Comments on: Cooking And Heating With Kerosene (Paraffin)

By: Nick Kats

Nick Kats — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 12:21:40 +0000

Hi Dave

Have an Optimus, used x 4 yrs.

I use methylated spirits – that’s what we call it here in Ireland. Probably called denatured spirits in the US.

The issue is how safe is the liquid when there is a spill. You’re on a rocking boat & spills can get everywhere.

Flash flare-ups using meths don’t bother me – I just wait it out. This occurs when the stove is already hot and/or I spilled meths all over. It is safe, just stand by.

Meths burning on my hand take a while before it bothers me. Lots of time to react. Safe.

Once a flame jumped into the open meths bottle I was holding. There was a blue flame, low in intensity, coming an inch or 2 out of the bottle. I just screwed back the cap & it went out instantly. Again, safe. Since then I always close the bottle before lighting up.

See, I’ve done all of Murphy’s Laws! That’ll be ten bucks please…

You can imagine that other liquids, eg charcoal lighter fluid, in these situations, can be far more dangerous.

I have not looked into alternatives. Probably poteen at 2x the potency of whiskey, is as safe, is multifunctional, & is a lot cheaper here depending on whom you know.

A Johnson & Johnson shampoo bottle with the flip-top lid controls volume & directs the squirt very well. I keep 2 & refill them from 5 liter meths bottles.

By: Dave Johnson

Dave Johnson — Fri, 25 Feb 2011 01:06:31 +0000

Please tell me, I have just gotten an Optimus 155W. Can I pre-heat with lighter fluid that is used for Zippo lighters? or Charcoal starter? Thanks

By: John

John — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:40:12 +0000

Hi Ed,

I read about half of your great dissertation on kero stove maintenance. At that point my eyes rolled back in my head and I was left mumbling “propane, propane”. You and Hans Jakob are clearly made of sterner stuff.

By: Ed Seling

Ed Seling — Thu, 22 Jul 2010 17:06:41 +0000

For those who are starting out with kerosene heaters or cookers I offer a short article on maintenance on my website.

http://sv-moonshadow.com/liveaboard/PRIMUS.htm

If you are using these for heat you will find my description of a “ballast tank” interesting.

The amount of frustration experienced with these burners has lessened considerably with the availability of K-1 kero in the US. I could never find mineral spirits at a reasonable price when I was using these stoves.

By: Eric Schlesinger Sue Peterson

Eric Schlesinger Sue Peterson — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 05:48:03 +0000

We have used the Taylor “cooker” for a few seasons of cruising New England. Most unsatisfactory. The elaborate pre-cooking procedures and sooty overheads were too much. Now we keep it (perhaps) too simple with a Sea Swing, as we cannot find suitable storage for a propane tank (no pulpits or lockers). Any ideas?
cheers, Eric and Sue

By: Phyllis

Phyllis — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 10:13:45 +0000

Thank you for all the good information on the practicalities of using kerosene for cooking. As to electric cooking, we made a reference to it in an earlier post as something Steve and Linda Dashew are experimenting with and saying it is definitely worth looking into; maybe we can ask Steve and Linda to comment on it when we have a moment (John is presently at a week-long travel photography course in Maine having a great time but working all the hours God gave!).

By: Matt Marsh

Matt Marsh — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 20:16:08 +0000

I’m curious, John & Phyllis, what thoughts (if any) you might have regarding electric cooking.

Ten years ago, electric cooking on board anything short of a megayacht would have been insane. But I’ve been hearing some good stories about the latest induction cooktops and combination microwave/convection ovens; notably, it appears that Steve & Linda Dashew have become converts to induction burners and electric combination ovens; admittedly, their yacht is rather more sophisticated than most.

It’d be interesting to hear your thoughts on how these high-tech electric cookers compare to the kerosene/paraffin (or LPG) ones.

By: Robert in Norway

Robert in Norway — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 13:08:31 +0000

I cannot say that I have found much to disagree with here. Both LPG and kerosene have their pluses, assuming one pre-heats with a gas torch and uses mineral spirits in the kero stove. We knew this dodge back in the 70s in So-Cal. I have another demand of my cooker, it must be removable to the cockpit for warm weather use or stinky fried fish. So it’s a two burner propane cook top mounted in a movable stand for me.

By: Philippe

Philippe — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 11:58:44 +0000

Cruised for 17 years using a TAYLOR cooker/oven. Had different degrees of frustrations due to using the different qualities of kerosene that we could find around the world. Nevertheless overall we were very satisfied. Had our cooker reconditioned last year at the factory in G.B. To my great surprise new two legged burners were installed (we always had 4 legged burners). These new burners should be avoided at all cost. One little cup of methylated spirits won’t do the preheating job – instead it takes about 3 cups (very very long preheating time) with the added danger of putting methylated spirits in an already very hot cup. Of course there is always the possibility of using a blow torch but that annihilates our wish of not having natural gas on board. 4 legged burners are no longer available, but a co. in the UK: http://www.base-camp.co.uk is presently experimenting with new burners which will be easier to preheat than the 2 legged burners.

By: Timothy

Timothy — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 08:58:23 +0000

Ditto the above on mineral spirits. I also used it in my kerosene refrigerator and found the wick lasted much much longer. Had I known then that mineral spirits’ flash point was only 105 degrees I would have been much more careful with it. Most kerosene lamp makers warn against it, because the font can get that hot, and vapor can find its way out to the flame, but a quality tubular wick burner with a metal tank (like my fridge), or a primus type burner seems OK.