Wood vs Diesel Cook Stove

[daedaluscan]

I have had three Dickinsons, a Pacific a Chesapeake and a Newport. I would have a Pacific in the North West for all year live aboard, with a kerosene two burner that fitted on top for the summer. The other two are heaters and were on boats with propane stoves. I loved them all, and still miss the welcoming smell of a wooden boat with a Dickinson in it. Never had a wood stove.

Now have a diesel Webasto in a plastic boat, but we are of to the S Pacific so it seems to be fine for what we need now.

Hard to beat a dickinson in the Pac NW for me.

[S&S]

Originally Posted by Gauguin

Have any of you woodburners used charcoal? It burns well with a good heat output, light and easy to store and harbours no beasties. Plus all the oil, water and other nasties have already been burnt off in the making.

Aside from the lots of ash, it works fine. Not as much heat as coal though.

[wolfenzee]

I live in a marina...the soot from coal would not be tolerated
besides I live on a small boat, coal heat so well it would be difficult to contain a coal fire so small as to be comfortable.

[S&S]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

I live in a marina...the soot from coal would not be tolerated
besides I live on a small boat, coal heat so well it would be difficult to contain a coal fire so small as to be comfortable.

No noticable soot from anthracite-you're thinking bituminous. I can see your point about too much of a good thing heat wise.

[bobfnbw]

The November Issue of Practical Sailor has a piece on the Navigator Wood stoves.
Traditional Cast Iron Marine Stoves by Navigator Stove Works,Inc.
While I have never been a big fan of using wood onboard to heat, for some reason, the idea of it really struck a chord with me. The halibut stove is pretty awesome piece of equipement IMO. Using either charcoal, wood, or coal, to heat the boat, or cook... pretty nice.
I live currently in Texas. We have a month or so of cold, then its just hot the rest of the year. But this year, the rain and cold combined to make me wish for a wood fired heater.
One day, I will untye the dock lines for good, and not sure where it will take us.
The thought of a wood fired heater onboard, that can do so cooking as well.. is pretty attractive. I am sure that we will go to places where being able to heat the cabin (read not tropical) will be desired. This little stove would be ideal. It would take reducing the port setee to a double chair, which would eliminate one potential berth, but I can not foresee really using it that way anyway.

Check it out. I know that many will say, its not for them. But would like to hear from people that have used wood to heat up their boat. How did you store it, what did you use, how did you deal with the ash, and did it make a mess onboard?
Used to heat up our log cabin in Washington state with wood. It was wonderful, but a chore to keep it going, and the cost of wood can be considerable. But it was also a 2200 sq foot home... lot smaller on a 40' boat!

Bob

[wolfenzee]

Originally Posted by daedaluscan

I have had three Dickinsons, a Pacific a Chesapeake and a Newport. I would have a Pacific in the North West for all year live aboard, with a kerosene two burner that fitted on top for the summer. The other two are heaters and were on boats with propane stoves. I loved them all, and still miss the welcoming smell of a wooden boat with a Dickinson in it. Never had a wood stove.

Now have a diesel Webasto in a plastic boat, but we are of to the S Pacific so it seems to be fine for what we need now.

Hard to beat a dickinson in the Pac NW for me.

I have a Dickinson Bering, the smallest cookstove they make, and I was ready to convert it over to kerosene, but it is still too big for my boat so it is taking up space in my storage and I have switched to propane for cook and wood for heat.The space it freed up allowed me to install a refrigerator w/freezer

[Trisailing]

Hey guys,
Shipmate is back in business. I'm getting their new Shellback Adjustable 4" Bronze Deck Iron. Very good design.
ShipMate Stove Company Inc. - your source for classic solid fuel boat stoves, heaters and sinks.

[motorbaad]

Hi
I live in Scandinavia. Last winter was quite cold. On board I have a Webasto water central heating system as well as a wood burning heater. For cooking I use propane.
The Webasto heats up the whole boat ( 36 feet) in less than an hour from really cold to 20 degrees C.
I love my wood burning heater but there are a couple of issues to think about.
It takes allmost 2 hours to bring up temperature in the forecabin alone. then you have about half an hour with perfect temperature and then it gets too hot to be comfy. Here is one issue. Fueling with diesel or propane you just turn off the fuel and you are fine, but with wood or coal it goes on heating for a long time after you stop putting fuel into the heater. Could be dangerous as well, if you have been impatient and put too much wood in the heater.
I have tried the compressed stuff and its clean and easy to use, but it must be stored 100% dry not to delaminate. This is not easy onboard a boat.

