Origo non pressure alcohol stoves
I've been catching up on good things sailors are saying about Origo. Might be a resurgence in popularity, some manufacturers are again supplying galleys with them. You find them on rent-a-boats.
I'm convinced there is no good place for propane tanks on 338. That decision took out the pricey swinging box stoves, even the two burner with infra-red broiler is nearly two feet wide. and you need the vented locker, the tubes and glands, solenoids, and maybe a sniffer in the bilge. It's just too dam finiky for me. Then I discovered the mini swing stoves don't hold a pressure cooker anymore, and where would I store a bunch of 1# propane cans anyway? And what about all those one way cans?
Origo has a compact one burner (1500) - about 9 X 11 X 10 1/2" with the gimbal. That means 1/2 of the Ariel interior doesn't have to be a kitchen statement. It is always pointed out that alcohol takes twice as long to boil water. The official Origo time is 6-8 minutes for a quart. A sailor pointed out that the flame footprint is larger and more even than propane and thought the heat output and boiling time was actually about the same.
A friend, a convert, dropped by the boat, says he's going to lend me one to try at home. So I'll check out the smell. I think my objections were from pressure pump stoves in the past.
Origos are expensive, you betcha, BUT, just think, you buy one and install it, and boil water. With propane you have a huge safety rigamarol and a very dangerous fuel. An underlaying level of paranoia I've decided not to deal with. Alcohol disapates, like beer it disappears. :p