What's the aversion for gas cooking on a boat?

[OldGoat]

Rather than tag on to the current 'what's the right sort of boat topic' and having understood why folks don't like raw water cooling -

 

What's wrong with gas cooking per se?

 

I'll accept that some boats have no reasonable space to put bottles and this topic - but this is directed to those who cook full meals while floating?

I ask because I've just asked The Management if she hated gas and she said no, but the oven is a pain to light with a lighter (that's easonable). 

We have a four burner, grill and oven and it's big enough to cook a Christmas meal for foue (we've done it several times). Apart from the energy supply a similar facility electric cooker would be much larger, but I can't think of another reason for 'leccy cooking.

 

 

[MtB]

 

Fear of gas leaks and CO poisoning. 

 

The sheer amount of fuss some BBS bods and some gas technicians make about the dangers of both gas leaks and CO poisoning, gives some folk the willies about having something so dangerous right there inside the boat with them. 

 

 

 

 

[blackrose]

The problem is that if they don't make a fuss about it then some people won't take it seriously. But there's nothing wrong with LPG on boats as long as the safety regs are followed.

[David Mack]

The no-gas brigade are noisy but very few in number. Almost every boat has gas.

[David Schweizer]

Is there a viable alternative to cooking with gas on a boat?  (and please do not suggest a primus stove!!)

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

Is there a viable alternative to cooking with gas on a boat?  (and please do not suggest a primus stove!!)

 

Epping stove? 

 

 

[Keith M]

8 minutes ago, David Schweizer said:

Is there a viable alternative to cooking with gas on a boat?  (and please do not suggest a primus stove!!)

What about a diesel stove?

[ditchcrawler]

My wife doesnt want a gas cooker in a house or a boat and as she does the cooking and feeds me thats good enough for me. One of the reasons I didn't instal gas when I fitted my boat was the BSS was early days and there was talk of all gas systems having to be professionally installed  as I didn't want to fall foul of a regulation that came out before I launched the boat.

[Bee]

A couple of my boats had gas cooking and gas lighting, both were very good indeed, gas lighting used to be common in caravans and caravan scrapyards were a brilliant source of cookers, lights, boilers and all sorts. Didn't need half a ton of expensive batteries either but never did find a gas television.

[MtB]

Just now, Bee said:

A couple of my boats had gas cooking and gas lighting, both were very good indeed, gas lighting used to be common in caravans and caravan scrapyards were a brilliant source of cookers, lights, boilers and all sorts. Didn't need half a ton of expensive batteries either but never did find a gas television.

 

I still have gas lights in one of my boats.

 

Dunno about tellys but you used to be able to get a steam radio, according to folklore. 

 

Still not sure if they were a real thing or just a turn of phrase....

 

 

[Balliol]

26 minutes ago, blackrose said:

The problem is that if they don't make a fuss about it then some people won't take it seriously. But there's nothing wrong with LPG on boats as long as the safety regs are followed.

The fundamental problem with gas in boats is that LP gas is denser than air. In a house it runs out through the doors and in a caravan there should be vents in the floor. Neither happens with boats. Houses still explode occasionally, but the risk is much greater with boats and denser LP gas collecting in the bilge.

 

Other downsides? All the obvious ones like space for gas lockers, obtaining gas etc. Less obviously, burning gas in a cooker produces water and thus dampness. Increased fire risks from open burners . In Europe we have to pay ca. 200 euros every three years just to have the gas system tested.

 

The alternatives?  I plan to take out our gas installation when the cooker next needs replacing and will replace with an induction hob and a combi microwave oven/grill. Not ideal for some types of cooking ( I am told!) and it will need a bigger inverter and more batteries, but we have a largish boat so that is not a problem other than the cost.
 

Why do installers make a fuss? Because they get frightened by some of the ludicrously dangerous things that people do with their gas systems, and a gas explosion is a serious risk to other people and property.

 

 

[MtB]

9 minutes ago, Balliol said:

and it will need a bigger inverter and more batteries

 

Swerving off topic, in particular you'll need to consider how to replenish the increased charge drawn from the bigger battery bank. Run your engine MUCH longer or get a bigger alternator and more solar panels?

 

 

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

17 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Swerving off topic, in particular you'll need to consider how to replenish the increased charge drawn from the bigger battery bank. Run your engine MUCH longer or get a bigger alternator and more solar panels?

 

 

 

 

This ^^^^^^

 

IN my view this is the main reason electric heating of any sort is a poor idea for the vats majority of cruising boaters who do not have an proper onboard generator.

[Chris Lowe]

56 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

Dunno about tellys but you used to be able to get a steam radio, according to folklore. 

 

Still not sure if they were a real thing or just a turn of phrase....