[Lively Wanderer]

I’ve found coal to be a very clean fuel once you know what you’re doing.

We had a top loading coal stove when I was a kid. The first time we used it Pop got a surprise when he poured in the coal. A huge cloud of jet black coal dust flew right back out. I’ll never forget Mom’s expression. Needless to say she wasn’t happy.

What we ended up doing was “preloading” the coal into paper bags (Free from the grocery store at that time)

On cold mornings when the fire was just embers it was great. I’d jump out of bed, run to the stove, toss in a coal bag and spin the air knob. Back into bed before the sheets could even cool. After a 20 minute snooze I’d wake up to one cranking hot fire.

Appropriate sized paper bags for a small boat stove are fairly cheap. So I think I’d try to preload the coal before bringing it onboard.

[IdoraKeeper]

Originally Posted by wolfenzee

I have a Dickinson Bering, the smallest cookstove they make, and I was ready to convert it over to kerosene, but it is still too big for my boat so it is taking up space in my storage and I have switched to propane for cook and wood for heat.The space it freed up allowed me to install a refrigerator w/freezer

I have a rather used newport heater that I switched out for a new one. Nothing really wrong with it just a little rusty. If you know anyone up in PT that needs one I would be glad to drop it off next time I am in town. Free to a good home so to speak. PM me.

Todd

[Brent Swain]

Make sure any woodstove you use is airtight so you can completely control the burn rate. I live in BC, where wood is free, while oil is getting ever more expensive. Wood burning has zero net effect on greenhouse gasses as leaving the wood to rot has the same effect.
My woodstove does nothing to increase the profits of BP. They weren't drilling in the gulf to feed my heating needs.

[Norval]

Wood vs Diesel Cook Stove
For cooking?!?! I wouldn't choose, or recommend, either one.

I would recommend propane for cooking, and especially for those of you that like to use ovens frequently.
When it comes to heating your boats, NEVER use propane, UNLESS it is vented outside. ( I have a forced air propane furnace.)

There is nothing like a nice toasty wood fire for a cozy warm boat. Use a few of those cheep 12 vdc computer fans to circulate the air (as another poster mentioned). The next choice would be diesel / kerosene types of vented heaters, and again, fans to circulate the air. ( I have a small wood / trash burner ( that I can burn anything combustible in, including fuel oils.)

Most boats are not built as a "live aboard" and are intended for fair weather cruising. Most boats are not insulated, or inadequately insulated, at best. Those of us that live in cooler climates and not intending to cruise the warm waters should seriously consider this point carefully, before considering your heating needs.

Know your "fire", learn all you can about it, some fires need winds to make them better, some make their own winds. Be watchful about your air sources, ventilation and exhaust / chimney stacks too. Learn about the principles of thermal dynamics and convection. Fire is a good thing, but just like the sea, never turn your back, nor ignore it.

I also have 110 vac electric heaters, a 800/1200 watt, and a 300 watt which keep the 1100 sq. ft. house boat warm down to 35 F. Then I fire up the wood heater or propane furnace.

[wolfenzee]

I use propane stove/oven for cooking, 110 while living at the dock and a small wood stove. Because of the different burning properties of different types of wood it is very hard to get it to burn consistently, especially when you add in wind and weather factors. All my life I have smeared at "pre-manufactured" firewood but find logs made from compressed hardwood (not compressed pine as in "Presto Logs") burns very nicely and consistently. I store them in the same white shrink wrap used for boats, free scraps around the boatyard.

[ConradG]

I've lived with wood heat for decades on land and it's the best! But on a boat, if you have to haul your fuel, I see the Dickenson as more realistic. 100 gallons is roughly equivilant to a chord of hardwood in btus and the volumetric difference is huge, let alone weight. Pluss the diesel storage is in place. The diesel cookstoves heat like a wood cookstove, lots of surface area and dry. They sip fuel. But there is something cozy about wood! Perhaps tossing in a few chips now and again will give the smell and ambiance.

Mine is the Adriatic, nice big cooktop and pretty good size oven. I have a single burner wick alcohol Origo for the quick heat. I don't like the idea of propane iether. I'm thinking of making a really small solid fuel stove for the aftcabin, A size that would probably be best for coal or charcoal, something along the lines of the old "Tiny Tot".

[Astrid]

I have an Adriatic for cooking as well, but recently replaced my diesel heater with a small coal/wood fired heater for keeping the chill off.