Jump to content

Morso squirrel cracks


Featured Posts

Hey everyone,

 

I have a morso squirrel 1430. There are two cracks at the top of the front plate at the top where the securing lugs are. Does anyone know if operating the fire with these cracks is dangerous? Can cracks be repaired, or should I just buy a new front plate from Morso?

 

Cheers,

 

James

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, James Dyson said:

Hey everyone,

 

I have a morso squirrel 1430. There are two cracks at the top of the front plate at the top where the securing lugs are. Does anyone know if operating the fire with these cracks is dangerous? Can cracks be repaired, or should I just buy a new front plate from Morso?

 

Cheers,

 

James

I don’t know a complete answer. But, in my view if there are ‘openings’ that shouldn’t  be there, then I wouldn’t use it. If you can purchase a replacement panel be aware that the fixing screws and lugs will be a devil to separate. Plenty of penetrating oils I guess.

Edited by Nightwatch
  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

41 minutes ago, James Dyson said:

Thank you! Yes I've heard the screws are a pain, but the previous owner says he stripped it down a couple years ago so it might be Okay. Thanks mate.

And could he of overtightened it on assembly which is why it has now cracked

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've seen loads of Squirrel stoves with big cracks. I reckon they are junk. A stove should not crack. It's designed to cycle between very hot and stone cold (unbelievable but true) so really ought to be able to deal with this without cracking of the castings. 

 

Weigh it in and replace. 

 

 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Do not use it as it is.  It is likely to be leaking CO.

 

Morso direct and oilstoves.co.uk (Harwell), both online, will both supply a new top and other parts.

 

Check the lugs on the front plate and the back plate are all OK before buying a new top plate, as all 3 plates together will be nearly as much as a new stove.

 

The easy way to get the bolts out is to grind (Only)  the heads off with an angle grinder or with a Dremel. Normally you can then get the rest out of the top/bottom plate with a mole grip on the remaining stem. OP will not need to do that though.  Getting the collar off the top plate is more difficult.  It is usually easier to renew the collar

 

Put a ratchet strap round the stove body before you start.  It stops the sides falling off the base and breaking the lugs.  DAMHIKT.

 

You will need a load of 7mm fire rope -enough to go round the top and the collar,  fire rope glue, to hold the top rope to the top plate,   some M6 (check size)  A4 stainless cap screws and washers  to hold it all together and a dollop of Coppaslip similar for the threads and lugs

 

As Tonka says, don't over tighten.  The sides, the top, the collar  and the bottom all need to be able to move as the stove warms up and cools down.  The bolts should be just tight enough that the body does not wobble on the base

 

N

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

15 hours ago, magnetman said:

I've seen loads of Squirrel stoves with big cracks. I reckon they are junk. A stove should not crack. It's designed to cycle between very hot and stone cold (unbelievable but true) so really ought to be able to deal with this without cracking of the castings.

 

On the other hand, since they are probably the most common solid fuel stoves found on canal boats one might expect to see more problems reported. I wonder how many Squirrel stones have been used for many years and don't have cracks in the castings? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, James Dyson said:

Hey everyone,

 

I have a morso squirrel 1430. There are two cracks at the top of the front plate at the top where the securing lugs are. Does anyone know if operating the fire with these cracks is dangerous? Can cracks be repaired, or should I just buy a new front plate from Morso?

 

Cheers,

 

James

Surely with all the money you have you just replace the boat? 

  • Haha 1
  • Unimpressed 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, blackrose said:

 

On the other hand, since they are probably the most common solid fuel stoves found on canal boats one might expect to see more problems reported. I wonder how many Squirrel stones have been used for many years and don't have cracks in the castings? 

I suppose you could argue that but then why is the thing cracking in the first place? As far as I am concerned you don't want a stove which is liable to crack. If there are other stoves which crack regularly (I have not seen one) then I would have equally negative output about those. 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd say it depends in the size of the cracks and if there is any danger of part of the stove falling off.  If they are quite small / superficial I'd put a bit of fire cement on them to seal them  and see how it goes..

 

I tend to agree with others although the morso is popular on boats i dont know why.  We have a Coalbrookdale little wenlock  (not a Chinese built AGA version) at home and I reckon that's a far better stove of a similar size to the morso. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the Squirrel  came into its popularity for a number of reasons. 

Frinstance:

 

It is a creature of the canal boat boom of the mid 80's early 90's   when there were few multi fuel stoves about.  Compared with the Torgem/glow or the Baxi and  other domestic sized solid fuel stoves it was a revelation in controllability. 

It was the right size for a narrowboat, both physically and by heat outputs.

 

It had a nice glass (not mica) in the door so you could see the fire, and the airflow kept the door fairly clean.

 

The riddling arrangements, and the two doors meant it was as clean in use as any solid fuel stove ever is, and better than many.   Anyone remember the Arctic?

 

The Squirrel will burn anything.  Wood burning had  not caught on at home, so most contemporaries only suited coal based products.

 

It was not badly priced compared with the others.

N

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a 20 year old Morso. No cracks yet. When fitting the flue, use flexible sealing and make sure the flue-through-roof fitting has some give in it. This will alleviate some pressure on the top plate caused by heat expansion.  

 

 

Edited by Higgs
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Charnwood C5  we have at home is IMHO way superior to the Squirrel we had on the boat.

 

Single door and a single control for the airflow.

 

Don't know about cracks yet as it's only five years old. Has a ten year guarantee against such though.

