The Coal cage. Yea or nay?

[Adventurous]

I got a Clarke stove. Multi fuel. The previous owner left a

 coal cage So I decided to give the coal cage thing a shot. Watched YouTubers lauding it. But I don’t think it’s that fantastic. Now we have a cold snap coming in and I’m try to keep the fire lit, this cage thing seems to burn out quickly 

Anyone out there have more success with it? 
Or successful methods of keeping a fire going through the night. I’m getting up at three in the morning trying to convince it to stay lit/ 

[Russ T]

I have always found the key to keeping a stove running 24/7 is by adding as much fuel as possible. The coal cage, I believe has its uses to concentrate fuel into a smaller mass, apparently handy at the warmer ends of the season, though I've never used one. The key to keeping your fire running will be how well you can control the air input to it, if it has a lower air control, what you are burning, and how clean the flue/chimney are, and how big the fire box is.

 

Our Morso squirrel happily runs 24/7 from October to March, refuelling only once a day.

Edited December 31, 2025 by Russ T

[JoeC]

I used one and left it in there all the time. If I wanted it to be hotter then I would put coal/wood around the edge of the cage aswell as inside.

[LadyG]

I am quite used to getting up, (04.00 is usual) when I feel a bit chill, I have a few sticks and a small shovel ready to re-fuel it.

A lot depends on variables: stove, wind, coal, logs, etc.

I have my coal warm and dry so that it fires up readily. Obviously once it's going well, that does not matter so much.

The first day the fire was fired up, everything clean, I banked it up and went to bed, at 02.00 am it was pretty much out of control even with vents closed. I think I smothered it with a fireblanket and had to chisel away some fireclay the previous owner used to seal the collar as the deckhead was extremely hot.

So, if I were you, I'd opt for less coal and more control!

Once you get used to it, it won't be so bad!

I sometimes use less coal in mild weather, so a coal cage might be useful, but i dont really find it difficult to keep the temperature comfortable. Assuming I am there to add fuel.

I dont leave the boat unless the fire is stable, and I'm a bit more cautious when driving the boat as that creates a draught. I make sure the door is firmly locked.

Edited December 31, 2025 by LadyG

[MtB]

22 minutes ago, Russ T said:

I have always found the key to keeping a stove running 24/7 is by adding as much fuel as possible. The coal cage, I believe has its uses to concentrate fuel into a smaller mass, apparently handy at the warmer ends of the season, though I've never used one. The key to keeping your fire running will be how well you can control the air input to it, if it has a lower air control, what you are burning, and how clean the flue/chimney are, and how big the fire box is.

 

Our Morso squirrel happily runs 24/7 from October to March, refuelling only once a day.

 

Same here. Bank up the stove with as much fuel as you can stuff into it and close it down as low as it will go. My old Squirrel would stay in for 48 hours untouched like that! 

 

I too bought a Coal Cage to paly with. Used it once and took it out. Like the OP, I found it behaved no differently from a very small shovel of loose coal, i.e. went out after two hours. 

 

 

 

 

[David Mack]

46 minutes ago, Adventurous said:

I got a Clarke stove

That may be your problem. No personal experience, but I have heard that they are not great quality. If there are any air leaks at all between the stove plates, or around the doors, or the air control doesn't close completely, then it will be difficult to keep the stove in for long periods.

[MtB]

13 minutes ago, David Mack said:

That may be your problem. No personal experience, but I have heard that they are not great quality. If there are any air leaks at all between the stove plates, or around the doors, or the air control doesn't close completely, then it will be difficult to keep the stove in for long periods.

 

 

My own brand new stove in the hovel has a massive air leak designed into it, to stop you closing it down fully like they need to stay in for long periods. I banked it up the first night I had it and by 2.00am it was roaring away like a banshee with the whole bed of coal fully alight.

 

A bit of investigation revealed a permanent air hole in the base air control about 3 or 4mm across which cannot be closed off, leading to the thing whistling all the time and burning out a grate-full of coal in about four hours. Highly unsatisfactory but done I suspect, to make it comply with the latest emission controls regs. Just a wild guess.....

 

Point being, maybe the supposedly leaky Clarke stoves are perhaps built to the same regs.

 

 

Edited December 31, 2025 by MtB
Refine it

[Adventurous]

Thanks people. The sunset was spectacular tonight. Probably gives you a clue where I am. But, wherever you are I wish you all a very  Happy New Year 

 

Edited December 31, 2025 by Adventurous

[MtB]

4 minutes ago, Adventurous said:

Thanks people. The sunset was spectacular tonight.

 

No visible sunset here in Wiltshire. Thick, dense, freezing fog descended here about 4.00pm! 

[ditchcrawler]

1 hour ago, MtB said:

 

No visible sunset here in Wiltshire. Thick, dense, freezing fog descended here about 4.00pm! 

