Cheap Origo 2-Burner from Amazon

deep denial

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If, like me, you're buying a new Origo 2-burner stove, Amazon currently has them for £130 which compares very favourably to the main chandlery prices and is even cheaper than the single burner Origo.

Are you quite sure you want an Origo? I asked for advice before buying ours a couple of years ago, and I wish that someone had put me off. The list of problems are:
1. They are slow. I mean really slow. If you want a cup of coffee during your cruise you have to start boiling the kettle during the previous ice age.
2. the flame is very sensitive to draughts
3. It is awkward to source decent non smelly fuel, which is used at a fantastic rate, largely due to the antiquated shut-off valve system for regulating the flame, which rusts and gives a poor seal.
4. You can't top up the fuel when cooking, so if one burner runs out, which it does all the time, you have to wait for the cooker to cool, then go through troublesome fill up procedure during which you spill meths everywhere. And you can't tell how much fuel is left either.
5. They are a fire risk. Ours burst into flames simply because it gets very hot (the cooker does, not the kettle which you are trying to heat of course).
6. did I say that they are slow?
They look as though they were a good idea 50 years ago as an alternative to gas, but should have been binned years ago to make way for more modern thoughtful design. Get a decent shut-off valve for your gas instead.
Now you can't say you weren't warned, unlike me!
 

erbster

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21 Apr 2012
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I'm happy with mine. On such a small boat as mine, I definitely did not want gas. No problem with heating speed. Agree that meths is a bit smelly, but there are plenty of places which sell denatured alcohol for a reasonable price.
 

chriss999

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Mine is great.
Very safe, much less scary than gas, and def safer than petrol! I've had no flare-ups with it. If you mess up the refilling and spill meths all over it, then you'd have to wait for the spilt liquid to dry off before lighting it, but that seems pretty obvious.
Not as quick as gas but reasonable speed. I use meths for cooking when light-weight camping (in a different stove!) as well as for sailing so I'm well used to meths burners.
A fill in my origo 1500 lasts 5 days or so of good use, depending on what you are cooking, but it is easy to refill when it runs out. Actually you can tell how much fuel is left, just try the weight of the burner before cooking & you'll know if it will run out today & you can pop some more meths in.
Simple 1-pot or 2-pot cooking is the way to use it, not 3-course meals.
I'm not sure what deepdenial is doing with his.
 
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i have a 35 year old origo on my boat it works great , if you spill meths it is water soluable so rinse off spills and its good to go. also to reduce the odour add 2pc water to the meths
 

Viking

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I've had one for over 20yrs and had NO PROBLEMS. Read the instructions you cant go wrong! Smell, top up the container (new) with water, say about 10%. No smell, plus 10% more fuel. It might take abit longer but not by much!
 

Spyro

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Had one on my previous boat. Not as good as gas but on a small boat with no gas locker and no easy way of installing one it was perfectly adequate. I liked the simplicity of it. Yes it's a bit slower than gas but it was never a problem. Not nearly anything like the trouble Deep Denial suggests. Maybe the clue is in his name.
£130 is a good price. I think that is what I paid 10 years ago.
 
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biscuit

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I had one for some years in a previous boat, and found it very well made and efficient, but slower than gas, and if used as outlined in previous posts a very practical alternative to bottled gas. Care needed with filling of reservoirs, and storage of fuel, of course. Sounds like a very good offer.
 
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