Thanks Champ

D

Dene

New member
I've used all kinds of grills and stoves for boating purposes...Weber, butane, and the mounted kind. I have one on my Devlin.

But....the easiest, most efficient setup is the $17 George Foreman grill. Just plug it into my 1500w inverter, turn the engine on, and 5 mins. later, a perfectly grilled steak. Add steamed veggies, courtesy of the inverter powered microwave, and the result is a perfect meal. I should have followed other's experience long before messing with gas grills.

Cleanup is a snap. I followed some advice given on a RV board. While the meat is resting, wipe down the grill with a paper towel and discard the drippings. Simple dimple.

I'm thinking of buying the larger grill for my home and get away from the gas grill. I grow weary of managing the hot spots on it.

-Greg
 
Will-C":1hkby7ht said:
So what did the 1500 watt inverter cost? Why do you have to run the engine? :(
D.D.
Click to expand...

Most 1500W inverters are around $120-140 for standard (non marine) versions. 1500W requires a current draw of (1500W/12V) = 125A at 100% efficiency and almost 140A at 90% efficiency (more realistic). A George Forman grill needs about 1KW or 2/3 of that amperage on high, and perhaps 1/2 of that amperage on medium (70A) a group 27 battery will provide maybe 90A-hrs. So a George Forman grill/inverter combo will completely drain a single group 27 in about an hour and 15 minutes. Running the engine will help keep the battery up some but will not provide the current that the grill/inverter draws (a single 90hp Yamaha will provide about 25A, other single engines provide more like 15A). Greg has a V6 Volvo inboard on his boat that probably puts out around 50-60A from the stock alternator so he can just about keep up with the draw from the grill. The rest of us, maybe not.
 
For me, this seems like the hard way to do things. No disrespect to the champ, I'll leave the our motor off no reason to die of carbon monoxide poisoning while waiting for Georgie boy to get the job done. I'll just use the silent butane stove or the silent barbecue grill. I'll leave the inverter at the store also. Clean up is not so bad. My batteries will be so happy. If I was hot for electrical cooking appliances I'd hope a Honda EU 2000 could handle powering the electric grill.
D.D.
 
Roger described my set up perfectly, except that I have more house battery capacity than he implied. Two AGM golf cart battery and a marine deep cycle. I simply isolate the house batteries when using the inverter. Running the engine simply adds some juice to their capacity.

Will...the set up you describe works too. Did it plenty of times. I have a Honda 2k genny and use to haul it around on the boat. It became a pain in the rear, not only mounting it, but securing it whenever I was docked. The inverter system is much more efficient....and quiet.

As for carbon monoxide poisoning....that's a stretch. I cook outdoors. Hard to believe that my engine fumes are going to kill me. A Honda genny is probably more dangerous, in that respect.

The purpose of my post is to present some ideas to those who want to add some extra's to their 22' boat. It's nice to know I can hang out all day or weekend on the hook and still be able to power up my laptop and cook a good meal.

-Greg
 
I don't want to point out the obvious, but isn't cooking steak for 5 minutes way too long???? I mean, do you really want to burn it up???? :lol:
 
Dene,
Just wanted to mention some differences of opinion. Your original post had to with the champ grill. I asked some questions because the running the engine part to cook seemed odd. Now I understand that the inverter system is what you prefer. I'm just the opposite which does not mean you are wrong. I avoid appliances with big electrical draws to avoid big heavy expensive batteries and inverter purchases. For us we use a propane grill and butane stove to cook quietly. We have a generator but rarely use it. It is a back up. I use a small 400 watt inverter to power a surge strip to be able to power cell phone chargers, portable wireless router, computer etc. We switch to one battery and with a anchor light and the inverter running a cpap machine can start our motor in the morning without having to switch over to the backup battery. All of our lights are LED. I got rid of the refridgerator and used the space for a Espar d2 heater. We can hang quietly on the hook and don't have to run any motors to cook. The only time we will run the generator is to brew coffee in the am using a perculator because my wife does not like to use a french press. The only other use for the generator is run the air conditioning while on the hook. I have a generator mount positioned pretty low in the motor well and it's lockable. So it's pretty quiet and because it's on the other side of the cockpit the chances of carbon monixide poisoning is pretty remote. I have pictures in my album I mean we are behind the closed door with the windows closed when in A.C. mode. So we are pretty quiet hanging on the hook unless it's really hot. Just a different approach. We avoid power hungry appliances. The perculator and AC are luxuries we do without if we are rafted up or have the need to be quiet. The generator is really just for backup. I always thought the generator would outlast a set of batteries plus handy to have around the homestead. That was part of my reasoning. I wanted to keep the boat's systems as standard and simple as possible. I looked for pictures of your boat,no album?
D.D.
 
Funny thing about the steak. George calls for 7 mins. Learned the hard way he was two minutes too long.

Will...I'm not in the album because I don't own a CDory. Mine is a Campion 21 footer. It's a similar setup to a CD 22' except I have an I/O.

Here in the Puget Sound, there is little need for AC...especially this summer. Like yourself, the frig was removed and in it's place is kitchen storage and shelving. Small microwave sits on counter space by the sink. I remove it when I want to use the butane stove.

I think the George unit only uses 1000 watts, so the draw isn't much. For heat, I use a quiet electric/no fan heater which has a 400w/800w setting. It works perfectly while underway or on shorepower. I'd never use it all night on the inverter. For me, bundling up in the Vberth is a better solution for cold winter nights.

-Greg
 
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