Keep the fire burning?

[bluegreencanal]

I have noticed when I am at work and the fire goes out, if it is freezing outside it is getting pretty cold indoors...sometimes 6 degrees. I know other people will experience colder. My back cabin has gone to zero in the very cold times we had last winter.

 

What are the pro's and con's for keeping the fire burning. Is it really going to help keep cupboards aired (mine never get much above fridge temperature anyway) and the back cabin from freezing (furthest point from the fire).

 

With central heating, it still takes a couple of hours to make the boat habitable again so I wear my ski trousers indoors sometimes and although I have tried to use the central heating the same as I ever did and keep the fire going I dont really manage to anymore. My diesel costs have gone down somewhere between 10 and 20%

 

I would love to hear other peoples' experiences and opinions.

[GSer]

When it's really cold, I find constant warmth helps keeps the condensation at bay, whilst a regular hot cold hot cycle seems to encourage excess moisture.

 

Not to bad now as it's quite mild but when the temps don't ever get above freezing then I keep it as constant as I can.

 

Paul

[KevMc]

Last year I only had an electric radiator and I left it on all through the winter on a medium setting, only turing it up when I was there (managed to forget to turn it down ont he way out a few times) and it wasn't too expensive (£15 a week at the most)

 

This year though I have a bigger boat and a diesel stove - which seems to have worked its way through 100 litres in 2 weeks which has been a bit of a shock to the wallet. I have left the radiator on a frost setting as a backup in case stove goes out for any reason though (belt and braces approach)

[Leonie]

Hmm well, I try and keep the fire in all day while I'm away for the boat but for different reasons than those you state. I'm not really sure I care too much about airing cupboards or stopping the back cabin from freezing - in fact I use the back cabin as a fridge in winter so I'm quite happy for it to stay cold actually.

 

Keeping the fire in for me means less kindling to collect, chop or buy and less hassle relighting the fire when I get home late. It is much nicer to come home to a boat which is 'warm' rather than freezing cold and is much faster to warm back up to comfortable lounging temperatures if the fire stays in to an extent.

 

Also, I like to be kind to the cat so she has somewhere warm to hang out when she's finished fussying about outside in the snow.

[matty40s]

I lit my stove on 16th Oct, and it has only been completely out once last week when I was in london for 3 days.

I find nothing worse than coming back to a cold boat, when even the bedsheets are near freezing!!

Last year it was in for 6 months with only 1 night off(again with a 3 day absence).

it takes a while to learn your stove, and different weather conditions can also affect the burn, but with careful use of vents and using the right mix of fuels, up to 48 hours with no input can be achievable.

I have not used my central heating eberspacher for the last 3 years, only using it for 30 minutes hot water a day.

[Pentargon]

I lit my stove on 16th Oct, and it has only been completely out once last week when I was in london for 3 days.

I find nothing worse than coming back to a cold boat, when even the bedsheets are near freezing!!

Last year it was in for 6 months with only 1 night off(again with a 3 day absence).

it takes a while to learn your stove, and different weather conditions can also affect the burn, but with careful use of vents and using the right mix of fuels, up to 48 hours with no input can be achievable.

I have not used my central heating eberspacher for the last 3 years, only using it for 30 minutes hot water a day.

 

Matty, it would be very helpful to newbies like me if you told us what kind of stove, what kind of fuel you use. I am interested in solid fuel myself. Other lurkers will be different. Help!

[matty40s]

Matty, it would be very helpful to newbies like me if you told us what kind of stove, what kind of fuel you use. I am interested in solid fuel myself. Other lurkers will be different. Help!

 

I use Taybrite (can be dusty) or this year Excel, along with house coal or similar. Mix the fuels during the day, but at night, or leaving it for longer periods, use the nuggets only, as they break down slowly, creating an ash blanket which further slows the burn, but keeps the heat in.

I have a squirrel with top and bottom vents, but only use the bottom one most of the time, closing to 1/4 turn or less if it is windy. The top one is useful if you want visually bright flames from the coal.

Always keep CO monitors on, and vents unblocked, very slow burning with little through draft may lead to higher levels with some stoves(although mine has never been set off by my methods).

When I have guests round, the logs come out, and the stove door is opened ( ecofan removed or it pulls the smoke out into he room!!!!!!)

 

edited to add, another bonus by using coal is that it smokes more, so people passing think there is someone on board, even when there isn't)

Edited December 20, 2011 by matty40s

[Djuwenda]

Same MO here, but with stoveglow and 48 hours is normally not a problem.

 

Same stove, bottom vent only, about 1/2 a turn, less if windy will keep the stove going for 48 hours and leave enough lumps glowing so that I can restart it just by opening the bottom door when I come back.

