Solid fuel cabin heater - why???

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by stormalong

Can you site a reference that says diesel fumes cause Pancreatic Cancer? I never heard this before.

Thank you Stormalong for asking posters to reference claims.
This link seems to contradict the claim that diesel soot causes pancreatic cancer.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23851578/
However, diesel soot IS a Carcinogen, and associated with other types of Cancers.
Interesting, but NOT Surprizing is the Fact that Soot from Wood, and other combustibles also are associated with Cancers.
Any Petrochemical that is burned is suspect.
But, if Air is Drawn from an Outside source not the interior of your cabin, home ect.
And the stove isn't leaking fumes into the house, the risk is low.

I like the big, heavy wood fired stoves on boats, few have them.
They hold the heat, therefore, worthy of the effort to install and use regularly.
Small tinny ones are good if your looking for some quick heat.
But, overnight?, not good
Cheers!

[Yellowtulip]

Originally Posted by johnn33

Diesel fumes
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23851578/
and then
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer...nd-cancer.html
John

From your first citation:

Conclusions: The overall evidence from studies on occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and risk of pancreatic cancer leads to the conclusion of the absence of such association.

And the second one says the major risk of exposure to diesel exhausts is lung cancer.
I don’t have a diesel heater, but I thought their exhausts were taken outside the boat. No-one would route the exhaust into the boat would they?

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by johnn33

Diesel fumes
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23851578/
and then
https://www.cancer.org/cancer/cancer...nd-cancer.html
John

Could be associated with soot, not conclusive!
I'm not a fan of diesel, but like any combustible, common sense says Don't breathe it regularly.
Makes good sense, goes for any Soot!

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by garyfdl

So, I recently looked at a boat, and I noticed it had one of those bulkhead mounted cabin heaters. "Nice touch" I thought. Then I opened it and found it was a 'solid fuel'. Seriously?

Now years ago (the 70's) I heated a house I owned in Pennsylvania with 'solid fuel' - first wood as a primary source - and later coal as a supplement to oil/hot water. And in my experience, it's a major PITA. It's extremely labor intensive (especially wood - cutting, splitting, drying) and very dirty and messy. Considering diesel or propane fired are so much 'easier', why would anyone choose solid fuel?

Thoughts?

Was it a pellet heater/solid fuel? From what a friend had told me they are efficient.

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Was it a pellet heater/solid fuel? From what a friend had told me they are efficient.

Pellets, ??
I've not seen yet a pellet stove that is installed on a boat.
Yes, they are efficient, you do need power to run them as they use an auger to regulate the temp.
And a combustion blower and a fan to blow the heat out.
Lots of power to run.
Then you've got pellets in 40 lb. bags.
Great idea but, anyone know of an installed one in a boat.
We use one at home, they are nice.
Cheers!

[Telemark43]

Charcoal or briquettes are death a knocking on your cabin door... do NOT use inside due to the enormous amount of carbon monoxide in a cabin's small space... beware...

Originally Posted by rbk

On top of the benefits of wood you can throw some charcoal or briquettes in there for a cleaner hotter burn and can find charcoal almost anywhere for cheap.

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by Telemark43

Charcoal or briquettes are death a knocking on your cabin door... do NOT use inside due to the enormous amount of carbon monoxide in a cabin's small space... beware...

Now, you do have a CO detector, and good seals on your stove right?
ANY, evidence of soot on interior cabin walls , ceilings.
Even your oil lamp throws off carbon.
I get more soot from my lamp than my diesel heater stove.
Cheers!

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by Boatyarddog

Pellets, ??
I've not seen yet a pellet stove that is installed on a boat.
Yes, they are efficient, you do need power to run them as they use an auger to regulate the temp.
And a combustion blower and a fan to blow the heat out.
Lots of power to run.
Then you've got pellets in 40 lb. bags.
Great idea but, anyone know of an installed one in a boat.
We use one at home, they are nice.
Cheers!

Thanks! I was just going by a friends like for his in a home. I wonder if one could be scaled down for use aboard? I'm not sure what solid fuel would be on a boat? Splitting logs on the aft deck doesn't make much sense nor does hauling bags of coal aboard.

[Russ]

Thank you John33. Saved me the fuss.
How I wish people would confine themselves
To what they actually know

Russ MD

[Chris31415]

Are there any issues with solid fuel at sea? Are there weather conditions where it couldn’t be used but other types of heating could?

[evm1024]

Had one on the Cal 2-29 I lived aboard for 4 years. Easy to use and as noted wood fires speak to the cave man in us. Nice to take the chill off the evening with a glass of Chardonnay in your hand.

Liked it so much i took it with me and installed it in an old Dodge Van. That stove kept the van cozy in the winters while serving as a base for backcountry skiing.

It ended up with my dad, heating his what would be called a tiny cabin now days.

I never ran any "fire" while sleeping BTW.

Lastly, there is one at the local Chandlers. I eye it every time I walk past it. I don't need it but I want it. Serious lot of fond memories.

[garyfdl]

Originally Posted by Cadence

Was it a pellet heater/solid fuel? From what a friend had told me they are efficient.

In this case, no. Hunks and chunks.

Thanks to all for the comments so far.

I'm in the upper mid-west. Lakes Winnebago, Michigan and potentially Superior are my cruising grounds. A stove would be nice and help extend the cruising season.

I watched the Tom Cunliffe vid, and he has a proper stove, with a reasonably sized firebox. But he's burning coal briquettes and he admits - stowing fuel is a messy issue, and then there is ash disposal.

The stove In the boat I looked at was, I'll say, typical for marine applications. About 10" x 10" OD. Fire box can't be more than 8" x 8" and 6" high. Now I might be wrong, but from my aforementioned experience, it seems that on a brisk day/cold night, you would be loading the stove constantly, and removing and disposing of the ash. And ash disposal is an issue. I don't believe that you can just chuck it over the side, legally.

While solid fuel has a romantic/esthetic appeal, I am starting to lean towards propane as a more pragmatic option.

[desodave]

Wood is cheap and readily available in this part of the world. Not sure I'd be burning a lot of driftwood though - moisture and salt content is too high imo. Moisture reduces heat and increases smoke, salt reduces heater life. You can go a long way up the coast around here to find diesel and even further to find propane supplies. As said on another thread, a wood burning heater is perfect for someone trying to live a cheap life aboard an older boat.

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by Emoyeni

Agreed. Plus diesel fumes cause pancreatic cancer. Tom Cunliffe has a great video on YouTube where he talks about the merits of solid fuel.

Indeed

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uvLQ...YachtsandYarns

[Joh.Ghurt]

Around here you get get also log size compressed sawdust pellets for regular ovens. They're a decent replacement for wood logs and can be stored easily.
Something like these: https://lignetics.com/pages/fire-logs-bricks

To be honest, if my very old diesel-heater isn't salvageable I might replace it with a small wood-stove. In cold coastal areas wood or those sawdust-logs are easy to come by.