Search the Community

I've been making some improvements to the multifuel stove setup on my recently purchased narrowboat, namely around fire protection where the flue exits through the internal ceiling. The stove is a Valor Willow. I've just noticed that the two locating "lugs" on the collar that connects the flue to the stove top are missing. It looks like they've corroded and broken off at some point in the past. Someone on here had kindly advised me to buy some envirograf 1200 degree flexible heat sealant, and I also have a new length of 6mm fire rope that looks like it will sit nicely in the channel in the bottom of the collar. It looks like you can buy a similar replacement collar for around £50. My question is, would it be safe to refit the existing collar sealing it to the stove top using the rope and also some heat sealant? I presume the weight of the flue and the collar itself will apply a reasonable amount of downward force to allow the rope and sealant to create an airtight seal but wanted to check people's opinions before doing so.

Hi Canalworld! I’m about to put an offer on a great boat that meets my needs but the one big concern is that the only source of heat is the multi fuel stove. I know they are lovely but given my lifestyle/working hours etc I think that will be a struggle for me. I’ve heard lots about Refleks stoves and other diesel fed stoves and I think I would really want/need to convert the stove to that (after an initial trial period first). My question is whether that is possible given the location of the current Skladove stove? It’s right in the middle of a 57ft boat. I’d prefer not to need a pump as I’ll be CC’ing so electricity might be scarce in the winter when I most need the heat. The diesel tank is in the stern, which is a long way to maintain a gravity only line, plus I’d guess the pipe would need to run along the starboard side to reach the stove without crossing a doorway, but that would end up running behind or above the oven - is that safe and BSS compliant?! Alternatively a separate tank could possibly fit in the bow locker but then the pipe would run through the shower which is full height with sealed off doors and tiled - so are there ways around that without needing a new shower? Is the best option putting a tank on the roof and having a pipe through a mushroom vent? or would you need to drill through the roof? Again is that BSS safe with sun exposure? Maybe stainless steel tanks would be ok? Final option is in the main living area near the stove, but maybe that’s not safe and has issues with fumes? Sorry for the detail, I would just call Lockgate Stoves but I’m hoping for some guidance asap so I can make an offer before the other people viewing the boat! Any other recommendations for who could help install/convert would also be appreciated! Thanks Friendly new boater looking for advice! 🙂

Hello, My narrow boat has the stove flue feed through the sidewall. It draws fine. Has anyone else heard or had this design? I've only seen them on wide beams.

Have just bought my first canal boat and will be taking up permanent residence in the New Year. What logs do people recommend for my wood burner? Ideally over the Winter months I would like to keep my boat warm using just the wood burner. ☺️

Hi, here is all the information that I could find on this subject: Gravity fed systems for heating with a backboiler - the Intro section says enough that you can get a rough idea of what you must do (Added on the 18/09/2015) - Key principles is enough to get you started - and in Design there is more information for geeks who like to understand it all, or for people who need to debug I am designing a simple system which does not include a calorifier, so I have not included any information on this subject in this Summary. If you would like to add it, let me know and I will let you modify the text. There are still some questions that have not been answered. I have copied all of them here, below. If you have a short and clear answer to any of these questions, please post it here and I will add it to this summary. I might start discussion threads for some of these questions, if it turns out that the answer is complex and needs further discussion, or if no-one answers the question in the next few days. Important questions: Slope: - Why is the return pipe often straight-ish? Is the slope on the top pipe more important than the slope on the return? If yes, why? Pipes: - do you anneal copper pipes yourself, or do you buy them annealed? - could I use plastic hose to connect both the top pipe and return pipe to the radiators? That would save a lot of copper pipe bending. What would be the drawback, apart from appearance? The hose would have to tolerate boiling water temperature, too... Header tank: - is it a good/bad idea to have the top of the header tank outside of the boat? Radiators: - how can I know whether a radiator has a suitable bore, or whether it will cause too much friction? Coolant: - can you use tap water, or should you use distilled water? Why? Fiiling ratio: - how much water / coolant do you put in your system? (read the relevant part of the document, for more info) Geek questions: Thermostat: - is a thermostat only useful if you have a pump, or also for gravity-fed systems? (to prevent the water from flowing below 30C, for example) And where would you put it? On the return, on the top pipe, or on both? Pump: Apparently a centrifugal central heating pump would allow water to circulate via gravity when it's not running. Is that true? How would you choose such a pump? (how much power, etc) Anti-freeze: - Why do you need to premix anti-freeze and water before? (what difference does it make?) - How much anti-freeze do you put, with water? 50%? But Anti-freeze does not flow as well as water, and does not transfer heat as well, so less anti-freeze might be better? Is 30% alright in the winter? Pipe size: - Why do people recommend a 22mm pipe to the header tank, instead of a 28mm pipe which would make it easier for hot water to escape? - Is it better to have 28 to 15mm adapters on the rads, or to have 15mm pipes Tee-ing to the rads? The second options enables to have a tighter bend, which causes friction, but enables the radiators to be higher. Misc: - SmileyPete said this in an old post, and I don't understand the word "lagged" in this context, any idea? Here is the text: "a good way of doing it is to have an adequately sized gravity 'heat dump' rad(s) near or next to the stove, then more distant rads and/or calorifier on a pumped circuit connected by 15mm pipes, ideally lagged. That way the gravity rads can be shut off and all the heat directed to the furthest rad." ------------ I wrote this by reading, organizing and summing up all of the relevant information discussions threads that are mentioned in the Index of common topics on this forum, plus a few other sources of information on internet.

