Solid Fuel Heating

[chockswahay]

Our boat has a Luke charcoal burning cabin heater. I would say that it looks better that it performs (solid brass and soapstone).

Am I expecting too much from it? It burns charcoal OK but messy and will not 'stay in' for much more than 2 to 3 hours or so.

The heat is good and I like the idea of 'no electricity' but I wonder if a Taylors diesel burner would provide more heat/overnight burning.

We tried burning wood but too much tar etc.

Does anyone else have experience of Luke heaters?

Actually I would welcome ALL COMMENTS on either wood/coal/diesel heaters. What I do know is that I don't want blown air due to current drain.

Many thanks

Chox

 

[FWB]

Look up Refleks / Dickenson / Sigmar diesel heaters. Try Kuranda Marine.

 

[Shakey]

I think diesel fuel takes up less space onboard and can always go in the engine.

However, with a wood burning stove you can always burn the furniture if you're desperate!

 

[fluffc]

Tar shouldn't be a problem if your chimney is made correctly - all the joins should divert the flow of tar back down into the fire. (ie upside down joins)

 

[richardandtracy]

Yes, you are expecting too much from charcoal briquettes if you want them to burn overnight.

Can I suggest that for overnight you use a compacted coal powder brickette. I've had a glowing core from one of these after 14 hours - and was hot enough to build up the fire again without re-lighting. These tend to be designed to burn gently for much longer than charcoal and seem to have pretty much the same heat release & ignition properties as charcoal briquettes (maybe a bit more difficult to light initially, but if put on red embers from a charcoal fire they'll go OK). The brand I have used is 'Homewarm' from our local coal merchant. It's made in hexagonal bricks about 3" across x 1.5" thick, and are easily broken into smaller bits.
The heat relese after 12 hours isn't too good, so the boat will be chilly, but slightly above ambient..

There will be more ash from the coal briquette, and initially it will smoke a bit, but I'd give it a try.

Regards

Richard.

 

[ashley]

I've used wood, coal, charcoal and round coal briquettes, furniture and parts of the boat i've sawn off even but I've yet to try the compacted blocks. I saw them in the "charbonnier" and did not reckon i could light one easily, but i suppose it would be good to keep the fire going overnight I'm sure.

<ul type="square">
[*]Wood is good, lights easy, tars plenty and not too much ash
[*]Furniture/bits of boat burn well but must be careful of paint/screws etc
[*]Charcoal is crap as it'll burn almost quicker than you can feed it I find.
[*]Coal briquettes burn well but god do they leave a lot of ash. I had to empty the ash pan at least daily to deal with it. The flip side is the ash insulates it so it will stay alight overnight.
[*]Coal proper is great, hardly any ash, authentic look, real hot once going and burns for hours but not overnight
[*]Diesel stoves are great but you gotta leave them running all night and, I've been told, are quite thirsty with this habit [/list]
Overall, although I would like the convenience of heating coming on in the morning just before i awake, getting up to light the fire and going back to bed for half an hour is not that bad.
It gives you a reason to jump back in bed with your lady after all

 

[chockswahay]

Thanks everyone for some good suggestions.

A thought tho.......... I was told by the manufacturer that coal will burn too hot and that the gases will form severe corrosion on inside of flue and burner...............have you had this at all?

I like the tip about the flue too, however is there a chance that tar etc might catch fire in the flue.

Last point..........I have wondered about insulating the flue as at the moment ours is single wall brass, and perhaps extending the flue a metre or so above the coachroof. In the world of 'house heating' the experts maintain that a flue needs to be 3.6 metres minimum (!!).

Cheers

Chox