Quantity of Coal?

[Pennie]

It has been pointed out in another post of mine that I may be using too much coal.

 

We have a Boatman stove which has 3 fire bricks in atm to protect the out of use back boiler. The vent is almost always only just open or a bit more than that in the morning to bring it back to life after going to sleep but still going over night. We get through a whole 20kg of excel every 3 days or 4 if we're being stingy or using more wood, but actually using wood tends to make the coal burn away faster.

 

I've found the best way to keep the coal usages at its lowest is to actually pack the firebox as much as possible with coal and it uses less over time than it would if I only put a bit on from time to time.

 

But still 20kg lasting 3 days is seemingly not right and very expensive. I'm still learning the ropes of boat life and this is our first winter so we could be doing worse. Also we haven't had a proper stove for that long (3 weeks) so its like learning all over again as, if you've been following the saga, our old stove wasn't a stove.

 

Once again could you kind dears of learning from the forum guide me in the ways of stove-ing please :-)

[Alan de Enfield]

A bag would last us 3 days.

Its only £3 per day so not a lot of money to stay warm and dry.

 

Gas would be considerably more.

Mains electric probably a fair bit cheaper

[dmr]

A 20 kg bag every three days sounds about right to me.

I know some boaters do much much better than this but I suspect these are the same people whose engine uses a half litre of diesel an hour, and whose cheapo batteries last 10 years!

 

...............Dave

[Pennie]

ok i'm worrying for nowt then. I'm good at worrying lol.

 

Y'all should be impressed I can keep the stove going all night already and in fact was able to do this from the first time we lit it :-) It has only gone out when both of us have slept in

[alan_fincher]

Even with our old boat, I think we would have struggled to make a 20KG bag last 3 days - might have managed it more easily with a 25KG bag.

 

To me your consumption is not surprising.

 

(Don't even ask about the massive stove we have on the new boat - if I could make any bag last 3 days on that, I would be a very happy man!)

[Delta9]

My stove uses about the same, which is one of the reasons I now use electric heating whilst on shoreline. Much cheaper and cleaner.

[Peter X]

As you have managed to keep your stove going all night, it sounds as if you are already aware that reducing the air drawn in will slow the fire down?

[Athy]

 

YES WE ARE!

 

[Arthur Marshall]

And wood burns best on an ash bed with little bottom draft.

[alan_fincher]

 

 

YES WE ARE!

 

 

Well this post has certainly confused me, if only for the quote within a quote that was never there in the first place!

[blackrose]

Some people will tell you that they only use a bag every week or even two weeks, but they're either not onboard most of that time, using wood in addition to coal, exaggerating, or just cold...

[peterboat]

at jaynes in her boatman stove 25 kilos of smokeless bricquets lasts about a week and a half. i light it at 5 in the evening and it goes out the next morning dont know whos brand of fuel it is but costs 8 squids a bag

[blackrose]

at jaynes in her boatman stove 25 kilos of smokeless bricquets lasts about a week and a half. i light it at 5 in the evening and it goes out the next morning dont know whos brand of fuel it is but costs 8 squids a bag

 

Who's Jayne?

[peterboat]

 

Who's Jayne?

my other half you know the one who i shot out of the cannon. i installed my old stove into her bungalow its been a great addition turns of the central heating by half seven in the evening

[Pennie]

Well you shouldn't be impressed actually. I've been complaining its gone cold (cold compared to the blissful temps. we've been indulging in the last couple of weeks) for a few hours now and wondering why the kettle hasn't boiled to wash up since lunch. Also saw the ecofan wasn't running any more. Anyway I look at the flue thermometer and see its in the "too cold - creosoting range" and then notice my kettle is covered in black sticky drips and there is blank yuck running down the flue making a mess over everything.

 

I was aware there was a small hole somewhere because of when starting the stove from cold it smokes into the boat for a few minutes. Now its obvious its not just leaky to gases but liquids too. *gets the flue sealant out*

 

For whatever reason the stove just hasn't been burning right today despite doing nothing new. Opened the vent fully now and it seems to be happy again; ecofan spinning away happily. But I guess as soon as the flue is cold again we need to give it a good sweep to remove as much of the creosote we've already tarred it up with. Sorry new flue :-/

 

CO monitor hasn't alerted us to anything worrisome at least - we're safe on that respect

[bastion]

It has been pointed out in another post of mine that I may be using too much coal.

 

We have a Boatman stove which has 3 fire bricks in atm to protect the out of use back boiler. The vent is almost always only just open or a bit more than that in the morning to bring it back to life after going to sleep but still going over night. We get through a whole 20kg of excel every 3 days or 4 if we're being stingy or using more wood, but actually using wood tends to make the coal burn away faster.

 

I've found the best way to keep the coal usages at its lowest is to actually pack the firebox as much as possible with coal and it uses less over time than it would if I only put a bit on from time to time.

 

But still 20kg lasting 3 days is seemingly not right and very expensive. I'm still learning the ropes of boat life and this is our first winter so we could be doing worse. Also we haven't had a proper stove for that long (3 weeks) so its like learning all over again as, if you've been following the saga, our old stove wasn't a stove.

 

Once again could you kind dears of learning from the forum guide me in the ways of stove-ing please :-)

That is about what I use in my Boatman keeping it in 24 hrs.

[rgreg]

I use 50kg per week (stove in 24/7) so very similar.

[Pennie]

Ok definitely feel I'm not over using now - phew

 

Been nice and toasty too (well until today, bad fire management today, lots of clean up tomorrow lol) its been wonderful feeling warm and the boat is drying out nicely. Must have been damp to the core as the painting of the tongue and groove ceiling the previous own had painted as cracked as its shrinking

[Athy]

Well this post has certainly confused me, if only for the quote within a quote that was never there in the first place!

Yes, me too. I think Pennie said that we should be impressed, I posted that comment, saw that her original post did not seem to be there, and thought that I had deleted my comment. Damned clever,. these computers.

But yes, impressed by the performance of her new stove and her capability with it - until just now.

[Pennie]

yeah until now as I got seeking praise for my learning lol

[tree monkey]

And wood burns best on an ash bed with little bottom draft.

YES

[Richard10002]

I also use a 20kg bag of Excel every 3 days with a Boatman running 24/7.

[Pete & Helen]

I manage to get 6 days out of a 25kg bag of Pure Glow in a squirrel and its in 24/7 (no wood used at all)

[Southern Star]

 

 

But still 20kg lasting 3 days is seemingly not right and very expensive.

That's about what I get out of a 20kg bag of coal. Yes, it is expensive compared to heating a house with electricity but that's like comparing apples to oranges.

[Rickent]

Same here. 20kg bag of supertherm every 3 days, but the stove stays in 24/7 and we are always warm.