Teensy Weensy Stove

[Hobson]

Chap called Kevan makes steel ones to order:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220268322365

 

He'll fabricate to your spec. Stuff like stainless water tanks are only £40 extra.

 

- Hobbs

 

PS: These are similar to the Bell Tent stoves but quite a bit cheaper. I believe Kev's are 12" or so high with a 5" flue.

Edited September 2, 2008 by Hobson

[Chris Pink]

This is for a 19KG Propane bottle, but the work is about the same on the smaller ones, just needs adapting a little...

 

http://ludlowsurvivors.com/stove.html

http://ludlowsurvivors.com/stove2.html

 

 

That one is a wood burner - if you want to burn coal it will need a grate so also some way of getting the ash out below it - substitute the air intake pipe for a second door in the front.

 

I have also seen the bottle turned upside down so the guard around the outlet becomes a base. Another mod is to cut the rounded top off and put on a flat plate.

 

But £10 worth of materials and an afternoon's fabrication makes a pretty nifty stove - the metal thickness is pretty good so they last.

[twocvbloke]

That one is a wood burner - if you want to burn coal it will need a grate so also some way of getting the ash out below it - substitute the air intake pipe for a second door in the front.

 

I have also seen the bottle turned upside down so the guard around the outlet becomes a base. Another mod is to cut the rounded top off and put on a flat plate.

 

But £10 worth of materials and an afternoon's fabrication makes a pretty nifty stove - the metal thickness is pretty good so they last.

 

Well, wood is much better for the environment than coal, and there's more wood available than coal these days, so wood burners are better in the long run in my opinion...

 

But, for the coalies, here's another design (although it is burning wood in the picture, it would be able to burn coal or charcoal if desired):

 

http://www.bikerlifestyle.co.uk/tech/workshop/heater.html

 

Another design here with a brakedisc hotplate ontop:

 

http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/making-g...wood-burner.htm

 

EDIT to add safety info:

 

If you decide to make a wood burner out of a gas bottle, ALWAYS VENT THE BOTTLE FIRST!!! Do this by removing the valve on top, then fill the bottle to the top with water then empty by turning it upside down. This will clear out any remaining gas from the bottle making it safer to work on. And ALWAYS do this outside!!! I started to make my own and opened what I thought was a completely empty gas bottle, only to turn it over and have butane fill my kitchen leaving a horrid smell in there for days!!! Very dangerous and potentially toxic!!!

Edited September 2, 2008 by twocvbloke

[magnetman]

I'm bothered by the controllability of small home made stoves. If you put too much fuel in and it is impossible to control the ventilation you can get a fire running away with itself. if this happens the heat put out from the sides and flue and roof collar could set light to something in the boat and you have no way of turning it down and no pouring water down the chimney is NOT a good plan a friend of mine did that once in a boat. he regretted it.

 

A solid fuel stove must be capable of having its ventilation closed in such a way that the fire will then burn slower. Thats what I think.

[twocvbloke]

I'm bothered by the controllability of small home made stoves. If you put too much fuel in and it is impossible to control the ventilation you can get a fire running away with itself. if this happens the heat put out from the sides and flue and roof collar could set light to something in the boat and you have no way of turning it down and no pouring water down the chimney is NOT a good plan a friend of mine did that once in a boat. he regretted it.

 

A solid fuel stove must be capable of having its ventilation closed in such a way that the fire will then burn slower. Thats what I think.

 

All the designs of gas bottle stoves I have seen have a rudimentary vent built in allowing the control of airflow to the fire, and normal stoves will have an adjustable vent for this purpose, as if there is no vent, the fire can't breathe and won't burn...

[magnetman]

All the designs of gas bottle stoves I have seen have a rudimentary vent built in allowing the control of airflow to the fire, and normal stoves will have an adjustable vent for this purpose, as if there is no vent, the fire can't breathe and won't burn...

I know that but the point I was making was is the vent capable of being closed enough to make a fire which is beginning to run away with itself quieten down? I've had a lot of stoves and some are better than others in this respect but I would not want to be anywhere near a stove which is liable to start burning uncontrollably due to lack of sealing around doors and badly designed vents.

