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boatman stoves ... your thoughts ?

sooty

By sooty
in Boat Equipment

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dmr Veteran II

dmr

Posted
Posted

If you want really small the pipsqueak from Salamander looks good. I have only seen one on a boat and the owners really liked it. Might be a waiting list just now though.

 

............Dave

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CygnusV Collaborator

CygnusV

Posted
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Hi, thinking of buying the small BOATMAN stove (4kw), has anyone any experience with these stoves ... good or bad ?

Any other suggestions for a small stove ..... it has to be small !

 

Yep! Had one for more than 10 years. Brilliant little stove. We've used allsorts on it and still not burned the grate out. Found the best mix is excel type nuggets mixed 50:50 with anthracite. Highly recommended fuel mix and of course, the little Boatman Stove. Only regret is not getting the version with the back boiler, but then maybe the stove would not produce the heat we wanted? Don't know.

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MtB Veteran II

MtBDonate to Canal World

Posted
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I think the OP ought to clarify what he means by a Boatmans Stove.

 

I have an Epping stove clone which has the name "Boatmans Stove" marked on it by the manufacturer. This is a combined stove and oven in the style traditionally fitted in the back cabin of a proper narrowboat (bit of light trolling there if you noticed ;) ) and is anything but 'small'.

 

MtB

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kevinl Rising Star

kevinl

Posted
Posted

http://www.boatmanstove.co.uk/

If you mean one of these they come highly recommended, search for it on here as they were discussed recently and there seem to be a lot of satisfied customers, plus they're made just off the M62 (junction 16 I think) in Swinton, Manchester so you can buy a stove and get spares direct from the manufacturers. A bargain at £299 or £399 with a backboiler. And steel not cast iron so they don't crack.
K

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peterboat Veteran II

peterboatDonate to Canal World

Posted
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Yes looking at one now glowing gently burning smokeless fuel tomorrow it will still be in without any problem. I know Eddie well and I can honestly say he cares about his product Buy one its made in Britain of steel and wont crack and burn your boat down!!

 

Peter

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kingswood Collaborator

kingswood

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fitted a boatman stove on my 40ft boat in October and have to say its very good it has a back boiler and heats 2 rads stays in overnight and gets my boat up to 28 deg. if I let it .eddie the builder of this stove goes above and beyond with his service he delivered the stove one day and measured up to crank the flue went back home that night and welded it up at 1 in the morning and brought it back next day I had my stove made with longer legs and altered pipe connection he is very helpful and wont leave until you are satisfied with it also does not want paying until then can not praise him high enough, the only fault I can find is the ash does fall around the sides of the ash tray and needs a small shovel or when cold I hoover out. give him a ring I viewed the stove at crick show last year, my old stove a torgem cracked and fell to bits as it was cast boatman stoves are steel with a cast door

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Daiboy Community Regular

Daiboy

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This one came with my boat and as far as I am aware it's the original. Great little stove but it takes about an hour or so to heat my 50 ft'er. Stays in well overnight with a mixture of Pureglow and logs. After a few hours from lighting, I end up in shorts and t shirt and the dog pants a lot. Great.

 

Stove front

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RichardH Rising Star

RichardH

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We had a Boatman in our 40ft hire boat. Generally very impressed and far better than the Valor Willow.

 

Only whinge was that the handle becomes very hot.

 

However, overall we still preferred the Salamander Hobbit for looks and size vs heat.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

Posted
Posted

I think the OP ought to clarify what he means by a Boatmans Stove.

 

I have an Epping stove clone which has the name "Boatmans Stove" marked on it by the manufacturer. This is a combined stove and oven in the style traditionally fitted in the back cabin of a proper narrowboat (bit of light trolling there if you noticed ;) ) and is anything but 'small'.

 

MtB

Unless OP has been edited, it says Boatman not boatman's.

 

Particularly as it refers to "must be small", it seemed obvious to me it was talking about the type of stove with brand name "Boatman".

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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I'm quite intrigued that everybody is talking about the "Boatman" as if it is super small.

 

I thought I'd bull up the dimensions, and compare to the Villager Puffin.....

 

Boatman 460H x 360W x 330D

Puffin 546H x 330W x 335D

 

So actually despite the Boatman being some 86mm "shorter", it is actually 30mm wider, according to published numbers.

 

So most places a "Boatman" would fit, a "Puffin" surely would as well?

 

Both are quoted as 4KW output, and both have a back boiler oprion.

 

No doubt the Puffin will cost more, but it might be a choice if you prefer something with ash-pan door separate from the main firebox door, for example.

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p6rob Proficient

p6robDonate to Canal World

Posted
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I have a boatman. I take the opportunity to sweep the flue whenever the fire goes out.

Sometimes I can light it easily, sometimes it takes several attempts. I can usually keep it in all night and sometimes I can resurrect it in the morning with a few strategically placed lumps of fuel (taybrite, IIRC). Other mornings, I can't and either spend 20 minutes relighting it, or accept it'll be cold when I get back from work.

Sometimes I can get the heat upto 30degrees 15ft away from the stove. Others it appears to be burning well but not producing cabin heat.

You'd think, with only one valve to adjust, it'd be easy to work out how to control it - However, I'm still struggling to achieve consistency.

All that said, when we're working in harmony, the stove is fantastic.

 

A 25kg bag of Taybrite currently seems to last between 5-10 days

External wind speed appears to be a major factor in how the stove functions

I could do with a stove driving lesson

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oasis Engager

oasis

Posted
Posted

Agree with p6rob findings. Great stove, Eddie really helped us when we purchased ours. Damped down the flue is not too hot so less heat is going up in the smoke. Welded construction...what more can I say. No, I'm not giving out free advertising either.

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alan_fincher Veteran II

alan_fincher

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A 25kg bag of Taybrite currently seems to last between 5-10 days

 

Well if that is true, it is far better than we typically manage with the similar sized, (and quoted power output), Heron, (broadly same as the Puffin).

 

We are not full time live aboards, but if I could make a 25Kg bag last that long I'd be well happy.

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