Solid fuel cabin heater - why???

[valhalla360]

Originally Posted by rbk

15.5lb bag of briquettes - $8.99 CND ($7.14 usd)
8.8lb bag of lump - $9.99 CND ($7.93 usd)
Wood- free

Both large bags at a burn rate of a scooped handful of lump or 6-8 briquettes every hour-ish (not bbq-ing here) is about what I go through with my smoker once going just throwing a few on top of the glowing pile of coals. I do agree though propane is easier and that is what we have on our boat. When our Dickinson dies I will replace with an Espar ducted blower and install a solid fuel in place of the Dickinson for extra boost and ambiance.

Yep, sounds about right. So good for maybe a single cold night. You might stretch it out for 2-3 days if you let it burn out on a not to cold night.

On the other hand, a 20# propane tank will provide for a month of heat for about $15. Instant on and instant off, no muss no fuss.

If you want to do wood, unless you lay in a full cord, it's right up there at $10 for a tiny bundle.

[Benz]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

I don't know where you are but charcoal is massively more expensive.

Also, unlike propane, kicking on the heat for 10min in the morning to take the chill off is a project in itself.

Safety is at best a wash. CO is more likely with a wood stove.

75-100yrs ago, they made a lot of sense. Now it's a nostalgia thing more than anything else.

Guess I'm still living on nostalgia. It sure is nice.

[stormalong]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Yep, sounds about right. So good for maybe a single cold night. You might stretch it out for 2-3 days if you let it burn out on a not to cold night.

On the other hand, a 20# propane tank will provide for a month of heat for about $15. Instant on and instant off, no muss no fuss.

If you want to do wood, unless you lay in a full cord, it's right up there at $10 for a tiny bundle.

My Cozy cabin propane heater can burn. IIRC, half a pound of propane an hour. No way a 20# tank will last a month. I wish it were so but it isn't.

They are great heaters and I love mine but propane usage is an issue. A few years ago we went to AK via the inside passage and sourcing propane was difficult. Places that had it were often only open once a week or it was a drop it off and we'll get to it one of these days. For a boat in transit it just didn't work.

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by boatman61

Cheap and easy to install..

Cheap they are definitely not. Easy to install they are!

the Navigator stove works "little Cod" cost over $1500 USD just for the stove! that's nearly double a dickenson Newport deisel heater. But the enamelled "Little Cod" is probably the most beautiful wood stove you can put on a boat!

[NSboatman]

Like most things, solid fuel stoves can be incredibly cheap; or very expensive! If you want to buy new and have installed to a standard, with someone else providing the guarantees and training... they are equally as expensive as any other heating option. Maybe more so than a bulkhead propane unit. To be fair, They require some knowledge, resourcefulness and continued commitment to the idea of being intimately connected to that which makes life viable.

You don’t see any new houses being built with solid fuel stoves, or even fireplaces. They aren’t cool, they aren’t efficient, they require too much thought and effort and frankly they aren’t the right choice for an economical or ecologically friendly heating system in an urban area.

...but that is not the environment in which we operate as cruisers. Nor should it be the approach we take to our interaction with the world around us (IMHO).

Walking along a beach or coastline in a new anchorage, gathering driftwood for an evening fire aboard is a lovely and engaging activity - so long as my survival is not dependent on it, and it is at my time and place of choosing.

So for casual summer and shoulder cruising in temperate climes- I would be more than happy with a solid fuel heater. I recall a particularly lovely week or two on a very rough steel canal barge in Ireland where it rained for the whole time, and the only heat was a tiny keg-shaped solid fuel stove in the middle of the shell of a barge. We popped many briquettes of turf into that little barrel, and grew to love that peaty, mossy heat... jeezus man, we were burning dirt!! And drinking Murphy’s while ambling along with the cows and sheep! What could possibly have been better?!

...but it was only for a coupe of weeks. Then we came home.

Living and cruising as we do, in Nova Scotia north of 46N; heat below is not a luxury and one is faced with the decision of not only what is your primary source, but what is your secondary; and backup to that should it fail. No heat at the wrong time = more than a bad day or end it a cruise, it can mean loss of the vessel or death.

In this situation, many folks have spent long periods assessing and trialing different options; and all come back to the basic truths of northern life: you can’t beat the convenience and stored heat value of diesel; and a reliable drip-style diesel heater can be left on for weeks - nay, months- on end without touching it, without burning an amp of power, and without soot- if it is installed correctly and tuned properly.

