solid fuel heaters..

[RobertMartin]

I am looking at putting a heater in my 36 foot yacht. I was going to put a diesel heater in, but am now leaning towards using a Solid fuel heater. They say that it produces between 3000 to 8000 BTU. I see that the diesel ones produce up to 14000 btu. What does this mean in English? Has anyone used a solid fuel heater, and if so was the heat output enough during those cold nights? I really want to keep everything simple on my boat and the solid fuel looks like a very simple, good looking set up.... check it out below ---

http://www.dickinsonmarine.com/shop/categories-heaters.asp

cheers...

Bobby aka Seawolf..
Freedom is the song of your soul..

 

[Mirelle]

I have a solid fuel stove in my 37 footer and yes, it does the job very well indeed. I would not consider a liquid fuelled one, as they seem to me to be rather more dangerous.

I could go on at great length about installation, but one thing I would say is have a stainless steel lined fuel locker adjacent to the stove!

Did not know know Dickinson made them.

 

[Gordonmc]

Like you, I am much taken with the simplicity of a solid fuel stove. My 30 footer came with a bag of bits which turned out to be a Taylor's paraffin heater. After cleaning it and buying new parts I set it up in the garage to get it going.
Lets just say ther experience was illuminating and set me against having it near the boat!
As far as I can see the only down-side to solid fuel is the size of flue needed... and the need for a fresh air source, preferably at floor level.
I looked at the Newport by Dickinson. prefer the more traditional look of the Faversham (Colin Frake 01795 531493). Unfortunately it doesn't like charcoal.
I would like to hear how you get on.

 

[Mirelle]

The Faversham is excellent for a 30 footer but probably small for a 36 footer.

Mine is a Shipmate, now no longer made, but I have seen a very promising looking US made stove, originally made by the Lunenberg Foundry in Nova Scotia but now made in the USA, which I will be fitting as a replacement. Here is the website:

http://www.marinestove.com

These people seem to know what they are about.

 

[jimiboy]

Bengco of Southampton do a neat little bulkhead mounted charcoal stove.
My chum Pelican has one on his 24 footer on Lake Geneva and he burns everything except dead gulls in it, but then winter is not yet fully upon us...
It costs just over 400 quid inc VAT and includes a 1 metre flue and all the mounting bolts.
Very easy to fit and throws out an awful lot of heat, in fact I will be buying one for my 29 footer before Crimbo.
Check the website > bengco.co.uk
Jim

 

[RobertMartin]

What make of solid fuel heater do you have on your 37 footer??

Bobby aka Seawolf..
Freedom is the song of your soul..

 

[c4pt]

Hi
Have a look at machine mart they do a nice range of solid fuel stoves in cast iron. all floor standing but may be adaptable. They have a small pot bellied stove with flue for £70. the blurb says it'll burn most solid fuels.

 

[Combustion]

Thanks for the info, sounds interesting. Just one question - who are machine mart, never heard of them.

 

[Guest]

Btu's divided 3412 = kW/h. Watch out for ventilation. Otherwise there will be a build up of Carbon Monoxide, which will kill you. One of the first symptoms of CO poisoning is that your legs won't function, so you can't get away. Be wary of any open flued ( draws combustion air from the room/cabin) in an enclosed space.

Bear in mind that open flued appliances were banned from bathrooms years ago.

 

[heinzthedog57]

Don't put a Machine Mart Pot Belly stove in your boat- they are unlined; so CO will not all go up the chimney (leaks out of the joins), it may not anyway but a lined stove is a step in the right direction. VENTILATION IS PARAMOUNT. Before your legs go you will feel drowsy if the CO is getting to you. If you're wide awake to start with it's not too bad, but if it's late and you;re half cut you could wake up dead.

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[milltech]

In a fit of eccentricity, (to which I am prone and which I think my wife ought to find endearing but does not), I puchased a camper van made to go overland to China on an army 4WD truck. I had some changes made which included a Morso Squirrel stove.

It was brilliant. I remember on one occasion being in Braemar in a winter blizzard sitting there before an open fire reading. I could close the whole thing right down and the air draft down the flue would be enough to keep a light in on the road until the next stop. I enjoyed foraging for my fuel and generally messing with it.

