Best heating methods

[JemShaun]

Hey up  everyone.  We are looking at fires today;  We are open to new ideas. We are looking at multi fuel, Which in the opinion of those who use  the fire daily (in the colder months) is the best Smokeless and or the best coal and wood combination 

[BEngo]

Depends entirely on your stove,  your flue, your outside chimney and how many lottery tickets you bought last week, limited by what is available.

 

The only definitive answer will be found by trial and error. Lots of opinions on lots of threads on here.  Have a search.

 

N

 

[JemShaun]

We have a Morso which is great ,However some may think otherwise, t

[BEngo]

We have a Morso Squirrel 1410 with boiler.  It heats the fore part of the boat a treat.  We burn smokeless and the stove seems to be adjustable to just about anything in the market.  Practice maketh perfick.🙂.

 

The back end is heated by a Mk 1 Mod Heron stove, which does the job, but is not best described as  fully controllable.  As a welded steel stove it has much going for it but you need to be nearby if it is lit.

 

N

[MtB]

 

The very best type of coal is whatever you have on the boat when it gets cold.

 

The principle also extends to coal boats. The best type of coal is whatever the coal boat has in stock when it arrives.

[system 4-50]

48 minutes ago, JemShaun said:

in the opinion of those who use  the fire daily continuously (in the colder months) is the best

FTFY.

[Ianws]

1 hour ago, JemShaun said:

We have a Morso which is great ,However some may think otherwise, t

You said you are looking at fires then said you have a Morso which is great. Are you looking to replace the morso or add to it? 

[booke23]

1 hour ago, JemShaun said:

Hey up  everyone.  We are looking at fires today;  We are open to new ideas. We are looking at multi fuel, Which in the opinion of those who use  the fire daily (in the colder months) is the best Smokeless and or the best coal and wood combination 

 

Properly seasoned or kiln dried logs are nice to use but only have a third of the calorific value of smokeless coal so they don't cut in in the depths of winter with regard to heat output or value for money. 

 

As for which smokeless coal is best.....I've been conducting an experiment this winter using as many different types of smokeless coal I can find. I've tried eleven types so far and I'd say you need to experiment. Some types are very good when you run the stove hard (vents open) but the same coal may not be so good when you close the vents (during a mild spell or overnight), or vice versa....some are great at staying in over night but their heat output might not be so good when run hard.

 

As everyone's stove installation situation is different, you might find you run the stove hard a lot, or if your installation is in a small space you might be running it closed a lot of the time, hence the right coal for one person might not be the right person for the other person!

Having said all that, of all the coal I have tried, nearly all types were perfectly useable in my multifuel stove run hard or closed up. The exceptions were:

 

Pure Anthracite.....it can only be run very hot with lots of air, won't stay in at all, just goes out. But is wonderfully clean to burn and handle. 

 

Supertherm......I found it dirty and awful, poor heat output and very bad value.

 

Everything else worked fine with some working better than others. On the high street, Brazier from Home bargains is the best value, but Ecoal (from B&Q or Wickes) is much better and among the best smokeless coal I've tested in all respects.    

[JoeC]

I know you say that you are looking at a multi-fuel stove but have you considered a diesel fire setup (Reflex / Bubble)? A lot cleaner to use and operate. But you can't burn free wood on it!

[The Gravy Boater]

19 hours ago, booke23 said:

Supertherm......I found it dirty and awful, poor heat output and very bad value.

 

Everything else worked fine with some working better than others. On the high street, Brazier from Home bargains is the best value, but Ecoal (from B&Q or Wickes) is much better and among the best smokeless coal I've tested in all respects.    

 

I can confirm that Supertherm has gone right down the toilet.  I previously used it all the time but some say the formula has changed and my experience of late is that it turns up broken and produces more ash than before.  Lately I've been using Winterblaze and it's been fine.  Not tried some of that High Street stuff Booke suggests so may investigate that... next year. 

 

My stove is a French Petit Godin, a tall cylinder with a hot plate and chimney vents at the bottom and top.   Wood is great in it and will burn all night but you have to manage it until it is settled.  I mostly use coal for this reason... it's just more predictable heat. 

[Francis Herne]

With a little 4kW Arada AX-1:

 

For rapid heat from a cold stove, or high temperatures (e.g. for cooking on the stovetop) you can't beat wood. It's a lot more hassle to keep fed continuously though. Free in theory but only if you have space to let it dry thoroughly, or don't care that much.

