heating a 70ft boat

[londonron]

i have upgraded to a 70ft narrow boat. its a shell and i am starting from scratch and live onboard full time.

 

so as i have a blank canvas i get to look at all the new toys and decide the best way to do things. I will of course have a coal fire as its free heat with my chainsaw etc but want to explore other options so what do we think the best options are nowdays.

 

coal with back boiler

diesel aga with heating

lpg aga with heating

lpg combi boiler

hot air ducting

 

or something else ?

 

a friend of mine has a pellet stove which he can call in advance with a mobile phone to switch on. But i think thats just too flash.

[Tuscan]

i have upgraded to a 70ft narrow boat. its a shell and i am starting from scratch and live onboard full time.

 

so as i have a blank canvas i get to look at all the new toys and decide the best way to do things. I will of course have a coal fire as its free heat with my chainsaw etc but want to explore other options so what do we think the best options are nowdays.

 

coal with back boiler

diesel aga with heating

lpg aga with heating

lpg combi boiler

hot air ducting

 

or something else ?

 

a friend of mine has a pellet stove which he can call in advance with a mobile phone to switch on. But i think thats just too flash.

 

 

First rule harvest what you have, so first take on heating and hot water is via engine or generator exhaust, then bubble stove with espacher back up. Coal n back cabin just for a smoke fix.

[steveiom]

as long as its NOT HOT AIR.(HOT AIR DUCTING)

i think that system is useless..

[Robbo]

In addition to a solid fuel stove I'm getting UFH with a Bubble PJ boiler.

[Higgs]

A solid fuel stove with back boiler is more versatile than Diesel. Needs pre planning though, for the rise in the plumbing from back boiler. If the system is independent and is a loop, plus rads, no pump is necessary.

 

By versatile I mean types of fuel.

Edited October 16, 2012 by Higgs

[Djuwenda]

another point to consider is the location of your solid fuel stove. A lot of boats seem to have it in the front right corner which I think is the worst possible location.

 

Putting in a corner is tempting as it seems to minimise the amount of space lost to it... however its not ideal for heat disribution. Placing near the middle of the area you are trying to heat is much better.

 

Putting it on the left handside will save you an amount of trouble when going through tunnels, low bridges etc...

[saxplayer]

Hi Ron

ime an Aga specialist down here in Devon, You will not get an Aga working on diesel. They use a vapourisng burner and will not burn correctly on diesel. An lpg is a possibility but running cost is huge.£25 - £30 a week!

A rayburn or any pressure jet burner, cooker is a strong contender, although an alternative method of cooking in the summer would be preferable owing to the amount of heat they kick out

shaun

[naema sufi]

After a year aboard we are upgrading to multi fuel back boiler, I found a place that does a 6k multi for only £349 and will do 4 / 6 rads. For us this the best option cos we can always get free wood . I love the look of the new fire because I can riddle it without opening the door and it has good size grate with the front bars a good height to stop logs or coal rolling out and making big mess of outside. the shop number is 016352 99955 and It is just outside Newbury, they can deliver. One thing to bear in mind though - we went to price up a flue and were told that the regs are changinging and we should go for double skinned (ouch) pricy

Edited October 16, 2012 by naema sufi

[mrsmelly]

After a year aboard we are upgrading to multi fuel back boiler, I found a place that does a 6k multi for only £349 and will do 4 / 6 rads. For us this the best option cos we can always get free wood . I love the look of the new fire because I can riddle it without opening the door and it has good size grate with the front bars a good height to stop logs or coal rolling out and making big mess of outside. the shop number is 016352 99955 and It is just outside Newbury, they can deliver. One thing to bear in mind though - we went to price up a flue and were told that the regs are changinging and we should go for double skinned (ouch) pricy

 

There are all sorts of silly new rule introduced in the uk every year. Just ignore it. You do not need or indeed have to have a double skinned chimney, end of.Literaly millions of Houses, boats etc etc have been using single skinned chimneys in all their forms for hundreds of years perfectly well. YOU DO NOT need it for ya boat mot, mine was done last month with the single skinned flue and it will be done again in 4 years time with the same flue as are thousands of others. The words " Best practice " spring to mind

 

Tim

[naema sufi]

There are all sorts of silly new rule introduced in the uk every year. Just ignore it. You do not need or indeed have to have a double skinned chimney, end of.Literaly millions of Houses, boats etc etc have been using single skinned chimneys in all their forms for hundreds of years perfectly well. YOU DO NOT need it for ya boat mot, mine was done last month with the single skinned flue and it will be done again in 4 years time with the same flue as are thousands of others. The words " Best practice " spring to mind

 

Tim

 

thanx Tim, I got that advice from Docherties chimneys, do you know if it will affect bss cert, obviously a single flue would save on the spondoolies and it airs my towels a treat,

 

thanx Tim, I got that advice from Docherties chimneys, do you know if it will affect bss cert, obviously a single flue would save on the spondoolies and it airs my towels a treat,

[Proper Job]

Don't forget that half your heat comes out of the flue pipe

[mrsmelly]

thanx Tim, I got that advice from Docherties chimneys, do you know if it will affect bss cert, obviously a single flue would save on the spondoolies and it airs my towels a treat,

 

thanx Tim, I got that advice from Docherties chimneys, do you know if it will affect bss cert, obviously a single flue would save on the spondoolies and it airs my towels a treat,

 

Hi

 

Mine passed the bss last month again and it will continue to do so. The flue is part of the boat heating system as you well say and the difference in efficiency that a double skinned flue against a single skinned on a boat is so negligable as to be not worth mentioning.