Hi all 👋, first post on here but probably one of many, I'm currently looking into the heating system I am going to install on my widebeam i was hoping you could take a look and tell me what you think and if it all looks ok. (Heating sorce: Solid fuel fire and diesel water heater Heating up - radiators, under floor heating and hot water) I am thinking of installing the bubble b1c1 corner stove with back boiler, also what are peoples thoughts on the Prity AM 12 ( https://fireplacesforhome.com/Wood-Burning-Stove-Corner-Model-Fireplace-Log-Burner-Solid-Fuel-Prity-AM-12kw ) multifuel stove? And also a webasto diesel water heater. All my heating appliances are going to run to the NRG zone 5 manifold wich does allow thermosyphon , I plan to have 4x radiators, underfloor heating and calorifier attached. The diagram is missing the PRV and the pipes from the back boiler to the heating manifold will be in 28mm. My biggest worry is the thermosyphon safety as it is going to run to the heating manifold so i dont have any heat leak. Any input would be appreciated. Kind regards Brad I've linked the NRG zone let me know what you think to using this as I can't see any post speaking about this or any manifold. https://www.nrgawareness.com/product/nrg-zone-4-5-6-32-32-28/

Hi all, I was hoping somebody could answer my question regarding flue pipe. I 've had a search on google to find an answer to this question but have not seen anything specific enough to put my mind at rest. I am in the process of finalising a boat that I bought at the start of summer, I have built a hearth and fireproof tiled backpanel to safety spec to ensure I won't go up in flames, however I fear I may have been hasty in buying the flue pipe for the inside of the boat. The pipe I have purchased is vitreous single skinned enameled pipe (to the correct 4inch diameter for my acorn stove) but it is incredibly thin compared to other flue pipes i have seen. I know it is important to fit a double skinned chimney but wondered if the vitreous pipe is fine for the internal cabin (I know this may or may not technically pass the safety for a new installation but my main concern is will it be safe? I have noticed that some of the joints also have two holes drilled in and wondered apart from using fire cement whether there are any joint pieces that I may need to fit? I do want to try and make this installation as safe as possible but as you can see still have the odd concern, any help will be much appreciated, thanks, Pete :-)

Hi All, The Questions: Do all 'seperate bottom draw stoves' start as strongly as a morso and are the cheaper ones harder to keep in? Has anyone else found the old model 'single door' Acorn Aarrow stoves a little slow to start/ have any tips? I've previously had some breathing difficulties with my stove lit through winter and had some really good suggestions on a previous post including burning the stove fast and hot which I must say, when I can manage it, helps immensely. Now my friend has what a lot of people regard as the best of the boat stoves, a morso-squirrel. I've noticed how fast and incredibly powerful the stove can get going with the bottom drawer open when lighting. My mate asked me to get his stove going for him whilst away one day and I had managed to get his going in about 25 minutes, a little longer for coal to take and then able to shut it down and kept it in for the day until he got back. I have the old Acorn Aarrow model and this always takes about an hour or two to really get super hot and i'm sure the slow burning start that the aarow seems to limp off to a start with doesn't help in contributing to my asthma. I know having really dry wood helps alot but as a live-aboard through a very wet winter sometimes this is quite a challenge, so really thinking about replacing my old arrow with one of these bottom draw stoves, any help really appreciated :-) Pete

Hi I want to purchase a Corner Bubble Stove like this... http://www.bubbleproducts.co.uk/info-(bubble-corner-oil.html Can anyone recommend a certified installer in the Milton Keynes or surrounding area? Many thanks Adam

