Search the Community

Oh no – anyone got any advice? I let a friend stay on my boat for 2 days, and he somehow managed to separate the flue from the top plate, I’m not sure how the fitting should work, so not sure how to fix it, I tried fixing it with that heat clay but that failed, the flue doesn’t sit naturally over the hole, it requires pressure to keep it in place, it has a back boiler, lots of plumbing, so moving the unit is not preferable to moving the flue – Do I just need a new cuff or topplate or some other fix, can you take off the top plate really? I would have though these things become jammed with heat over the years Any advice appreciated Cheers Martin

Oh no – anyone got any advice? I let a friend stay on my boat for 2 days, and he somehow managed to separate the flue from the top plate, I’m not sure how the fitting should work, so not sure how to fix it, I tried fixing it with that heat clay but that failed, the flue doesn’t sit naturally over the hole, it requires pressure to keep it in place, it has a back boiler, lots of plumbing, so moving the unit is not preferable to moving the flue – Do I just need a new cuff or topplate or some other fix, can you take off the top plate really? I would have though these things become jammed with heat over the years Any advice appreciated Cheers Martin

Hi All, We have a Morso Squirrel stove with a back boiler. We are having a few issues getting hot water out of it. Sometimes the stove will have only been on for an hour, and we get hot water, other times it will be on for hours (and hot) but no hot water. We have tried changing the temperature settings for when the pump will kick in, tried high and lower, but can't seem to figure it out. Does anyone know much about them who could advise us? I'm a bit fed up of having cold showers now. We also have a calorifer but even with the engine running this drains too much power. Thanks

Hi All, I am going to attempt to change my diesel bubble stove for a nice new Morso 04 wood burner to preparing for winter ! I am going to put the stove in the same place and use the existing hole in the roof, but I will need to purchase a new flue as the one on the bubble is 4" and on the new Morso it is 5" 125mm, my roof collar seems to be 5" and just has some wooden packing around it so hopefully this isn't too much of a problem, I have read lots about the twin wall debate for chimneys and am happy with either really, I measured the length from top of stove to ceiling and make it approx 1300mm and I am struggling to find a flue this long. So I was wondering how do people do it ? do you join them or buy the flexi pipes? I am planning on fitting both ends with flexible high temp silicon, is it as straight forward as just fitting the chimney this way ? Any advice greatly appreciated, Thanks Martin

Hi, I need to rebuild my hearth and surrounding area. Does anyone know of a good and reasonable Calcium Silicate board supplier 25mm thick) If anyone also has any pics/advice from previous experience - this would be greatly received before I begin my build. thanks Z

Hi All, I'm a relative newbie to narrowboating (one year living aboard at Peartree Bridge Marina in Milton Keynes, and cruising since last July) , and a complete DIY ninnie, and am seeking some advice regarding my Morso Squirrel back boiler. I love the stove, and relied on it throughout my first winter in the marina, but the back boiler part, even when it was working, was disappointing at best. It allegedly drove two small rads in the bathroom and bedroom, at the opposite end of my 57 foot boat, but even when it was working great, the results in the radiators were disappointing. I tried bleeding them, think I succeeded, but they still stayed tepid at best, even with a roaring fire going in the saloon. Also, the previous owners had the water circulated by a mains operated pump. That was fine when I was Marina bound, but as I am cruising away from marinas now, I needed this replacing with a 12 volt pump, which I had done whilst in MK as part of a general refit of the boat for it's new post Marina life. Since the replacement, the thing has never worked properly: either the pump speed has to be set so high it is screaming very loudly, or the water is pushed round so sluggishly that the system starts - 'kettling' - is that the word? - Making scary 'bags of hammers' noises at the stove, anyway, like it's about to explode, whilst vomiting central heating fluid from the expansion tank all over the engine room. So scary is all this in fact, that I've decided I can't risk using the stove at all til this problem gets fixed. I've found it impossible to find anyone competent to sort it out in my new area of operations around Burnley, Lancashire, on the Leeds and Liverpool, and with money now being very tight, I thought the simplest thing to do in any case would be to de-commission the back boiler part myself, reversibly, in place. What I had in mind was emptying the central heating system (though I don't know how to do that either), leaving the input and output valves to the boiler open, and simply cut the copper pipes to them, taking out about an inch, and capping off the pipes, so I can just use the stove without fear of explosion or central heating fluid disasters. My thinking is that if I leave the valves on the Squirrel open and the stove side pipes of the boiler uncapped, air can expand and contract safely through the boiler during use, and I can just use the stove as if it had no back boiler. That way, any future owner who wants to make use of the rads can simply hook up the pipes again, and do battle with the pump. Is this a safe plan? Will the stove operate safely without fluid in the back boiler? Will the boat be okay for the BSS exam if I do this? What should I think about regarding making sure the operation is reversible? All advice appreciated. Alexa

Hello everyone, complete newbie here! Let me start by saying I am not a canal boat owner, but my mother and father are. It is coming up to their 30th wedding anniversary and to celebrate I would like to purchase them a new stove for their boat! I have read around and it seems like the 'Morso Squirrel' stoves are a poplar choice. If anyone is interested i found a nice guide about them here. Anyway I was wondering if any of you have them or can suggest any alternatives? If it helps at all they do not live on the boat and use it for weekly 3 day trips (both retired). Thanks in advance for your help

Hi there, My partner and I are new to boating and looking to buy a live aboard narrow boat. After viewing a lot of boats (my boyfriend is 6'2'' so has narrowed down our search!) today we have seen a boat that ticks the boxes. However the stove doesn't appear to be in good condition, there is a crack at the back of it (which doesn't appear to be coming through to the inside) and the chimney is very cracked and rusty. We're debating whether we would just replace it or could it be repaired? I have some photos but I don't know how to upload them, bear with me while I work it out and will hopefully upload them shortly.