Gas versus paraffin

oldbilbo

oldbilbo

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I'm in a quandry, and I'm hoping some of the assembled wisdom - and maybe some of the wits - might help with a boaty decision.

As some will know, I'm re-working a fairly middle-aged keelboat. It is, I'm afraid, about half my age and capable of about twice as much I seem to be ( Snit! Did I just confess to that in public? ).

I'm working my way through the various onboard systems - not as straightforward as I'd fondly imagined - and finding numerous 'bodges' that don't sit well with my notions. There will be 'sympatico' nods here and there.... One of them relates to the cooker set up. It's Plastimo, it's OK, and it's gas. There's a good gas locker, an antique run of copper supply piping, and a nagging worry. Yes, I know. Replace the piping, install a bubble tester, Bob's y'r Uncle.

Yet....

I'm already determined to have an Optimus/Tilley paraffin pressure lamp ( under £20 ) for occasional on-mooring heating and lighting, and I have an Optimus paraffin pressure stove from the 50's for 'reversionary' cooking duties ( under £20 ). Sure, I have backpackers' small bottled gas camping kit, too.

The question is - should I go the whole hog and install a paraffin cooker?

Now, I'm no novice when it comes to using 50s paraffin kit. I cut my teeth on such Primus/Optimus gear, carried on my back up into the Scottish hills and in climbers' bothies, summer and winter, all through my teens. So, making such kit work for me is not a significant challenge. Yes, it can be dirty and a bit smelly. I know I can exercise 'good housekeeping', or live with the consequences. On t'other side, I would not fear an unheralded gas explosion...... and I would gain some valuable storage space.

So. A dilemma. :cool:

Thots?
 
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I used a Wallas parafin hob for about 8 years and loved it but when it started sooting up on a regular basis I changed back to gas.I miss the safety of parafin but taking the hob apart every time it blocks up full of soot is a major pain.I take all possible precautions with gas and the regulator is always shut immediately after use.
 
I've got a Taylor's paraffin stove. It takes a bit of getting used to but after a little while its a doddle. Nothing like as tricky as some would have you believe. Expensive bit of kit though but they are built to last
 
Despite the potential problems there are very few boating gas explosions. So much so that, when they do happen, it makes the news.

If you are ever likely to want to sell the boat then I imagine that paraffin would be a bit of a turn off for most (not all) boaters.

Stick with gas. The speed of getting that hot drink when you arrive at the boat on a cold autumn Friday night more than makes up for the little extra maintenance that is needed.
 
Honestly it literally takes 30 seconds to light the Taylor's. I know it takes 3 seconds to light gas stove but you can run the cooker all day on a cold one and use hardly any paraffin.
 
Paraffin burns hotter, I hear, so the kettle will boil sooner.

Personally I'll stick with the convenience of gas, though.

Pete
 
As you already have 'backup' paraffin stove then go gas :)
If going somewhere far sometime it's a problem to obtain one or the other. Or in case a system fails.

Good paraffin cooker is costly, and less good is... And going out of fashion. Taylor has changed burners to inferior type I've heard and discontinued old kind, I have still to source out the Primus spares... so maybe it's time to move with times? As for the cooker I was offered more than whole new gas installation will cost ? :D
 
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It must be said. It's a bit like marmite. You either love paraffin cookers or hate them. Gas is easier of that there is no doubt but a Taylor's oven is a beautiful piece of work.
 
I have an International Folkboat with Optimus parafin double burner and a Moody 346 with gas. Gas bottles take up a lot of room because minimum two are necessary which is OK on the Moody but not OK on the Folkboat.
 
prv said:
Paraffin burns hotter, I hear, so the kettle will boil sooner.
Click to expand...

Surely it's the amount of heat that the burner provides that matters not the temperature of the flame?

My Eno cooker has a 2.5kw burner and a 1.75kw buner.
The Taylors stove has >2kw burners (according to one site I looked at)

So, if I use my bigger gas burner, the kettle will boil quicker than using the Taylors. If I use my smaller burner the Taylors will be quicker.

Not much in it though! :)
 
30boat said:
I used a Wallas parafin hob for about 8 years and loved it but when it started sooting up on a regular basis I changed back to gas.I miss the safety of parafin but taking the hob apart every time it blocks up full of soot is a major pain.I take all possible precautions with gas and the regulator is always shut immediately after use.
Click to expand...

I always understood soot is a sign of incomplete combustion leading to the creation of carbon monoxide.
The original flavel gas cooker instalation on my Centaur is regularly pessure tested to 30 mb, burns cleanly and has a CO alarm beside the cooker.
Admititly only the oven has flame failure protection but its never used unattended except for the oven anyway .
I reckon its as safe and convenient as any other cooker plus the half size bottle fits nicely into gas locker and is unspillable under normal usage conditions.
 
Many years ago I witnessed a little Westerly blow up and sink in Fareham Creek.

My next boat had a Taylors paraffin cooker, I had peace of mind for 10 years but it was a PITA. I changed boats and changed to gas, I still have gas with all the reasonable safety devices but I don't have such piece of mind.

