Stove

[Tusses]

whats the best place to have it ? up front by the doors (cold drafts ? ) or the other end of the cabin by the dinette / galley ?

 

any advantages / disadvantages for either

 

does it make a difference if there is a back boiler or not

 

answers on a post card please

[alan_fincher]

whats the best place to have it ? up front by the doors (cold drafts ? ) or the other end of the cabin by the dinette / galley ?

 

any advantages / disadvantages for either

 

does it make a difference if there is a back boiler or not

 

answers on a post card please

It seems very much the tendency to put them up one end - I'd say at least 80% are, (including ours, unfortunately).

 

If your layout can accommodate, it makes far more sense to put them somewhere towards the middle, to avoid one end of the boat being like an oven whilst the other remains quite cold.

 

Possibly about one third of the way through the accommodation makes sense, such that living areas get warmer than bathroom and bedroom.

 

The only downside I've heard quoted is carrying coal and ash through more of the boat, but here it might be possible to use a side hatch anyway.

 

If you ant to gravity feed radiators off a back boiler, it could be a challenge with a centrally fitted stove, but I think something like a Squirrel will keep anything but the longest boat quite snug without a need to add radiators to it.

 

If you put the stove in the middle of the boat width-ways as well, you are far less likely to end op with a chimney destroyed by a low bridge or tunnel.

 

Wherever the stove is, an Ecofan really does help move the warm air through the boat. Seems hard to believe, but I'm convinced.

 

Alan

[Berty]

On both boats I'm familiar with, the stove is at one end.

 

On one of the boats it's a squirrel with a back boiler, gravity feeding a calorifier and two radiators. (It works extraordinarily well - I must ask the guy who installed it how he did it... I'm fairly sure the pipes go under the floor at one point and up the opposite wall, which I didn't think was possible with a gravity fed system!)

 

The other boat has a smaller stove which isn't as good as the squirrel (it's not as controllable, although it does heat the place up). It has not back boiler or radiators.

 

Despite the second boat having a wider corridor along side the bathroom, it's significantly colder in the bedroom than on the boat with the radiators.

 

I intend to replace the stove and fit a gravity fed system in the second boat (when I get that far with the refit!).

 

As for front or middle.... If you have radiators at the opposite end, then having the stove at one end works fine. On both the boats I know, the galley is in the middle, and even in the winter it gets pretty warm over the hob & oven. I wouldn't want the stove there to be honest.

 

Cheers,

Berty

[NB Alnwick]

whats the best place to have it ? up front by the doors (cold drafts ? ) or the other end of the cabin by the dinette / galley ?

 

Our's is in the middle which also happens to be in the galley - it gets a bit warm in there when we are cooking but generally it is perfect and very convenient especially with an 'ever-ready' kettle on top and it is also handy for warming plates, soup and the occasional steamed pudding. It also means that any coal or dust is confined to the galley area where there is a sink and cleaning kit in the cupboard below. Our sitting area is therefore relatively free of coal dust etc.

[pwl]

I dont want to hijack this thread but I hope this is of interest to Tusses as well. I plan to remove an Aldi which is about 1/3 of the way down the boat from the bow and replace it with a stove plus back boiler usiing the existing roof hole (modified) but the existing pipes are plastic. I assume the direct connections will have to be copper but any information on how far you have to go before returning to plasic pipe. Plastic pipe is a lot easier to work with than copper.

 

P

[The Drunken Duck]

Middle of the boat, and on a N/B to the port side .

 

Vessels meeting should turn to starboard. Therefore the chimney will be more to the centre of the canal and less likely to get damaged by overhanging tree branches etc. Also, it puts the chimney towards the centre of a bridge where there is also greater clearance.

 

We have now had 3 boats with central multi-fuel stoves and gravity fed central heating. Highly recommended.

[Smelly]

Middle of the boat, and on a N/B to the port side .

 

Vessels meeting should turn to starboard. Therefore the chimney will be more to the centre of the canal and less likely to get damaged by overhanging tree branches etc. Also, it puts the chimney towards the centre of a bridge where there is also greater clearance.

 

We have now had 3 boats with central multi-fuel stoves and gravity fed central heating. Highly recommended.

 

That's me 'n' all... works a treat.

 

Been on plenny o' boats with fire at one end and an eco fan, that works as well, but I wanted my fire heating my water as well so that was out.

[Liam]

Our old boat had a central stove but was on the starboard side. The new boat has a central stove and is now on the port side. This was one of the "must haves" for both boats after experiencing other setups.

 

The only problem was that the back cabin, which was seperated by the engine room for the rest of the boat was very cold in winter... and now and again quite damp even though there is plenty of ventilation. The addition of a small Boatman Stove in the back cabin has sorted this out. The whole boat is now lovely and toasty when it needs to be