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A brave man or what?

Phil Ambrose
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Phil Ambrose Veteran II

Phil Ambrose

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Posted

A fellow moorer at my marina has just fitted a new fire and proudly asked me if I would like to see it. Very nice and neat installation but one thing puzzled me. The tiles of the fire surround seemed to be only standing proud of the cabin side by the thickness of a tile.

I asked him how he managed to get his fireboard recessed into the cabin side and he replied "Oh I did'nt use fireboard as I could only get it in 8'x 4' sheet and it was too expensive.

Is he brave?

 

Phil

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David Mack Veteran II

David MackDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

A fellow moorer at my marina has just fitted a new fire and proudly asked me if I would like to see it. Very nice and neat installation but one thing puzzled me. The tiles of the fire surround seemed to be only standing proud of the cabin side by the thickness of a tile.

I asked him how he managed to get his fireboard recessed into the cabin side and he replied "Oh I did'nt use fireboard as I could only get it in 8'x 4' sheet and it was too expensive.

Is he brave?

 

Phil

 

Tell him to read the Lindy Lou report.

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Grace and Favour Veteran II

Grace and Favour

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Posted

A fellow moorer at my marina has just fitted a new fire and proudly asked me if I would like to see it. Very nice and neat installation but one thing puzzled me. The tiles of the fire surround seemed to be only standing proud of the cabin side by the thickness of a tile.

I asked him how he managed to get his fireboard recessed into the cabin side and he replied "Oh I did'nt use fireboard as I could only get it in 8'x 4' sheet and it was too expensive.

Is he brave?

 

Phil

 

He's not brave - - - -

he's unaware of the consequences - - and may be one of those folks whom follow the maxim "if it's cheap - it's good"

 

 

 

(he may also be short of pennies - although I would still advise that it's best to do a job properly, than compromise safety)

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Dovetail Community Regular

Dovetail

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Posted (edited)

To me it will all depend on the location of the stove and the gap at the rear / side as to the risk of fire.

 

A 5” gap to the rear of the stove with nothing to close to each side then perhaps no great problem and if the stove has a back boiler then this will help with reducing heat transferring through the back of the stove. My stove has a 6” gap at the rear and when the fire is chucking out the heat the back wall is only ever warm to hot but not so bad as I can keep my hand against the tiles.

 

If the stove is fitted in a corner then this is a different situation and I would not be happy without a fire board.

 

How many times have we seen stoves fitted into corners of boats with tiles on fire board to the two walls and then two/three steps into the boat a few inches from the stove with no protection!!!!

 

One big problem with stoves is things falling on them, they are often jammed into to tight a place with steps, bookcases, other furniture ect way to close.

Edited by Dovetail
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Ray Rising Star

Ray

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I have to admit that when we initially installed the stove on our boat we only added an extra layer of plywood - I never even thought of adding fireboard.

 

Our stove is in a corner and positioned diagonally. However, there is a small cupboard between the bulkhead and the forward most rear corner of the stove at the front of the boat.

 

It was only when I experienced how hot the inside of the cupboard was continually getting - through ceramic tiles and two tickness of plywood - and reading various posts on here that I decided to revisit the area. All the tiles were removed and fireboard - which I believe is obtainable in 4'x2' sheets from B&Q (although I managed to acquire somebody else's leftovers) - was fitted over the plywood and the tiles fitted to the fireboard.

 

I was most grateful for the information obtained from this forum.

 

Perhaps we should accept that the person to whom the OP refers was blissfully ignorant of the facts and simply trust that they have now seen the error of their ways rather than (as it appears to me) knock them for doing something that the more learned recognise as unwise. Or am I wrong?

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bizzard Veteran II

bizzard

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Posted

Stoves might look nice and cozy straddling the front corners of narrow boats and more or less out of the way there but it is just about the worst place possible for them. Heat rises and tends to be lost every time the door is opened, things often too close to it steps for example, easily burn yourself going in and out, doesn't warm towards the rear of the boat much but stays local to the stove unless fitted with a back boiler for c/heating. Chimney in the highest place on the roof.

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Dovetail Community Regular

Dovetail

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Posted

No your not wrong Ray more spot on if anything as we are all capable of making mistakes or not realising the potential problems. I am confident that the op pointed out the problems especially if the stove is to close to any wall or syructure. Like I have said in a previous post the greatest risk to fire comes from other things getting to close to the stove and no matter how thick the fire board is it won't save the boat.

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bizzard Veteran II

bizzard

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Posted (edited)

I'm often asked to install stoves in the front corner of narrow boats but when I say to the owner ok but I'll only do it as long as I can have at least 5'' clearance all around every part of the stove no matter what the back surround or hearth is made of.

Wail!!!shriek!!! moan!!! sob!!! WHAT!!! from the owner;- but it'll stick out terribly. So that's that and they invariably find someone else who is prepared to fit it, far too close!!.

There is the odd stove on the market which is generally narrower but taller than most of the more modern wide squat style of stove which would fit more neatly in the the front corner. The old Torgem stove used to be of this style. And of course there are corner shaped oil burners like the ''Bubble'' which will fit in that position more snugly with a decent clearance.

 

ETA A lot of the trouble occurs because too small a stove is often fitted in boats and when the weather gets really cold the stove is ''forced'' to put out more than its maximum rated heat output, roaring away intensely ''often with the ashpan door left open regardless'' which causes it to radiate a very intense local heat to nearby structure. The folk who do this are forever burning out or melting grates, cracking the door glass, even burning the blacking off. I frequently see evidence of over forced overheated stoves when I visit other boats. Dangerous.

Edited by bizzard
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Guest

Guest

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Posted

A fellow moorer at my marina has just fitted a new fire and proudly asked me if I would like to see it. Very nice and neat installation but one thing puzzled me. The tiles of the fire surround seemed to be only standing proud of the cabin side by the thickness of a tile.

I asked him how he managed to get his fireboard recessed into the cabin side and he replied "Oh I did'nt use fireboard as I could only get it in 8'x 4' sheet and it was too expensive.

Is he brave?

 

Phil

 

Show him these pics.

 

boat001.jpg

 

boat004.jpg

 

Originally posted by Nigel Carton a while back.

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Phil Ambrose Veteran II

Phil Ambrose

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I did warn him of the danger he was risking, his brother-in-law was also there and he had just fitted a a new fire himself (with fire board) but he insisted it would be alright, oh and not short of a bob or two, just "careful"

 

Phil

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bizzard Veteran II

bizzard

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Posted

Second-hand gloves are keenly sought after, pre-warmed and cheap.

I prefer the milkmans style woolen fingerless gloves for rolling fags in. For these you need to find a retired milkman. Sometimes they have lost one though ''vicious dogs like em'' so you might need to find two retired milkmen, a right-handed one and a left-handed one who've both lost one to make a pair but be observant or you could end up with either two left or two right ones. You would would then find yourself chasing milkmen in their floats trying to swap one with one. It can all become quite complicated really so I wouldn't bother with all the above just by a pair from M&s. :closedeyes:

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