 

I found Newburn excellent especially in the cold weather. Considerable heat output, lasts a reasonable time, not much ash.

 

Excel is good, more consistently available, slightly more expensive. Less heat output and more ash than Newburn, but stays in forever on low air settings. Great for autumn/spring.

 

Briteflame I found totally hopeless - produces so much ash it clogs the grate within a few hours, keeping it in overnight remained impossible after a couple of weeks of struggling with the stuff. Supertherm isn't much better.

Edited February 26, 2023 by Francis Herne

[magnetman]

Columbian doubles are nice. Probably won't be available for much longer though, sadly. 

 

Currently burning winter felled ash on the country estate boat but if it must be smokes less manufactured fuels I don't really mind Brazier or Homefire. 

 

Too much dust but does the job. 

 

Prefer ash wood though really. 

 

Union lignite briquettes are pretty good. Probably going though with the UK coal ban coming up end of May. 

 

Imagine that. No real coal any more. Pretty shocking. and no Queen Liz. 

 

Times are changing. 

Edited February 26, 2023 by magnetman

[Chewbacka]

38 minutes ago, Francis Herne said:

With a little 4kW Arada AX-1:

 

For rapid heat from a cold stove, or high temperatures (e.g. for cooking on the stovetop) you can't beat wood. It's a lot more hassle to keep fed continuously though. Free in theory but only if you have space to let it dry thoroughly, or don't care that much.

 

I found Newburn excellent especially in the cold weather. Considerable heat output, lasts a reasonable time, not much ash.

 

Excel is good, more consistently available, slightly more expensive. Less heat output and more ash than Newburn, but stays in forever on low air settings. Great for autumn/spring.

 

Briteflame I found totally hopeless - produces so much ash it clogs the grate within a few hours, keeping it in overnight remained impossible after a couple of weeks of struggling with the stuff. Supertherm isn't much better.

Agree, you can’t beat wood for a quick hot burn, but for good steady heat I like Homefire, or Homefire eCoal (~50% olive stones!!) or for late in the day Phurnacite which stays in well overnight.

[magnetman]

At one time CPL were doing bags of briquettes made entirely from olive stones. Quite an interesting fuel. 

 

Not sure if they still do it or if the available product has gone into the e coal instead. 

[LadyG]

3 hours ago, JoeC said:

I know you say that you are looking at a multi-fuel stove but have you considered a diesel fire setup (Reflex / Bubble)? A lot cleaner to use and operate. But you can't burn free wood on it!

I think the solid fuel stove is cheaper, but whatever you do you cannot control the prices.

Wood may be free and available in some areas but not everywhere.

I use £35-40 worth of logs per week plus £15-30 per week smokeless, I could not contemplate supplying my own wood. I would always want dry seasoned wood to keep flue clean.

Edited February 26, 2023 by LadyG

[magnetman]

You can't control the price of fuels on the markets but you can cut up a pallet or a fallen branch and put it in the fire and make the boat warm. 

 

 

[Chewbacka]

So long as the pallets aren’t treated.  

I believe imported pallets are usually treated and if from China who knows with what…..

[magnetman]

Most pallets these days are heat treated with no chemicals on them.

 

I don't burn pallets but if it came to it and the boat was freezing cold and nothing else available then I'm not going to be worried about a bit of bromide or arsenic I just want a warm cabin. 

[Higgs]

I don't know what the person a few posts up is doing with the Supertherm, but from the description of it in use, it sounds very unlike the Supertherm I use, which burns for ages. No problem controlling it, at any setting. Keep the stove well raked out and well ventilated. I also use most kinds of tree finds; some have been laying around for a while, some freshly cut. The fresh stuff can be dried out and used within hours. The heat from wood is more instantaneous than from smokeless. 

 

One piece of freshly cut wood, I weighed on the scales - 422g. After two hours it was 385g. It was almost ready to burn. I stack the wood around the stove to dry, while I'm on the boat. 

 

I have a Morso - Squirrel. 

 

 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Higgs

[LadyG]

19 minutes ago, Chewbacka said:

So long as the pallets aren’t treated.  

I believe imported pallets are usually treated and if from China who knows with what…..

I've occasionally seen a few pallets, but again, unless your moored next to a pallet recycling yard, you won't find many. It's just making life difficult, best to get a few hours work to pay for fuel rather than try to produce your own on the bank. I don't think you'll be allowed to use a chainsaw in a marina. Don't leave wood stacked around the stove for too long for obvious reasons.

