Best place for a flue?

[Thunt1958]

Can you use any kind of flue or are there special ones for narrowboats? Yes, gormless here. Husband is doing the job not me and he does know what he's doing but I just like to check.

 

Where do you get them, best and cheapest?

[Boater Sam]

Best is thick stainless steel pipe, not the thin shiny stuff, last much better than mild steel pipe from the chandlers, buy from steel stock holders. Cast iron also last better but hard to find now.

Or you can go all modern with twin wall insulated flue which is mandatory on a new boat anyway. The jury is still out as to the merits of insulated flues, you get less heat off them.

[rusty69]

If you do go for significantly thicker/heavier pipe, be aware of the additional weight on the stove top plate,particularily if it is a Morso squirrel, as the additional (if unsupported) weight may cause additional problems.

[OldGoat]

Best place to buy, or best place to put it?

I got a local blacksmith (they still exist) to fabricate one for my boat. He produced 1/4" steel pipe (happened to have some knocking around...) and welded up two elbows.

 

I HATE PIPES AT AN ANGLE - they look yuk - and the same foes for a straight collar, buy a angled roof collar.  (You don't see angled chimney stacks on a (normal) house do you? So why on a boat??

[Phil Ambrose]

It's possible to fit a flue that is near vertical and married with an angled roof collar gives you a almost vertical chimney 

Phil 

[bizzard]

Try to fit a straight flue pipe, or with only very very slight angle elbows or doglegs or you might regret it if-when it clogs up.

[cuthound]

Put the chimney on the port (lefthand looking from the rear of the boat towards the front) so that it is less vulnerable to being knocked off by overhanging branches, when passing boats coming the other way.

Edited October 4, 2018 by cuthound
Clarity

[OldGoat]

1 hour ago, Phil Ambrose said:

It's possible to fit a flue that is near vertical and married with an angled roof collar gives you a almost vertical chimney 

Phil 

Yup! The law of sod states that there's invariably a roof beam right where you propose to put the chimney

1 hour ago, bizzard said:

Try to fit a straight flue pipe, or with only very very slight angle elbows or doglegs or you might regret it if-when it clogs up.

As above - mine are 135 degrees  - so that I can rod it reasonable easily

48 minutes ago, cuthound said:

Put the chimney on the port (lefthand looking from the rear of the boat towards the front) so that it is less vulnerable to being knocked off by overhanging branches, when passing boats coming the other way.

Folks don't think of that when designing their layout. We took several years hiring experience to help - but never got it quite right!

[MtB]

3 hours ago, Thunt1958 said:

Where do you get them, best and cheapest?

 

These two requirements are usually however, mutually exclusive.

 

[cuthound]

22 minutes ago, OldGoat said:

Yup! The law of sod states that there's invariably a roof beam right where you propose to put the chimney

As above - mine are 135 degrees  - so that I can rod it reasonable easily

Folks don't think of that when designing their layout. We took several years hiring experience to help - but never got it quite right!

 

Indeed, I only found this out because our second shareboat had the chimney on the "wrong" side. Until then I had never given it a thought.

[system 4-50]

Put the stove in the middle then everything is straight.

I've changed to a SS flue into a mild steel(?) Puffin and now I find the fire cement between the two bubbles and disintegrates after only a couple months which it didn't with the previous mild steel flue.

[WotEver]

1 hour ago, system 4-50 said:

I've changed to a SS flue into a mild steel(?) Puffin and now I find the fire cement between the two bubbles and disintegrates after only a couple months which it didn't with the previous mild steel flue.

Tried hi temp silicone instead?

[system 4-50]

58 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Tried hi temp silicone instead?

I'm reluctant to try it, having had a bad experience with it when I was younger.

[Liam]

9 hours ago, OldGoat said:

Yup! The law of sod states that there's invariably a roof beam right where you propose to put the chimney

As above - mine are 135 degrees  - so that I can rod it reasonable easily

Folks don't think of that when designing their layout. We took several years hiring experience to help - but never got it quite right!

I once saw a new build that was in the process of being fitted out. The chimney are with a brand new flue attached below came out of the boat's roof.... right in the middle of the welded steel bracket to hold the boat poles!

[Boaty Jo]

Getting the right stuff is only part of the battle.

You say hubby is installing it? There are a number of disadvantages of an ill-installed stove, chief of which is killing yourselves.

This may help...... http://www.soliftec.com/Boat Stoves 1-page.pdf

[blackrose]

22 hours ago, Boater Sam said:

Best is thick stainless steel pipe, not the thin shiny stuff, last much better than mild steel pipe from the chandlers, buy from steel stock holders. Cast iron also last better but hard to find now.

Or you can go all modern with twin wall insulated flue which is mandatory on a new boat anyway. The jury is still out as to the merits of insulated flues, you get less heat off them.

 

>4mm wall thickness mild steel pipe is fine and will last for many years. My current mild steel flue is about 14 year old.You really don't need stainless.