# Origo stoves



## JIO (Aug 23, 2001)

Looking for feedback on the Origo stove line that uses non pressurized alcohol. It appears to be easy to use and ignite as well as not having any major downsides/dangerous aspects as one might have with propane (explosions) if the system was not properly maintained or had a faulty installation.

Some have told me that it is not a "hot" flame and that it takes forever to boil water and cook with this system. This feedback with 3rd hand, however, not from folks with this system. Can anyone with the system speak to this?

Is Origo the only player in the non pressurized alcohol arena? If others exist, anyone know the company names? 

My goals for cooking are to have a system that I can use for short trips (mostly weekends, occasionaly up to 10 days of cruising). Probably will not use oven much, but want to boil water for coffee/tea and use grill tops for some cooking.

Thanks for your thoughts.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I had the stovetop 2 burner model and it worked fine ! It would boat water just fine and fry up eggs and bacon in the morning. Maybe a tiny bit less output than propane but was so easy to use and safe, that I didn''t mind. Of course not as convenient as propane, but worked fine.


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## RichardElliott (Sep 24, 2001)

Love the 2 burner Orrigo. Just in case, I bought a one burner butane stove for boiling water, the type omelette chefs use. The Orrigo works so well that the butane stove is never used. Filling the alcohol cannisters every three days or so is a bit of a nuisance on a long cruise. Be sure to buy soot free alcohol to keep the galley slave happy!


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## bmcald (Mar 16, 2000)

I use an Origo one-burner for short trips and overnights. Only drawback I know of is that the flame is hard to see. I haven''t tried any real cooking, just heating up water or a can of Dinty Moores stew. It does both very quickly.

I prefer it over pressurized stoves, whether alcohol or propane, because it is simpler and safer.


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## pirateofcapeann (Aug 27, 2002)

I lived and cruised for 7 years aboard my Columbia 22, Olde Blue with a two burner Origo. I suppose I''ve done everything from heaving too and making coffee in force 7 to baking bread in a "oven" contraption I made to go on top of it. As far as I''m concerned, there is no better cook stove to be had! Mine was an older type. The flame concentrated to a tip in the center which was not so good for making omelets or pancakes, but I made "flame spreader" pieces to go over the burners and all was well. A friend of mine just bought a new Origo for his boat and it seems that the company has got the same idea and now they supply the new stoves with these inserts. The only problems I''ve found was that filling the burners in a seaway could be a bit of an act and burning raw alcohol can be a bit noxious in an enclosed boat. Otherwise, the peace of mind over propane and less hassle then the patria pressurized fuel stoves makes the Origo stove a near perfect galley mate! I’ve noticed a raw alcohol stove, I think it was a “Kenyon” but it appears to be just an Origo with a different company’s name attached.


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## flyingbear (Nov 2, 2000)

I used to own an Olson 911S which came equiped with an Origo 2 burner stove. The stove worked great and seemed to heat water just fine. Cooked some fairly gourmet meals on it too. I filled the canisters while at see using an old cleaned tuna can with a number of hole punched in the bottom with an awl. If I remember right, it was about 5 holes about 1/16" in size. The tuna can just fit into the opening on top of the canister. I measured how many tuna cans it took to fill the canister. Made filling at sea much easier. I don''t remember how many cans it took for a fill.


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## windship36 (Oct 22, 2002)

We have a 2 burner with oven and have been totally pleased with it''s opeaartion...lots of heat, cooks fairly quickly, little mess and NO DANGER...highly recommend this type of stove but consider getting the oven too. Great to warm up meat pies etc on the cool Canadaian autumn and spring evenings...Cap''n Bob www.windship.cjb.net


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Ahoy Windship. That''s what I''m talking about. Welcome to the conversation.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

Ahoy, pirateofcapeann. I lived aboard a 24 footer. I thought that was tight. If you lived aboard a 22 footer you are a good man, Charlie Brown.


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## TSOJOURNER (Dec 16, 1999)

I found that a cast iron pot with a heavy lid, and a pressure cooker both make pretty good ovens in a pinch. I baked bread, meat, and whatever in them.