[twocvbloke]

I know that but the point I was making was is the vent capable of being closed enough to make a fire which is beginning to run away with itself quieten down? I've had a lot of stoves and some are better than others in this respect but I would not want to be anywhere near a stove which is liable to start burning uncontrollably due to lack of sealing around doors and badly designed vents.

 

Simple solution, don't put more fuel on the fire than is necessary, overloading a stove is a waste of fuel and causes as you say and uncontrollable burn in poorly sealed fireplaces...

[magnetman]

Simple solution, don't put more fuel on the fire than is necessary, overloading a stove is a waste of fuel and causes as you say and uncontrollable burn in poorly sealed fireplaces...

good point but at the same time a well made stove can be completely filled with fuel and burn for an extended time even overnight under control and with no worries. Its when someone decides its a really cold night, packs fuel into the fire, goes to bed and wakes at 3 in the morning with a red hot stove and nearby bulkheads and roof lining beginning to burn. Thats when the problem occurs with a poorly made stove.

edited typos

Edited September 2, 2008 by magnetman

[BlueStringPudding]

Chap called Kevan makes steel ones to order:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220268322365

 

He'll fabricate to your spec. Stuff like stainless water tanks are only £40 extra.

 

- Hobbs

 

PS: These are similar to the Bell Tent stoves but quite a bit cheaper. I believe Kev's are 12" or so high with a 5" flue.

 

 

Those look quite good - and are indeed small! Have you (or anyone lese) used one? I want to know their eccentricities when being used/keeping in overnight/using backboiler with them!

 

Edited September 2, 2008 by BlueStringPudding

[twocvbloke]

good point but at the same time a well made stove can be completely filled with fuel and burn for an extended time even overnight under control and with no worries. Its when someone decides its a really cold night, packs fuel into the fire, goes to bed and wakes at 3 in the morning with a red hot stove and nearby bulkheads and roof lining beginning to burn. Thats when the problem occurs with a poorly made stove.

edited typos

 

Very true, but unless the stove was built by someone who doesn't really know what they're doing, then yes it will most likely suffer from that, but with a little bit of careful work with a grinder and some extra sheet steel, you could make a nicely sealed and fully controllable stove...

 

Those designs are based on survival situations or outbuildings where you might want some heat, but I have seen some professionally built gas bottle stoves that I'm sure even you would love!!!

[magnetman]

Very true, but unless the stove was built by someone who doesn't really know what they're doing, then yes it will most likely suffer from that, but with a little bit of careful work with a grinder and some extra sheet steel, you could make a nicely sealed and fully controllable stove...

 

Those designs are based on survival situations or outbuildings where you might want some heat, but I have seen some professionally built gas bottle stoves that I'm sure even you would love!!!

well I do like the Hotpod mentioned earlier in the thread

 

 

but it ain't cheap.

 

The reason for my argument is that people are advocating 'knocking up a stove in the shed with an old calor bottle' and I don't think that is a safe way to heat a residential boat.

[twocvbloke]

well I do like the Hotpod mentioned earlier in the thread

 

 

but it ain't cheap.

 

The reason for my argument is that people are advocating 'knocking up a stove in the shed with an old calor bottle' and I don't think that is a safe way to heat a residential boat.

 

You're completely right, there are all sorts of safety implications, but as I say, if it's well built and thoroughly checked and tested (outdoors preferably) then there shouldn't be much to go wrong, just don't rush into building one!!!

 

As for knocking something up with an old gas bottle, well, it's recycling as you do get a lot of old or damaged bottles that are no longer fit to hold gas, and they don't often go back for recycling, so they're left for reclamation, and the best use of them is to make a stove out of them, either that or a great big plant pot or odd water feature...

[Chris Pink]

well I do like the Hotpod mentioned earlier in the thread

 

Well who wouldn't?

 

Yes, if one can afford two and a half grand for a stove then there is hardly any need to get the butler to knock up one in the shed but for rest of us i figure if you've got the skills to fabricate an exothermic oxidizing reactor (love it!!) out of a gas bottle then you've probably got the nowse to make sure it can be closed down before installing it. I can feel a bean can damper design coming on.

 

The reality is that there are lots of gas bottle stoves around so the concept is not intrinsically unsafe.

