Convert 320/340 Electric Range to Gas or Alcohol?

Tacoma290

Tacoma290

Active Member
Oct 5, 2006
498
Tacoma, WA
Boat Info
340 Sundancer 2007
Engines
Twin 8.1 V-drives
We bought our current 290 purposely without a generator (reasons: we like the anchorages to be quiet and enjoy the bonus space in the engine room), and its Kenyon range is dual electric and alcohol. Works great for us.
We are thinking of moving up, but all 340s and 320s come with electric ranges, and I dread the idea of firing up a generator just for coffee at 5am. Has anyone converted their electric range to either propane or switched to dual elec/alcohol?
 
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I think yours is a minority opinion concerning alcohol. While it worked ok there were problems with flare ups and clogged jets from fuel impurities. Most of us looked forward to owning boats with reliable electric cooktops and generators. Alcohol stoves were phased out. You can probably still find an old stove and retrofit it into your galley. Propane is tricky on boats not designed for this fuel. It needs to be stored in a separate locker that vents to the outside in order to meet safety codes. That is more likely more trouble than it is worth.
 
sbw1 said:
View attachment 75273 I think yours is a minority opinion concerning alcohol. While it worked ok there were problems with flare ups and clogged jets from fuel impurities. Most of us looked forward to owning boats with reliable electric cooktops and generators. Alcohol stoves were phased out. You can probably still find an old stove and retrofit it into your galley. Propane is tricky on boats not designed for this fuel. It needs to be stored in a separate locker that vents to the outside in order to meet safety codes. That is more likely more trouble than it is worth.
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Thanks for the response, SBW. I agree that the pressurized alcohol stoves are scary. But the combination elec/alcohol we use is not pressurized, and is still produced by Kenyon. See the picture below for a typical install. But I suspect it is too large to fit in the typical 320/340 stove well.
Perhaps we will get a small butane burner to start with instead.
 

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I was going to suggest looking into a butane, as you mentioned in your last post. It works MUCH better than alcohol (and safer than propane for below decks). Hotter, faster and easier. You'll just have to compare the sizes (cutout sizes) to see how much work it would be. If the new stove would be slightly bigger, it's easy - just enlarge the hole. If the new stove is smaller, then you'd need to make a adapter plate.

Another option... get something like a Magma and use it topsides.
 
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I wonder what safety precautions are necessary with butane. You will need to make sure you meet those so as to avoid insurability problems. Are butane stoves installed in boats? I've not seen any.
 
I would suggest a small butane cooktop that you could use up in deck. There is nothing good about an open flame in an enclosed cabin if it be avoided. Too easy to flare up something with disastrous outcome.

-Kevin
 
Our 280 came with a Kenyon Butane burner. It worked on par with alcohol, so it was kind of anemic as far as cooking goes. I also believe Kenyon has phased these out.

I would not immediately rule out propane. I have a friend who added a propane cooktop to his Silverton. He followed the rules and it came out fantastic. The tank was kept in what looked like a cooler but was actually an airtight box except for a vent at the bottom that was piped to the outside. The container was also built with an electrical shutoff. He installed this locker under one of the bench seats in the galley in the same fashion that sea ray used to install AC units.
H
 
sbw1 said:
View attachment 75278 I wonder what safety precautions are necessary with butane. You will need to make sure you meet those so as to avoid insurability problems. Are butane stoves installed in boats? I've not seen any.
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Yes, these were often an option in Sea Ray boats. In my experience/comparison, they exceeded alcohol stoves (which were like watching a pot boil... it never happened :) ). For boats that didn't have a genny, the butane option was preferred over the electric/alcohol burner since the electric couldn't be used while on the hook.

Henry - I've noticed that the butane stoves haven't shown up on the option list as of late when ordering a DA. I never really put much thought into it... but do you happen to know what the thinking is there? Is there more to this story? I kinda just figured it was due to generators being a more popular option nowadays (and hence the alcohol/electric stove option).
 
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Lazy Daze said:
Yes, these were often an option in Sea Ray boats. In my experience/comparison, they exceeded alcohol stoves (which were like watching a pot boil... it never happened :) ). For boats that didn't have a genny, the butane option was preferred over the electric/alcohol burner since the electric couldn't be used while on the hook.

Henry - I've noticed that the butane stoves haven't shown up on the option list as of late when ordering a DA. I never really put much thought into it... but do you happen to know what the thinking is there? Is there more to this story? I kinda just figure it was due to generators being a more popular option nowadays (and hence the alcohol/electric stove option).
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As I recall the issue was the way the butane container was attached to the stove. The butane container is about the same size as an aerosol spray can with a very similar end. The can actually was inserted into a sleeve that had a gasketed end cap. When the can was inserted in the sleeve and the end cap locked in place it would push the can down and depress the nipple on the can. The sleeve would then effectively become a butane tank. The issue was that the end cap gaskets could be damaged or go bad allowing butane to leak into the galley area.

