Techimpex cookers - thoughts good and bad

[rogerball0]

Problem is that some of the high priced stuff is not good or not good value. Think this is particularly true of cookers. However, if you really want the best go for a Taylors 030 or 030L. Saves you messing about putting in a gas installation and once you get used to using it your culinary standards will improve. To finance it I will buy one of your kidneys off you as I am in need of one - assuming it is compatible!

Just seen the price Tranona, wonder if i could do without both kidney's? :culpability:

I'm using the Techimpex that came with the boat. It looks a lot like the XL2 depicted earlier here. It's around 15 years old and apart from a few minor issues, its' working fine. I cook and bake on it all the time.

The minor issues are some rust in the oven, the gimbals have worn out a bit so to engage the locking bolt (to lock the gimbals) I have to lift one side of the unit a bit. The burners on top are rusty too and the screws holding them are rusted and rounded off so it'd take some fiddling to get them out to restore the burners (made a failed attempt at getting them out the other day). There's no thermostat (only a thermometer), but the oven seems to top out around 180-200°C anyways, so there is no real need for one. All the flame failure devices are still working reliably.

I think after 15 years that's all very reasonable for a low-cost unit and it still does the job. Although I do want to look at the Wallas diesel ones - just because it would permit me to get rid of the LPG system entirely.

I take it all back regards XL2, so could it be good old fashioned patchy QC, (i've owned several Italian cars over the years, and know this only too well).

 

[Tranona]

That is exactly the same Bavaria badged one that I ditched - could not even sell it even though it was working so it ended up in the council dump. They are widely used on charter boats in Greece and hated!. Wish Yngmar better luck than I had in replacing the burner - that was what finally did it for me, and my gas engineer refused to give me a certificate if I kept it.

BTW Taylors are like Rolls Royces - you appreciate them long after you have forgotten the price. MIne (in another boat) is over 40 years old and has only had one factory refurbishment in that time. Lovely bit of kit.

 

[doug748]

"The problem is apart from wanting something both capable and durable i want something modern-looking too and from what i've found thats either a GN espace or a techimpex "


I was never too fond of the Captain Nemo styling of the Spinflo Nelson but bought one anyway:

View attachment 55129

As already mentioned all of wire stuff on top is plated steel. The burners are also a bit on the small size and the back/rear is open to the insulation. I never quite trusted the grill pan restraint and the cord on the front holds the handle. The slotted ally plates keep my teapot and Greek egg pan in position. Apart from that it has all been good news for me.

I was in the chandlers the other week and noticed some smart looking cookers about 80 quid cheaper than the Nelson, doubtless Chinese in origin. I really would not do it.

The stove shown is 15 years old now and going strong. I'm convinced and would not consider anything else.

 

[ip485]

An unshamed plug. I replaced my "old" cooker. They may be costly BUT and this is the important but, if you want a cooker than will cook like yours at home with a properly regulated oven, a grill that cooks over its whole surface area, then there arent any other options of which I am aware. They are a fantastic product and Julian will really look after you well.

Sorry its side ways - must have been heeling a tad too much

 

[rudolph_hart]

Mine is Techimpex 3 burner without grill, original equipment by Dehler. It's 20 years old now & still going strong.

Criticisms:

1. Oven catch is a bit naff, being chromed steel (though it hasn't failed - yet)
2. Burn marks on s/steel top plate around burners is permanent.
3. Oven is a bit basic (no thermostat)
4. No pan holders (though they may have been lost by 1st owner)

Apart from that it does the job.

 

[rogerball0]

"The problem is apart from wanting something both capable and durable i want something modern-looking too and from what i've found thats either a GN espace or a techimpex "


I was never too fond of the Captain Nemo styling of the Spinflo Nelson but bought one anyway:

View attachment 55129

As already mentioned all of wire stuff on top is plated steel. The burners are also a bit on the small size and the back/rear is open to the insulation. I never quite trusted the grill pan restraint and the cord on the front holds the handle. The slotted ally plates keep my teapot and Greek egg pan in position. Apart from that it has all been good news for me.

I was in the chandlers the other week and noticed some smart looking cookers about 80 quid cheaper than the Nelson, doubtless Chinese in origin. I really would not do it.

The stove shown is 15 years old now and going strong. I'm convinced and would not consider anything else.

That was kinda what i was driving at with my opening question as the Spinflo regularly gets 'second place' or 'best buy' but they look quite dated IMO, couldn't they at least update the door (lose the 'ye olde' elliptical window) and dull control panel?

View attachment 55131

An unshamed plug. I replaced my "old" cooker. They may be costly BUT and this is the important but, if you want a cooker than will cook like yours at home with a properly regulated oven, a grill that cooks over its whole surface area, then there arent any other options of which I am aware. They are a fantastic product and Julian will really look after you well.

Sorry its side ways - must have been heeling a tad too much

The GN does look the business, gonna go to LIBS and have a look at it in the flesh and if possible the Techimpex.

