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Boatman stove - ashpan question


Proper Charlie

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Yes, another thread about stoves. Must be the weather. I'm very happy with my boatman stove apart from one aspect - the ashpan is too small and hard to remove as it wasn't supplied with any sort of handle. I'd also prefer it if it didn't have a back panel so I could empty it easily into the tippy-ash. So I've ditched the pan and instead use a small dustpan to remove the ash. What do other boatman users do?

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I'm just trying to learn how to get the best from my Boatman's Stove (5 years old). It tends to accumulate a lot of ash which doesn't readily fall through into the ashpan. As a result it tends to starve itself of air and goes out overnight.

 

And unlike my previous stove there appears to be no way to riddle it apart from with a poker.

 

What fuel does anyone use to minimise ash production? Does anyone have a technique for keeping the stove alight overnight?

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This thread identifies two of the reasons a Boatman Stove is only £300 as opposed to the £700-ish price of a Morso Squirrel. There are plenty more.

 

A Boatman is best purchased by the less discerning user. If you are picky about the performance of your stove, dig deep into your pocket and buy a Squirrel!

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I'll say again that I'm quite happy with my Boatman :)

 

The ash pan has gone, and I have a steel baking tray in front of it, to which I transfer the ash before taking it outside for disposal.

 

No trouble keeping it going for days on end, without doing anything special.

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I'll say again that I'm quite happy with my Boatman smile.png

 

The ash pan has gone, and I have a steel baking tray in front of it, to which I transfer the ash before taking it outside for disposal.

 

No trouble keeping it going for days on end, without doing anything special.

 

Might I ask what brand of fuel you are burning? Does it produce much ash?

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My Boatman has not been out for about a month now. Runs well on anything really. Multiheat is its usual fuel.

 

How long can you leave yours without attention Bizz?

 

Mine can be almost guaranteed to have gone out after 16 hours with no attention. My Squirrel was capable of stating in for 48 hours unattended.

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How long can you leave yours without attention Bizz?

 

Mine can be almost guaranteed to have gone out after 16 hours with no attention. My Squirrel was capable of stating in for 48 hours unattended.

Not sure really. Probably 24 hours or more. I swapped out the two bar front retainer for 3 bars to load on more fuel without it falling out. I do have house bricks on either side of the grate to reduce heat which save a lot of fuel, as I don't like it too hot. With the two bricks in the ash pan does then catch all the ash.

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Might I ask what brand of fuel you are burning? Does it produce much ash?

 

Excel. I suppose I have to empty it of ash once a day if I'm running it 24/7.

 

At night, I bank it up with new coal, close the air wheel, then open it half a turn. It needs a bit of a rake in the morning, (8-10 hours later), then I can get it going a bit hotter for a while, and bank it up again if I nip out for a few hours.

 

I'd guess it would keep going for about 12-16 hours, like Mike... definitely not for a couple of days.

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Thanks for the responses. In reply to Bugsworth Tippler, we open the wheel 3/4 of a turn overnight then open it up a lot in the morning, maybe with a bit of wood to get the flames going. We're experimenting with different fuels - Brazier probably best so far, just ahead of Supertherm which I think produces more ash. Got Phurnacite to try next.

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A Boatman is best purchased by the less discerning user. If you are picky about the performance of your stove, dig deep into your pocket and buy a Squirrel!

 

And when the Squirrel fails spectacularly after a number of years, be prepared to dig deep in your pockets again to buy another one?

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Our cheap (£250) Chinese stove is still going strong after 8 years, stays in overnight no problem, doesn't have any fancy wheels or riddlers, just a slide opener top & bottom, poker does the riddling.

if/when it fails we wouldn't hesitate to get another.

Edited by Jamboat
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Ours Squirrel is on its 17th Winter this year, still going strong!

 

You would appear to be one of the lucky ones, then - many seem to fare far less well than that.

