Yachting Monthly stove review gave Origo a hard time!

snooks said:
How many people have a B&Q near their boat?!? :)

It took a lot longer than gas to get the oven to temperature, and was twice the price of the test winner.

And YM gave it a less than glowing review? Who would have thunk it?
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So its not the 'sexiest' piece of kit on the block for sure, or the newest, but it has some fundamental qualities that might have been overlooked. Speaking as a working gas engineer, what attracts me to the Origo is its simplicity and its safety. I can't recall how many yachts I've been on where there has been a slight lingering smell of butane about the place, and that is always a bit scary to me. So it takes possibly a couple of minutes longer to boil a kettle..........who gives a damn because I don't. It isn't perfect, but in a world of compromise, the Origo is a pretty good one in my experience.

Tim
 
What is the reccomended way to test a yacxht gas burnerand grill.....the boat I bought seems to have a good installation but there seems to be a lingering whiff.
 
PhillM said:
Interesting about the bio ethanol. I was wondering how good that was and what it smelled like?
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Hi Phill - bioethanol smells a lot less strong than meths - just faintly reminiscent of camping, but very acceptable! As far as I know there's no difference in performance - we haven't tried meths in our Origo, but things get hot with the bioethanol perfectly quickly enough for our needs ;-)
 
gordmac said:
Quite a lot I would imagine.
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Hi there - point taken re. those that live in remote locations. However, with 358 UK stores (according to the Kingfisher website), I still reckon more people than not would know where their nearest B&Q is & be able to reach it. As others have said in reply to my original post, you can buy it online from a variety of sources now too - albeit more expensive per litre. Wonder whether B&Q not offering delivery on it is anything to do with the postal restrictions others have quoted, though...
 
nathanlee said:
Curiously, I could get the meth's for nearly quarter the price from the local chandlers as opposed to Homebase across the road.
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Hi Nathan - do you recall roughly how cheaply you managed to get meths from local sources? Just interested to compare, that's all. And when you say chandler's, do you mean a marine place specifically or an independent hardware place? We've refurbished our boat inside and out, and have always found local chandleries eye-wateringly expensive on pretty much everything. It's usually a relief when we can get what we need from a generic DIY place instead.
 
snooks said:
How many people have a B&Q near their boat?!? :)

It took a lot longer than gas to get the oven to temperature, and was twice the price of the test winner.

And YM gave it a less than glowing review? Who would have thunk it?
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Ha ha - very droll :-)

B&Q near boat - well, most people that don't live on their boats have to do a certain amount of preparation/stocking/taking things with them from home, I think, so needing one by your boat I would see more as an owner planning malfunction, personally.

Oven temp - I've had a quick look back at the article and it doesn't quote time to get to temperature for the gas ovens, so I can't make an objective judgement on that.

Price - yes, that's something else I didn't think was very fair. I think the last of the three scoring categories should simply have been "price". "What you get" has already been marked elsewhere - so "price for what you get" is double counting.

Compare the Origo with the Bainbridge Neptune 5000, for instance - ball park same price, the Neptune oven basically doesn't cook properly (and surely 'outcome' rather than speed should be the priority?), the grill appears to be a waste of space, and the water took 25% longer to boil (NB. identical outcome!) - but it scored 17 out of 30 compared with the Origo's score of 12 out of 30? Sorry, but that just looks totally disproportionate to me.

PS. All of the above being said - my original post was very specific. I said that they didn't take account of safety, which is a fact, and that they said the fuel was hard to get hold of, which I think has been disproven by this thread. I didn't make any claims as regards whether they should have given it a "glowing review" or not.

PPS. That also being said - I'm very pleased that the post has generated so much discussion and am grateful for everyone's views, including yours. And ultimately you win anyway because your boat's on the Solent, which is where I wish ours was, being a Southampton girl - damn you ;-)
 
I've used an Origo, which I keep on finding in the loft when I'm looking for something else. We used it with meths but, and perhaps it's just faulty memory, but isn't it "wetter" than propane? All normal cooking gases give off water vapour when burned, but it did seem as though the meths made everything a bit sweaty. Maybe I shouldn't have drunk the stuff.
 
Sgeir said:
I've used an Origo, which I keep on finding in the loft when I'm looking for something else. We used it with meths but, and perhaps it's just faulty memory, but isn't it "wetter" than propane? All normal cooking gases give off water vapour when burned, but it did seem as though the meths made everything a bit sweaty. Maybe I shouldn't have drunk the stuff.
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You have probably been told before about your meths consumption. Hiding in the loft doesn't make it anybetter:-)

My previous boat had a 3000 fitted, It was great not to have any gas onboard. When I bought my current boat, the survey condemned the gas installation so I ripped it out and fitted a Wallas diesel hob /heater. Brilliant in winter as can leave it simmering like an Aga, but a bit slow to wind up just for a brew. So when I saw the test in YM, I went out and bought a 1500 single burner.

It might have come last, but it sold it to me!! I would prefer never to have gas on a boat.

Thanks for the fuel supply tips, I prefer not to smell meths.
 
We have had an Origo 2000 for 15 years. The stove itself is over 30 years old. We are very happy with it, it cooks/boils quickly enough and is ultra safe being unpressurised.

In the unlikely event you did have a meths fire it can be put out with water.

Interesting about bioethanol available in B and Q. Will have a look tommorow. We usually buy purple meths in a local hardware shop.
 
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