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## Jeff_H (Feb 26, 2000)

I have used Origos for the past 15 years. I love them. I took out the propane and installed a two burner with an oven on my present boat. I must say that the oven is not built as nicely as the stove but it works quite well. 

The heat output seems about the same as most marine propane stove (I believe that when new the typical propane burner puts out less than 10% more heat but looses that advatage over time.) I baked a quiche in mine last weekend and it came out quite good and in about the same time as it would take ashore. 

The trick to filling the burners in rough weather is to buy a camp stove fuel container. These have a pour spout that works perfectly with alcohol and seals tightly. 

I use about betwen a half and 3/4 gallon a year in pretty heavy weekend useage (maybe 10 weekend a year) and a longer cruise (maybe a week to 12 days). 

Jeff


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## petercra (Nov 1, 2002)

I recently bought an Origo 3000 and am very pleased with it. Practical Sailor has a review of stoves in its March 2002 issue which says that the boiling time for a quart of water is 11.5 minutes on the Origo vs. 5.5 minutes on a couple of Butane stoves. I don''t buy that. I did my own test and found a much faster boiling time, about 8 minutes for the Origo. My home electric stove was only 1.5 minutes faster. Given that full heat is typically used only to get the pot and food hot, then the heat is turned down, a couple of minutes each day out of .5 to 1 hour spent cooking is insignificant. 

See also www.boatus.com/goodoldboat/cookingfuels.htm for an excellent comparison of various stove types. Alcohol has half of the BTU/lb. of propane, but a 10 lb. propane tank weighs about 10 pounds empty and 20 pounds full. The weight of an empty alcohol jar is minimal. Thus effective weight per BTU for the fuel system is about the same. Alcohol is way ahead in terms of BTUs per unit volume. It weighs 6-7 pounds per gallon whereas a 10 pound propane tank takes up about 6 gallons of space (and they''re round so there''s even more wasted space). That''s about 1.6 pounds per gallon of fuel. Propane takes up twice the volume per BTU compared to alcohol.
But heat content of the fuel is not relevant except maybe on a long voyage where space and volume are concerns. The question is how much heat does the burner put out. If one looks at the Origo specs a burner puts out 7000 BTU/hr., propane stove burners are 5000-8000 BTU/hr. 
All of the data point to a very effective stove, very safe, and much less expensive than retrofitting propane. I replaced a 20 year old non-pressurized alcohol stove and notice a huge difference in heat output. The burners were clogged and I wasted a lot of time and effort trying to fix. Quite simply alcohol stove got a bad name due to these stoves.
The only drawback is some odor and wooziness in closed cabins. I''ve been using S-L-X denatured alcohol (cheap at Home Depot). Perhaps Soot Free would be better, it''s a couple of bucks a gallon extra. Consumption was less than 1 gallon on a 3 week cruise, cooking every night and coffee water in the morning.


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## laboheme (Oct 18, 2002)

I have a two burner Origo and used it when we lived aboard and it worked great. I thought it boiled water just fine and worked for the pressure cooker, too. I wonder about the model with oven. Does anyone know if it takes lots of fuel for that? I am considering that or a diesel stove - right now I have the Origo two burner and a wood burning cook stove. I plan to replace the wood burner but haven''t decided on which type to get. Don''t want propane.


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## Joesaila (May 19, 2007)

Wow, so glad to find this post. I have an older Morgan OI 30 and it has a relatively new Origo 2 burner. I will now give it a 'fair' chance. Nearly got rid of it for propane which I've used and was very happy with but the cost of conversion would have been expensive. THANKS!


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Alcohol is probably the most expensive fuel, per btu. Also, be careful with alcohol stoves, as if you try to refill the cans while they're still hot, you can get a nasty, almost invisible fire for your troubles. 

Finally, alcohol fires can be somewhat problematic and difficult to extinguish. There have been reported cases of burning alcohol "floating" on top of water used to put out the fire, and starting a fire elsewhere in the boat—dry chem extinguishers are probably best.


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## dmchose (Sep 5, 2003)

sailingdog said:


> There have been reported cases of burning alcohol "floating" on top of water used to put out the fire, and starting a fire elsewhere in the boat-dry chem extinguishers are probably best.