[Leonie]

edited to add, another bonus by using coal is that it smokes more, so people passing think there is someone on board, even when there isn't)

 

This allusion alone is enough reason to make sure your fire stays in during winter.

 

Matty, it would be very helpful to newbies like me if you told us what kind of stove, what kind of fuel you use. I am interested in solid fuel myself. Other lurkers will be different. Help!

 

Welcome newbie. It's not necessarily a matter of what fire and what fuel but as Matty says, it's more to do with time, patience and learning the craft of building and keeping your fire in. Methods will differ between stoves and fuel etc. It took me a few years to be fairly confident with the longevity and heat production of my fires.

[Chickadee]

The past few weeks we hadn't been keeping the fire going all day as we were low on money and fuel but then I got a cold and the BF got paid so we've been keeping it going while we've been at work and the difference is fantastic. No more shivering while the boat warms up and we seem to be getting so much more done when we get in rather than huddling on the sofa for warmth. (Dog included)

 

We use Oxglow (I think thats what its called) Nice big nuggets that don't create much ash and when we get in we just need to chuck about 4 on open the door and its away again. When we leave in the morning we chuck a couple of shovel fulls on turn the air hole totally closed then back 1/4 of a turn.

 

We use wood when we've got it but solid fuel is alot more reliable.

[matty40s]

The past few weeks we hadn't been keeping the fire going all day as we were low on money and fuel but then I got a cold and the BF got paid so we've been keeping it going while we've been at work and the difference is fantastic. No more shivering while the boat warms up and we seem to be getting so much more done when we get in rather than huddling on the sofa for warmth. (Dog included)

 

We use Oxglow (I think thats what its called) Nice big nuggets that don't create much ash and when we get in we just need to chuck about 4 on open the door and its away again. When we leave in the morning we chuck a couple of shovel fulls on turn the air hole totally closed then back 1/4 of a turn.

 

We use wood when we've got it but solid fuel is alot more reliable.

 

Another point is that I don't find I use any more coal now than when I used to light it each night.

You tend to give it a blast for a while to try to warm the boat up when lighting it daily, and the further reaches take ages to come to come to a satisfactory warmth. You also need kindling every day.........

.........and going from cold to hot quickly can also lead to expansion issues with collars and roof fittings, or worse, cracks in your stove......and rain gets in causing rust when it's cold........

 

shall I go on...

[Chickadee]

Another point is that I don't find I use any more coal now than when I used to light it each night.

You tend to give it a blast for a while to try to warm the boat up when lighting it daily, and the further reaches take ages to come to come to a satisfactory warmth. You also need kindling every day.........

.........and going from cold to hot quickly can also lead to expansion issues with collars and roof fittings, or worse, cracks in your stove......and rain gets in causing rust when it's cold........

 

shall I go on...

 

Yep, less energy wasted all round I think. Just come home, warm boat 5 coals on job done.

[NB Alnwick]

Allowing the temperature inside a boat to vary between warm and cold on a daily basis will, inevitably, cause long term problems. Such variations in temperature will promote damp as a result of excessive condensate and this in turn may lead to mould, rot and corrosion. Also, when a boat cools, metal components will contract and then expand again as they warm up. This can put an unnecessary strain on many components - especially, pipework and flue joints.

 

We try to keep our boat reasonably warm by keeping the fire in - it isn't difficult even when we are both out at work all day . . .

[bizzard]

I use Taybrite (can be dusty) or this year Excel, along with house coal or similar. Mix the fuels during the day, but at night, or leaving it for longer periods, use the nuggets only, as they break down slowly, creating an ash blanket which further slows the burn, but keeps the heat in.

I have a squirrel with top and bottom vents, but only use the bottom one most of the time, closing to 1/4 turn or less if it is windy. The top one is useful if you want visually bright flames from the coal.

Always keep CO monitors on, and vents unblocked, very slow burning with little through draft may lead to higher levels with some stoves(although mine has never been set off by my methods).

When I have guests round, the logs come out, and the stove door is opened ( ecofan removed or it pulls the smoke out into he room!!!!!!)

 

edited to add, another bonus by using coal is that it smokes more, so people passing think there is someone on board, even when there isn't)

I leave a radio on loud too.

[matty40s]

I leave a radio on loud too.

I can't say I like the smell of burning radio's, unless it's one of those Roberts Retro wooden ones....

[wrigglefingers]

I'm finally getting used to the Rayburn this winter, having changed a few things about the central heating circuit it drives after the problems of last year in the Big Freeze.

 

I've now managed to keep it in for two weeks without any hitches and only let her go out last night so I could clean the flue and clear out the grate. Waking up to a cold damp boat was not nice and it took ages for the boat to reach warm again once I re-lit her. It's definitely much better keeping the boat at constant dry warm rather than dank cold/fuggy hot. Cobbett is well-insulated and I've not had the problem with cold patches and mould I had on Surprise but nonetheless keeping it going is far preferable.

