Wood Stove

[LadyByrd]

Thanks for the l video Bill. Greatly appreciated. And yes, PNW is where I'll be and I thought the same thing. 😊

Originally Posted by Bill O

If you want a wood stove get it. You seem to have a good idea what to expect. I like the cubic minis and if I could fit it in the boat I would try to fit in the larger Grizzly model. It take larger pieces and therefore has longer burn times.


A couple of more things to consider with the cubic minis. One is the space needed for the stove and also the 20" setbacks for all walls. Second is the 3" flue pipe. Haven't looked in a while but are there any good dirctional flue caps like

for a 3" cap.


Been burning wood for many years and if you will be cruising the PNW you will have plenty of fuel for your stove.


Bill O.

[Benz]

We spent three winters aboard our boat in cold climates, heating with a Sardine stove. It is my favorite way to heat a boat (or a house). Driftwood is plentiful, and it doesn't take much to keep a small boat warm. One of those small bow-saws can make short work of a lot of driftwood. If wood gets scarce, you can use the lump charcoal normally kept for your boat barbecue. Pine cones burn pretty good too, and require no chopping.
As for ashes, we scoop them out, coals and all, with a stainless steel ladle into a retired cooking pot. The question of where do the ashes go is pretty baffling. Isn't your boat in the water? Dump them right overboard!
Go with wood. It's the easiest, most fool-proof, driest, cheapest source of heat boaters have ever discovered.

[hpeer]

I’ll advocate for an Espar D-4. Some comments.

I had the first one installed on our 33’er by a “professional”. He didn’t do what I wanted and I had to make modifications to the install. Heats entire boat nicely.

I installed the second in our 44’ cc. It has almost no ducting. I was able to install it over the engine on drop down mounts I made so as to get access for servicing he unit from the top. That is important to be able to service/replace the glow plug. We lived on the boat through a couple of winters. When it got really cold (low teens F) I would stay on the boat. You need to understand the thermostats, they have some idiocryancies. Probably the 7 day programmable is best especially if you will be off the boat for over 10 houRs in the veryncold. I would close off the forepeak and aft cabin and just heat saloon. That worked down to single digits F.

You need a separate fuel tank pick up, that can be a pain. You need think about exhaust/chimney location and routing. But it’s about 1” flex hose with insulation. Maintenance has been fairly easy. Cary spare glo plug and fan.

Michigan Espar is a good source, some Ebay sources don’t provide all the right parts.

The D-4 is marginal for the 44’er. If forced for more heat I would buy TWO D-4’s and thus provide zone heating with redundancy. No clue how big your boat is.

Once installed no more difficult than any house forced hot air system.

[LadyByrd]

That was a lot of technical jargon I didn't understand. Lol. But, it sounds like you know what you're talking about. 😊 I'm currently looking into the c&c 30 mkll. I know I want a smaller boat, but still doing research on that is well. So much to learn, yet so fun learning it all. 😊

Originally Posted by hpeer

I’ll advocate for an Espar D-4. Some comments.

I had the first one installed on our 33’er by a “professional”. He didn’t do what I wanted and I had to make modifications to the install. Heats entire boat nicely.

I installed the second in our 44’ cc. It has almost no ducting. I was able to install it over the engine on drop down mounts I made so as to get access for servicing he unit from the top. That is important to be able to service/replace the glow plug. We lived on the boat through a couple of winters. When it got really cold (low teens F) I would stay on the boat. You need to understand the thermostats, they have some idiocryancies. Probably the 7 day programmable is best especially if you will be off the boat for over 10 houRs in the veryncold. I would close off the forepeak and aft cabin and just heat saloon. That worked down to single digits F.

You need a separate fuel tank pick up, that can be a pain. You need think about exhaust/chimney location and routing. But it’s about 1” flex hose with insulation. Maintenance has been fairly easy. Cary spare glo plug and fan.

Michigan Espar is a good source, some Ebay sources don’t provide all the right parts.

The D-4 is marginal for the 44’er. If forced for more heat I would buy TWO D-4’s and thus provide zone heating with redundancy. No clue how big your boat is.

Once installed no more difficult than any house forced hot air system.

[ahun]

I love wood stoves so always ask about them if I see some one using.

I would ad two more issues to consider:
Apparently driftwood is full of salt and is pita to use it.
If your chimney is not good it's very hard to get the stove going. Windshifts push back the smoke through it and into the cabin. Staying up all night to fuel the stove and try to close and open the various valves and doors... but this is an experience from Patagonia winter.