We always carried a pour spout type of container, of salt for that. Many times, perhaps too many, I remember a leaking stove creating the " invisable flame" and having to use salt on the stove area at sea.Maybe that is why dad always was busy at the helm  Anywho, I learned that hair grows back quick, salt is cheap, and finally how to rebuild a alcohol at 14.
Don Mc


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## sailingdog (Mar 19, 2006)

Baking soda works quite well and is a bit less corrosive than salt.  Absorbs nasty odors too.


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## TrueBlue (Oct 11, 2004)

When our good friends had a very nasty boat fire during the Newport Folk Festival a couple years ago, we were very glad to have propane fuled appliances onboard our boat.

His Pearson 33's alcohol stove, inadvertantly leaked fuel into the bilge as he tried priming the cup on his pressurized Kenyon unit. Once ignited the cabin was ablaze, resulting in 10 music lovers jumping overboard . . . a near total disaster. 

Fortunately, the captain was sober enough to extinguish the flames before his vessel sunk.


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## t6im (Jul 18, 2007)

*New model Origo 4100 FIRE*

Beware the slide controls and components are made of a VERY flamable plastic. Almost ruined my week at Catalina when they caught fire. My wife was making hash brown patatoes for breakfast on a griddle. The griddle apparently held in to much heat. She called me in the cabin and said the "knobs are melting". Just as I looked in fire erupted. She had already removed the patatoes so I calmly grabbed the pot holders and carried the griddle outside and thru it in the Pacific Ocean. Then I went inside grabbing the extinguisher on the way, pointing it into the hole where the slide control used to be I gave it one short blast.
THIS COULD HAVE ENDED IN DISASTER!!!!!!
We have used that same griddle many times before with no problem.
I called Swego (941-355-0248) and ordered replacement slide controls, part#388027-81 SLIDE CONTROL KIT. There is one slide control per kit.
They must know of the problem because the replacement parts are metal. TIM, Bayliner 2452


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## jpn01 (Jan 13, 2008)

*Origo stove and heater*

I have had the two burner non-press Origo stove and think it is great. Maybe not quite as hot as propane but easier, safe, compact and light. Buy an extra fuel cannister and fill it when convenient. Put a cap on the spare cannister and it's at the ready if you need i. I would not expect it to store full for long periods but to make sure your stove stays hot while preping dinner, it's a great insurance policy. BTW the Heat Pal by Origo uses the same canister and is the perfect heat accessory for boats. It's portable, safe(within reason) and puts out a lot of warmth. Great suggestion, use high quality alcohol fuel only.


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## mccary (Feb 24, 2002)

*Safer Yes, Totaly Safe NO*

I have an old Origio 3000 on my boat and while I agree that alcohol is safer that propane/butane/etc it is still a stove and as the old saying goes, "Where there is smoke there is fire" Any stove can be a potential danger spot. THE advantage to alcohol is that it can be extinguished with water AND it evaporates! So, when the flame get a bit out of control you can douse with a bucket of water and it's gone... and if the fuel is spilled it flows into the bilge and will eventually evaporate. Propane, etc, is also heavier than air and also goes into the bilge and stays there until it is burned off (BOOM!).

Also, lets not forget the potential for burns (both direct fro flame and also from boiling liquids) with any stove.


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## johnshasteen (Aug 9, 2002)

We have the Origo combo no-pressure alcohol and 110v electric. Works great - at home cooking in the slip and decent cooking offshore. We also have a SeaSwing propane unit tht we use in the worst of all conditions.


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## scottyt (Jul 19, 2008)

i love my 2 burner stove, non pressurized. but i do have a cheap propane bottle feed stove that sits ontop of the alky stove, it has no bottom and almost locks in place for back up.


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## Fitz87 (Oct 27, 2009)

I noticed a funny smell when pumping up my alcohol stove the other day and found a steady stream of alcohol coming from the bottom of one of the burners. 

It sounds like the non-pressurized system is safer and better. I think I will order one of these Origo stoves and trash my old Princess model! Thanks for all the info.


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