Stoves

[Memories]

Hi everyone, I have put this post in general boating because it's not really a maintenance issue it's a recommendation.

 

Basically I was wondering if there are many of you that use an alternative stove to the Morso, I personally have a Squirrel Morso, but it's dated and I don't trust it. Sorry rather than just replace like for like I was wondering what you guys use and if you have any recommendations based on actual usage.

[pearley]

Previous boat had a Boatman stove, this one a Hamlet now replaced by a Bubble. All good stoves.

[cheesegas]

Partner's boat has a Boatman stove, awful thing. Don't buy a Boatman. Can't bank it up as the coal rolls out onto the hearth, ash pan has been designed by someone who loves ash all over the floor, air control rusts solid after the first winter.

 

I've got an old Arada Heron, works ok. It's difficult to control the air accurately when you don't need much heat so I use a coal cage to reduce the heat output. Stays lit for 15-20hrs though! 

[jonathanA]

If you don't trust the squirrel then why do think any other stove will be more trustworthy ?  They are all basically a metal box with a fire in, doors,vents and flue position might vary but the basics are all the same.

 

I'm not the biggest fan of the squirrel but they are pretty good - there would not be so many on boats if they were crap...  I like the fact that you can strip them down and replace any broken parts which are readily available at reasonable prices.  I dislike that the cast parts crack from time to time....

 

I think the older Coalbrookdale little wenlock stove is far better than the squirrel but sadly the current AGA version is cast in China and is of poor quality. 

 

I suggest you need to understand how to use a squirrel (applies to any woodburner/multifuel) and how to maintain them. Besides flue cleaning, door and glass seals need to be renewed periodically, possibly every year depending on use. Grates do burn out and need replacing from time to time especially if the stove is run hard with solid fuels. 

 

There is an art to lighting any fire and knowing how and when to refuel and its something of a trial and error/ learn by experience thing. 

[LadyG]

I believe there are companies who renovate,  they probably swap. Id certainly think this might be worth a look. 

Probably cost saving and fitting easier.

Nearly everything on a boat needs maintenance.

Edited January 31 by LadyG

[blackrose]

I know there are people on this forum who disparage Morso stoves, but there's got to be a reason that Squirrels are the most popular stoves on narrow boats? It can't just be due to a herd mentality and everyone's got it wrong.

 

I have had a Morso Panther on my widebeam for the past 20 years and I think Morso make high quality stoves.

6 hours ago, Memories said:

So rather than just replace like for like I was wondering what you guys use and if you have any recommendations based on actual usage.

 

Does it really need to be replaced rather than renovated?

[Mike Tee]

It also depends on how big your boat is, no point in having a large stove on a small boat. I had a Salamander  Hobbit in a backcabin and it was ideal. Now have a Boatman in the lounge of a 52' boat, don't much like it, but don't use it often enough to be an expert with it.

Although exchanging like for like will be the easiest and probably the cheapest route.

Edited January 31 by Mike Tee

[Tonka]

We used to have a Torgem on our previous boat which we replaced with a squirrel. This would have been around 1994 ish and the gut who sold it to us stated that I had to put a ring of fibreglass rope in the outlet for the cast pipe to sit on as the tops wernt as thick as they uses to be. We sold that boat  in 1999 and bought our current boat which had an Epping and an Aarrow stove. The Epping had had 2 smoke boxes replaced. The Aarrow cracked so gold sold. Was replaced with an Aga Little Wenlock which fell apart at 13 months old just out of warranty. We sold it for parts and because the flu pipe was new I wanted a stove the same height as the Aga. The only one we found was an Ekol Clarity 5 which has been brilliant and in my opinion better then a squirrel.  The glass stays clean, it is easy to light and stays in.

[bizzard]

1 hour ago, cheesegas said:

Partner's boat has a Boatman stove, awful thing. Don't buy a Boatman. Can't bank it up as the coal rolls out onto the hearth, ash pan has been designed by someone who loves ash all over the floor, air control rusts solid after the first winter.