Still if anyone has one of the posher Techimpex units fitted feel free to voice opinion / review as it sounds like most have the XL2 or its myriad derivatives, which is still an option i guess.

cheers

 

[nigelmercier]

I've got the Bavaria badged XL2. It is adequate for my needs, but has drawbacks.
Needed new burner part after 5 years.
No grill.
Bottom of oven glass not sealed, so gets dirty.
Gas inlet corrodes.

 

[Serin]

View attachment 55131

An unshamed plug. I replaced my "old" cooker. They may be costly BUT and this is the important but, if you want a cooker than will cook like yours at home with a properly regulated oven, a grill that cooks over its whole surface area, then there arent any other options of which I am aware. They are a fantastic product and Julian will really look after you well.

Sorry its side ways - must have been heeling a tad too much

Looks more like a knockdown to me.....

Heartily agree. We bought our Levante quite a few years ago when GN Espace was just getting going. Despite the initial high cost, I have never regretted it.

 

[rogerball0]

The GN does look great, have also been looking at the Origo Alcohol stove too, i think its the 6000 with the oven attached, dunno if they're much cop?

 

[JumbleDuck]

The GN does look great, have also been looking at the Origo Alcohol stove too, i think its the 6000 with the oven attached, dunno if they're much cop?

I'd love one of them, but I believe that they are not made any more and the sellers listing them have old stock ... at a thousand quid a pop. Eek.

 

[rogerball0]

I'd love one of them, but I believe that they are not made any more and the sellers listing them have old stock ... at a thousand quid a pop. Eek.

Hi JD, yeah not very cheap but proper low tech, no pipe work etc, just looking at all options really, think it will be gas although i've kinda scuppered myself a bit with the new layout on mine below, starboard side: fuel tanks, centre line: engine and another fuel tank and port side, battery bank and electrics so getting a gas pipe through an area with no combustible elements or sources of ignition is a bit of a stretch hence looking at alcohol based stuff.

I didn't know they'd stopped making them, a simple google of 'Origo' suggests they're very popular with off-gridders and travellers of all denominations.

 

[Tranona]

They are (a bit like Taylors) a marmite type product. Some swear by them , particularly the small burner ones in small boats where gas is a real PITA to install. However, most swear at them, particularly the oven which is supposed to be slow to heat. If you are going non gas then Taylors is the way to go but no longer cheap unless you can find a second hand one.

 

[rogerball0]

They are (a bit like Taylors) a marmite type product. Some swear by them , particularly the small burner ones in small boats where gas is a real PITA to install. However, most swear at them, particularly the oven which is supposed to be slow to heat. If you are going non gas then Taylors is the way to go but no longer cheap unless you can find a second hand one.

Good call Tranona, although i feel i'd be letting the Taylor down it being installed in my boxy Centaur, and i thought the GN's were a work of art................................

One other thought abput the Origo is that its marketted as all S/S construction, it seems where alot of these typical unit shifters fall down is all the platied crap fitted to them. Just my opinion of course.

 

[JumbleDuck]

I had a beautiful Optimus 157, which has two rings and an oven, all with Taylor burners and the Optimus quick light facility - a fine paraffin spray, no meths needed. To my endless regret I flogged it on eBay a year before I bought my current boat, for which it would have been perfect. Damn.

 

[Tranona]

Good call Tranona, although i feel i'd be letting the Taylor down it being installed in my boxy Centaur, and i thought the GN's were a work of art................................

One other thought abput the Origo is that its marketted as all S/S construction, it seems where alot of these typical unit shifters fall down is all the platied crap fitted to them. Just my opinion of course.

Not sure the use of non stainless on cookers is a big issue. It was when boats were leaky and damp but I expect your Centaur will be dry as a bone and you will never get seawater down the hatch to swamp the cooker. It is the bits that are exposed and used in cooking that suffer - hence the problem with the rubbish grids and burners on the Techimpex - plus the catch (which is stainless) and the poor oven burner. The panels, even the mild steel ones were in perfect condition when I dumped it.

The reality is that boat cookers get less use in a lifetime than domestic cookers get in a few months, unless you are liveaboard. In dry modern boats and with reasonable care cookers such as the Spinflo and Plastimo will last very well.

 

[Bodach na mara]

Looking at the photos of the three cookers, none of them seem to have a separate grill, which would be an issue for us. We had a Flavel Vanessa cooker on Wight Dawn when we bought it (and still have it in the loft) but replaced it after the first season as it does not have a flame failure device. We replaced it with Plastimo, possibly Atlantic, with two burners, grill and separate oven and have been very happy with it. It is still going strong 15 years later.

Edit, Maybe it is a Plastimo Neptune 2000. It cost around £400 without gimbals and fiddles, which I got for an additional £40. Looking at prices, they do not seem to have changed much, so cookers are a better buy than they were in 1999. but they are still poor value for a metal box with a few burners.