Using charcoal in a Morso Squirrel solid fuel stove...

[Username]

Hi all,

We've just been given half a ton of charcoal, and as it is currently filling our shed and it's unlikely we'll use that much of it BBQing given the current weather, we were wondering if we can burn it in our Morso Squirrel for heat over winter? Google searches have produced vague reference to problems with carbon monoxide production. We're getting half a ton of coal as well!

Any experiences/ideas?

Cat and Mike and Bryn the dog (living aboard in Rickmansworth)

[bottle]

A quick search on google found that charcoal burns at 1100° C about five times that of wood, coal burns at 300° C.

 

So there may be a problem with it being too 'hot'.

 

Perhaps a mixture coal/charcoal would be all right but I distance myself from advising it.

[Clivo]

Hi all,

We've just been given half a ton of charcoal, and as it is currently filling our shed and it's unlikely we'll use that much of it BBQing given the current weather, we were wondering if we can burn it in our Morso Squirrel for heat over winter? Google searches have produced vague reference to problems with carbon monoxide production. We're getting half a ton of coal as well!

Any experiences/ideas?

Cat and Mike and Bryn the dog (living aboard in Rickmansworth)

 

 

Personally I have no idea about this but if it is possible to use it this offer from Sainsbury's is pretty tempting. At 72p/Kilo that's £3.60 for 25kg which seems to have over three times the heat output as coal.

 

Ta Ta For Now

 

Clivo

[bridgit]

After breaking the griddle on our squirrel several times our coal merchant said we were burning too hot a coal. I do tend to have it blasting. So would not advise charcoal. Griddles (riddlers) cost £30 a time.

[alan_fincher]

If Bottle says it can burn at 1,100 degrees C, I wouldn't even be contemplating it.

 

That high temperature silicone sealant is ony rated up to about 300 degrees, for instance.

 

The possibility of an extra 800 degrees, that the fire wasn't designed to take, seems to be taking silly risks to me!

[Guest TerryL]

If Bottle says it can burn at 1,100 degrees C, I wouldn't even be contemplating it.

 

That high temperature silicone sealant is ony rated up to about 300 degrees, for instance.

 

The possibility of an extra 800 degrees, that the fire wasn't designed to take, seems to be taking silly risks to me!

 

Wood can burn in excess of 1000oC so any stove should be suitable with fire bricks and all flues should be rated the same. Anything less is asking for trouble if the fire burned flat out, and they can. 300oC is not much more than an oil or gas fired boiler flue outlet. Charcoal should be no problem with a decent stove and installation.

[sociable_hermit]

Don't coal fire stoves burn most efficiently at around 350 - 400 degrees C ? I'm sure they go higher than 300...

 

On the other hand it does depend on how much coal you bale in and whether you leave the damper wide open. A 'black' fire with little ashpan air will slowly cook through and not produce much above 150 - 200. I suppose, if charcoal burns much hotter, then the risk is that this heat will be uncontrollable.

 

Also it's more of an issue if the heat-proofing on your boat is less than perfect (is there a heat-proof layer behind the tiles? Is there a shield further up, where the chimney is close to the wall?). There is a link to a horrendous MAIB report about a narrowboat fire on here somewhere - I found it the other day by accident - can someone post a link if they know where it is?

 

Even if you are happy that your stove and boat can handle a hotter fire, I'd still only mix it (something like 1/3 charcoal to 2/3 coal).