully open the relevant control (we have knobs but you may have sliders) which will allow you to see the top of the canister through the burner hole. Apply a flame to the top of the canister. We use a simple gas lighter, with extra long matches as back-up.

5. Place a kettle, pan or similar on the stove and heat as required, using the relevant control to reduce the temperature if necessary.

6. When finished, close the control and the flame will extinguish.

7. If leaving the stove for more than a day or two, place open it up, place the round rubber mats (circa 100 dia) over the canister centres and re-close the stove. This prevents excessive loss of meths by evaporation.

8. When sufficiently familiar with the filling process, keep adding a little extra meths and turning the canisters on their sides. As soon as meths fails to be retained by the absorbent filling (looks a bit like cotton wool), the canisters are full.

Hope that helps.
 
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They do work - we had one for 14 years - but if you use ordinary meths it will bring tears to your eyes unless you ventilate well.
 
Agree these stoves work well on a small boat and avoid the explosive properties of lpg, we have used one for many years on our Halmatic 30, although meths is now getting to be an expensive fuel.
 
Fantastic! Thanks everyone for the advice, I will be experimenting this evening as I have braved the snow and brought it home for some TLC and a good polish. Fingers crossed I won’t burn the house down in the process.
 
Billy_Mizzen said:
Fantastic! Thanks everyone for the advice, I will be experimenting this evening as I have braved the snow and brought it home for some TLC and a good polish. Fingers crossed I won’t burn the house down in the process.
Click to expand...

They are the simplest things to operate. When filling the canisters hold them at a 45 degree angle and fill until it starts running out. The secret to lighting is getting the lighter right down til it's almost touching the canister. A long thin gas lighter is best.
Don't buy Meths from B&Q it will cost a fortune. Try and find a suppliers who can get you 4 or 5 litre containers.
 
Coaster said:
Pour about 1 litre of meths (we use the ordinary purple stuff) into each canister. Do this where it doesn't matter about run off of meths.
Click to expand...

I find 250ml is plenty to cook a meal and boil the kettle a few times.

Tip the canisters 45 degrees, and pour the meths into the little dimple at the edge of the mesh, rather than directly onto the mineral wool (it saves having a wet patch that can flare, and is also in the Origo instructions).



Alisdair
 
johnalison said:
... if you use ordinary meths it will bring tears to your eyes unless you ventilate well.
Click to expand...

We've never been upset by fumes from our Origos although we do usually have good ventilation in operation when using the stove.

planteater said:
Also, remember to start cooking long before you're hungry! Our 2000 takes quite a while to boil a pan of water.
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Our previous experience was with a small gas hob. After changing to a single burner Origo we found no significant difference in the time it took to boil a kettle. We were sufficiently impressed by the single burner to buy an Origo 6000 cooker when we changed our boat.

The only drawback of the Origo is that there's no grill. The major advantage is safety. I won't have bottled gas and gas pipes on our boat. Most other people apparently think differently, assuming they've thought about it at all.
 
Origo

I have an Origo 3000. I find it easy to use, and I'm very happy with it. You will definitely need one of those long-nosed gas cooker lighters, or very long matches. If you don't have either, you can lift the top, light the landmine directly, and then close the top (carefully).

Don't forget that one of the inherent safety features of an alcohol stove is that any (highly unlikely) fire can be put out with a bucket of water.

If it takes a long time to boil, it's probably just low on meths. You will need large quantities of meths, and you will come to wonder why it is more expensive than vodka. It is worth spending some time finding a cheap source of 5 litre bottles near you. The cheapest I know is John Penny Restoration in Southampton - www.jpennyltd.co.uk - , but their mail order charges are steep.

Good luck.
 
agurney said:
Tip the canisters 45 degrees, and pour the meths into the little dimple at the edge of the mesh, rather than directly onto the mineral wool (it saves having a wet patch that can flare, and is also in the Origo instructions).
Click to expand...

The new canisters don't have the little dimple in the mesh, which is a pain, but no doubt a cost-saving for the manufacturers.

In the south west the cheapest I have found meths is at Trago Mills - handy if you go to Falmouth as the shop is by the harbour.
 
Agree with all the points above, especially the safety aspect. The Origo is also very compact. I removed gas from my old 19 footer as the bottle locker occupied most of the cockpit.

If visiting France buy a 5L container of Alcool Brulee form the camping section of a supermarket. It's way cheaper and nicer smelling than the meths sold in the UK.
 
I agree with all the other posters, long gas lighter (Tesco), safety, no gas bottle, no piping and regulators, no silly regulations.

I find one meths bottle (B&Q) split across the two 'land mines' lasts all week-end easily, and yes I do boil the kettle frequently and I do cook meals on it. It does take longer than pressurised gas, but still acceptable.

Overall they are good and I would not change back. Look on the Origo site for more info.

Mike
 
time how much it takes to cook / boil your meal and use that to put just sufficient in for next time, burn off the remainder. no overnight smells that way.

i light mine with the stove up and landmines exposed !!!!
then put the lid down.
open the horzontal slider lid and light it again, as it's now hot, it lights very easily.
 
Meths Fumes ?

Hi

We replaced an old gas system as our surveyor insisted that we must have a "Corgi" inspection at £300 before he would sign off an insurance survey !!.

The Origo two burner unit gives excelent service and is not noticably slower than the old gas to boil the kettle.

However in a confined space the meths can be a bit wiffy.

An old hand eventually solved the problem, Water !!

We were advised to add up to 5% water to the meths, just shake the refill bottle before filling the "land mines".
For some reason it actually reduces the smell of meths !

Good luck
 
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