It’s not for everyone- and espars/webastos/planars/hurricanes and their cousins are all great as well- and better for offshore work than drip heaters (carbs hate heel or roll); but man, do they burn amp hours. You will be running a genny or engine if you rely on them- and then you already have heat from that unit anyway!

Propane? Nope. Occasional use as a heating fuel is fine- as others have noted- but you can’t carry enough gas for this. And certainly not if you travel away from your home waters.

So- back to topic- I love solid fuel heaters. I heat with wood in my home (I also have an oils furnace, but we burn 4.5cord/season so it’s primarily wood heat); that is burned in a nice little fireplace inset in our basement that heats a huge column of brick and rock thru the middle of the house. Lovely heat. Yeah it’s work. Yeah it’s dirty. So what. I need the exercise, and sawdust ain’t really dirt!! I may feel differently when I’m 70... but I doubt it. [emoji12].

we have a little cod in our boatshed (a Lunenburg foundry original); and another ‘Kaiser’ wood stove in the gypsy wagon... but those little stoves are not for 24/7 heat. They take the edge off when you want or need; but that’s it.

To rely on tiny solid fuel stoves in northern climates is not a good idea anymore... it never really was!


For more perspective, google the song ‘little pot stove’ by Nic Jones. Classic high-latitude anthem, from the other end of the earth!

[jpendoley]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Yep, sounds about right. So good for maybe a single cold night. You might stretch it out for 2-3 days if you let it burn out on a not to cold night.

On the other hand, a 20# propane tank will provide for a month of heat for about $15. Instant on and instant off, no muss no fuss.

If you want to do wood, unless you lay in a full cord, it's right up there at $10 for a tiny bundle.

I lived aboard through a few New England winters on a 32 foot sloop. Two 20 pound tanks lasted 7-10 days burning a dickensen P12000 7x24. Hull was insulated from the waterline to the rail. Nice little heater drew in outside air and vented overboard-as a result no propane driven moisture aboard.

[pcmm]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Yep, sounds about right. So good for maybe a single cold night. You might stretch it out for 2-3 days if you let it burn out on a not to cold night.

On the other hand, a 20# propane tank will provide for a month of heat for about $15. Instant on and instant off, no muss no fuss.

If you want to do wood, unless you lay in a full cord, it's right up there at $10 for a tiny bundle.

a 20# propane tank will not provide a month of heat unless you only need it for an hour or so a day. Most who are heating with propane in cold climates aboard seem to go through a 20# tank every 3-5ish days. or roughly $100-150 a month.

Its the least efficient way to continually heat a boat over a month. Drip diesel for the same will be 30-50% less expensive

[David B]

Originally Posted by garyfdl

So, I recently looked at a boat, and I noticed it had one of those bulkhead mounted cabin heaters. "Nice touch" I thought. Then I opened it and found it was a 'solid fuel'. Seriously?

Now years ago (the 70's) I heated a house I owned in Pennsylvania with 'solid fuel' - first wood as a primary source - and later coal as a supplement to oil/hot water. And in my experience, it's a major PITA. It's extremely labor intensive (especially wood - cutting, splitting, drying) and very dirty and messy. Considering diesel or propane fired are so much 'easier', why would anyone choose solid fuel?

Thoughts?

Apart from being carbon neutral, for some, there is nothing as nice as a fire.
Put it this way - would you prefer to cuddle up with your partner in front of a fire or a reverse cycle air-conditioner?

We have A/C on our boat, and are happy with that, but then it's a modern boat, with very modern decor.

We have A/C at home, and it's convenient, but come the real winter, the fire is lit, and stays lit for pretty well the entire winter.

The house warms up, and stays that way. Turn an A/C off, the as soon as the warm air stops blowing out of the vents, the house is cooling down.

As for the wood - yes, a bit of work, but that's OK, and apart from the carbon neutral thing, it's a lot cheaper to burn wood than run an A/C system.

[Cyrus Safdari]

I'm not usually the popular guy for pointing this out at beach parties but...

Driftwood is covered in salt and burning it releases sodium and chlorine ions. The chlorine ions can lead to formation of toxic compounds such as dioxins and furans
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/environment/air-land-water/air/air-pollution/smoke-burning/wood-burning-appliances/burning-wood

More https://www.epa.gov/burnwise/best-wood-burning-practices

[rbk]

Originally Posted by valhalla360

Yep, sounds about right. So good for maybe a single cold night. You might stretch it out for 2-3 days if you let it burn out on a not to cold night.

