Hi Folks, I am trying to install a diesel stove or wood stove in the galley, I am finding this to be a difficult task. I have not decided where to locate the deck iron, with the placement of the stove pipe through the cabin top looking not possible due to the line to the winch, and the idea of a deck mounted 4" stovepipe sounds like a wet and risky plan. If our BCC had the standard layout below I would be installing a heater on the bulkhead where I have seen them on other BCCs but that is not a good option without a major modification of the salon, something I would really like to avoid. The previous owner did not have any heater because they sailed in the tropics. Any ideas or experiances with this would be welcome.Thanks,
Jonathan BCC#36
Jonathan,
Sounds painful to me. I take it that you are worried about propane ? The four inch stovepipe hole through the deck would welcome disaster of another breed. Wood stoves or heaters aboard any boat are a bit of a mess though they do smell good but is it worth it. There are kerosene fueled stoves and heaters that do pretty well and with additives to the kerosene the smell is almost eliminated. With the stoves you need no stack and the heaters only a small diameter pipe for a vent. Good cooking.
Bob & Lois
BCC Jolie Brise
Bob & Lois,
I’m not too worried about the propane, it’s just that I only have the galley stove space for both heating as well as cooking. I have been looking at the Sigmar 200 diesel stove as well, but same problem with the pipe.
Jonathan
Jonathan Fulford Wrote:
Hi Folks, I am trying to install a diesel stove or
wood stove in the galley, I am finding this to be
a difficult task. I have not decided where to
locate the deck iron, with the placement of the
stove pipe through the cabin top looking not
possible due to the line to the winch, and the
idea of a deck mounted 4" stovepipe sounds like a
wet and risky plan.
There’s a good discussion of heating problems and solutions and compromises at
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Do you want heat underway, or only when anchored or at the dock? Big difference in requirements and problems. Underway the options are severely constrained by heeling and interference with sheets and crew movement on deck.
The combination cookstove and heater is nice but ought to be gimbaled if used for cooking underway under sail and how to do that?. The usual location through the deck to starboard of the mast outboard of the deckbox is certainly in the way of staysail and jib sheets under sail. Our propane heater has it’s stack there and we use it a lot at anchor and sometimes when motoring in cold weather. Bob and Lois’ suggestion of a flower pot on the stove is a good one – we usuallyuse that along with the Force 10 heater when it is really cold> You need a fan to circulate the hot air from your ears down to your toes, or else very heavy socks! I’ve heard good things about Espar diesel heaters (expensive). Also, only useful under power - a hot water automobile style heater mounted low. We considered all the above but for a couple of weeks of mid-winter Chesapeake to Florida delivery in 30 to 40 degree weather got by with the flowerpot and propane heater and long johns and down sleeping bag. Condensation can be a significant problem. If I were starting from scratch and planning to do extended cold weather cruising I’d look hard at an Espar for comfort and convenience and maybe an old solid fuel Luke, Shipmate (or similar) stove for ambiance and tradition. Now that we have relocated to Maine we may upgrade our heating but have made no decisions yet.
I am presently finishing Hull 126 and am considering all options firstly for heat and secondly to cook with. I note that Scanmarine market a Wallas diesel fired stove/cooktop oven. Anybody have any comment on this, I note some question about reliability from some quarters. Its also expensive.
Also have noted that some of the new alcohol stoves seem to produce good BTU output, making tham a more realistic alternative for cooking, can anyone shed any light on this.
A diesel oven/heater would certainly eliminate dual fuel supply, eliminating the need for gas/alcohol/kerosene, feed could easily be redirected from the main tank I guess one of the big issues is the venting.
Stewart Wrote:
I am presently finishing Hull 126 and am
considering all options firstly for heat and
secondly to cook with. I note that Scanmarine
market a Wallas diesel fired stove/cooktop oven.
Anybody have any comment on this, I note some
question about reliability from some quarters. Its
also expensive.
I’ve heard good reports on Espar heaters, the smallest being enough for a BCC. Expensive? Everything marketed for boats is expensive.