Plank
 
I would stay with the gas (after having it checked and fitting a bubble tester or at least a test point) but if you do lean toward paraffin or diesel then look at the latest Wallas ones, they have no exposed flame and there is a blower lid available so they can be used as a heater too, a bit on the expensive side at first sight but not when you consider the dual purpose. Main disadvantage just like the Wallas heaters is warm up time.
 
I had a clean sheet and chose spirit (meths / Origo). I looked at Gas but the space that it would take up and the weight went against it. I also like that I can see excatly how much spare fuel I have got onboard. I also dont have the testing expense or safety issues.

Mind you with a single burner, it does take a bit of thinking through if you want to cook a proper, multi-course meal.
 
On a risk-assessment basis...

the likelihood of an explosion (almost nil)
the consequences of an explosion (catastrophic)

...I'd go with gas.

Just have your installation upgraded and follow basic procedures.

There are millions of gas installations in boats all over the world and - despite large numbers of people only ever turning off the gas just at the cooker - there are very, very few incidents.
 
oldbilbo said:
I'm in a quandry, and I'm hoping some of the assembled wisdom - and maybe some of the wits - might help with a boaty decision.

As some will know, I'm re-working a fairly middle-aged keelboat. It is, I'm afraid, about half my age and capable of about twice as much I seem to be ( Snit! Did I just confess to that in public? ).

I'm working my way through the various onboard systems - not as straightforward as I'd fondly imagined - and finding numerous 'bodges' that don't sit well with my notions. There will be 'sympatico' nods here and there.... One of them relates to the cooker set up. It's Plastimo, it's OK, and it's gas. There's a good gas locker, an antique run of copper supply piping, and a nagging worry. Yes, I know. Replace the piping, install a bubble tester, Bob's y'r Uncle.

Yet....

I'm already determined to have an Optimus/Tilley paraffin pressure lamp ( under £20 ) for occasional on-mooring heating and lighting, and I have an Optimus paraffin pressure stove from the 50's for 'reversionary' cooking duties ( under £20 ). Sure, I have backpackers' small bottled gas camping kit, too.

The question is - should I go the whole hog and install a paraffin cooker?

Now, I'm no novice when it comes to using 50s paraffin kit. I cut my teeth on such Primus/Optimus gear, carried on my back up into the Scottish hills and in climbers' bothies, summer and winter, all through my teens. So, making such kit work for me is not a significant challenge. Yes, it can be dirty and a bit smelly. I know I can exercise 'good housekeeping', or live with the consequences. On t'other side, I would not fear an unheralded gas explosion...... and I would gain some valuable storage space.

So. A dilemma. :cool:

Thots?
Click to expand...

There is a small, very small, possibility of a gas explosion. I have only seen two in the 20 odd years I have been sailing and both were stupidity. One was the proverbial " I can smell gas down below, dont want to switch on the lights in case of a spark, so I will use my fag lighter for illumination". I joke not.

As against that, you can be certain that paraffin will be messy, dirty and smelly. The only question is how dirty messy and smelly.

But people have these strange urges for primitive systems. I can never understand solid fuel stoves on boats when you can have a nice Eber, but people still do it. So if you want a paraffin stove, go for it. You only come this way once.
 
oldbilbo said:
I'm in a quandry, and I'm hoping some of the assembled wisdom - and maybe some of the wits - might help with a boaty decision.

As some will know, I'm re-working a fairly middle-aged keelboat. It is, I'm afraid, about half my age and capable of about twice as much I seem to be ( Snit! Did I just confess to that in public? ).

I'm working my way through the various onboard systems - not as straightforward as I'd fondly imagined - and finding numerous 'bodges' that don't sit well with my notions. There will be 'sympatico' nods here and there.... One of them relates to the cooker set up. It's Plastimo, it's OK, and it's gas. There's a good gas locker, an antique run of copper supply piping, and a nagging worry. Yes, I know. Replace the piping, install a bubble tester, Bob's y'r Uncle.

Yet....

I'm already determined to have an Optimus/Tilley paraffin pressure lamp ( under £20 ) for occasional on-mooring heating and lighting, and I have an Optimus paraffin pressure stove from the 50's for 'reversionary' cooking duties ( under £20 ). Sure, I have backpackers' small bottled gas camping kit, too.

The question is - should I go the whole hog and install a paraffin cooker?

Now, I'm no novice when it comes to using 50s paraffin kit. I cut my teeth on such Primus/Optimus gear, carried on my back up into the Scottish hills and in climbers' bothies, summer and winter, all through my teens. So, making such kit work for me is not a significant challenge. Yes, it can be dirty and a bit smelly. I know I can exercise 'good housekeeping', or live with the consequences. On t'other side, I would not fear an unheralded gas explosion...... and I would gain some valuable storage space.

So. A dilemma. :cool:

Thots?
Click to expand...



You got some full jerry cans with this stamped on em ? ;) :

th



From the tone of your post you appear to WANT the parrafin, but logically the gas seems better.

What was in your boat originally and what most importantly, which would you prefer to see, all safety considerations put aside?


Boating is a hobby so go with your heart.
 
No contest. Gas wins every time for convenience but parafin has that comforting smell and ambience reminding me of knobbly knees, woggles and Akela.
 
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