Anyone Else Have A Woodstove Onboard

[Geoduck]

Yeah, I didn't think of that - and I've got a wood boat! The last thing I need are more bugs chewing on my teak!
At least I dont have to worry about polyestermites!

[HappySeagull]

Originally Posted by bobconnie

The only real thing I have agains wood is the bugs that seem to find places to hide in the wood when it comes aboard ! I have a real thing about spiders !! got bit once by a recluse, never want to go through that again UGGGjust my 2 cents again LOl Bob and Connie

I don't worry about them...I always have some big pets aboard. I like to see them eating mosquitos, moths, whatever. Mostly, they stay in their nests, except sometimes the males get a hankering to wander, like cats.

But it's a good point. If you don't want them, check your firewood. Many spiders are found near their nest, so if you shake one off, look for it's nest too.

Don't blame the firewood for all the spiders you see because they can fly...I've been amazed at how large a spider can do this.

[anjou]

Ive also got a Squirrel stove with back boiler. I only burn wood on it which makes it a bit cleaner than coal but it is messy.

Occasionally if its not deawing hard enough when i open the door, some smoke comes out into the room but the main mess is on deck.

Ive burned a lot of pallets and construction lumber offcuts which is soft wood and full of tar, so oak logs would be much better for us all.

Its a good dry heat though and all the headlinings have shrunk.

Originally Posted by atoll

we have had a morso squirrel wood burner for the last 5 years that runs 24/7 during the winter putting out about 4kw of heat fantastic and economical to run about 40 kg of coal briquettes and 10kg compressed wood logs a week.

though boy does it make a mess! tar on the decks and dust/lint inside not to mention the mess pouring coal and wood chips make in the cockpit!

have recently replaced it with a kabola drip fed diesel with a back boiler,since i,ve also replaced all the ceiling panels and didn't fancy every thing going yellow again!

if you can handle the discolouration ,dust and mess and chain smoke they are great!

[OceansFive]

Having a woodstove on the boat has been the best improvement in terms of comfort on the boat - especially through last summer in northern Newfoundland.

I installed my Sardine almost three years ago and posted on my weblog about - with details,photos and review of the stove and installation after one year. Hope these might be useful to you or anyone else.

Woodstove on a sailboat

Installation photos

Comments & suggestions after one year

Dennison

[Mark1977]

Originally Posted by Kuan Yin

Having a woodstove on the boat has been the best improvement in terms of comfort on the boat - especially through last summer in northern Newfoundland.

I installed my Sardine almost three years ago and posted on my weblog about - with details,photos and review of the stove and installation after one year. Hope these might be useful to you or anyone else.

Woodstove on a sailboat

Installation photos

Comments & suggestions after one year

Dennison

Kuan Yin, i did a search on cf when i got the wood stove, and found your posts. Great info and great blog. Keep up the good work.

[Pblais]

In order to get a decent draft on your chimney you need make up air to replace the air that goes up. Using just the air inside the boat makes the draft flow uneven and causes slight amount of smell in the boat that eventually is the mess alluded to above. It also sucks in more cold air from outside from any air leaks, uses warmed air for make up, and reduces the efficiency of the stove.

If you can run a second stack from outside the boat to supply make up air for the fire box you will get better control from your damper and keep more heat inside the boat. With a proper damper you will save a LOT of fuel and have more comfort.

This is more important the colder it is outside. All combustion makes water and CO2 so this method makes sure it all goes up and out. You can put the stacks next to each other but make the out going stack is a bit taller.

I have a very short stack on the cabin top (about 2 inches) that I can cover with a plate or remove the plate and fit a chimney top. It means when under sail I can place the cap on and not risk fouling a line on the stack and keeps the water out of the stove. If you intend to sail a lot it helps. We have a diesel heater but wood or coal is the same game.

[Wavewacker]

Originally Posted by anjou

......

Occasionally if its not deawing hard enough when i open the door, some smoke comes out into the room but the main mess is on deck.

Ive burned a lot of pallets and construction lumber offcuts which is soft wood and full of tar........

Treated wood is dangerous to burn in an enclosed area, it's toxic. And no telling what was stored on the pallets and leaked on them before they were trashed. It will also cake up creosote (sp?) in the flu/chemeny and need to be cleaned more often

It would be something to burn as a very last resort.....sure don't want nothin to happen to ya!

[Pauls]

I like a wood fire. I enjoy the way they look and I especially love the smell of burning wood. Along the PNW coast there is a terrific amount of driftwood on the beach, free for the gathering.

Regards bugs, if you tie a bunch of wood together with a line and toss it overboard overnight that will eliminate them. Haul it out and let it dry for a few days and it will be ready to burn.

[Skip20]

I have a Fatsco wood burning stove in my Sailstar 24. 3" pipe venting outside through a water collar. The Charlie Noble is made by Concordia in Dartmouth, MA.

I bagged coal to size to eliminate dust and so on and stowed them in a locker below the stove. SS baffle to protect bulkhead. Kept cabin 60 deg. while jolly cold in the cockpit. I just Googled Fatsco.com and there they were. I would endorse them, even though I'm skinny.

Carry a hatchet and burn aromatic wood, very Zen. . . Just sayin'

[Donovan]

Word of Warning, be very careful how you vent the stove. A poorly vented stove will fill the small confined space of a boat with fatal Carbon Monoxide very quickly, especially a stopped down smoldering coal fire. In a house where you have a longer flue it is easier to get a good safe draw which exhausts the CO. Just because you don't smell smoke doesn't mean you won't have a fatal quantity of CO, make sure you have more than one detector set up, this is no time for home made seat of the pants design, no offense but an improperly constructed flue pipe can leak deadly combustion gasses. And yes a propane flame will ad moisture to the air, strange but true.

[SabreKai]

Simple solution to bugs on or in wood. Cut it up so it fits into a 5 gallon pail with a nice lid. Put a piece of dry ice in the bottom of the pail, fill it with wood and put the lid on. End of problem.

Leave the pail out on deck if you are worried about the CO2 getting into your bilge.