 

psst how about counterfeit hotrods?

[Hobson]

Those look quite good - and are indeed small! Have you (or anyone lese) used one? I want to know their eccentricities when being used/keeping in overnight/using backboiler with them!

 

 

Its a wood burner so no grate or ash pan, I doubt it would run over night either. However, he actually fabricates these himself and seems pretty flexible on modifications and extras.

 

I haven't bought one but they were the best 'deal' I could find in this context.

 

Give Kevan a call on 07764813867 and ask some questions ..

 

Let me know how you go. He sounds like a nice chap on the phone and the design is tried and tested ..

 

- Hobbs

Edited September 2, 2008 by Hobson

[Guest TerryL]

Well, wood is much better for the environment than coal, and there's more wood available than coal these days, so wood burners are better in the long run in my opinion...

 

But, for the coalies, here's another design (although it is burning wood in the picture, it would be able to burn coal or charcoal if desired):

 

http://www.bikerlifestyle.co.uk/tech/workshop/heater.html

 

Another design here with a brakedisc hotplate ontop:

 

http://www.naturalbushcraft.co.uk/making-g...wood-burner.htm

 

EDIT to add safety info:

 

If you decide to make a wood burner out of a gas bottle, ALWAYS VENT THE BOTTLE FIRST!!! Do this by removing the valve on top, then fill the bottle to the top with water then empty by turning it upside down. This will clear out any remaining gas from the bottle making it safer to work on. And ALWAYS do this outside!!! I started to make my own and opened what I thought was a completely empty gas bottle, only to turn it over and have butane fill my kitchen leaving a horrid smell in there for days!!! Very dangerous and potentially toxic!!!

 

Additional safety info:

 

Best not do this in your kitchen, wear shoes and don't use an electric drill that have sparking commutators around gas!

[alan_fincher]

Am I the only one uncomfortable with these rudimentary stoves based on LPG cylinder conversions.

 

Unless I'm missing something, the door to fuel it, or (if fitted) to empty ash, are often just part of the cylinder cut away, then reattached as a hinged flap.

 

I accept that if the fire "draws" well, must fumes will go up the chimney, and air will get drawn in in the gap around the doors, rather than fumes expelled through the gap.

 

But when things aren't working so well ?

 

Most with solid fuel stoves are aware that in some wind conditions, if you open the fire door, fumes come in to the cabin.

 

Perhaps I just don't understand it, but I'd be unhappy sleeping in a cabin heated by a basic conversion like this, as it seems to me a change of wind direction could fill the cabin with lethal gases.

 

Now, if the job is done to go the extra mile of building in proper door seals, and proper ways of controlling airflow, then I wouldn't panic.

 

But that's not what those rudimentary construction instructions suggest, as far as I can see.

 

One further question,

 

When a BSS man inspects your boat, he notes all the equipment types, including make and model of solid fuel stove. He then looks at the combined ventilation of everyting on board, (appliances plus people). What does he do when he encounters one of these home grown stoves ? They must still need air. Where does he get his data from ?

[magnetman]

Chap called Kevan makes steel ones to order:

 

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...em=220268322365

 

He'll fabricate to your spec. Stuff like stainless water tanks are only £40 extra.

 

- Hobbs

 

PS: These are similar to the Bell Tent stoves but quite a bit cheaper. I believe Kev's are 12" or so high with a 5" flue.

The Ebay listing doesn't mention them being suitable for boats. Tents and things but not boats. Is this because they are not suitable for boats or is it just because he doesn't know about boats

[BlueStringPudding]

The Ebay listing doesn't mention them being suitable for boats. Tents and things but not boats. Is this because they are not suitable for boats or is it just because he doesn't know about boats

 

For an extra £20 he'll put in a window and add predrilled feet to it, he's just told me.

 

Assuming it's fine for indoor use (eg. somehwere not fully ventilated like a tent or outdoor use) - what's the difference between one that is and isn't suitable for boats? Surely anything that doesn't leak poisonous gas and is bolted down is suitable for a boat?

 

They seem to be selling at about £80. Add the £20 for the window and feet and you're looking at a round hundred. A Boatman stove costs £225 for the same (claimed) output of 4kw. Interesting...