[bluegreencanal]

Oxglow and Stoveglow seem to be gettin a good press here.

 

I have been using supertherm for three years. I liked it because it burned up leaving no unburnt coal. It does seem to make a lot of ash tho, so that in 24 hours the ash pan would probably be full (unless I can achieve this slow burning suggested by turning the vent more).

 

Those of you keeping the fire in for up to 48 hours, how high do you make the fire...if I put a small bucket of coal on my fire (morso squirrel cleaneasy I think) it tends to burn very hot and if I close it down halfway it will still go out over about 12 hours. The coal gets all surrounded by ash and the pan fills up.

 

I did read when we first moved aboard that you had to be careful not to superheat the stove as they can glow and cause fires...but I assume this is only caused by leaving it to draw to much...

 

do Oxglow and Stove glow make less ash or is it the slow burning technique??

 

Much appreciated input everyone. Ta very muchly.

[Leonie]

 

do Oxglow and Stove glow make less ash or is it the slow burning technique??

 

 

I find stove glow makes a lot of ash. I use Homefires as often as possible (it's a tad more expensive) as it produces slitghtly less ash and the nuggets seem to burn for longer.

[Chris Pink]

 

I would love to hear other peoples' experiences and opinions.

 

It's cheaper to keep my Rayburn in than to let it go out, it takes loads more fuel to get it going than to keep it going on tickover.

 

And, of course, it keeps the boat much more pleasant.

[Chickadee]

I find Oxglow makes alot less ash than any other solid fuel I've used. We pay £11 for 25kg and the bag lasts a heck of a lot longer than anything else we've used to. Hate it when we have to make do with forecourt fuel becuase everywhere else is closed.

 

Boat was like a sauna this morning after i'd chucked fuel on to keep it going last night. Have kept it almost completly closed but it still chugs out the heat. Wish this weather would decide what its doing. Can't remember what make our stove is but its pretty small square one and is more than enough for my 42ft boat.

[Roger Gunkel]

I also light my stove in October and keep it going until the spring comes along. The stove is an Evergreen, which I think is a Chinese import, and has been totally reliable since installation 4/5 years ago. We have burnt Supertherm for the last 2 years, which seems to burn more thouroughly than the Taybrite we previously used. Both fuels kept in for 24-36 hours with no problems.

 

I algree with Matty and others that it uses no more fuel overall keeping your stove burning continuously. The boat is always comfortable and dry, whereas the alternative of letting it go out each day means coming home to a cold, miserable, damp boat and having to burn a lot of fuel to get it up to temperature again. Also letting the fire go out daily means that more isolated areas of the boat, wardrobes, underbed etc, never get the chance to start to warm up, harbouring more moisture.

 

Roger

[nina]

We've learned how to use degrees of heat to warm up the boat or cool it down by burning coal & wood at different times. When we're on the boat, we keep it in all the time. We load it with supatherm coal at night and turn it right down so it stays in, then in the morning, we throw on 2 compressed wood logs which burn very quickly and throw out an intense heat warming up the boat very quickly. If we go out, we load up the coal and turn the fire down to slow the burning and reduce the heat, then when we get back in the evening, we again turn up the heat by using the compressed logs to generate a quick source of high heat. I often feel too hot within about 15 minutes of putting the wood on. We get our compressed logs from a local garden centre, approx 4.95 for a 25 kilo bag. Wish we'd discovered them last winter. They are amazingly good at heating up the boat very quickly.

 

I wouldn't leave the boat with the wood logs burning though. They get too hot. I'd wait for them to burn first, then reduce the heat level by damping the fire down with coal before leaving the boat.

 

PS I've just started a thread on the General forum about boat chimney's and the potential for fire. I'd urge you to read the information posted by others on how to reduce the risk of a chimney fire especially if you burn a lot of wood.

Edited December 21, 2011 by nina

[Dean Court]

Just joined hoping to learn how to keep the boatman stove in my wee home going for longer, especially overnight and also while I'm out and about during the day. Obviously better use of the air vent on the door and filling up with coal before going to bed. But to what extent do you shut the vent and how much coal etc?

[bluegreencanal]

Tried the upside down fire after clearing out my chimey and my ash tray and failed miserably, but it really doesnt matter as it is very warm today! Turned it up the right way and had the same problem. Lol

 

Discovered we have two of those things that stop the coal from falling out and they sit one on top of the other. Does anyone use two?

[Pretty Funked Up]

Discovered we have two of those things that stop the coal from falling out and they sit one on top of the other. Does anyone use two?

 

My first fire had 3 that just stacked ontop of each other, the sencond fire just has one piece of metal the same size as all 3 together pretty much. I think its just different ways of doing the same job.