 

I've got an old Arada Heron, works ok. It's difficult to control the air accurately when you don't need much heat so I use a coal cage to reduce the heat output. Stays lit for 15-20hrs though! 

The front fire bars on the Boatman is standard grate bars easily available, just saw off how many bars you want and slip it in. I have 3 bars. The air control is easily modifide by unscrewing the knob off the bolt and tighten the bolt hard up against the inside of the door. The control knob can now be worked externally on the bolt stud sticking out and will no seize up.

[cheesegas]

1 minute ago, bizzard said:

The front fire bars on the Boatman is standard grate bars easily available, just saw off how many bars you want and slip it in. I have 3 bars. The air control is easily modifide by unscrewing the knob off the bolt and tighten the bolt hard up against the inside of the door. The control knob can now be worked externally on the bolt stud sticking out and will no seize up.

I did that, but then the knob seized on the stud which promptly snapped flush with the knob...despite a good coating of copper grease. I drilled it out so there's a stainless bolt all the way through the knob now, and it can be 'jiggled' shut. Not ideal but it works. 

 

I don't know if the design was changed at some point but there's no way to get more than two bars in there as the groove isn't high enough.

[Onewheeler]

Very happy with my boatman stove. Now about 8 years old. Very controllable and Eddy who makes them is a very helpful bloke (but good luck in getting a reply to emails!) The Squirrel that it replaced fell apart after about ten years use and was twice the price. 

[MtB]

5 hours ago, cheesegas said:

Partner's boat has a Boatman stove, awful thing. Don't buy a Boatman. Can't bank it up as the coal rolls out onto the hearth, ash pan has been designed by someone who loves ash all over the floor, air control rusts solid after the first winter.

 

 

Seconded. 

 

The Squirrel is by far the best stove I've ever had in boats. Excellent pieces of kit and the full availability of spares is not to be underestimated.

 

 

[Tony Brooks]

Just a personal thing, having had a cast iron fixing bar (for which I fabricated a mild steel replacement) and two cast fixing lugs snap on the boat's Stovax Brunel and a small hunter stove that is fabricated steel at home. I hate a lot about the hunter, but on balance I would ensure it was replaced by another welded steel stove, far less likely to crack, and so far has shown no signs of distortion despite SWMBO letting it run away a few times. It also tends to be easier to machine/tap than cast iron when/if the need arises. I think the Boatman stoves are welded steel.

[Memories]

18 hours ago, jonathanA said:

If you don't trust the squirrel then why do think any other stove will be more trustworthy ?  They are all basically a metal box with a fire in, doors,vents and flue position might vary but the basics are all the same.

 

I'm not the biggest fan of the squirrel but they are pretty good - there would not be so many on boats if they were crap...  I like the fact that you can strip them down and replace any broken parts which are readily available at reasonable prices.  I dislike that the cast parts crack from time to time....

 

I think the older Coalbrookdale little wenlock stove is far better than the squirrel but sadly the current AGA version is cast in China and is of poor quality. 

 

I suggest you need to understand how to use a squirrel (applies to any woodburner/multifuel) and how to maintain them. Besides flue cleaning, door and glass seals need to be renewed periodically, possibly every year depending on use. Grates do burn out and need replacing from time to time especially if the stove is run hard with solid fuels. 

 

There is an art to lighting any fire and knowing how and when to refuel and its something of a trial and error/ learn by experience thing. 

I get that the squirrel has been designed well, part are indeed readily available and if course you are correct about fire lighting being trial and error for the most part.

 

Life is a learning by experience thing in and of itself, so I don't disagree with that either.

 

BUT, I have lost trust in MY squirrel because I have investigated the flue, replaced the vent spinners replaced the riddle grate, I know that he glass seal is good it was only put in last summer, yet I still get the smell of burning coal or wood in the cabin.

 

So, rather that replace every panel until the smell stops, I am thinking about buying a new stove and am looking for options other than replacing like for like.