[seandepagnier]

apparently salty wood makes chlorine gas if it burns. I burned a lot of drift wood and I'm still ok, but it's not the best wood. It should be easy to find good wood, the quality of wood makes a big difference.

I made two a wood stoves from empty gas bottle and 3 inch steel pipe. It cost nothing but an hour with angle grinder to cut holes, and sanding disk to remove the paint.

If you use smaller than 3" pipe you might get a lot of smoke.

[Bill O]

If you burn drift wood, the chlorine and combined w/the phenolics in the wood apparently creates dioxins, not chlorine gas.
Unless you are strapped, it probably best not to burn drift wood for heat. Besides the potential toxins while trying to burn it, the wood is usually wet (hydroscopic from salt water) and will be very smoky/not the hottest burning wood. Best to go inland and get better wood.


Bill O.

[smith8273]

I used to have a wood stove at home, and a neat trick I discovered is to create a draft when you are emptying the ash out of the stove.

I usually used some tightly crumbled newspapers, lit them and waited for the fire to create a draw. Then I would hold a metal can as close to the door as I could, and as I scooped ash into the can, any dust raised went right up the flue! Also works in a fireplace.

[Lepke]

I heated my current 83' boat with wood the first year. I have a private dock in a timber county and have a place to store wood, but it was still a PIA. I also used wood in a few houses. In a house you have storage close by and it's not as confined as a boat. In a boat the wood stove is either too hot or too cold (out of wood). Also I was carrying 4-6 armloads of wood a day in cold weather. Crossing wet or icy docks. Cord wood only is cheaper if you cut and split. Something that helps keep the stove going thru the night is add some chunk coal to the fire. It will burn all night and cuts back on the amount of wood.
Diesel you have on board already. A lot more convenient than hauling wood. The stove will run at a constant temperature. It burns cleaner on #1 diesel or kerosene. But a diesel stove is too hot to use in warmer temperatures. My galley stove is diesel and has a water coil, so I have hot water as a byproduct anytime the stove is on.

[hpeer]

Sorry if I made it seem overly complicated. IMHO an Espar is easier to install, far less intrusive (especially on a small boat), and far, far easier to operate safely.

One thing not discussed is how you intend to use the heater and in what conditions. If you simply want heat at a long time berth and never intend to sail with the stove on, those factors favor wood. If you want to be more remote from your wood store, move a lot and especially if you want to have heat underway, have limited space, if you value sleeping all night long; those factors favor an Espar type heater.

Unfortunately most every modification to a sailboat has unforeseen technical and operational complexities not immediately apparent.

[hpeer]

Lepke,

Just to keep confusion to a minimum, I assume you are describing as diesel a pot burner like a Dickenson or Reflex. Where las I am describing a forced hot air burner, Espar or Webasto. Worlds of difference. The Espar you turn in and set temperature. Almost instant and even heat.

[Cheechako]

It's nice heat but if you have ever used a wood stove in a house it's a very messy form of heat. Are there some type of spark arrestors etc for boats? Hate to see melted holes in sails etc. You neighbors probably wont like you much either.

[Mike OReilly]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

It's nice heat but if you have ever used a wood stove in a house it's a very messy form of heat. Are there some type of spark arrestors etc for boats? Hate to see melted holes in sails etc. You neighbors probably wont like you much either.

I heated with wood in our last land house. It can be a bit dirty. Kept a broom nearby for the daily sweep up.

Modern wood stoves don't allow sparks to fly the way old-style ones did. Stoves like the Cubic use a double burner system that combusts the exhaust from the primary burn. This doesn't allow sparks or soot to fly (a lot less, anyway). Also makes the burn quite efficient.

[Mediator]

We use an outdoor wood furnace to heat our house and are also looking to install some type of heater in our boat this year.

People have already mentioned how dirty wood can be; I’d agree with that. But it’s certainly manageable and you really can’t beat the smell of a cherry fire.

I think a wood stove could work if you are going to spend all winter tied to a dock. Then you can buy seasoned wood and store it somewhere on shore and on your deck. If you’re going to be cruising around... doesn’t make much sense in my eyes. Only so much wood can fit in the v-birth.

[Mediator]

Also “double burner” stoves that burn the exhaust are far cleaner, produce less ash, and give off more heat for the same amount of wood. BUT... you need to burn hardwood in those units, which probably excludes driftwood and definitely pallets.

Our wood furnace is of the double burner type, and softwood will make the second burner fill with ash and choke off the fire. Also doesn’t provide nearly as much heat.