Also have noted that some of the new alcohol
stoves seem to produce good BTU output, making
tham a more realistic alternative for cooking, can
anyone shed any light on this.
We’ve chartered boats years ago which had Origo alcohol stoves and I was surprised at how well they worked. But stove alcohol is expensive, somewhat smelly and on balance, there are good reasons most boats today have propane stoves. Universally available, relatively inexpensive and a time-tested mature technology that usually works. I fondly remember the old Shipmate kerosene stoves with alcohol preheater fun and games that were the standard in the good old days – but am not inclined to replace Itchens’s three burner top with oven propane stove with anything else. If I had a big old schooner with room for a coal stove that would be nice indeed but on a BCC every cubic inch of space has to pay it’s way and there are good reasons most are fitted-out wth propane stoves.
A diesel oven/heater would certainly eliminate
dual fuel supply, eliminating the need for
gas/alcohol/kerosene, feed could easily be
redirected from the main tank I guess one of the
big issues is the venting.
No experience nor opinion on diesel stoves, but I remember the repeated frustrations of trying to get a chartered Baba 30’s diesel heater going in cold Puget Sound weather and consequent smoke and smell.Once going it heated like a blast furnace, very effective. Doubtless depends on maker and model and maintenance, but I wold be wary. Others will know more than I.
Scott
I am now leaning towards a “Little Cod” or maybe a “Halibut” from Navigator Stove Works. The Halibut is a 175 lbs woob/coal cookstove, the Little Cod is 55 lbs woodstove, no oven. Both can use an alcohol burner insert during warm weather that looks good. Some folks here in Belfast have a Little Cod on their boat that I am going to try out soon. One thing they did recomend was not to use the enameling because it chips off. If I go this route I will be running the stovepipe up through a deckiron set into the deck about 22" forward of where the stove will be in the galley. The owner of Navigator Stove Works suggested that I install a coming to help sheild the stove pipe when using the stove while under way.
I like to bake, but on a month long trip last summer in Southeast Alaska we didn’t miss having an oven at all. The saving 125 lbs in stove weight and it having a larger firebox so it should hold the fire longer are advantages I like about the Little Cod. I dout that either will last the night but we have done alot of camping so getting up in the morning to a cold cabin doesn’t sound too bad.
One issue with useing a diesel cookstove/heater is that the smell of diesel fumes backdrafting would be a big drawback to us. I bought a Sigmar 200 thinking that that was the solution but returned it last week without installing it partly because of its size.
On the idea of useing an alcohol stove for heat, it seems to me that just like an unvented propane stove, the combustion gases will make the boat wetter instead of a dry heat.
That’s where I am with this project right now, soon I will be cutting a hole in the deck, at that point I’ll be commited!
Jonathan
I bought one of these from ChimneyHeaters.com . I installed and it works fine. Heats my 2000
square foot house. I have the pump connected to a UPS but I am not sure how long the pump
will run if the electric goes out. I had it installed all winter and did not have to turn on
my Electric heat once which saved me about 200 euro a month here in Romania.
The Electric is not stable here so I had to rush to take out the fire a couple of times
because the water pump had stopped and the pressure valves were going off. The UPS will
solve that but I don’t know how long a UPS will keep my central pump going. I will attach a
pic of what chimney heaters are in case you are not familiar with them. The pump is a
Grundfos and has three speeds.
I have some experience now with the diesel stove wallas, it works remarkably well and of course doubles over as a heater and eliminates multiple fuel sources. It is not gimballed but has a couple of excellent pot holders, and with the use of a sealed kettle, tall pots and of course the pressure cooker it is quite safe. I am not sure that a gimbal is absolutely necessary, it seems to perform safely in our hands.
The heat is excellent and is easily used under way with the exhaust led out thru the transom. There is no moisture in the cabin as it is a sealed unit. I am impressed with the design fabrication and reliability, a bit particular to install but no great problems.
The big benefit is that it’s diesel and one hs that on board and of course it acts as a cooker and also a heater.