Best Steel Stove

[Liam]

As in the title, I'm sure the opinions will differ greatly in what people think is the best mild steel stove but just wondering if there's a majority of people who prefer one type of stove.

 

My parents have a Morso Squirrel which was installed on the boat when it was fitted out in 1997 and unfortunately is now showing signs of bulging on the left hand side. I noticed it the other day when lighting but who knows how long its been like that for and also how much longer it may last before "popping".

 

And so on that note I'd like to try and find a suitable replacement for when the time comes.

 

The current stove has a back boiler which heats 2 radiators and also the calorifier and so the new stove will need a back boiler fitted or have the option of being fitted with one?

 

I have thought about the popular Boatman stove but would ideally like a bigger firebox similar to the Squirrel.

 

Thanks in advance for suggestions.

 

Liam.

Edited January 25, 2016 by Liam

[FadeToScarlet]

You want a stove that only works on one type of coal- that you sell

 

I saw adverts for Squirrels for sale reproduced here, under £700 with backboiler IIRC if a straight swap would be desired.

[johners60]

We changed our squirrel for a chilli penguin with back boiler last year best thing we ever did similar size so didn't take a lot of fitting heats the rads a lot better

[Dave Payne]

Some discussion on the boatman here..

 

http://www.canalworld.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=79126&hl=

[stagedamager]

I'll give you 50 quid for the squirrel when it comes out!

[Top cat]

I can tell you about two stoves that aren't the best.

 

Our Villager Puffin was impossible to control mainly because of only having a crude slider for under grate draught, it was either too hot or going out. The fit of the parts was very poor too.

 

Its successor is a Valor Willow, better in that it has top and bottom vents and we can keep it in for days if we feed it the rigbt type of coal. But we didn't learn our lesson about sliding vents and its tricky to set right and there isn't enough draught for lighting sometimes ( I put a fan on the chimney briefly). The Willow is too small for our kettle so I put a 4mm plate on top to extend it but the top of the stove ain't anything like flat so it doesnt get hot enough to boil if we burn coal. If we use wood it gets much hotter but throttling it down takes micrn accuracy on the sliders.

 

At home we have a stove from English stoves which has cirular screw type vents on the bottom and rotating sliders for the air wash plus controllable tertiary air coming in the back. All beautifully controllable, mind you the flue is about 4x the length of the one on the boat and fully insulated. Pity its too big for the boat.

 

Top Cat

[MtB]

We changed our squirrel for a chilli penguin with back boiler last year best thing we ever did similar size so didn't take a lot of fitting heats the rads a lot better

 

 

Neat looking stoves but they still have the ridiculous single, one-piece door!

[RufusR]

Whats wrong with another Squirrel ? I must admit I only have experience of my squirrel and my FIL's Boatman but compared to the latter the Squirrel is in another league, , ticks all the boxes . I certainly wouldnt want anything without a seperate ash pan door .

[blackrose]

 

 

Neat looking stoves but they still have the ridiculous single, one-piece door!

What's the issue with a single door?

 

My morso panther has double (one piece) doors but no separate ash pan door. The ash pan only needs emptying once or very possibly twice a day, so why would that be an issue? The twin air controls at the bottom of the doors provide plenty of airflow into the stove and can be completely shut down.

Edited January 26, 2016 by blackrose

[Top cat]

Both our stoves have only one door and its no problem at all. Far more important is adequate vents with good control.

 

Top Cat

[blackrose]

Both our stoves have only one door and its no problem at all. Far more important is adequate vents with good control.

 

Top Cat

 

I think the majority of solid fuel stoves only have a single door. Perhaps it's only the stoves with inadequately controllable air vents that need a separate ash pan door at the bottom?

Edited January 26, 2016 by blackrose

[peterboat]

 

I think the majority of solid fuel stoves only have a single door. Perhaps it's only the stoves with inadequately controllable air vents that need a separate ash pan door at the bottom?

i have thought back to all our stoves all only had one door, in fact when burning wood 2 doors would be better as the grate would be out so the bottom door would hold the ash back untill you opened it and it poured all over the hearth

[canals are us?]

Reputed to be the best Clearview for a house or Contura or Woodwarm. Contura have fantastic customer service and burn very clean.

 

I have a woodwarm fireview 4.5 kw on board which has a similar spec to clearview but costs less. £900 with backboiler. Far superior to the villager models I had before. Dunsley stoves are very solidly built. Charnwood Country 4 good bet. It's all down to your budget. I know one thing I'd buy a Chinese evergreen than a cast squirrel if low budget and throw it away once broken!!

 

James

Edited January 26, 2016 by canals are us?

[Geoff Taylor]

We have an early Aarrow Ecoburn 5 with separate ash/vent door, a superb stove, very controllable and all steel construction apart from feet, main door, ash door and blanking plate for flue option, the later models look as though they use a full door now.

[canals are us?]

Most manufacturers do the one door to stop you lighting the fire and leaving the ash pan door ajar, getting distracted and seriously overheating the stove until you warp it. Or intense heat on a boat and setting fire to the surroundings which normally aren't a problem under normal usage.

 

James

[Liam]

Thanks for all the replies so far.

 

I've heard from various sources that the newer Squirrel stoves don't seem to be of the same quality as the older versions. The current stove is 19 years old so you can't grumble at that but I'd rather not go down the route of a replacement Squirrel if it's going to need replacement in a few years.

 

The Boatman stove is a great little stove and my parents have one in their back cabin but for the main cabin a stove with a larger firebox is required.

 

The stoves on the market at the moment for boats seem all to be cast so it looks like steel options are a bit limited.

 

And as far as doors go, a separate ash can door would be preferable but not a necessity.

 

Thanks all