 

British made too, on the IOW  

 

 

Edited by The Happy Nomad
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I replaced my stove last year.  Previously I had a very old Squirrel.  I looked at all the options and bought another Squirrel.  I couldn't see anything else with the same heat output, for the same footprint, with the same amount of controllability, and which keeps in so well.  And as said above, it will burn almost anything. 

 

There are always going to be stoves which crack.  You hear about it more with Squirrels because there are far more of them on boats.

 

To the OP, if your stove is cracking, dig in your pockets and buy a new stove.  It's not worth penny pinching over.  More narrowboat deaths are caused by malfunctioning stoves than by anything else.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 27/06/2022 at 15:49, Nightwatch said:

I don’t know a complete answer. But, in my view if there are ‘openings’ that shouldn’t  be there, then I wouldn’t use it. If you can purchase a replacement panel be aware that the fixing screws and lugs will be a devil to separate. Plenty of penetrating oils I guess.

This means a product called "Plus Gas" not WD40.

Using a genuine penetrating fluid, is much quicker than using a general purpose spray.

 

Bod

 

  • Greenie 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've had various small stoves in different houses and boats, but so far nothing comes close to being as controllable,  easy to use, easy to light, easy to keep in for 24hrs, and with such good ash management as the morso squirrel. Also designed for burning wood or coal, with finely adjustable top and bottom air vents, and widespread parts availability.

 

As others say, you're bound to hear about more problems with them than other stoves as they're much more common. That's not to say they're without faults though - cleaning behind the back boiler being one (although a simple mod to the blanking plate helps).

 

The main reason I think they crack is poor installation (eg not being installed level, too rigid a flue connection etc). High temp silicone should be used to seal flue joint at top of fire and roof collar, not fire cement. Also screws not being over tightened. 

 

If the stove is otherwise solid and secure, and the cracks are only small and not structural, I might be tempted to smear high temp silicone over them and monitor closely for further deterioration, but only if I had working CO alarms. Would very much depend on where the cracks are, and how big they were though. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 minutes ago, Tom and Bex said:

We've had various small stoves in different houses and boats, but so far nothing comes close to being as controllable,  easy to use, easy to light, easy to keep in for 24hrs, and with such good ash management as the morso squirrel. Also designed for burning wood or coal, with finely adjustable top and bottom air vents, and widespread parts availability.

 

As others say, you're bound to hear about more problems with them than other stoves as they're much more common. That's not to say they're without faults though - cleaning behind the back boiler being one (although a simple mod to the blanking plate helps).

 

The main reason I think they crack is poor installation (eg not being installed level, too rigid a flue connection etc). High temp silicone should be used to seal flue joint at top of fire and roof collar, not fire cement. Also screws not being over tightened. 

 

If the stove is otherwise solid and secure, and the cracks are only small and not structural, I might be tempted to smear high temp silicone over them and monitor closely for further deterioration, but only if I had working CO alarms. Would very much depend on where the cracks are, and how big they were though. 

You have not had an Ekol Clarity 5 though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought about a Morso to replace a Bubble diesel stove.

 

I chose against it, as read about the cracking. I'm sure a lot is caused by heavy firing and very fixed flue as has been said.

 

9 years ago chose a Woodwarm Fireview 4.5KW. Apart from the boat, the best thing I have bought. The grate, baffle plate and glass are still the original. The 30mm vermiculite firebricks and stove rope doors I renewed last winter as bricks had cracked around 3 years earlier. LHS one in 4 pieces. The rope seals fits into a channel cast into the door, so can move it's position if needed. The stove is fantastic, looking through it's double glazed door at the flames. Fellow neighbours with a squirrel have always had dirty glass.

I have a mild steel back boiler on the stove and that heats the 2 rads by gravity.

 

Would I buy another Woodwarm? Yes, but suspect mine will last another 20 years. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 28/06/2022 at 08:51, blackrose said:

 

On the other hand, since they are probably the most common solid fuel stoves found on canal boats one might expect to see more problems reported. I wonder how many Squirrel stones have been used for many years and don't have cracks in the castings? 

After the rear flue plat fell off it slowly fell apart. I would never have another. In the house I have a steel not cast iron wood burner

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 28/06/2022 at 20:19, Tom and Bex said:

nothing comes close to being as controllable,  easy to use, easy to light, easy to keep in for 24hrs, and with such good ash management as the morso squirrel

I couldn't agree more: I've tried many wood-burner/multifuel stoves over the years and our Morso Squirrel is far more controllable and in my opinion better engineered than all of them. I had a Villager stove once which had doors that fitted so badly that it was almost impossible to control. My Morso's air vent is so precise that I can elevate or lower the flames almost as accurately as one could with a gas stove. I can extinguish the fire completely just by fully closing both air vents, most unlike less well engineered stoves 

 

Although a tiny crack in theory could release carbon monoxide into the room/cabin, it is very unlikely, no more likely than the much larger front or rear combustion air vents would. Such stoves operate under a very slight vacuum created by the flue, so air will enter the stove, not escape through a crack, in the same way it does through the combustion air vents. 

 

Of course you must have a CO alarm, but so long as it's not structural, a tiny crack could safely by plugged with a squeeze of high temperature mastic until your spare part arrives.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 28/06/2022 at 15:12, BEngo said:

Anyone remember the Arctic?

 

That takes me back a bit.  I put one of these in our first boat - a Springer.  They were very efficient and didn't take up much room.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.