I have a 1980's era Roden Gas Cooker in my boat in which the two burners work ok but the oven thermostat doesn't work properly and we have never really had good results from the oven.
After pricing up a New Force 10 replacement I'm thinking of giving the Roden a refresh, pull it apart, clean it up with paint, potentially re-chrome a couple of bits, generic thermostat and new door seals.
For those who were cooking on boats in the 80's -were new Roden ovens any good? Is it worth the effort?
Or, do I either save for a Force 10, or rip the oven out of the cooker frame, fit a Breville Air Fryer in the bottom half and spend the savings not towards a Force 10 on a lithium upgrade?
You might find the Roden is no longer street legal as the burners do not have thermo couplers.
i went with the force 10 which while very expensive has been very good.
L
Had a roden on my swanson it would almost of been 40 year old and worked great never had any issues with the oven worked well
I'm sure it had a thermo coupler
If its not rusted probably worth restoring and atleast you know it fits with out any modifications
Would recommend getting a current gas certificate weather or not you keep it
Ok, thanks for the replies. I will buy a generic thermostat for $30, if that works then refurb the oven as there is no rust, it just looks neglected. I'm not at the boat but I'm sure the cooktop doesn't have thermo coupler.
I haven't got a gas cert. I thought that was only a QLD requirement. Looking at the NSW Boating Handbook this morning it doesn't mention the requirement for a Cert. A cut and paste below.
I'm thinking of replacing my old Roden Clipper with a burner pair for just a couple hundred dollars. The oven gave the cabin a homely feel, but it couldn't even fit a family-sized pizza. Is there really no alternative to the outrageously overpriced Force 10? One costs more than FOUR wall ovens. Ridiculous!
I've seen a lot of cheap ovens on eBay and AliExpress that use gas canisters. I'm wondering how they'd go instead of an LPG oven.
www.aliexpress.com/item/1005005193029404.html
I would love to do this Sailing Triteia type air fryer conversion keeping the burners on top, but don't really want the complexity of the associated lithium battery installation.
Maybe we'll all need to go electric if LPG is phased out in 20 years. Still too far away to really worry about. I've seen the Thermomate branded as Devanti and selling for about $250. It'd be great if it had gas cutoffs and gimbal mounts. I can't find anything about cutoffs which makes me think it won't pass.
I looked at one of those for an upgrade a few years back - the problem I found was the width - about 40-50mm or so wider than a 'standard' marine stove with oven, so too wide to fit without major changes to my cabinetry. If you have enough space in your galley layout, its an ok option - but measure twice....etc, you'll also have to make your own gimbals, so add that to the measurements - they dont have anything, and the side walls are not really thick enough to support the weight without spreading the load.
I ended up finding my replacement stove secondhand on FB Marketplace. From an owner refit, was only 4 or 5yr old, and in near perfect condition - I paid less than a quarter of a Force10 replacement. They are out there if you're patient enough.
I ended up buying a Eno Duo (Xtrem) 2 burner LPG stove and air fryer. As I couldn't get parts for the Roden and generic parts wouldn't fit.
I fit the bits on the weekend but been testing the Airfryer at home on the kitchen for past month and I think it will be a game changer in the galley.
Underwhelmed unpacking the Eno stove tonight, it's build light, cheap and nasty. If had seen one in the shop first I wouldn't have bought it. Gimbal stands have raw edges that caused cuts, gimbal lock is very cheap and doesn't stop all movement. It better work like a champion after I install it, as first impressions aren't good. I found myself looking at the rusting old Roden in the corner of the shed thinking what a good bit of kit.