Hi All. I am replacing my wonky Kabola Old English(Diesel) with a Boatman multi fuel stove (with a back boiler) and am not sure how mad to go with the hearth, insulation etc. Bearing in mind that the Kabola heat output is rated at 4kw and so is the Boatman I would have thought it a fairly straightforward swap out........! The Kabola was fitted on a quarry tiled hearth with ply under it (as i discovered upon removal), also the flue is single skinned and pases within a couple of mm of the roof ply (where the hole was cut). Also a wooden wall is only a couple of inches away from the flue hole and old flue. This is clearly unacceptable! The fire surround is about 4" from the rear corners of the new stove (it was slightly closer with the old stove). The fire surround walls seem to be 6mm fireboard on ply, tiled with small thickish tiles. I have been reluctent to destroy it to find out. As there has been no problems with the old stove catching fire to the boat and the dimensions of the Boatman being smaller (and with the back boiler, unlike the Kabola which had its water pipes in the top), I thought would add 2 or 3 layers of 9mm fireboard onto the ply base/hearth, possibly with an airgap. Fit a double skin flue through the roof, with the outer skin 50mm from combustables as recomended and angled towards the stove joining a single skin flue at an acceptable distance from the wall. I was hoping to leave the surround alone. I think the Kabola was installed back in 99 when the boat was built as the woodwork around is quite proffesionally done. Question- would leaving the old surround as is be bordering on insanity, or as it has been ok with the kabola so far would it be ok! Any other comments/advice would be gratefully recieved. If my woodworking skills and time were up to it I would be tempted to start over. Thanks

Hi peeps! I'm hatching a plan to expand our current Squirrel-fed radiator system to also heat the calorifer. I have about zero plumbing knowledge... so the ideas below are all based on assumptions. I hope that by showing you the idea at this stage, I might not make hideous mistakes! I intend to use the newer 'push fit' pipes and fittings, as they're easier, not that much more expensive than copper, and the links to the calorifier already use them. I'd also like to have a solar collector as an option. As far as I can tell, the calorifier only has one coil (unless the other one is hidden beneath its insulation.) The drawing shows the boat as if it were just one continuous wall. I.e., port, stern, and starboard. This is because the calorifier is on the port side, and the burner/radiators are on the starboard side. I have to find a way to get the feed and return either around the back of the engine bay, or along the bulkhead dividing the bay and the living space, but beneath the doorway. The circles with crosses are taps - or three-way selectors, which I'm assuming exist. The bulkhead appears twice (port and starboard) The existing system has a bolan pump, but can also be used as a thermosyphoning system. I've sent the hot feed around the back of the boat, thinking that this might continue to operate (even though the cold return from the calorifier must travel uphill by about 100mm to rejoin the radiator system. An issue with this solution is that the pipe may loose too much heat to the hull / uninsulated engine bay. Another is: how do you mount pipes onto steel hulls! If thermosyphoning, or just running from one pump isn't an option, it might be more sensible to run the hot and cold feeds from the radiator system to the calorifier along the same route that the cold feed takes in this design- along the bulkhead (3d sketch might make more sense....) I suppose that's my main question at the moment. Is is a feasible idea? and, if so, should I run the pipes around the back of the boat (pictured), in a more gentle slope, or just go for the steep attack, use less pipe, but need a pump? The hot feed could be teed from the pipework just below the header tank instead. But would the single bolan (?) pump by the Squirrel be able to move the water that far? Assumptions. The original hot/cold pipes from the engine only have one shut off valve. It's my understanding that the pressure of the water in a circuit will prevent water from a different circuit from entering it when the tap is closed: water always follows the path of least resistance. For the solar circuit, there is a pump out there that will run on 12v, not consume insane amounts of power (though, on sunny days, our panel produces at least 8A), and be able to push the cold feed water to the roof. I require a separate header tank for the solar circuit, as it's higher than the current one. The solar circuit needs to be treated as a separate system, as if connected, pressure will release water from the lower header tank. Any help or suggestions on how this could be made better, or if it will even work, most appreciated!

Hi all, my stove looks like this at the moment: http://imgur.com/a/oZk6q The flue needs to be replaced, and it also needs a new bit to connect the flue with the stove. What is that called? A flue collar? I'm talking about the thing in the photo that's split in two halves. Does anyone know if and where I could source this online? Are they all different for different stove brands? Thanks a lot for any hints!