On the other hand, a 20# propane tank will provide for a month of heat for about $15. Instant on and instant off, no muss no fuss.

If you want to do wood, unless you lay in a full cord, it's right up there at $10 for a tiny bundle.

Here in the shoulder season on a miserable weekend stuck at anchor we can go through 10-15lbs in a couple of days if we’re not conserving.

[Mike OReilly]

I've been considering installing a woodstove; something like this https://cubicminiwoodstoves.com/coll...ini-wood-stove.

In my last land home in northern Ontario I heated mainly with wood, so am well versed in the challenges and joys. If I went this route I'd consider having a supply of compressed wood bricks like this: https://canawick.com/bricks/ to back up a scavenged wood.

I've spent most of my cruising life travelling in rather chilly waters; first Lake Superior and now Newfoundland. Through that time I've used a portable alcohol heater (Origo) which has been perfectly adequate. But I'm considering installing a more permanent solution.

[Chotu]

I’ve lived a few winters with snow on the deck and a wood stove. It was a remarkable heater. Often way too hot, but driftwood isn’t the right thing to use. It’s salty, wet, etc.

It’s another one of these topics where you need to have actually lived it to know.

Fallen deadwood is the way to go. Get away from the beach and into the nearby woods. You’ll typically find a nice selection of oak and pine or whatever, fallen, but still propped up on something, so nice and dry. Cut off large logs of this, then split with a maul.

It’s NOT environmentally friendly because while it is carbon neutral, it releases awful amounts of particulate pollution, like diesel does, but much worse.

Propane is far better for the environment and health of your neighbors, but it’s also more expensive.

Those little fire boxes on the bulkhead are useless though. You need a real heater if you are wintering over. Navigator Stove Works is a good source.

[djhunt]

I had one in a C-27 that i kept up in the San Juan Islands. It was awesome, efficient, and really cozy... I kept a “PrestoLog” or two in an old dry bag in case I didn’t find a few twigs/small branches while moored or anchored & hiking. Simply burning all of my paper/cardboard waste on cool mornings would keep my waste to a minimum and warm the cabin...

I’d suggest trying it before passing judgement - and if you buy that boat and still don’t like it, I’ll send you my shipping address 😉.

Originally Posted by garyfdl

So, I recently looked at a boat, and I noticed it had one of those bulkhead mounted cabin heaters. "Nice touch" I thought. Then I opened it and found it was a 'solid fuel'. Seriously?

Now years ago (the 70's) I heated a house I owned in Pennsylvania with 'solid fuel' - first wood as a primary source - and later coal as a supplement to oil/hot water. And in my experience, it's a major PITA. It's extremely labor intensive (especially wood - cutting, splitting, drying) and very dirty and messy. Considering diesel or propane fired are so much 'easier', why would anyone choose solid fuel?

Thoughts?

[Happ]

Originally Posted by garyfdl

So, I recently looked at a boat, and I noticed it had one of those bulkhead mounted cabin heaters. "Nice touch" I thought. Then I opened it and found it was a 'solid fuel'. Seriously?

Now years ago (the 70's) I heated a house I owned in Pennsylvania with 'solid fuel' - first wood as a primary source - and later coal as a supplement to oil/hot water. And in my experience, it's a major PITA. It's extremely labor intensive (especially wood - cutting, splitting, drying) and very dirty and messy. Considering diesel or propane fired are so much 'easier', why would anyone choose solid fuel?

Thoughts?

For the amount you burn people I know go to the hardware and buy it already ready to toss in the stove. Small bundles aren’t expensive.

[Emoyeni]

Originally Posted by djhunt

I had one in a C-27 that i kept up in the San Juan Islands. It was awesome, efficient, and really cozy... I kept a “PrestoLog” or two in an old dry bag in case I didn’t find a few twigs/small branches while moored or anchored & hiking. Simply burning all of my paper/cardboard waste on cool mornings would keep my waste to a minimum and warm the cabin...

I’d suggest trying it before passing judgement - and if you buy that boat and still don’t like it, I’ll send you my shipping address 😉.

Did your boat have an atomic 4 gasoline engine?