Boatman Stove - Opinions?

[TommyD]

Hello all,

 

I'm looking into providing heating and hot water for my boat, a 36' x 12' Broads Cruiser, on three levels. I'm thinking about using a gas-fired on demand system for the hot water, and for the heating I'd like to use a solid fuel stove on the highest, central level, with a rad going down to the front cabin, and one going down to the open plan area in the back. Firstly, if anybody would like to point out any flaws in this system, that's great, as I'm just getting into boating. Mainly though, I wanted to get some opinions on the Boatman Stove with back boiler. It seems to be a lot cheaper than a Morso Squirrel or similar, and I'm on a bit of a budget. Is it a false economy though, or is it useful and reliable?

 

Thanks all

[Chris Pink]

Hello all,

 

I'm looking into providing heating and hot water for my boat, a 36' x 12' Broads Cruiser, on three levels. I'm thinking about using a gas-fired on demand system for the hot water, and for the heating I'd like to use a solid fuel stove on the highest, central level, with a rad going down to the front cabin, and one going down to the open plan area in the back. Firstly, if anybody would like to point out any flaws in this system, that's great, as I'm just getting into boating. Mainly though, I wanted to get some opinions on the Boatman Stove with back boiler. It seems to be a lot cheaper than a Morso Squirrel or similar, and I'm on a bit of a budget. Is it a false economy though, or is it useful and reliable?

 

Thanks all

 

May be a problem making hot water go downhill, even with a pump it won't like it much and bleeding the system will need something special at the stove end.

 

Boatman is useable, Squirrel is (one of) the best, easier to keep in and light.

[wrigglefingers]

May be a problem making hot water go downhill, even with a pump it won't like it much and bleeding the system will need something special at the stove end.

 

Boatman is useable, Squirrel is (one of) the best, easier to keep in and light.

 

I'd second Chris' opinion about a Squirrel. Well worth the money and if it's your sole source of heat in winter you don't want to be worried about it's effectiveness or safety. One thought - do check the power output of the back boiler matches the radiator demand. A standard size radiator will need about 2kw of heat to effectively work and I think (off the top of my head) that's what the back boiler on the Squirrel turns out. If you overload the number of radiators the system doesn't work as a gravity feed system without a pump and is inefficient with one. That's why two of my radiators are going this summer! I don't think you'd be cold with a Squirrel and one radiator on a narrowboat, and plenty of people simply rely on their stove without a back boiler. I can't comment on a wider beam boat though.

 

Anecdotally, it seems a back boilerless Squirrel is easier to keep in than one with but that's based on two 'down the pub' discussions. Anybody have any thoughts?

 

Good Luck,

 

Jill

[TommyD]

Thanks for the advice guys

 

[John Orentas]

Hi Tommy.

 

The heat output from a solid fuel stove with a back-boiler and radiator is exactly the same as from the stove without a radiator, the only advantage a radiator will give is the possibility of better distribution and even that is debatable.

 

Locate your stove in the middle of your boat and forget about radiators, unless you are looking forward to an ongoing debate about the workings of thermal convection for the next ten years or so.

Edited April 22, 2008 by John Orentas

[Liam]

To answer your question about the Boatman Stove...

 

In the main cabin we have a Squirrel which is a cracking stove. I find it very easy to light, and easy to keep in, but we have just had, a few weeks ago, a Boatman fitted in the back cabin. One of the main reasons was due to it's size... it's a very small stove which is what we needed due to the space it was going into, but it is rated at the same KW as the Squirrel I beleive.

 

It is a cheap stove at £225 for the basic thing, which is reflected in the making of it I think but for that cold winters night and for when we're going along, it's well worth it and with only two shovels of coal it stayed in all day and all night... I say this for a couple of reasons... the main ones is that the door has no handle which makes it a bugger to open it and also, the ash can is slightly smaller than the grate so ash tends to fall down the sides.

 

I was speaking to Eddie, the bloke who makes the stoves, as he fitted it for us aswell and was telling me about a 58ft'er who had a Boatman for their main stove and managed to get the boat upto 38*c. Because of the small space ours is in (same space as a "Boatmans cabin" and therefore, although the stove did come with fire bricks I have lined it again with some extra ones. A job well done, as I certainly notice the difference.

[NoFixedAbode]

I also have a boatman stove and think it is the best thing since sliced bread.

(what was the best thing before sliced bread?)

[Liam]

what was the best thing before sliced bread?

 

A bread knife.

[BlueStringPudding]

Our Boatman stove is excellent.

[alan_fincher]

I'm no expert, but think the back boilers in any of these smaller stoves might struggle to get two radiators of any size very hot. (I'm happy to be corrected, though).

 

A stove that is compact, and priced somewhere between the Boatman and the Squirrel is the Villager Puffin.

 

We have the near identical Heron model, which is a doddle to light, will stay in at night, and is very controlable. From the sound of it, it is probably easier to live with on a day to day basis that the Boatman, I'm not sure.