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Coal - How long does it last ?


Sunset Rising

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Trying to work out a reasonable forecast of what it would cost to live aboard. So for youo permanent liveaboards, how long does a bag of coal last during the cold spells ?

 

It would also be interesting to know comparable costs for deisal heaters and ranges

 

though I am beginning to feel like I have been here before.....

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Trying to work out a reasonable forecast of what it would cost to live aboard. So for youo permanent liveaboards, how long does a bag of coal last during the cold spells ?

 

It would also be interesting to know comparable costs for deisal heaters and ranges

 

though I am beginning to feel like I have been here before.....

 

My Rayburn is in, 24/7. I use about 3/4 of a bag (25kg) of Excel per day. For this I have unlimited hot water, (subject to tank capacity) cooking and central heating to 3 radiators and a towel rail.

If I need high heat for frying, I use some of the compressed sawdust "logs", open the air vent, cook and re-close.

A "riddle" in the morning and alls well for the day.

My Eberspacher diesel water heater, is not used. :)

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Trying to work out a reasonable forecast of what it would cost to live aboard. So for youo permanent liveaboards, how long does a bag of coal last during the cold spells ?

 

It would also be interesting to know comparable costs for deisal heaters and ranges

 

though I am beginning to feel like I have been here before.....

 

Depends what you mean by "a bag of coal". You can use Anthracite and it will last you a long time (because it's difficult to light and goes out easily). House coal is quite cheap but isn't designed for use in a stove.

 

I use Pureheat. A 25kg bag lasts me two to two and a half days if the stove is in use all of the time. In December I was using a bag every two days because of the intense cold. The amount of coal YOU use though will depend on several factors. One consideration is how well your boat holds the heat. Mine is poorly insulated so I use a lot of coal. Also, how much of the day you are on the boat will determine how hot you need to keep your stove and therefore how much coal you use.

 

A 25kg bag of Pureheat costs me £9.50 from my local coal boat.

 

Regards,

 

Paul

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Depends what you mean by "a bag of coal". You can use Anthracite and it will last you a long time (because it's difficult to light and goes out easily). House coal is quite cheap but isn't designed for use in a stove.

 

I use Pureheat. A 25kg bag lasts me two to two and a half days if the stove is in use all of the time. In December I was using a bag every two days because of the intense cold. The amount of coal YOU use though will depend on several factors. One consideration is how well your boat holds the heat. Mine is poorly insulated so I use a lot of coal. Also, how much of the day you are on the boat will determine how hot you need to keep your stove and therefore how much coal you use.

 

A 25kg bag of Pureheat costs me £9.50 from my local coal boat.

 

Regards,

 

Paul

 

I am allowing £10 a bag in my calculations but dont(didn't) know how many bags to allow for per week. The boat will be very well insulated ( one way or another ) and we dont like it so hot that you keep falling asleep but dont want to be cold either :)

 

A deisel heater would be cleaner but apparently quite noisy and I dont know how much fuel they use. Deisal twin burner ranges sound quite interesting to.

 

 

edited to say.... must learn how to spell deis?l

Edited by Sunset Rising
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There are quite a few suppliers using 20kg bags and obviously 25% more, 25kg bags, does better.

 

If you are on the boat and feeling the cold then I budget for a 20kg bag a day.

 

If its winter and you are frost freeing just keeping a fire alight then a bag will do 2 days and a bit.

 

If you are just lighting a fire for evening warmth then a bag will do 4 days or more if eked out with the odd log as long as you resist the tendency to bank the fire up to keep it in all night. :P

 

Edited for boat size; I am more or less 60' uised far less with a 26'

Edited by blodger
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Trying to work out a reasonable forecast of what it would cost to live aboard. So for youo permanent liveaboards, how long does a bag of coal last during the cold spells ?

 

It would also be interesting to know comparable costs for deisal heaters and ranges

 

though I am beginning to feel like I have been here before.....

 

Hi some variables need to be fed into this discussion before a complete answer can be given, for example how long is the boat, will the fire be left un attended for long periods and will you be using an Ecofan?.

 

Over the recent cold weather my Kabola 'Old Dutch' burned for 41 days continuously, quite happily with minimum supervision burning about 2.7 litres of fuel a day.

 

48 ft tug style boat.

 

Leo.

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Hi some variables need to be fed into this discussion before a complete answer can be given, for example how long is the boat, will the fire be left un attended for long periods and will you be using an Ecofan?.

 

Over the recent cold weather my Kabola 'Old Dutch' burned for 41 days continuously, quite happily with minimum supervision burning about 2.7 litres of fuel a day.

