Origo Spirit Stoves

[JumbleDuck]

Just a little update. I contacted Dometic and categorically the have dropped spirit stoves.

I wonder what happened to the company who were selling identical-to-the-naked-idea alcohol stoves a few years back. As I recall, the story was that the Origo designer had re-licensed his ideas to someone else..

 

[ghostlymoron]

Probably they've realised there's not a very great market for a cooker that, whilst safe, is smelly, slow, can't do toast, baking or roasting and who's fuel is not always available.

I wonder what happened to the company who were selling identical-to-the-naked-idea alcohol stoves a few years back. As I recall, the story was that the Origo designer had re-licensed his ideas to someone else..

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Probably they've realised there's not a very great market for a cooker that, whilst safe, is smelly, slow, can't do toast, baking or roasting and who's fuel is not always available.

I quite like our twin Origo hob, but trying to find fuel for it in Brittany or for a similar one in Shetland was a nightmare. E5 or £3 for 1/2 litre from hardware shop. (I now buy 20 litres for £60 via carpenter supplies). Slow but we do a lot of stews on passage. Smells a bit - atmospheric - but can be distressing if I have mal de mare.

Our other boat has gas. Insurance company are funny about it but I see why this gas stuff caught on. Quicker to cook which as stove cant be gimballed is a blessing. Gaz cylinders available at many chandlers or big supermarkets in France. Our previous boats had calor gas and £20 refill lasted about 2 years and none of our voyages quite that extended

 

[scruff]

That said - on the electric hob theme, we picked up a 2-ring induction hob in Lidl that we use when there's shore power available. It's compact and light, stows neatly out of the way when not in use, doesn't stay hot.

Interestingly with the increased efficiency lithium batteries offer and the reduction in cost of solar panels it's not unreasonable to propose that electric cookers on boats may not be too far away for normal boats. SV Delos on YouTube have gone that way already.

 

[zoidberg]

I quite like our twin Origo hob, but trying to find fuel for it in Brittany....... was a nightmare.

Odd. Not a month ago, while in St Malo, I bought 5 x 5l in a normal neighbourhood Hypermarche. A little later in the day, I topped up our wine-trolley with another 5l bottle of 'alcool a bruler' from a different store. It seems that just about every large 'hyper' stocks the stuff, in two strengths and with several producers. There's clearly a continuing market for it.

That 30l. should keep me going for a season.....

 

[Red Panda]

Interestingly with the increased efficiency lithium batteries offer and the reduction in cost of solar panels it's not unreasonable to propose that electric cookers on boats may not be too far away for normal boats. SV Delos on YouTube have gone that way already.

Yup, I watched that Delos episode with interest. I'm very keen on solar + LiFePO4 power, but can't afford the batteries at the moment!

 

[Red Panda]

Odd. Not a month ago, while in St Malo, I bought 5 x 5l in a normal neighbourhood Hypermarche. A little later in the day, I topped up our wine-trolley with another 5l bottle of 'alcool a bruler' from a different store. It seems that just about every large 'hyper' stocks the stuff, in two strengths and with several producers. There's clearly a continuing market for it.

That 30l. should keep me going for a season.....

Following a tip on here some time back, I buy biofuel from a place online called something like biofuelireland. A case of 1l bottles was about €25, if I remember right.

 

[Hadenough]

Odd. Not a month ago, while in St Malo, I bought 5 x 5l in a normal neighbourhood Hypermarche. A little later in the day, I topped up our wine-trolley with another 5l bottle of 'alcool a bruler' from a different store. It seems that just about every large 'hyper' stocks the stuff, in two strengths and with several producers. There's clearly a continuing market for it.
That 30l. should keep me going for a season.....:

You store 30L of paraffin - whatever - in plastic containers with no control over their accidental discharge rather than gas in metal containers with numerous methods of control and cut off???

 

[oldmanofthehills]

Following a tip on here some time back, I buy biofuel from a place online called something like biofuelireland. A case of 1l bottles was about €25, if I remember right.

I seem to have missed a trick in france due to linguistic feebleness, unless S Brittany inexplicably different. Oh well. However quite certain no meths in large quantities in Shetland stores.

 

[zoidberg]

Odd. Not a month ago, while in St Malo, I bought 5 x 5l in a normal neighbourhood Hypermarche. A little later in the day, I topped up our wine-trolley with another 5l bottle of 'alcool a bruler' from a different store. It seems that just about every large 'hyper' stocks the stuff, in two strengths and with several producers. There's clearly a continuing market for it.
That 30l. should keep me going for a season.....:

You store 30L of paraffin - whatever - in plastic containers with no control over their accidental discharge rather than gas in metal containers with numerous methods of control and cut off???

Yes. The offending plastic containers are safe in my 'shed' at home. Should there be 'accidental discharge' it's more than difficult to imagine how that could become other than moderately inconvenient.

And yes, after a sailing 'back story' running now over 50 years - much of that on other's boats - I swiftly run out of fingers to count the occasions when the 'numerous methods of control and cutoff' of gas equipment carried were rusted up, non-functioning, split, ineffectual and leaking 'cos said owners hadn't had the kit checked or serviced since they first bought it.

And sometimes even when it IS checked and serviced regularly...... Read the MAIB Report on the gas explosion aboard HMASTY Lord Trenchard alongside at Poole. I've more than a few miles logged on her, and one of her early skippers - John Reeve - took me through her gas safety kit/procedures in detail, which was the 'Gold Standard' I and others lived by for many years.

And another thing.......

I used to spend my time at my 'desk', for years, sat surrounded by many thousands of litres of 'paraffin' which we took along specifically to burn. That was contained, for the most part, in large rubber bags. I managed to manage....

 

[Poignard]

I seem to have missed a trick in france due to linguistic feebleness, unless S Brittany inexplicably different. Oh well. However quite certain no meths in large quantities in Shetland stores.

I keep my boat in Brittany and I have never had a problem buying alcool à brûler from supermarkets, bricolage stores and small stores on the islands.

Usually I buy it from Carrefour supermarkets and the price seems reasonable :

https://www.carrefour.fr/p/alcool-a-bruler-900-combustible-nettoyant-mieuxa-3256630030413

https://www.carrefour.fr/p/alcool-a-bruler-900-mieuxa-3256630030451

I usually buy the 1 litre containers as they are easier to find room for, easier to carry in my rucsac and the effects of a spill less catastrophic.

 

[jamie N]

B&Q for Bioethanol; usually nationally available (I'd guess) during the spring & summer, for people burning stuff in the BBQ season.
Besides this, and in comparison to gas, if I spill it, I can mop it up. If I spill this and it's alight, I can throw water on it to put it out.
On my boat, water's readily available in the area.....:encouragement:
EDIT: Forgot to mention, mine's got the 'oven' option, which I feel renders it as usable as any other type.

 

[Praxinoscope]

Judging by the varied comments it would seem that Origo spirit stoves are on the ‘Marmite’ spectrum. Personally all my boats since the late 70’s have been fitted with them, often envied the
oven version that jamie N has, but the two burner version has served me well over the years.

 

[HunterWanderer]

I tried bio ethanol but it flamed up too much. I changed to blue meths and its great , good heat with no smell, except if I overfill the canister. Did I just overfill the canister when I filled it with bio ethanol?
I still have about 5x1 litre bottles unused and dont want to throw them away.

 

[dartmoor]

Can't understand the comments re difficulty getting fuel - bio-ethanol is as cheap as chips online. And meths in any hardware store?