Neptune 4500 or Dometic Starlight 2

J

johnlilley

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South Dorset/moored Poole/lay up Wareham
www.seasurveys.co.uk
Has anyone a preference over one or the other of these gas cookers. Bainbridge Neptune 4500 (originally Plastimo) or the Dometic Starlight 2 both with 2 hobs, grill & oven. Will replace my old Atlantic with one of these but no experience as a user of either. Both stainless steel although not sure about the side panels & similar price & size.
 
I was advised by a gas engineer that the LP Neptune is screwed together, whereas the Dometic is pop rivetted, so not able to be dismantled... Very happy with my Neptune 4500
 
I have installed a Pacific 5000, just a little bigger than the Neptune 4500 from the same manufacturer.

They are built in Bolton UK by Leisure Products Ltd www.marinecooker.co.uk

We live aboard so it is in daily use and must say we are very pleased, oven does yorkshire puds to perfection. ;)
 
Gladys said:
I was advised by a gas engineer that the LP Neptune is screwed together, whereas the Dometic is pop rivetted, so not able to be dismantled... Very happy with my Neptune 4500
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We fitted a Neptune 4500- It works very well, grill included. The grilling area isn't huge but it makes good toast and we used it for fish and bacon at times . All fine. Never had to consider dis-assembly - but would prefer screws to rivets!
 
Have had a Neptune 4500 2 Years now and quite satisfied. If I had one gripe it’s regarding the oven. The heat is concentrated at the back and if you don’t regularly turn your pizza one edge gets rather overdone. Some form of heat diffuser would be beneficial. Other than that it still looks as clean and shiny as the day I got it. And I really rather like the electronic lighter.
 
I fitted a Neptune 2500 (prior model to 4500, similar) to my previous boat and a Starlight to current boat.

The Neptune was a replacement for an old Atlantic, and makes an easy replacement dropping onto the existing gimbal mounts.
The Starlight is somewhat taller and has a higher gimbal points (actually slightly above the top)* so needs a much bigger swing radius and raised mountings.

The Starlight has a built in swing lock but not an oven door clamp. As already mentioned the Starlight pan clamps are awful. The Neptune has a door clamp but no swing lock (can be added diy) and battery powered spark ignition. Otherwise both have similar features and cook 'adequately' in thermostatic controlled ovens, and grill just about passably.

If you fit a different sized cooker make sure you template the side with a hole for the swing point to check the swing area, but if I was replacing an Atlantic again I would go for the Neptune as it is such an easy upgrade.

*Note: actually looking at pictures again the Neptune gimbals are higher than I remembered, so this might not be such an issue.
 
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I bought a Starlight and have used it for 2 seasons.
Comments about gimbals are correct - they are higher but it does still drop onto the old Atlantic brackets.
I have no problems with the pan clamps. I like moving them right off if I don't need them allowing a slightly bigger frying pan - not so easy if the cooker has a raised surround.
Cleaning is easy as the pan grid lifts off quite easily.
I added the anti-heel bracket from the old cooker which works fine.

if I were a deep sea sailor where cooking with high angles of heel is normal, then it's not the right cooker but for me as a Solent sailor with occasional cross channel trips - it's fine.

I am the cook and we do tend to eat on board most of the time so it has had a fair beating over the last 2 seasons.

Note: The cooker was replaced before we cooked anything as the oven wouldn't stay alight. Dometic sent a technician along but he was unable to resolve it so Marine Super Store changed it - even offering any other make if I was put off by the experience. The replacement has been fine.
 
ithet said:
Another possibility, you might be able to use the gimbals/pan clamps from the old Atlantic cooker on a 'Voyager', the caravan version of the Neptune.
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So the 'marine' version is all stainless steel? Our old Plastimo has a mild steel core which was found to be very rusty when I took it home to clean. I also discovered the door was actually glass!!
 
Ruffles said:
So the 'marine' version is all stainless steel? Our old Plastimo has a mild steel core which was found to be very rusty when I took it home to clean. I also discovered the door was actually glass!!
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A number of these cookers have "enamelled" interiors, the cynical might read this as "painted". Certainly the Neptune does and possibly the Dometic. They also share the plated pan clamps, and some the pan supports, that have been a source of criticism from some forum members.

I think the OP needs to have a good dig around in the specs of each one and then go somewhere were there is a fair selection for viewing. The more I looked at it, the more I felt that no cooker was perfect at this price level. At least those two have a separate grill which was the top of my wish list.
 
I installed a new Neptune three years ago and have used it a lot as we live aboard for six months of the year .Oven seems very efficient and does perfect roast spuds .Grill has big pan although heated area quite compact,does toast surprisingly quick,y , the two burners are fine .Not had to dismantle as yet .Still looks like new so I'm happy with it.
 
Piddy said:
Note: The cooker was replaced before we cooked anything as the oven wouldn't stay alight. Dometic sent a technician along but he was unable to resolve it so Marine Super Store changed it - even offering any other make if I was put off by the experience. The replacement has been fine.
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Ours had this issue also, resolved with a piece of card in the knob to allow it to push in further. Quite common I think.
 
I replaced mine last year (as John knows).
I went into Force 4 and could compare them side by side.
I went for the Dometic Starlight mainly because the stainless looked better, the top came off easy for cleaning and it came with pan holders which were easy to move / remove.
The Starlight didn't have a grill pan, the Neptune did but it was flimsy ( I transferred pan from old cooker). Starlight didn't have an oven door lock but I haven't found that I needed it.

 
ithet said:
Ours had this issue also, resolved with a piece of card in the knob to allow it to push in further. Quite common I think.
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I think so. too
The technician tried this bodge and it worked for a day or so but eventually gave up. At this point MSS swapped it out.
 
I have the equivalent of the Neptune. I installed it not long after I bought the boat so I must have had it for about 15 years now. The old one was scruffy and the lefthand tap would stick when warm. The new Plastimo was a direct replacement. For what it's worth, here's my experience since then.
It still looks good - no significant rust on the main unit or the pan clamps. The fact that the grill only cooks the stuff on the middle of the pan appears to be an "undocumented feature" - one finds a work-around. You need to dismantle the rings at least once a year to keep them clean and to ensure the screw keeping the top in place doesn't seize up. The only real problem I've had/have with this one (I still think of it as "the new one") is that lefthand tap, the one for the lefthand burner. This tends to seize up when it gets warm (i.e. when the oven and/or grill are on for a time). It's another "undocumented feature". Eventually, the brass internals of the tap give up because of the forces that get applied - despite me being careful. I have also tried servicing the tap to ensure adequate lubrication (this after advice from the manufacturer) but the effect doesn't last. I ended up replacing the tap - twice now I think. This fault isn't as dangerous as it might sound but it is annoying.
 
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