Practical Sailor did an article on these alcohol heaters and like them !
You can remove the top and diffuser and cook on them ,
such as a teakettle , small pot etc.
They would probably lend themselves to the lavarock/weed system , quite well !
These do say NOT to sleep with them on.
Alcohol has a much less BTUs than Propane or Butane, Odorless kerosene is safe (used it for cooking on my 3 year Caribbean trip). CNG Gas is the best if you can get it as the gas is lighter than air and won't settle in bilge.
The clay pot with Lava rock retains the heat for a long time and spreads more heat throughout the cabin.
Dave
bobaefa wrote:Dave,
I am tracking on the Weed part but the Lava Rocks? So you take a clay flower pot and fill it with lave rocks from the gas grille and allow the pot with lava rocks to heat over the burner and it retains heat? That sounds like a really good idea. What is the issue with alchol burner heater? Looks like it is a small heater you could keep on the boat and use it when you need it.
DaveB wrote:Alcohol has a much less BTUs than Propane or Butane, Odorless kerosene is safe (used it for cooking on my 3 year Caribbean trip). CNG Gas is the best if you can get it as the gas is lighter than air and won't settle in bilge.
The clay pot with Lava rock retains the heat for a long time and spreads more heat throughout the cabin.
Dave
bobaefa wrote:Dave,
I am tracking on the Weed part but the Lava Rocks? So you take a clay flower pot and fill it with lave rocks from the gas grille and allow the pot with lava rocks to heat over the burner and it retains heat? That sounds like a really good idea. What is the issue with alchol burner heater? Looks like it is a small heater you could keep on the boat and use it when you need it.
You may be right about the BTU , but we fell in love with our alcohol stove and plan to get one of the alcohol heaters.
As far as safe they don't get much safer , you can put it out with water , if it spills it evaporates ,it cooks great and burns clean.
The lava rocks and clay pot goes back to the idea of heating a mass and it then releases heat into the area after the stove is turned off . We used to put bricks on the stove and let them get very hot before we went to bed . They would stay hot for hours .
Dave, Where did you get the little 1200 watt generator? I just bought a 2nd little Chinese 800-1000 watt 2 stroke for around 70 dollars on sale at Harbor Freight. I bought the first one about 6 years ago for just under 200 dollars. It is very quiet but it sounded like it was underpowered to run a window A/C . It ran it , but sounded like it was giving birth to a Rhino.
For a boat they seem ideal to me. Very quiet, minimal vibs, dead simple, and they run a long time on a little fuel. I just couldn't believe the last one at 50 bucks. If folks really need cleaner power for a computer, why not just buy an inverter and an extra battery?
Amazing how much the price and size and weight has dropped on these units in just a couple of years... The mini's weren't available when I bought mine. Mine is bigger All Around but has come in handy... OFF the boat as well. I made up a cord for her to run my Gas fired Hot Water Heat system here in Illinois Just in case and she'll run that and some lights if need be ..CHEAP Insurance thats for sure!!
Craig LaForce wrote:Dave, Where did you get the little 1200 watt generator? I just bought a 2nd little Chinese 800-1000 watt 2 stroke for around 70 dollars on sale at Harbor Freight. I bought the first one about 6 years ago for just under 200 dollars. It is very quiet but it sounded like it was underpowered to run a window A/C . It ran it , but sounded like it was giving birth to a Rhino.
For a boat they seem ideal to me. Very quiet, minimal vibs, dead simple, and they run a long time on a little fuel. I just couldn't believe the last one at 50 bucks. If folks really need cleaner power for a computer, why not just buy an inverter and an extra battery?
Hey, have any of you guys hooked up the generator cord to feed into your shore power connection at 110V (or whatever you use for shore power) so you don't have to run connections to the generator directly? I was just wondering if that would be a more efficient way to power to whole boat from the generator - it would be transparent to the electrical system, and would be no different than if you had your shore power connected - you'd just need one short pigtail from the generator to that connection, and you wouldn't have to lug extension cords around. The only thing you'd have to keep in mind is total amp draw limitations...
Just thinking about it...
Craig LaForce wrote:Dave, Where did you get the little 1200 watt generator? I just bought a 2nd little Chinese 800-1000 watt 2 stroke for around 70 dollars on sale at Harbor Freight. I bought the first one about 6 years ago for just under 200 dollars. It is very quiet but it sounded like it was underpowered to run a window A/C . It ran it , but sounded like it was giving birth to a Rhino.
For a boat they seem ideal to me. Very quiet, minimal vibs, dead simple, and they run a long time on a little fuel. I just couldn't believe the last one at 50 bucks. If folks really need cleaner power for a computer, why not just buy an inverter and an extra battery?
The difference between inverters , the reason some computers don't as well on an inverter is the sine wave . Some inverters have a chopped or " modified sine wave " others that cost a little more have full sine waves .
These full sine wave models will do anything regular house current will do , inculding battery chargers and computers. A computers draws very little , so a small full/pure sine wave inverter will do it.
Personally , I just don't care for the noise a generator makes , even if it is a "quiet" generator .