Here you go Mike

 

[Keeping Up]

Many years ago we hired a boat from Wyvern Shipping, and one evening we went out to the pub leaving my Mother-in-law on board to babysit our two young children. When we got back to the boat we asked her if everything was ok, and she replied "Yes, all is fine, and this gas central heating is incredibly effective" while pointing at the edges of the lounge floor. We were horrified to see a small gas flame all around; it turned out that there was a gas leak which was of course settling into the bilges. Possibly she had left the cooker turned on, they didn't have flame-failure sensors then, I don't know. Somehow she had managed to ignite it (probably while smoking) and as it seeped through the thin gap around the floorboards it was somehow burning steadily without backfiring through the gap. We quickly put out the flame with an extinguisher and called Wyvern out to fix it while we all (including M-I-L and the kids) decamped to the pub. I still wonder how we all survived!

[MtB]

25 minutes ago, buccaneer66 said:

Here you go Mike

 

 

 

AWESOME!!!!

 

Lurve the voltmeter too. 

 

Bit disappointed with the radio though, I was expecting him to tune to a station by poking about at a crystal with a cat's whisker! 

 

Virtual greenie, thanks 

 

 

 

[Tracy D'arth]

There was a gas fired thermocouple electrical generator made and I see that there is also a current Russian one made by Kryotherm. So gas TV and radio is perfectly possible.

[MtB]

5 minutes ago, Tracy D'arth said:

There was a gas fired thermocouple electrical generator made and I see that there is also a current Russian one made by Kryotherm. So gas TV and radio is perfectly possible.

 

 

Our very own Athy has a steam powered computer in his home office...

 

 

[Iain_S]

3 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

I still have gas lights in one of my boats.

 

Dunno about tellys but you used to be able to get a steam radio, according to folklore. 

 

Still not sure if they were a real thing or just a turn of phrase....

 

 

During WWII, a steam generator was produced to power a covert radio set. Used a Stuart Sirius engine, I think

 

From Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arthur_Lyon_%26_Co

 

WW2 ALCO "Firefly" steam powered battery charger. This unusual generator was designed for parachute drop in a standard parachute container, and included an oil-fired steam generator, which provided steam for a

Stuart Turner Sirius twin cylinder steam engine, which drove a standard wireless service generator for charging 6 volt batteries. Several of these rare generators survive, and suggest that it was made for many years from 1943 with the MkIV version having a single cylinder steam engine. These sets were supposedly used by special operatives.^[8]

[Momac]

4 hours ago, OldGoat said:

What's wrong with gas cooking 

There is nothing wrong with it .

 

My chief officer doesn't like electric ovens/hobs at home and would not  consider  a boat that doesn't have gas cooking.(I guess if it was a very large boat with crew and  a very quiet generator she might be persuaded  to go electric).  

A gas oven was one of her must have items.  She had to compromise on the three burner hob as we only have two burners .

 

 

[Dav and Pen]

The VIC 32 has a steam driven gramophone which plays 78s.

[Athy]

2 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

 

Our very own Athy has a steam powered computer in his home office...

 

 

Silly boy.

I DO like that "steam radio" though. The miniature ship's wheel used as (I assume) a regulator is a cute touch.

I was amused by the inventor's closing comment that it was only a gimmick. Nooooo, go on!

[Balliol]

4 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Swerving off topic, in particular you'll need to consider how to replenish the increased charge drawn from the bigger battery bank. Run your engine MUCH longer or get a bigger alternator and more solar panels?

 

 

All valid points but OK for us: big engine, 17 kw silent genset, big alternators. Just really need a Victron Multi to top up the shore supply when necessary or when somewhere that we can’t run the genset (some towns in NL forbid generators on pollution grounds, quite sensibly).

 

 

[MtB]

9 minutes ago, Balliol said:

 

 

Excellent, looks like you have all bases covered, I thought you might.

 

I commented because it's common for peeps especially new(ish) boaters to assume all one needs to upgrade to a monster inverter is a bigger battery bank. 

 

And we don't want that misunderstanding to persist any longer than possible. 

 

 

[barry adams]

5 hours ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

 

 

Dunno about tellys but you used to be able to get a steam radio, according to folklore. 

 

Still not sure if they were a real thing or just a turn of phrase....

 

 

Many moons ago we were moored up on the big bit of concrete at the Bells of Ousley ( on the Thames ). Nice slipper launch cruising up and down looking for somewhere to moor, we called out and he moored alongside us ( unconverted motor ) the launch was  steam powered and the boiler was from the Vietnam war period these were used in the jungle to power a generator to run the  radio set. Steam being used for the lack of noise and smell of petrol or diesel.

Edited April 4, 2020 by barry adams
correction