We never had a problem, but then we rarely used the stove relying on the Magma for most of our cooking. Over the 12 years we had the 280 I doubt I replaced the can three times. So in our case there was very little use compared to say a table top type unit.

H
 
Thanks, Henry. I tended to use the Magma most of the time, too. In fact, my primary use of the cabin stove (alcohol/electric) was to warm the cabin up if it was a bit damp or chilly!
 
My solution to not wanting to start the genny at 5:00 would be to sleep later. :D

Seriously though, a genny does a lot more than make coffee - it opens up so many options while on the hook.

I've spent days on end on the hook running the genny only a total 4 hours a day, and usually less. That's enough to keep all the batteries charged, hot water in good supply, coffee and microwave available and sometimes even a few trays of ice from the icemaker and cool down and dry out the cabin right before bedtime.

Another option if you're concerned about disrupting a peaceful anchorage is to upgrade the genny exhaust and add a sound shield. There are several options to reduced internal and external noise.
 
Similarly, we like to anchor out for a few nights at a time. For morning coffee and other cooking that can't be done on the Magma, we use a Coleman butane stove (less than $40) above deck - I prefer to avoid open flame inside the cabin!
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It seems the general trend, based on the blogs I follow, is towards the use of Lithium batteries (and a inverter) to power an electric cooktop … not towards gas. It seems like a much safer direction.
 
Tacoma290 said:
We bought our current 290 purposely without a generator (reasons: we like the anchorages to be quiet and enjoy the bonus space in the engine room), and its Kenyon range is dual electric and alcohol. Works great for us.
We are thinking of moving up, but all 340s and 320s come with electric ranges, and I dread the idea of firing up a generator just for coffee at 5am. Has anyone converted their electric range to either propane or switched to dual elec/alcohol?
Click to expand...

I just use a portable butane burner set on top of the glass cooktop. Works fantastic and the admiral is awoken with the smell of hot coffee not a genset starting up.

also keeps the electric for when we are in shorepower at marinas.

I had an alcohol stove on my last boat. I would NEVER buy one again. It seemed very dangerous. It burns invisible. Spills are hard to see and if they are in the basin of the stove they will flare up when you light it. When I was shopping for my boat I saw a bit that had obvious vinyl ceiling replacement and melted plastic over the stove. The broker finally confessed it had an alcohol stove fire that had the damage repaired. So my vote is no alcohol stove.
 
I backpack and I really like the Jetboil stove. I wouldn't use it in the cabin. But it is great for boiling water for things like coffee. On my 320 we have a generator and we use it to charge batteries and occasionally run the air. We do use it to cook and make coffee. There is no way I could sleep with the generator running all night - the surge when the A/C kicks on. I can appreciate not starting the generator in the AM when it is so quiet on the water. I find the generator a bit of a chore to make sure I run it enough that it stays in tip top shape. My generator has 330 hours in 11 years. My 260 had an inverter that ran the A/C all night, I loved it. Quiet and simple. 12 volt coffee makers are also a nice option. Personally the way they installed the stove on the 320/340 - I think modifying it would reduce resale value. It is recessed and would be hard to make look right.
 
Lazy Daze said:
I was going to suggest looking into a butane, as you mentioned in your last post. It works MUCH better than alcohol (and safer than propane for below decks). Hotter, faster and easier. You'll just have to compare the sizes (cutout sizes) to see how much work it would be. If the new stove would be slightly bigger, it's easy - just enlarge the hole. If the new stove is smaller, then you'd need to make a adapter plate.

Another option... get something like a Magma and use it topsides.
Click to expand...

Our boat had a Kenyon butane when we bought it new. The second season we had it we had it flare up when my wife started it and had a flashover in the cabin. Luckily, there was minimal damage and no-one hurt. The cause was dried out seals from leaving the canister connected over the winter. We were never instructed by the dealer to remove it when it was not being used.

SeaRay put me in touch with Kenyon. They fed’exd me an entire new elec/alcohol stove with a conversion kit and a portable butane stove “ As a gift for what I went through “.They even gave me a choice if I wanted all electric or a new butane one. I dug into the web and I found numerous blogs indicating that it was a known problem with the butane stove. That explains why they were so fast to send me a replacement of my choice with a readily available conversion kit and a free gift.

We’ve never use the alcohol, so my opinion would be go with all electric or a combo if you want. Steer away from the butane.

After nine years I am still finding fire extinguisher powder in the nooks and crannies in the cabin....

Oh, and that free gift? I sold it at our garage sale!
 
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