People pull up in the anchorages and crank up their generators and ruin it for everyone else.
You can do nearly everything on battery , and not have to ruin a pleasant anchorage for your neighbors.
Last edited by Gypsy on Thu Dec 16, 2010 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
Talking about generators...
Has someone try with eolic turbines on a Mac?
I´ve seen a lot about solar pannels, over the cockpit but I´m affraid to use them (specially when heavy winds due to lateral forces).
Also I´ve seen solar kits extended over cabin sliding door but they don´t last too long to get damage.
Thanks
I got it at Northern Tools, they also have a 800 watt but the 1200 watt powers my 5100 btu aircondition.
Dave
Craig LaForce wrote:Dave, Where did you get the little 1200 watt generator? I just bought a 2nd little Chinese 800-1000 watt 2 stroke for around 70 dollars on sale at Harbor Freight. I bought the first one about 6 years ago for just under 200 dollars. It is very quiet but it sounded like it was underpowered to run a window A/C . It ran it , but sounded like it was giving birth to a Rhino.
For a boat they seem ideal to me. Very quiet, minimal vibs, dead simple, and they run a long time on a little fuel. I just couldn't believe the last one at 50 bucks. If folks really need cleaner power for a computer, why not just buy an inverter and an extra battery?
vizwhiz wrote:Hey, have any of you guys hooked up the generator cord to feed into your shore power connection at 110V (or whatever you use for shore power) so you don't have to run connections to the generator directly? I was just wondering if that would be a more efficient way to power to whole boat from the generator - it would be transparent to the electrical system, and would be no different than if you had your shore power connected - you'd just need one short pigtail from the generator to that connection, and you wouldn't have to lug extension cords around. The only thing you'd have to keep in mind is total amp draw limitations...
Just thinking about it...
That sounds like something I would like to do. Could you make a pigtail with the 120 V "standard" household male plug on one end and the 35 AMP shore power plug on the other. Then plug the 120 standard plug in the generator and the 35 amp plug into the shore power outlet on the boat. This would charge the battery bank and run the electrical system in the boat as if you were plugged into shore. Am I missing anything here? I don't want to have a Three Mile Island type meltdown
Any reason not to get the cheaper plug ends at Home Depot vs the VERY expensive ones at West Marine? I would not leave either the generator or plug out for extended periods or bad weather.
Craig LaForce wrote:Dave, Where did you get the little 1200 watt generator? I just bought a 2nd little Chinese 800-1000 watt 2 stroke for around 70 dollars on sale at Harbor Freight. I bought the first one about 6 years ago for just under 200 dollars. It is very quiet but it sounded like it was underpowered to run a window A/C . It ran it , but sounded like it was giving birth to a Rhino.
For a boat they seem ideal to me. Very quiet, minimal vibs, dead simple, and they run a long time on a little fuel. I just couldn't believe the last one at 50 bucks. If folks really need cleaner power for a computer, why not just buy an inverter and an extra battery?
I actually purchased this.... It will run a house refrigerator I have not tried it on AC... but it is relatively loud..sounds just like a lawnmower reved up to max rpm.....works well but may need to float out in a dinghy with cord or try to pull it up the mast 30 feet to reduce noise...I guarentee if you have neighbors they will not appreciate!!!
vizwhiz/bobaefa,
all you need is an adaptor. West marine has them, unfortunately they are only about 18" long, so depending on where your shore power plug is located, you'll probably need a short extension cord. It seems to me mine was about $60, you may be able to find one cheaper online by googling MARINCO power cord.
That marine cord is 3x more expensive than the extension cord for a reason. Flex, humidity, ,and abuse of a cord in the marine environment is much worse than around the house.
If you are in a slip it is MBL longer a personal decision to use a home cord, you are threatening the safety of others in the marina wrt fire and electrocution hazard.
At the old marina, if you left an extension cord unattended on your boat in the slip, Fat Tony would cut it for you.
Just a note of caution: The expensive cord with a twist lock is there for a couple of reasons. First, you don't want a live 110 volt cord coming loose and dropping either into a wet cockpit or into the water where someone might come in contact with it. Think about how many times you've accidentally pulled a cord loose at home! Whatever type cord you use, make sure it cannot be easily knocked loose where it enters the boat.
It is also quite important that you not mix up the hot side and the ground which is easier to do with a regular extension cord. My shore-power unit has a light on it if there is a reverse polarity. If you have breakers inside the boat and flip them off, you think the shore-power is off. If you have a reverse polarity, then, in fact, what should be the ground wiring inside the boat is now HOT but the 'ground' has been turned off! My shore power unit was wired so that the breaker switches turn off BOTH wires coming into the boat in case you don't notice the reverse polarity light. 110volts in a wet environment is a risky situation if you don't use what safety devices have been developed.
but has come in handy... OFF the boat as well. I made up a cord for her to run my Gas fired Hot Water Heat system here in Illinois Just in case and she'll run that and some lights if need be ..CHEAP Insurance thats for sure!! 
Two shore power inputs....1 twist lock and 1 straight 3 prong...and THAT problem, would forever be solved ..