Before I'm called I hope to enjoy a similar to mess about with on a boat. The suggestions you made do not seem to have front opening doors, so while one may get heat, the look of the fire, surely one of the benefits, will be missing.

The Morso seems to be popular on canal craft, perhaps when I'm too old for the salt....


<hr width=100% size=1>John
<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.allgadgets.co.uk>http://www.allgadgets.co.uk</A>

 

[richardandtracy]

I've got the middle sized pot belly stove (3 - 8 kW) by Clarke (sold by Machine Mart) on my 36ft steeler. I welded it in, together & used a 4" OD steel tube for the flue welded to the top of the stove & the cabin top. I also tried to balance the air demand by taking a second ventilation tube very close to the flue, down the back of the stove & in through a hole in the back of the ash pan - welded again. This 90% isolates the air demand for the stove, balances it and more or less prevents any possibility of backdraft into the cabin. I also have a battery operated CO alarm just in case.
I don't think they're cast iron, mine rusts like cast steel, also explains why I didn't have any difficulty welding it as I was expecting a certain amount of cracking.

Works well, but I've never had to use it in really cold weather - the lowest I've used it in is +5C. The boat temp stayed a little too warm despite being miserly with the fuel - had to take jackets off when coming inside, which was a pain. The 8kW max output should be OK down to around -5C on my boat.

I put a fiddle on the top to allow a kettle to heat up, but have never used it that way yet, so I have no idea how quickly it would boil.

One day I'll build a diesel/paraffin conversion kit based on a paraffin blow torch design for when I run out of rubbish, driftwood, coal etc. turning it into a combined liquid/solid fuel burner. Then, if I still have time on my hands(!), a small Stirling engine to trickle charge the battery using waste heat from the firebox. My calculations show that a 50cc swept volume (75cc displacer swept volume), 1 bar average pressure engine should develop 5W of useable power for battery charging.

Regards

Richard.


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[Trevethan]

Hi, Looked atr all manner of heaters including all the solid fuel one's mentioned and a bunch of diesel/parafin jobs.

I wound up buying a Dickinson's Newport diesel -- it's very practical, easy to light, straightforward to fit and I don't have to worry about finding more space to store an additional fuel source. Currently we are running off the main tank, but I think I will fit a day tank for it. Currently It uses a litttle solid state pump to deliver fuel straight from tank, which chatters a little.

The view of the flames is very cosy, and because it uses cabin air for combustion does a good job of guarding against condensation, though you have to ensure adequate ventilation.

It has a little 12 volt fan that ensures positive draft and prevents the cabin filling with smoke. The one thing that I will add before winter is a fan across the chimney to get more warmth out of the thing. Oh and you should also but a guard around the chimney.. it makes a useful handhold, except the temperature is well above 100c once it gets going....

Fuel consumption is minimal. The one problem with it, and will be the same with any cabin heater of that type, is the time between lighting and teh time to feeling the heat.

To combat this I bought a webasto hot air job from a scrap yard for about 140 quid, (also to be fitted before winter) that will provide more-or less instant warmth in the mornings/when underway/ etc.

After going for 30 mins or so the Newport gets most of the boat warm, especially with a bit of fan assistance, and after an hour, its wonderful.

Boat is 44 foot motorsailer with masses of space to heat and pilot house with a lot of glass, which makes for poor insulation.

I am considering a bengco for the pilothouse - it is very compact, though a lot of money -- I like the idea of being able heat the pilot house at sea independant of power, but I think I'll pass for the moment, maybe look for plans for a build yourself and get local steel fabricators to knock one up,

When at a marina, the little 1000 watt fan heater would do a great job of warming it up, and most of the rest of boat too after a while.

regards,

Nick

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[AuntyRinum]

This is a serious question as I'm planning to install a heating system. What fuel do you use and how much space does it take up? I have a vision of humping bags of heavy solid fuel onto the boat on a regular basis.

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[richardandtracy]

I've not lived aboard, but have used solid fuel to heat one room in my house over one winter. We had one fire place going all the time using house coal during the day & long burn nuts at night. We got through about a tonne in a 4 month winter period, at a rate of 2 bucketfuls a day.

You WILL be humping lots of bags of heavy fuel.

Regards

Richard.


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