 

Squirrel Morso stoves are expensive by comparison with a lot of brands, so I felt it logical to ask people what their experience of other brands has been.

 

Get it now?

18 hours ago, blackrose said:

I know there are people on this forum who disparage Morso stoves, but there's got to be a reason that Squirrels are the most popular stoves on narrow boats? It can't just be due to a herd mentality and everyone's got it wrong.

 

I have had a Morso Panther on my widebeam for the past 20 years and I think Morso make high quality stoves.

 

Does it really need to be replaced rather than renovated?

Replac d parts, eg spinners and grate, checked seals and glue, still get the smell of burning.

 

Oh, and the smell of burning is not due to opening the door too quickly while refueling.

[Rob-M]

We have a Salamander Hobbit positioned at the bow doors on a 57' traditional boat and I still find it can get too hot in the bedroom at the stern when the stove is banked up overnight.  I wouldn't want a larger fire myself.

[Tony Brooks]

4 hours ago, Memories said:

Replac d parts, eg spinners and grate, checked seals and glue, still get the smell of burning.

 

 

In that case you can be surer that a welded steel stove will not leak between the sides, back, top and bottom plates, probably the front plate as well. It will just be a welded box.

A further thought. If the Squirrel has a top air control for either wood burning or glass air wash, then I found that on the boat in gusty conditions smoke could be blown out of the air wash control aperture, especially when first lit or just refuelled. The stove at home is far less prone to this, but I suspect that is to doe with a longer flue with the chimney above the roof ridge and close by tree levels, so the wind is less fluky, rather than stove design

[MtB]

6 hours ago, Memories said:

Replac d parts, eg spinners and grate, checked seals and glue, still get the smell of burning.

 

Possibly because the stove is not the source of the smell, I'd have thought. 

 

On a whole stove installation you have a metal box with burning coals or wood in it at the base of a vertical tube full of (very) hot products of combustion (PoCs). This column of hot PoCs inside the flue rises upwards because it is less dense than the surrounding atmosphere. (The same principle applies as a boat floating in water, if you will.) This vertical column of hot PoCs 'sucks' quite hard at the bottom i.e. at the stove, which is why we have to fiercely close down all the air paths into the stove in order to prevent there being too much air getting in and the stove 'running away' and overheating. 

 

This all means that air leaks at the stove are sucking IN fresh air, not leaking PoCs (smells) out. Consequently I suggest blaming your stove for the smells of burning you are getting is to misunderstand where the smells are coming from. Or put more accurately, that the least likely place they are coming from is leaks in the stove. 

 

Consequently I think you should be paying close attention to the flue system rather than the stove, particularly near the top where the pressure of the PoCs switches from negative to neutral, particularly if there is any sort of restriction near the top. Also look for ways for PoCs outside might be getting back into the boat through, say, a mushroom vent. I fear you might buy an expensive new stove and find the problem persists, especially if you connect it to the existing flue system. 

 

 

Another possibility is the hot stove or flue is too close to something combustible. Favourites are plywood behind the ceramic tiles of the stove surround, and the flue tube at the top being too close to the deckhead wood finish. 

 

 

[Mike Coombes]

On 31/01/2026 at 08:55, jonathanA said:

 

 

There is an art to lighting any fire and knowing how and when to refuel and its something of a trial and error/ learn by experience thing. 

 

Just bought a 57 foot Steve Hudson with a Squirrel, what you say above is EXACTLY what I found. I am an experienced Woodsman, never had an issue making a fire outdoors and I ran a coal fired Rayburn 7 months of the year at a previous home without any issue.

 

First attempt was not good, the smokeless fuel ovals would not get going. Or the second, with more kindling. Using three hardwood logs to get a bed of embers sorted it, we were away. The smokeless ovals were burning beautifully, would have stayed in all night if we had wanted it to.

 

Air flow is obviously the key. Now we are on our home mooring I shall take it in bits, clean thoroughly and try again. The riddler knob is missing, already made a new one!

