Cooking Stoves

If you are going to cook on your oar cruiser, you need a stove. In this post, we’ll show you a sample of possible stoves you could use… ranging in price and utility.

Cautionary note: Fire and boats are not a good mix. “Caution” is the key…
Caution in how you fuel the stove…
Caution in how the stove is held in position…
Caution in how the ‘filled’ pot is held in position. ..
Caution in how you handle the hot pot and where you place it...
Caution regarding leaked Propane gas (which can lead to explosions).

Stove Stability

Rick Thompson, in his custom Welsford Walkabout uses  a “Jetboil” (see below) on a thick piece of plywood (forming a ‘kitchen table’) with a hole that matches the diameter of the fuel tank. This keeps the stove from sliding and tipping, but does not solve the problem of keeping the pot from moving.

Rick Thompson's "Kitchen table" Holder for his Jetboil Stove 

Christine DeMerchant in her excellent site, shows a gimbaled stove that solves both problems of holding the ‘stove’ and the ‘pot’.  I was not able to find any commercial nor home-built version of a gimbal, such as this, that could be used to hold a ‘camp’ stove level in a pitching and rocking boat.

A Gimbaled Stove and Integrated Pot Holder

Colin Angus, in his Adventure Handbook suggests setting up the stove at the center of the boat in order to minimize pitch and roll caused by wakes and waves.

What ‘Alcohol’ to use in an Alcohol Stove?

The Adventure in Stoving site has very specific recommendations about what alcohol to use in stoves; here’s a copy of the summary of the article (in order by highest to lowest recommendation):

"1.  Lab grade absolute ethanol (200 proof) or high proof liquor (190 proof).  High heat content per gram (relative to methanol), relatively clean burning, and generally non toxic, but check the MSDS on lab grade absolute ethanol which may contain benzene which is toxic.  A good choice for warmer weather. 

2.  "Green" denatured alcohol in the US or methylated spirits (ethanol with methanol used as a denaturing agent) outside the US.  Methylated spirits is often called "meths" or "metho".  Good heat content, relatively clean burning, fairly non-toxic depending on the amount and type of the denaturing agent.  In the US, always check the MSDS.  A good choice for warmer weather. 

3.  Methanol, for example yellow HEET.  Decent heat content, very clean burning, but definitely toxic in terms of fumes and skin absorption.  Reasonably safe if used with care.  A good choice for colder weather. 

4.  You can use Isopropanol, for example red HEET (Iso-HEET), but it is not really suitable as a stove fuel because it's generally a sooty mess when it burns.  Highest heat content, but dirty burning, and definitely toxic.  Not recommended."

“Penny” Stoves (Alcohol)

Probably the least expensive option for a cooking stove is to build your own “penny” stove. They are used by many back packers because of their light weight, low cost and readily available fuel.

Typically, there is no control of the burner heat… it’s either all or nothing. It’s also important to have a way to “turn off” the stove other than letting the alcohol burn off. The most common way is to have a can that is larger than the stove that is placed upside-down over the still burning stove and starves it for air.

Do a search on the internet for “penny stoves” and you’ll find many, many variations.  Here’s just one:

A Penny Stove

Trangia (Alcohol or Propane gas)

Trangia, a Swedish company, offers a series of three stove sets for 1, 1-2 and 3-4 people fueled by either gas or alcohol. These are complete sets which include pots, stove, windshield… with many alternatives as to which pots/pans are included.

The alcohol burner available on all sets can boil a liter (1.1 qt.) of water in 10 minutes, while the propane burner (not available on the smallest set) can boil 1 liter of water in 3-5 minutes.

These are very high quality sets which receive very high ratings by customers.

Available at Amazon

Trangia Stove Set

Primus EtaPower EF Stove (Propane gas)

The Sea Kayak Photo site recommends the “Primus EtaPower EF” integrated stove set in their review. It is available, for example, at Amazon.

The stove set consists of a burner/base, windscreen, pot, lid/frying pan, handle and insulated carrying case. The fuel tank is attached to the burner by a hose, which enables the burner with a full pot to be more stable than if the fuel tank is integrated with the burner. When packed, it is 8.7” (22cm) diameter and 5” (12.5cm) high.

The stove can boil 1 liter (1.1 qt) of water in 3 minutes. According to the “Sea Kayak Photos” review, this stove is “amazingly frugal with gas”.

Primus ETAPower EF Stove

MSR PocketRocket Stove (Propane gas)

The PocketRocket stove is very light, packs in a very small space, has excellent control of heat. The pot ‘stand’ (it’s not a pot ‘holder’) is serrated and helps to prevent the pot from slipping.

The unit is directly attached to various sizes of propane containers and this leads to stability problems which must be addressed when used in a boat.

Boil times are about 3-4 minutes for a liter (1.1 qt) of water. A wind shield would have to be provided except in a dead calm.

The PocketRocket is sold by, for example, LL Bean

PocketRocket Stove

Jetboil (Propane gas)

The Jetboil stove is designed primarily for heating water, and it does it very effectively… about 2 minutes for 16 oz. (.5 liter) of water. The model shown below uses a 1 liter container, surrounded by a Neoprene jacket. The burner has a built-in wind-screen, Piezo electric lighter, and burner temperature control.

A note about ALL Piezo electric lighters; they can fail to work in damp/wet conditions and in the cold. ALWAYS bring back up lighting capabilities such as waterproof matches and/or a cigarette lighter.

These units are available, for example, at LL Bean.

Jetboil Stove

Kelly Kettle (Any available fuel such as dried leaves, twigs, etc.)

The Kelly Kettle gets high marks from reviewers because of its use of readily available fuels… anything, as long as it burns. It quickly boils water in its integrated water jacket and can, at the same time, be used as a cook stove with pot or pan.

Two issues which make using in a small boat a (probable) “no-no”:

1. Difficult to keep stable due to its height, especially with a pot/pan on top,
   
   
2. Depending upon what fuel you use, smoke. (Imagine the reaction of nearby boats when they see smoke pouring out of your cockpit… not pretty.)

This ‘all the bells and whistles’ example  is available at Amazon.

If you intend to ‘shore’ camp, this is a very good solution.

Kelly Kettle Set

Please reread the "Cautions" at the top of this post!