 

48 ft tug style boat.

 

Leo.

 

OK, 62 ft cruiser stern boat.

 

just over half a gallon of fuel a day sonds better than the coal consumption people are quoting above. Would your old dutch cope with the bigger boat ? and does it make a noise ( or is that only the fan heater type ? )

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Hi some variables need to be fed into this discussion before a complete answer can be given, for example how long is the boat, will the fire be left un attended for long periods and will you be using an Ecofan?.[/i]

 

My ecofan doesn't use much at all, in fact a thin coat of coal dust seems to keep it going forever.

 

i use approx 2 to 3 bags a week, mainly Taybrite but mix with a housecoal sometimes - Firemate. If I have the rear Epping on as well in extreme cold, i obviously use more.

The coal boats tend to do 25kg sacks, garages etc have 20kg - 10kg - 18kg etc, so you have to work out an equal price. If you have storage, buy bulk in the summer as it can save you £2 plus a sack.

 

Wood is free - you just have to make sure it is dry.

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A deisel heater would be cleaner but apparently quite noisy and I dont know how much fuel they use. Deisal twin burner ranges sound quite interesting to.

 

 

 

 

We hear almost nothing of our neighbours until one decided to fit a diesel heater. Its not that loud just a constant murmer breaking the silence. Don't know how noisy it is on the boat its actually on though.

 

As for coal we use about 2 25kg bags a week at the moment. Maybe a little less now its warmed up a bit. We are also out at work all day though so this is only in evening and a shovel full in the morning if i'm up early enough to bother with it.

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I avereage about 2x 25kg bags of - preferably Housefires brand - coal a week in winter. The coal boats are currently charging £11 for them. I much prefer Housefires over Taybrite and the other 'cheaper eqivalents/alternatives' because the nuggest stay formed for longer thereby giving more heat and MUCH less dust than Taybrite in my opinion.

 

For kindling, I spend the late summer accumulating and chopping up scraps and offcuts from whatever timber yards I'm moored near but have to sometimes buy a bag of kindling when stocks run out. So that can cost around £2 - £3. I'm unlikely to ever need more than one or two of these so it's not a huge cost but think you should be aware that how you light the fire has a cost (or some work) attached too.

 

Really wish I had the time and chainsaw know how to forrage for wood to supliment my winter fuel consumption :-)

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My Refleks burns about 3 litres a day to heat hot water and 2 rads. 50' Boat lovely and warm with loads of hot water and of course the kettle!

Initially disappointed as wanted a solid fuel set up but have been pleasantly surprised.

Jealous of the solid fuel brigade: fairly instant heat when first lighting, lovely flames to look at, place to burn rubbish.

Do NOT miss: Ash and dust, storage-roof-cratch-towpath taken up with bags of coal/logs, covering my neighbours with soot!

Yes it's a bit more expensive but I would go the same route again without hesitation.

 

Oh and the Refleks is silent whereas some diesel heaters can as you suggest be quite noisey

Edited by Gunna Do
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Really wish I had the time and chainsaw know how to forrage for wood to supliment my winter fuel consumption :-)

 

 

.....mental picture of Donela going down Duckets with leonie taking every second lime tree in Viccy Park out with chainsaw......... :rolleyes:

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We use 1.5 bags of Taybrite per week in our Squirrel(with Ecofan!) on a 71'6" boat. The boat has portholes with lined curtains and solid front doors which help with heat retention. We do not use the Mikuni. However, as we are currently iced in at a boat yard with a mains hook-up, we do have a 500w oil filled radiator in the bathroom which is on overnight. Hot water is by immersion.

 

Tony and Jenny

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My Refleks burns about 3 litres a day to heat hot water and 2 rads. 50' Boat lovely and warm with loads of hot water and of course the kettle!

Initially disappointed as wanted a solid fuel set up but have been pleasantly surprised.

Jealous of the solid fuel brigade: fairly instant heat when first lighting, lovely flames to look at, place to burn rubbish.

Do NOT miss: Ash and dust, storage-roof-cratch-towpath taken up with bags of coal/logs, covering my neighbours with soot!

Yes it's a bit more expensive but I would go the same route again without hesitation.

 

Oh and the Refleks is silent whereas some diesel heaters can as you suggest be quite noisey

Thanks for that.

If the reflekx burns approx 3 litres per day than that seems to me to be about equal with what most people are saying for coal costs. but cleaner sounds good.

 

Wondering now how the deisel twin burner ranges work out as presumably the money sved on gas would equal the extra cooking element on them ?

