Trying to identify stove

[Inverted]

Hi we have just purchased our boat and I am trying to identify the make of the stove, so that if I need spares I now what I am looking at. we may also add a backboiler at the future should we feel we need it. I think it may be a Villager Puffin. Does any have a clue? Thank you

 

 

Edited March 31, 2018 by Inverted

[alan_fincher]

Yes that is a Villager Puffin

[Inverted]

Lovely, thanks for the help

[roland elsdon]

I suffer with one of them somewhere between useless and hopeless imho..

[alan_fincher]

7 hours ago, roland elsdon said:

I suffer with one of them somewhere between useless and hopeless imho..

Other than the well known "glass can fall out" problem, (for which there is an easy work around), I'm actually a fan of the Villager Puffin & Heron stoves.

Out of curiosity, what dn't you like about yours?

[John Hartley]

Lovely stove, mine is very efficient on tick over. I fill twice a day and it stays lit 24 hours. The sliding air vent at the bottom suffers from the knob coming loose, this makes the vent not close properly resulting in too much draft. The vent looks like it is shut but is not. Just tighten it but not too much as then you will not be able to operate correctly.

[system 4-50]

2 hours ago, alan_fincher said:

I'm actually a fan of the Villager Puffin

Me too, although adjusting the vent is a precision art.

[roland elsdon]

Its either melting the paintwork or out, with about a 15 minute window from one to the other. The bottom damper is lethally uncontrolable,if the handle is rotated the damper goes at an angle letting air in.. The grate doesnt have a riddler and the top damper vibrates out and falls in the fire.

i have tried many fuels they just vary on crapness. It has never gone overnight, and if you turn your attention away it goes out. It is coming out this year and being skipped. Its in perfect condition minmal use ( goes out) and we only use it 2 months of the year. It is good on fuel because its always out.

[system 4-50]

7 minutes ago, roland elsdon said:

Its either melting the paintwork or out, with about a 15 minute window from one to the other. The bottom damper is lethally uncontrolable,if the handle is rotated the damper goes at an angle letting air in.. The grate doesnt have a riddler and the top damper vibrates out and falls in the fire.

i have tried many fuels they just vary on crapness. It has never gone overnight, and if you turn your attention away it goes out. It is coming out this year and being skipped. Its in perfect condition minmal use ( goes out) and we only use it 2 months of the year. It is good on fuel because its always out.

If you don't want it I'll be happy to take it off your hands!

[John Hartley]

2 hours ago, roland elsdon said:

Its either melting the paintwork or out, with about a 15 minute window from one to the other. The bottom damper is lethally uncontrolable,if the handle is rotated the damper goes at an angle letting air in.. The grate doesnt have a riddler and the top damper vibrates out and falls in the fire.

i have tried many fuels they just vary on crapness. It has never gone overnight, and if you turn your attention away it goes out. It is coming out this year and being skipped. Its in perfect condition minmal use ( goes out) and we only use it 2 months of the year. It is good on fuel because its always out.

Check the knob is screwed in which brings the movable baffle plate back into contact with the grill. If its not it then lets in too much air. hence melting paintwork. I have used all types of smokeless fuel including some that is 25 years old and also logs. With smokeless and a very small air gap it stays in for 12 hours, but before I go to sleep I let it burn up for 5 mins just to make sure there are enough hot coals. I have found mine to be economical easy to use and warm enough on a 47 ft boat.

 

 

[Inverted]

So far, I've only used ours a couple of times since we got the boat. I have noticed different coals vary in heat. So far its performing well. First night it went out early in the morning but thats because I didn't close the vent enough. It stayed in last night all night and just needed a fettle to get it going again this morning.

[mrsmelly]

3 hours ago, roland elsdon said:

Its either melting the paintwork or out, with about a 15 minute window from one to the other. The bottom damper is lethally uncontrolable,if the handle is rotated the damper goes at an angle letting air in.. The grate doesnt have a riddler and the top damper vibrates out and falls in the fire.

i have tried many fuels they just vary on crapness. It has never gone overnight, and if you turn your attention away it goes out. It is coming out this year and being skipped. Its in perfect condition minmal use ( goes out) and we only use it 2 months of the year. It is good on fuel because its always out.

Get a squirrel. minutely adjustable with ease. Riddles well, stays in very easily for in excess of 24 hours if need be. The problem over your present stove though is they do use fuel as they dont go out 

[Opener]

While we are discussing Villagers, I've got one. Can't remember exact model but shorter, wider and black with two doors. ??Duo

Does yours keep the inside of the door glass clean? Despite regular cleaning, the doors black up in no time. Is there a magic fuel, combination of air vent settings? Don't talk to me about airwash! Hogwash! I use smokeless, compressed wood blocks or timber offsets.