Edited September 2, 2008 by BlueStringPudding

[Hobson]

For an extra £20 he'll put in a window and add predrilled feet to it, he's just told me.

 

Assuming it's fine for indoor use (eg. somehwere not fully ventilated like a tent or outdoor use) - what's the difference between one that is and isn't suitable for boats? Surely anything that doesn't leak poisonous gas and is bolted down is suitable for a boat?

 

They seem to be selling at about £80. Add the £20 for the window and feet and you're looking at a round hundred. A Boatman stove costs £225 for the same (claimed) output of 4kw. Interesting...

 

Careful! The Boatman may be expensive but Eddie has been making and installing them for decades - he's refined them, he knows exactly how to make the perfect boat stove. Many things come as standard on a Boatman that don't here: 1. Fire brick lining 2. Ash pan 3. Proper air control and a cast iron door.

 

These stoves look like a bargain, but they are what they are: wood burning, small, unlikely to have decent air regulation and cheap.

 

If I wanted a stove for a patio, shed, workshop to keep me warm, boil a kettle and maybe heat a rad or two etc then I'd buy one. But for a NB? Boatman every time.

 

Magnetman raises a very good point I think .. this is a steel box .. effectively very conductive. Its going to get bloody hot and there is no obvious method of emptying it and wood does burn pretty quickly and produces a lot of ash.

 

Plus, with a flue its £180 .. then there is the collar, rope, insulation etc etc. What attracted me to the them was the price and the fact the maker is flexible and so unlike most so called 'craftsmen' he actually makes them. That and he's Lancastrian.

 

I'm a fan and would have one, no doubt, but not sure I could look beyond the Boatman for peace of mind and a guarenteed level of functionality.

 

That was my reasoning for going for a Boatman anyway. I looked at the quality, the rep, the heritage and the amount of work and supervision required to stay warm and figured an extra £150 was worth laying out.

 

However, the brief here is small .. so small it is and the Boatman most definately isn't. Its a substantial bit of kit with a healthy (£400 all in) price tag.

 

- Hobbs

Edited September 2, 2008 by Hobson

[alan_fincher]

As Hobbs says.

 

The e-bay one is a simple wood-burner, with little control, and no "bricks".

 

It's unlikely to be a prospect to keep it in at night.

 

A decent multi-fuel stove will allow you to burn "coal" as an alternative to wood, and keep it in overnight if you wish.

 

Why, oh why, has the e-bay one been given that top so much more massive than the stove itself? Handy if you want to use it as a hotplate, I guess, but daft if you are selling it to people to fit into small places, surely ?

[BlueStringPudding]

Careful! The Boatman may be expensive but Eddie has been making and installing them for decades - he's refined them, he knows exactly how to make the perfect boat stove. Many things come as standard on a Boatman that don't here: 1. Fire brick lining 2. Ash pan 3. Proper air control and a cast iron door.

 

 

Oh I know. Already got a Boatman which Eddie did for us last year. It's a great little stove. Just in the back of my mind toying with putting something in the other end of the boat too. It's not essential but would be nice, and who knows when I'll have the money to do it anyway!

 

The problem is where to put it. I'd happily have another Boatman if I had the space for one (especially as the stove, homemade fire surround and hearth (built by moi) and paying for someone to install the stove and flue, cut the hole in the roof etc all came to about £600 or so in total - bargain). But not wanted to surrender a kitchen unit or lose a bulkhead full of bookcases, I was interested to see how small stoves can get!

[Hobson]

Oh I know. Already got a Boatman which Eddie did for us last year. It's a great little stove. Just in the back of my mind toying with putting something in the other end of the boat too. It's not essential but would be nice, and who knows when I'll have the money to do it anyway!

 

The problem is where to put it. I'd happily have another Boatman if I had the space for one (especially as the stove, homemade fire surround and hearth (built by moi) and paying for someone to install the stove and flue, cut the hole in the roof etc all came to about £600 or so in total - bargain). But not wanted to surrender a kitchen unit or lose a bulkhead full of bookcases, I was interested to see how small stoves can get!

 

Hang on, that's £200 to install a stove? I'm in the wrong business!

 

- Hobbs