The Stove

It has been "forever" since I posted in this blog and much has happened.  We will start with one of  last winter's (2012-2013) projects. But I should start at the beginning:  Whiskyjack came with a Force 10 pressurized kerosene galley stove.  It is/was a pretty stove and while it worked perfectly there were a couple of drawbacks.  The fumes from the kerosene being the worst.

The original Force 10 galley stove

Shortly after the purchase, I changed the burners from kerosene fuel to alcohol fuel.  It was no easy task to find replacement burners designed for alcohol instead of kerosene.  I had to buy an old, used, alcohol stove to get the burners, as they are no longer manufactured.  This conversion worked well and the noxious odor of burned kerosene was no longer present.  But....the stove was noisy.  There is a reason they called the burners "roarer" because they roar!



A new stove?  I did not want to undertake an extensive remodel of the galley.  Although it is small, it is very efficient.  I also did not want to add a propane system to the boat.  There is little enough storage on a 25' boat without finding a place for a propane locker.  I pondered the addition of an oven (oh boy are they nice) but in the end, decided that the space under the cook-top was more valuable than having an oven.  No kerosene; no propane;....that doesn't leave a lot of options for stoves....so Origo it is!

The opening where the original stove had been was filled in.  A plywood bottom was added along with a hardwood piece at the back.  Note that I left the original stainless steel. surround was left in place.

I purchased some stainless steel sheet stock and formed it to add a new surround.  Here the pieces have been added to the sides but not the back.  A stainless steel pan has been placed in the bottom and a formed piece covers the mahogany in the fromt.  All of these changes could be removed in the future and the original Force 10 stove could be re-installed and there would be no clues that another stove had been installed.

The opening is complete and the gimbals have been installed

The stove "off" the gimbals in the stored position.

Installation complete!  Now it's time for a cup of tea. Here the stove is on its gimbals.

We have used the Origo stove for over a year with great results.  There is no sound when the stove is working and only a slight alcohol odor at start-up.  No preheating of the burners is necessary. The burners are very controllable, allowing everything from a slow simmer to wide open.  A quart of water boils in about 7 to 8 minutes,.  And best of all:  No pumping of the stove.  This is really one of those projects with a great outcome and I couldn't be happier.