 

edit to ask..... do you get any deisel smell from these stoves ?

Edited by Sunset Rising
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Really wish I had the time and chainsaw know how to forrage for wood to supliment my winter fuel consumption :-)

 

 

.....mental picture of Donela going down Duckets with leonie taking every second lime tree in Viccy Park out with chainsaw......... :rolleyes:

 

 

Only every second one? ;) Heh.

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OK, 62 ft cruiser stern boat.

 

just over half a gallon of fuel a day sonds better than the coal consumption people are quoting above. Would your old dutch cope with the bigger boat ? and does it make a noise ( or is that only the fan heater type ? )

Hi,

 

The kabola OD would do it, provided the circuit incorporated Rads and probably a circulating pump. But for a boat that size I would consider a Reflecks Stove (similar design and innards) although either would cope.

 

The system I use provides heating (via Stove and 22mm pipe runs and a warm expansion tank) and also hot water. It runs on a low setting and water circulates by thermo syphon although there is a circulating pump if needed. System protected by an 'overboil' coupling and also a thermo coupling to shut the oil off if the fire goes out.

 

On this basis water flow from the fire is 85/90C, return temp 35/40 (thermo syphon).

 

This stove is mainly used for frost protection - it's easier to use diesel than have problems with condensation or frost damage.

 

It runs happily unattended and there is no ash to clear, only slight problem is it can be affected by down draughts.

 

It heats the boatmans, the engine room, walk through bathroom (rad in WC area) galley and living space, (about 32ft cabin lenght).

 

There is also a back up s/f stove in the boatmans.

 

An Eco-fan does run on the stove and this helps with air circulation.

 

No noise from the stove, slight noise from the circulating pump if used.

 

Spares over a 5 year period - a new thermo coupling (£16.00 incl P&P) to replace one that was damaged whilst cleaning the stove out, easily installed.

 

The cleaning tablets do work well.

 

Hope that helps, as I said it ran for 41 days with minimum supervision used about 95 litres of Diesel@76ppl

 

Leo

 

PS. It would still be running but I have only got about 60 litres of oil in the dedicated tank and the fuel/coal boat is not running at the moment due to ice and a possible ice-breaking related problem.

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We use a bag of coal (25kg) a week on average. We start the Mikuni in the morning for about 11/2 hrs then as the boat gets cold flash up the stove in the early afternoon. The coals are still glowing the following morning. The stove is a huge no name brand and I think it is actually a wood burner but we use the better coal from the coal/diesel boat and we are fine.

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Morso Sqirrel 1430 (cleanheat) uses 1X25Kg bag of Stoveglow (£7.95) every three days. Running 24/7

 

Have Erbaspacher but only ran that for two hours last year.

 

Boat at nearly continuous 20ºC

 

Hot water is via immersion heater that runs when generator is charging batteries or we are cooking. (All electric boat)

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I cant believe how long you guys make a bag of coal last :o

 

When I ran out of wood recently I was using 18-20kg per day (it was during that coldest week though), I tried homefire ovals, taybrite and 2 others i cant remember name of, all with virtually identical consumption rates.

 

Glad to be back on the split oak

 

Eberspacher is not in use due to power consumption not fuel.

Edited by Pretty Funked Up
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There seems to be a huge difference in coal consumption which I find it difficult to account for. Anything from 1 bag per week to 1 bag per day ( with some consensus towards 1 bag in about 2.5 days..... )

 

A fire burns what it burns regardless of boat size so I am having to assume that some people know more than others about how to control burn rate etc.

 

Anyone care to comment on this aspect ?

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How warm you want it is the critical factor

 

In winter on board I am usually trying to heat the whole boat so one lets the fire burn hence upto 20kg a day.

 

If all you are doing is keeping the fire alight the same bag will do more than 2 days.

 

For being prepared/budgeting you buy in something in between taking into account delivery times and something for the unexpected. The other thing is making it worthwhile the coal boat stopping. Further, gathering whatever free fuel you can; broken pallet boards, etc

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since Oct 4th, my stove has only been out twice, i was away 3 days at Xmas (ash still warm when I reurned, and the same at New Year.

I tend to riddle/stoke early doors and then last thing at night, give a quick open bottom door blast for 5 minutes to start off new coals and then a 1/4 turn bottom vent open or even less if windy outside.

So long as you keep the ash pan empty, the fire doesn't smother itself and stays in well. If I'm on the boat all day , I might have a mid-session stoke and keep the vent open slightly more, however,wearing a jumper helps just the same.

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