 

Also it is far from clear to me that if you buy a brand new Squirrel now that it will be as durable as what they were supplying 17 yeas ago,

Edited by alan_fincher
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You would appear to be one of the lucky ones, then - many seem to fare far less well than that.

 

Also it is far from clear to me that if you buy a brand new Squirrel now that it will be as durable as what they were supplying 17 yeas ago,

Many things in life tend to last longer if you treat them with a bit of respect. Batteries seems to be another example. It may be luck, who knows!

 

I guess the same could be said about most things.

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so what happens to a squirrel that doesn't happen to a boatman then ? I have heard of them crackin as they are cast as opposed to steel but surely it needs regular over heating to achieve that ? just curious we have a squirrel been on boat since 2008 and seems fine at the moment

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so what happens to a squirrel that doesn't happen to a boatman then ? I have heard of them crackin as they are cast as opposed to steel but surely it needs regular over heating to achieve that ? just curious we have a squirrel been on boat since 2008 and seems fine at the moment

Suspect it only needs overheating once (especially if the stove is damp) to crack! whereas a steel one will be more forgiving

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And when the Squirrel fails spectacularly after a number of years, be prepared to dig deep in your pockets again to buy another one?

 

Yes, annoyingly.

 

That 'number of years' tends towards 25 though, so that's £28 a year for the pleasure of using a Squirrel over the pain of living with a Boatman.

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Yes, annoyingly.

 

That 'number of years' tends towards 25 though, so that's £28 a year for the pleasure of using a Squirrel over the pain of living with a Boatman.

I guess how spectacularly it fails will determine the average annual cost for the pleasure of ownership.

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I'll say again that I'm quite happy with my Boatman :)

 

The ash pan has gone, and I have a steel baking tray in front of it, to which I transfer the ash before taking it outside for disposal.

 

No trouble keeping it going for days on end, without doing anything special.

Same here. The ash pan handle is fine if you use it the correct way up (L shape pointing down). If you try to use it like an upwards hook it's no good but when pointing downwards it resists the weight of the ash pan and is very secure. The only drawback I find with the ash pan is that so much ash falls down the sides of it. It could do with being longer and wider but that would mean making the front opening of the stove wider too. All design is about compromise. Boatman's design compromises mean longevity, reliability and excellent value. No plates cracking, riddling things breaking, stuff rusting, grates breaking, holes developing and so on which I've seen in Squirrels.

 

I'm having some work done on the stove door at the moment as 2 of the 4 clips that hold the glass in place have corroded. It's the first real work it's needed doing to it in ten years of hard use as pretty much my only source of heating on a 65ft boat. Can't complain and I definitely would not want a Squirrel because the two people I know well who've got them have had to replace all sorts of parts (or the whole thing) in just a few years compared to my very reliable Boatman.

Edited by BlueStringPudding
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Same here. The ash pan handle is fine if you use it the correct way up (L shape pointing down). If you try to use it like an upwards hook it's no good but when pointing downwards it resists the weight of the ash pan and is very secure. The only drawback I find with the ash pan is that so much ash falls down the sides of it. It could do with being longer and wider but that would mean making the front opening of the stove wider too. All design is about compromise. Boatman's design compromises mean longevity, reliability and excellent value. No plates cracking, riddling things breaking, stuff rusting, grates breaking, holes developing and so on which I've seen in Squirrels.

 

I'm having some work done on the stove door at the moment as 2 of the 4 clips that hold the glass in place have corroded. It's the first real work it's needed doing to it in ten years of hard use as pretty much my only source of heating on a 65ft boat. Can't complain and I definitely would not want a Squirrel because the two people I know well who've got them have had to replace all sorts of parts (or the whole thing) in just a few years compared to my very reliable Boatman.

The only things ive replaced on mine was the glass, untill of course the collar failed but that was 10 years of hard use

I would rather the thing lasted more that 10 years but then again I wouldn't want a boatmans for the same reasons MB don't like his

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