Edited February 26, 2023 by LadyG

[Chewbacka]

22 minutes ago, LadyG said:

I've occasionally seen a few pallets, but again, unless your moored next to a pallet recycling yard, you won't find many. It's just making life difficult, best to get a few hours work to pay for fuel rather than try to produce your own on the bank. I don't think you'll be allowed to use a chainsaw in a marina. Don't leave wood stacked around the stove for too long for obvious reasons.

But if you do you will know when it’s good and dry🤣

[Puffling]

My compact Hamlet Hardy stove has been running continuously since the start of the freezing snap in December last year. It's quite an economical stove on the heat-to-coal volume ratio, but larger logs need to be placed in carefully, and usually diagonally. In the morning I use a log to get things off to a brisk start and make some cheery flame.

 

Brazier smokeless I found pretty useless - huge volumes of ash, seems to extinguish itself by creating so much ash on top of each briquette the airflow is blocked, so needs a poker every few hours. What's it cut with, 65% cement dust?

My best fuel this year has been Oxbow Red, and I've had no problems obtaining it from the fuel boats or marinas. It keeps in easily overnight, can provide a lot of heat opened up, and seems to last ages. Low ash, too.

I used a lot of Supertherm last year, but if it's true what people say here about the formulation changing, I think I'll stick with Red.

[Bee]

We have a Stovax (?) Brunel in the house. Great little stove, only ever used smokeless. Would use something similar in a boat if I needed too but with a back boiler. I would not use wood unless it was a genuine wood burning stove. (Many) others will disagree. On the boat we have a home made version of a Taylors paraffin stove but it would not be suitable for a bigger boat or a liveaboard.

[magnetman]

Brazier does vary. The constituents are published on the defra website as are all the other smoke less fuels. 

 

It can be alright. I often use it on my little fire on the inner city boat and it stays in fine. The fire is a custom job in steel. Tall and thin basically about 8x12 inches and 2ft6 high. 80mm flue. 

I reduced the grate size with a plate of thick steel so the burn area is now about 6x8 inches. a couple of layers of Brazier on there it will stay in for 12 hours no problem. The cabin is very small so we don't need a lot of heating. 

 

I only buy Brazier because I like the 10kg bags from a handling perspective. 

 

If there were more options in 10kg bag format I would probably use something else. 

 

 

On the country estate boat I did burn some Homefire but generally prefer wood and let it go out overnight. Bit nippy this morning but a steel box section fire with no lining bricks gets the heat out very fast. Stays in on Homefire overnight IF needed. 

[peterboat]

On 25/02/2023 at 23:36, booke23 said:

 

Properly seasoned or kiln dried logs are nice to use but only have a third of the calorific value of smokeless coal so they don't cut in in the depths of winter with regard to heat output or value for money. 

 

As for which smokeless coal is best.....I've been conducting an experiment this winter using as many different types of smokeless coal I can find. I've tried eleven types so far and I'd say you need to experiment. Some types are very good when you run the stove hard (vents open) but the same coal may not be so good when you close the vents (during a mild spell or overnight), or vice versa....some are great at staying in over night but their heat output might not be so good when run hard.

 

As everyone's stove installation situation is different, you might find you run the stove hard a lot, or if your installation is in a small space you might be running it closed a lot of the time, hence the right coal for one person might not be the right person for the other person!

Having said all that, of all the coal I have tried, nearly all types were perfectly useable in my multifuel stove run hard or closed up. The exceptions were:

 

Pure Anthracite.....it can only be run very hot with lots of air, won't stay in at all, just goes out. But is wonderfully clean to burn and handle. 

 

Supertherm......I found it dirty and awful, poor heat output and very bad value.

 

Everything else worked fine with some working better than others. On the high street, Brazier from Home bargains is the best value, but Ecoal (from B&Q or Wickes) is much better and among the best smokeless coal I've tested in all respects.    

I burn anthracite on my Rayburn royal, it needs very little air because the cooker is designed to burn that fuel, I can fill the firebox close it down and it can still be in 36 hours later. Not all stoves are created equal. House coal will block it solid in a few days requiring a full strip and clean. Smokeless briquettes produce little heat in it at all, not enough to heat radiators anyway. Well seasoned hardwood will heat radiators and can stay in overnight, however it has to be burned hard to stay clean and produce that heat.

I use anthracite for overnight staying in then wood in the day unless the boat is going to be empty then its more anthracite to keep it in