Hello helpful folks, In preparation for the winter months ahead could someone advise the following? A small 12v pump to push the hot water from the stove along the 3 radiaters attached to the back boiler? It was responsive to a thermal dial that activated the pumo when it reached certain pre set temps. I think the one we had was quite old but is small and cylinderical. Any thoughts anyone on where I could one similar? Thanks

I have just bought a canal boat that sleeps 7, but the previous stove has been ripped out and so I am in need for a replacement. I'll be using my new boat to travel around Ireland's waterways this winter and so will need a stove that's cheap to run but also effective. Any help will be much appreciated. Thanks to all.

The "Stoves in Boats" guide is full of all kinds of useful numerical suggestions about dimensions for stove and hearth fitting, but baulks at the lip of the heart, suggesting a hearth should have a What does this mean? 5cm? 10cm? 15? Why don't the recommend a dimension? What size is yours? What would you recommend?

We're looking for a stove for New Boat. There are about a hundred million stoves out there. How on earth do you choose one? I want to burn wood and smokeless. This is to heat a cabin about 11 x 25ft. As I'm buying a lot of equipment for the fit-out I'm hesitant to drop upwards of £700 on a stove when a £300 one will do. That said, the design and quality of a stove is important and I will pay what I have to pay for a good machine. I'm quite taken with this design. It's a "Lapland 4kw Multi Fuel / Wood and Coal Burning Stove" http://www.greymetal.co.uk/multi-fuel-stoves/lappi-4kw-multi-fuel-wood-burning-stove-grey-soapstone.html Any recommendations one way or the other?

Hi all We are new to Canal World,and are currently at the planning stage of having a narrowbeam built.We would be very interested in comments from people who have experiance of the Heritage Compact cooker/heater.If possible some photos of your insatlations would be usefull too. Many Thanks Carl and Samantha

Can anyone recommend someone who can measure up and manufacture a single skin 4 inch flue, either black painted steel or stainless? Reasonable radius from Autherley junction at the bottom of the Shroppie preferred so they can get to me to measure up, otherwise somewhere there's water in the cut if I need to go to them! Thanks in advance.

Does anybody know what make/model of stove this is please? I can't find any makers plate or writing on it anywhere. Thanks!

I've read quite a lot of threads and seen a lot of pictures online of people's stove installations. I know this is a topic that's been discussed at length, but I remain puzzled about what's going on when it comes to the BSS. I sought advice from a surveyor who just said "dunno, I'd have to see it" - not a response that filled me with confidence or that was in fact helpful when I'm trying to design something with dimensions that I can be confident will pass an inspection. Some stove suppliers publish advice such as this (PDF) and this (PDF), which purports to be based on official regulations but is, as far as I can tell, advisory unless the boat is a new build. The essential recommendation is that there should be 225mm of hearth in front, 150mm to any unprotected side, fireproof panels made of 25mm CaSi board (I suppose vermiculite would work as well) protecting any combustible materials, a gap of 45mm between stove and panels and, for a single-walled flue, at least three times the flue's diameter to any combustible material. This implies a 650mm square hearth (approximately) with 35mm panels (if tiled) plus 10mm air gaps and something that goes all the way up the wall to the roof. On a boat that's only 6ft-something wide inside, that's a lot of space. Needless to say, very few of the pictures I've seen of people's actual installations are anything like this. Typically a stove is crammed into the corner next to steps (let's not open the box of whether that's a good place or not), with a hearth of maybe 50-100mm in front and a few tiles behind it, with no apparent fireproof protection either behind the flue or even sometimes between the stove and a wood-panelled wall or frighteningly adjacent curtain. A bloke I met at Ellesmere last year said "they just look for scorch marks and if there aren't any, you're fine". No wonder there are boat fires. You don't hear a continuous flow of stories about people failing their BSS the first time after fitting their new stove, so it appears the surveyors indeed aren't fussed about the recommendations and essentially do "just look for scorch marks". I want a safe installation of what is genuinely a hazardous piece of equipment, but I don't want to take up unnecessary space and I don't want to be the only fool who actually follows the recommendations to the letter (or rather, number) when no one else is bothered. Anyone care to spell out how it actually works?

Could someone help please, my outside of the stove has cracked is it possible to repair it or its it a case of getting a new one from machine mart?

Hi, another rookie question!!! I have a wood burner (so I'm told) which has cracks all around the collar where it joins the top of the stove. Also, last winter it started leaking rain in through the top of the flue pipe somewhere. So, I've just got round to sorting things out for this winter. How do I remove the flue pipe from the collar on the top of the stove, should it 'simply' pull up all be it with a bit of gentle persuasion? At the moment it's not budging.