 

Any advice from long term users gratefully accepted.

[agg221]

Temporarily stepping aside from the question as to whether a change of stove will solve the issue, some information which would help point the OP in the right direction is:

 

Do you have an area (size of hearth) that the stove has to fit on?

Do you need to be able to cook on it?

Do you want a glass window so you can see the flames or do you not care?

What length of boat space do you want to heat with it?

 

For example, we have an Epping at one end, which is good for cooking but no good if you want to see the flames and is utterly useless for someone with a very small hearth. At the other end is a diesel Refleks. These fit on the smallest possible hearth as the design means the base does not get hot and the air is pulled up inside the twin wall of the stove so they can be placed closer to the hearth sides and back. They can be sized to heat the volume needed. Some have windows and others do not. Some have a hotplate on top, others do not; some have a back boiler, others do not. They are great when they are working, and they tend to keep working when lit, but they use diesel rather than solid fuel (far less mess but you get through more diesel) and they can be fiddly if you need to regularly light them and then let them go out, ie probably better if you spend all day on board and want the heat than if you want to let it go out while you are away for the day). They are also surprisingly expensive, except when they turn up second hand, which happens because some people can't get their heads around how to use them (I have at points threatened to rip ours out and replace it with a small solid fuel stove, but having persevered I have got to the point where I understand what it is doing and how to get the best out of it).

 

The answers to the questions above would help narrow down the options for you.

 

Alec

[Tonka]

17 minutes ago, agg221 said:

Temporarily stepping aside from the question as to whether a change of stove will solve the issue, some information which would help point the OP in the right direction is:

 

Do you have an area (size of hearth) that the stove has to fit on?

Do you need to be able to cook on it?

Do you want a glass window so you can see the flames or do you not care?

What length of boat space do you want to heat with it?

 

For example, we have an Epping at one end, which is good for cooking but no good if you want to see the flames and is utterly useless for someone with a very small hearth. At the other end is a diesel Refleks. These fit on the smallest possible hearth as the design means the base does not get hot and the air is pulled up inside the twin wall of the stove so they can be placed closer to the hearth sides and back. They can be sized to heat the volume needed. Some have windows and others do not. Some have a hotplate on top, others do not; some have a back boiler, others do not. They are great when they are working, and they tend to keep working when lit, but they use diesel rather than solid fuel (far less mess but you get through more diesel) and they can be fiddly if you need to regularly light them and then let them go out, ie probably better if you spend all day on board and want the heat than if you want to let it go out while you are away for the day). They are also surprisingly expensive, except when they turn up second hand, which happens because some people can't get their heads around how to use them (I have at points threatened to rip ours out and replace it with a small solid fuel stove, but having persevered I have got to the point where I understand what it is doing and how to get the best out of it).

 

The answers to the questions above would help narrow down the options for you.

 

Alec

But the op wants to stop smoke and the smell of wood/coal from entering the boat. Untill the Epping warms up then its worse then a squirrel as there is no seals on an Epping

[Memories]

On 01/02/2026 at 10:36, MtB said:

 

Possibly because the stove is not the source of the smell, I'd have thought. 

 

On a whole stove installation you have a metal box with burning coals or wood in it at the base of a vertical tube full of (very) hot products of combustion (PoCs). This column of hot PoCs inside the flue rises upwards because it is less dense than the surrounding atmosphere. (The same principle applies as a boat floating in water, if you will.) This vertical column of hot PoCs 'sucks' quite hard at the bottom i.e. at the stove, which is why we have to fiercely close down all the air paths into the stove in order to prevent there being too much air getting in and the stove 'running away' and overheating. 

 

This all means that air leaks at the stove are sucking IN fresh air, not leaking PoCs (smells) out. Consequently I suggest blaming your stove for the smells of burning you are getting is to misunderstand where the smells are coming from. Or put more accurately, that the least likely place they are coming from is leaks in the stove. 