 

Tim

[Proper Job]

Hi

 

Mine passed the bss last month again and it will continue to do so. The flue is part of the boat heating system as you well say and the difference in efficiency that a double skinned flue against a single skinned on a boat is so negligable as to be not worth mentioning.

 

Tim

Yeh, but when you're in your dotage and you stumble, reach out and grab the flue to steady yourself, you wont burn yourself if it double skinned.

 

Maybe you ought to think about changing yours

[George94]

When buying a solid fuel stove, ensure it can be used for either coal or wood. In my view, a single door is less trouble than double doors, and gives you a better view of the fire. Ideally, you should be able to both riddle the stove and remove the ash without opening the main door(s).

 

If burning wood, it is best to go for a rectangular shape, rather than square. Deep or wide, it doesn't it matter, but the reason is that you can use longer logs if the stove is not square, and when you are cutting your own logs, that's an important consideration.

Edited October 16, 2012 by George94

[mrsmelly]

Yeh, but when you're in your dotage and you stumble, reach out and grab the flue to steady yourself, you wont burn yourself if it double skinned.

 

Maybe you ought to think about changing yours

 

 

:P Hows ya bow fridge ?

 

Me

[saxplayer]

another consideration is an electric Aga working off a fuse spur. rating at 2.5kw

shaun

[FadeToScarlet]

another consideration is an electric Aga working off a fuse spur. rating at 2.5kw

shaun

 

:0 even if the OP has a shoreline at his mooring, wouldn't that make it very hard to go anywhere else? He'd need a serious inverter, battery banks, and generator to use it- and those aren't cheap.

 

I suppose the amount of diesel you'd use to generate the power to power it might well be more expensive than running an LPG Aga.

 

Also, Agas come in one lump so are hard to get into a ready built boat, whereas the Heritage and IIRC Rayburns cone apart so can fit through doorways.

 

Another option for fuel that"s not been mentioned yet- large 200 l plus tank and a range running off of 28 Sec heating oil- cheaper per litre than diesel.

 

There's also solid fuel powered ranges- several people on here have them.

[saxplayer]

:0 even if the OP has a shoreline at his mooring, wouldn't that make it very hard to go anywhere else? He'd need a serious inverter, battery banks, and generator to use it- and those aren't cheap.

 

I suppose the amount of diesel you'd use to generate the power to power it might well be more expensive than running an LPG Aga.

 

Also, Agas come in one lump so are hard to get into a ready built boat, whereas the Heritage and IIRC Rayburns cone apart so can fit through doorways.

 

Another option for fuel that"s not been mentioned yet- large 200 l plus tank and a range running off of 28 Sec heating oil- cheaper per litre than diesel.

 

There's also solid fuel powered ranges- several people on here have them.

 

 

Admittedly power supply is an issue, but not one that is not unfathonable. Once the Aga is at temp power consumption to maintain temp is considerable lessened. Also you are quite wrong about them coming in one lump. They are delivered on pallets and have to be built on site and use a considerable amount of insulation. Aprox 5 large black bin liners full!

shaun

[londonron]

does anyone have a lpg combi boiler ? i am thinking this could be the way to go.

[allan tryfan]

does anyone have a lpg combi boiler ? i am thinking this could be the way to go.

Have you looked at kerosene Rayburns? Cheep to run and you can run your rads of it, heat all your water and cook a fine traditional meal on it. I'm considering putting one in my own new sailaway next spring. But like yourself I've been trying to find the ideal solution and seeking advice from the more experienced boaters on here.

[George94]

If I were building a new boat, I would install a modern, domestic, oil-burning boiler, programmed to go on twice a day (in warm weather) to heat up the water in the calorifier, and to stop when it had done so.

 

It would mean having a large, separate tank (or tanks) for paraffin. But 1,000 litres would be economical for a tanker to deliver.

[TUGBOAT]

Hi there

We have not long finnished fitting out our Tugboat. we decided on a Heritage diesel range/arga type cooker which is amazing it cooks and supplys hot water and central heating all at the touch of a switch. no stokong up woodburners. and the switch is all by remote control so we can even switch the heating on while still in bed!.and as it is diesel it makes us gas free as well. For your 70ft boat it will power 10 rads but it does run on mains so you need an Inverter on day and night approx 70 watts needed to run it + 7 watts for the cerculation pump. cost is around 7k with rads.and it's 700+ kg of ballast.

 

John