[Inverted]

I have noticed that the glass does soot up very quickly, I've only cleaned it using damp newspaper so far.

[dccruiser]

I also have a villager puffin and never had a problem with it .... once lit i fill it up, i dont bother with the bottom vent always have it closed , just open the ash door until it takes then close it and its good for 8-10 hours 

Rick

Used to have the glass sooting up problem but a change of fuel seems to have cured that (now use newheat)

[cheshire~rose]

We also have a Villager Puffin and get on just fine with it. Once lit it will stay in 27 for weeks, empty the ash once a day and top up twice a day and we have a toasty boat. Adjusting the bottom air vent is a precision job but once you have it right for the fuel you are using and the temperature you are trying to achieve you never have to touch it again

We do not have the problem John has with his knob but anyone that knows John would expect him to be the one that has a problem with his knob! 

For the size they are a great stove and while other stoves may have better specification they tend to be quite a bit bigger. 

I do not understand the comment about "the top damper" falling out. These stoves only have a bottom damper. 

[mrsmelly]

16 minutes ago, dccruiser said:

I also have a villager puffin and never had a problem with it .... once lit i fill it up, i dont bother with the bottom vent always have it closed , just open the ash door until it takes then close it and its good for 8-10 hours 

Rick

Used to have the glass sooting up problem but a change of fuel seems to have cured that (now use newheat)

New heat is very very good this year innitt.

[system 4-50]

12 minutes ago, cheshire~rose said:

We also have a Villager Puffin and get on just fine with it.

...

I do not understand the comment about "the top damper" falling out. These stoves only have a bottom damper. 

More of a small baffle plate really that sits just below the flue.

[John Hartley]

There is a flue baffle inside the stove Jan just below the chimney. And I am usually very careful with my knob.

[cheshire~rose]

38 minutes ago, John Hartley said:

There is a flue baffle inside the stove Jan just below the chimney. And I am usually very careful with my knob.

I am aware of the flue baffle (the soot sits on that when you sweep the chimney) but I would not have referred to it as a "top damper" and I seem to think we did once try and get ours out without any success so it has probably welded itself in. To imagine it vibrating loose seems very odd as is there is either something missing or it has not been properly located 

[Rose Narrowboats]

Top tip:drill the stove body on which ever side is most convenient and fit a squirrel spinner.

Also, make sure the grate in the right way up - lots aren't, and some weren't from new.

[Inverted]

10 minutes ago, Rose Narrowboats said:

Top tip:drill the stove body on which ever side is most convenient and fit a squirrel spinner.

Also, make sure the grate in the right way up - lots aren't, and some weren't from new.

Thanks for the tips, I shall check the grate. I assume that by squirrel spinner you mean one of these, if so what benefit does this give? Does it help you to control heat more accurately?

Thanks

[canals are us?]

I have owned 3 villager stoves over the last 25 years. A villager Medium in 1991. A villager AHI Boiler model in 2008 A villager Berkley boiler model in 2012. The best one was the Villager A range with flue damper and 45,000btu boiler.

A friend has a villager puffin for 10 years and he loves it. The glass does get dirty as I found out with all our villagers. 

I now own a woodwarm fireview 4.5kw stove the last 5 years on my boat and it's excellent. Double glazed glass. Can adjust grate flat for wood or open for coal with the door tool. Excellent airwash. Rope seals fit into a channel that's cast in the door so no glue required.  Apart from cracked vermiculite fireboards not replaced anything.

I like Oxbow Red.

James

[MtB]

4 hours ago, mrsmelly said:

Get a squirrel. minutely adjustable with ease. Riddles well, stays in very easily for in excess of 24 hours if need be. The problem over your present stove though is they do use fuel as they dont go out 

 

Seconded. Best stove by far on the market today*. My old Squirrel used to happily stay in for 48 hours without being touched. My new(ish) Boatman barely stays in for 12 unattended, and coincidentally looks very much like the Villager.

 

* Some people criticise the Squirrel because they eventually crack and fall apart. Mine certainly did after 25 years of sterling service. Is that rubbish, or what?

[rusty69]

3 minutes ago, Mike the Boilerman said:

 

Seconded. Best stove by far on the market today*. My old Squirrel used to happily stay in for 48 hours without being touched. My new(ish) Boatman barely stays in for 12 unattended, and coincidentally looks very much like the Villager.

 

* Some people criticise the Squirrel because they eventually crack and fall apart. Mine certainly did after 25 years of sterling service. Is that rubbish, or what?

We have two, but one isn't calibrated, so only stays in 46 hrs