We were clear at Hillmorton 

[Tonka]

11 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

We were clear at Hillmorton 

Bet you couldn't see the aerials

[ditchcrawler]

37 minutes ago, Tonka said:

Bet you couldn't see the aerials

I think its an age thing, I could when I was younger 😁

[alan_fincher]

Whilst acknowledging MTB's comment that issues with the stove might relate to current regulations, I think I would rather acknowledge that Clarke stoves are budget items made (in China?) to a not very satisfactory standard.  They of course cost a tiny fraction of what is charged for the more usually recommended boat stoves.

 

My guess is that if you want a stove that will stay in overnight with minimal faff then a Clarke stove is almost certaily a poor choice.

 

That said management of stoves is often a bit of a black art, and quite a bit of preactice on any particular stove is often required before you feel the master of it.  I hope for the sake of your wallet that this is the case with yours.

[blackrose]

I borrowed a neighbour's coal cage a few years ago to give it a try with a view to buying one as I'd heard all the hype. It didn't work very well in my stove, complete waste of time if I'm honest. Glad I had the opportunity to try it before buying one.

[Gybe Ho]

On 31/12/2025 at 16:13, Adventurous said:

Or successful methods of keeping a fire going through the night. I’m getting up at three in the morning trying to convince it to stay lit/ 

 

 

My successful method = Don't try.

 

Two generations ago people were accustomed to unheated bedrooms that dropped under 10 degrees (c) at night. My boat was 7 degrees this morning.

 

Re. the coalcage, do you know what size yours is? Coalcage supply 4 different sizes. I think a coalcage is best for starting & sustaining a small fire with a low kW heat output at the warmer ends of the winter season. In the present cold weather I find it necessary to load the stove with a larger heap of coals (12 - 15) so that the stove radiates something close to its rated 5kW output.

 

The burn duration of the stove comes down to throttling the air supply which possibly is not an option available to you. This is my first winter of narrowboat living and controlling the stove has been a fascinating learning curve, I started off loading 3 to 4 coals hourly and using too much wood to rekindle multiple near flame outs. Now I am loading 12 coals minimum every 3 to 4 hours and my miners lung is improving.

 

 

[Peanut]

While on a friend's wide beam, and tending the Squirrel. I attempted to economise on coal use by keeping a small fire in the middle of the stove. The boat gets cold.

 

The reason is obvious, If you want the heat out, you have to put the energy in, which requires more fuel.

 

I am quite sure the same would apply to a coal cage, or placing firebricks around the edge. Both give you a smaller fire, will use less coal, and give less heat.

 

You can reduce the burn rate by adjusting the air supply, it will keep the fire in longer, but for a reduced output.

 

At the end of the day, there is no substitute for burning fuel.

 

If the boat is kept warm when using a coal cage, then it suggests that the fire was incorrectly specified in the first place, or you don't really need a fire that day.

Edited January 2 by Peanut
need a fire

[Lady M]

We run with a fairly small fire in a Squirrel that has extra fire bricks and the boat is lovely and warm, not too hot.  Narrowboat not widebeam.  We usually top up twice a day.

[Bee]

Different fires, different procedures. I had a Parkray with a backboiler on a boat, the type that was fitted to houses. At night I would put a couple of shovels full of smokeless on it, turn the air down and then cover the fire with ash from the ashpan. That worked but was a bit messy.

[GUMPY]

 

8 hours ago, Bee said:

I had a Parkray with a backboiler

We had one in the cottage consumed 20kg of phurnicite a day. Didn't last long.

Edited January 2 by GUMPY
Errent words

[cheesegas]

On 31/12/2025 at 16:29, Russ T said:

The coal cage, I believe has its uses to concentrate fuel into a smaller mass, apparently handy at the warmer ends of the season, though I've never used one. 

This is exactly it. With my stove, in autumn and spring (generally 10-12 deg outside), if I have the stove lit with the minimal amount of coal needed to maintain the fire with the air control barely open, the boat is too hot and I end up opening the windows. If I fully close the air control, it goes out. This minimal amount of coal isn't enough to last the night either - if I stack the stove up with the air control almost closed, it gets to 28-30 deg at the front!

 

My stove is an older Arada Heron without a proper air control which makes fine adjustments difficult - the ash compartment door is on a cam which pulls it shut to reduce the air, or allow it to hang open on two dowels at the bottom, increasing the air.

 

With the Coal Cage, it reduces the heat output enough to keep the fire going but the boat isn't uncomfortably warm. Fire keeps going, firebed stacked up deep in the cage, less heat, I don't need to open all the windows = less coal usage.

 

It it gets below 8-10 deg at night, I take the cage out. It's possible to do whilst the fire is going, if a little bit iffy...let it burn down with the air control open, shuffle the cage out with tongs, quickly load coal in. I used to put some extra firebricks in before the cage, but it's even more difficult to get those out!

 

As to whether you'll need it @Adventurous, it depends on your stove, your boat, what fuel you burn and what temperature you like the boat. If you have the same issue as me, it's well worth the money. 

 

(stove is serviced, all new fire rope every year, new flue a couple of years ago, flue swept monthly etc)

Edited January 2 by cheesegas