Solid fuel cabin heater - why???

[Jammer]

* Wood is reliable. Stoves and stovepipes burn out but that is a slow progressive process and with any sort of inspection and maintenance at all can be corrected early. Diesel and propane heaters are subject to myriad failures


* Aroma. Most people find a mild woodsmoke aroma to be more pleasant than a mild diesel aroma.


* Cost. Lower for both fuel and equipment


* Ability to forage for fuel. In many/most coldweather areas, fuel is abundant and free for the collection



There is the possibility of soot on the sails. Also a possibility with some diesel setups (varies)

[Christian W.]

I have enjoyed a solid fuel heater for 10 years.It's basically a stainless steel box vented to above deck, made by Bengco UK. It's extremely efficient, pleasant heat and presence, built to burn charcoal. I use BBQ briquettes. The downside is that to burn it 24 hours is expensive, $10 pd. (incidentally about the same as our domestic pellet heater). I also have a CO alarm - there's a danger of fumes sneaking through the the dorades and hatch cover, but adjustments can be made according to weather conditions. I once saw an arrangement whereby a boat at anchor had a long flue extension out the side of the hull.
The heater is safe, and unperturbed by strong winds, or sea conditions whilst under way. I love it!

[Benz]

There is nothing nicer on a damp, dreary, foggy day than firing up the wood stove. Dries things out, warms your soul.
I've lived aboard in New England with a wood stove, and sure, cutting wood small enough for the stove is a chore, but well worth while, IMO.
Now that I'm temporarily living ashore, I heat my house with only firewood as well. I guess I'm a fan.
With the right setup, you can burn wood while underway--I've done it.
Also, ash disposal is no big deal--you don't make enough, even burning every day, to create a huge pile. I scoop mine out with a ladle into an old metal pot, then when I'm sure they're cold, into the trash. At sea, they go right overboard.

[Fore and Aft]

These guys managed to put me of wood stoves. I love the idea but not the effort required.
Cheers
https://syspaceoddity.home.blog/2020...burning-stove/

[rbk]

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...

Yes because it burns cleaner and cooler than wood there is the possibility of flue gas temps being insufficient to properly vent; I would be concerned about this in a three storey house chimney, or an externally mounted chimney but the 4-5’ flue in most boats should not be a concern if kept sufficiently hot. Also most solid fuel stoves on boats have a combustion chamber only big enough for a few hours of fuel. There is no difference in burning charcoal than letting a wood fire burn down to coals, same stuff (except briquettes get pressed into bricks).

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by Fore and Aft

These guys managed to put me of wood stoves. I love the idea but not the effort required.
Cheers
https://syspaceoddity.home.blog/2020...burning-stove/

Burning wood is a skill. The unskilled make it too hard. Two things come to mind quickly when reading the blog:


1) They have too large of a stove for the space, and it has poor draft control. Taken together, this is why they burn more fuel than they should. When burned, diesel produces 4x as much heat as wood by weight, a big difference to be sure, but a manageable one


2) Gasoline chainsaws aren't necessary for wood this size. A larger bow saw (36" mol) works surprisingly well, doesn't require fuel, and nobody steals them. I keep a smaller bowsaw behind the seat in my pickup in case I need to clear fallen limb or tree that's blocking a driveway. There are now also battery chainsaws that are very, very good. I have a little Milwaukee one that takes the same batteries as my drill and circular saw that is large enough for cutting wood for a tiny stove.

[LittleWing77]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

Because there is some primal satisfaction in having a wood fire on a cold, wet day. Wood can be a pain, moving it three times before you burn it but it's nice to watch and comforting heat.

<Sigh> Yes!

And there's something so romantic about a wood fire... <Sigh Again!>

If you've ever burned driftwood, it produces multicoloured flames too, which is totally cool.

+1 Solid-Fuel Marine heaters!

Warmly (no pun intended),
LittleWing77

[Emoyeni]

Originally Posted by stormalong

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

Here you go. Interesting that you weren’t able to find it. It comes up as the second link when I google “diesel pancreas cancer risk”.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6394840/

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by Emoyeni

Here you go. Interesting that you weren’t able to find it. It comes up as the second link when I google “diesel pancreas cancer risk”.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6394840/

I didn't look. If a post contains an obscure claim it should include a reference.

[Yellowtulip]

Originally Posted by Emoyeni

Here you go. Interesting that you weren’t able to find it. It comes up as the second link when I google “diesel pancreas cancer risk”.



https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6394840/

That paper shows that there is some evidence that an occupation involving exposure to diesel exhaust gives rise to a greater risk of pancreatic cancer, but that more research is needed.
As far as I’m concerned, if I were to install a diesel heater on my boat, 1) I wouldn’t be exposed to its exhaust, 2) Even if some exhaust products found their way into the cabin I wouldn’t be exposed to it for long enough to be at risk.
The engine exhaust is probably a greater risk, especially with a following wind. But again, the level of exposure is not at occupational levels.

[valhalla360]

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.

I don't know where you are but charcoal is massively more expensive.

Also, unlike propane, kicking on the heat for 10min in the morning to take the chill off is a project in itself.

Safety is at best a wash. CO is more likely with a wood stove.

75-100yrs ago, they made a lot of sense. Now it's a nostalgia thing more than anything else.

[nortonscove]

I would think it more readily available than any of the other fuels in the places where you would need heat.

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by nortonscove

I would think it more readily available than any of the other fuels in the places where you would need heat.

Oddly, we've seen the opposite.

In cold weather areas, they are set up to provide liquid fuels for heating.

It's areas not accustomed to cold where you can run into issues.

We got caught in our RV in South Texas during the recent fiasco, a lot of places were running out of propane because they aren't set up to store and distribute it in large quantities.

Back home in Michigan, it would have been a complete non-issue.

Firewood for heating homes on the other hand requires substantial prior planning to obtain and store enough. In a cold winter, if you run out of wood, the typical response is to fall back on propane or natural gas for heating as wood prices will be high at that point. Most stores stop carrying charcoal in the fall, when BBQing stops. So that leaves you scavenging icy snow swept beaches for driftwood.

Of course most people don't keep cruising in true cold weather destinations anyway.

[rbk]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

I don't know where you are but charcoal is massively more expensive.

Also, unlike propane, kicking on the heat for 10min in the morning to take the chill off is a project in itself.

Safety is at best a wash. CO is more likely with a wood stove.

75-100yrs ago, they made a lot of sense. Now it's a nostalgia thing more than anything else.

15.5lb bag of briquettes - $8.99 CND ($7.14 usd)
8.8lb bag of lump - $9.99 CND ($7.93 usd)
Wood- free

Both large bags at a burn rate of a scooped handful of lump or 6-8 briquettes every hour-ish (not bbq-ing here) is about what I go through with my smoker once going just throwing a few on top of the glowing pile of coals. I do agree though propane is easier and that is what we have on our boat. When our Dickinson dies I will replace with an Espar ducted blower and install a solid fuel in place of the Dickinson for extra boost and ambiance.

[Cadence]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

I don't know where you are but charcoal is massively more expensive.

Also, unlike propane, kicking on the heat for 10min in the morning to take the chill off is a project in itself.

Safety is at best a wash. CO is more likely with a wood stove.

75-100yrs ago, they made a lot of sense. Now it's a nostalgia thing more than anything else.

I'd agree with the nostalgia and that wears off fast.