 

Consequently I think you should be paying close attention to the flue system rather than the stove, particularly near the top where the pressure of the PoCs switches from negative to neutral, particularly if there is any sort of restriction near the top. Also look for ways for PoCs outside might be getting back into the boat through, say, a mushroom vent. I fear you might buy an expensive new stove and find the problem persists, especially if you connect it to the existing flue system. 

 

 

Another possibility is the hot stove or flue is too close to something combustible. Favourites are plywood behind the ceramic tiles of the stove surround, and the flue tube at the top being too close to the deckhead wood finish. 

 

 

Yeah I do understand the principles of the working of the fire and much of what you say is undeniably fact, science even, however, the investigations so far have been quite in-depth, a little invasive regarding the top of the flue too.

 

The only place I can 100% guarantee I can smell the smoke from is the top spinner.

 

I have already planned to strip the internals down tomorrow and reposition them if needed, check again for clinker on the new grate.

 

Seriously if that doesn't solve it then I'm stuffed, nothing stored near it as combustibles, it has a paving slab as a back heat protector for the boat not just thin tiles.

 

The mushroom vent nearest to it is sealed and the only other entry point is the windows, which would be a distinct possibility if the smell was present when burning wood but it isn't it is only when burning coal.

 

Door seal is good too.

[MtB]

2 hours ago, Memories said:

Yeah I do understand the principles of the working of the fire and much of what you say is undeniably fact, science even, however, the investigations so far have been quite in-depth, a little invasive regarding the top of the flue too.

 

The only place I can 100% guarantee I can smell the smoke from is the top spinner.

 

I have already planned to strip the internals down tomorrow and reposition them if needed, check again for clinker on the new grate.

 

Seriously if that doesn't solve it then I'm stuffed, nothing stored near it as combustibles, it has a paving slab as a back heat protector for the boat not just thin tiles.

 

The mushroom vent nearest to it is sealed and the only other entry point is the windows, which would be a distinct possibility if the smell was present when burning wood but it isn't it is only when burning coal.

 

Door seal is good too.

 

Have you tried removng the flue baffle to check for a pile of rust and soot on top of it? Crud accumulates on there and causes PoCs to exit via the top spinner.

 

(I can't remember if you've told us if this Squirrel is the back boiler version, or no back boiler.)

 

 

[Peugeot 106]

Has your stove got the extra Half moon baffle plate in it which could be causing your problem? There was a previous thread on this discussing Morso Squirrel Baffleplates and suggesting the  half moon variety should not be fitted on narrowboats. The thread also contains a diagram and a comment from an installer so may be worth your perusal 

[Memories]

16 hours ago, MtB said:

 

Have you tried removng the flue baffle to check for a pile of rust and soot on top of it? Crud accumulates on there and causes PoCs to exit via the top spinner.

 

(I can't remember if you've told us if this Squirrel is the back boiler version, or no back boiler.)

 

 

No back boiler.

 

Tried to burn coal again last night it just stinks the place out bar smoulders, nice bed of embers put on a small amount to start it, wait until it has caught and gradually load, but no smoulder it as good as it got 150c at most. This morning just loads of black dust and small glowing embers left, the ash pan was near enough empty but the fire bed was full of dust and embers, it isn't falling through the new riddle grate.

 

I am just burning wood today, even that doesn't seem as hot as usual.

[MtB]

2 minutes ago, Memories said:

No back boiler.

 

Tried to burn coal again last night it just stinks the place out bar smoulders, nice bed of embers put on a small amount to start it, wait until it has caught and gradually load, but no smoulder it as good as it got 150c at most. This morning just loads of black dust and small glowing embers left, the ash pan was near enough empty but the fire bed was full of dust and embers, it isn't falling through the new riddle grate.

 

I am just burning wood today, even that doesn't seem as hot as usual.

 

 

 

So, have you taken out the baffle and cleaned all the crud off the top? 

 

 

It's cheaper and easier than buying a new stove. Honest!