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Morso v The Rest


The Grumpy Triker

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3 hours ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

Cheers again all, have to say that the fireweaver wasn't quite the design I was looking for.

One English make I was looking at was a Hamlet Hardy or similar but JonathanA makes a good point, having a good dealer network for spares is worth thinking about and why is it not too many of you have mentioned these other makes before....tried & trusted is a big draw.

I like the look of this one and at 5kW it would seem enough for my 58.5' nb....is 5 enough?.....doesn't mention how far from combustables though.

http://www.stovesareus.co.uk/brands/brands-g-to-z/villager-stoves/villager-chelsea-duo-multifuel-woodburning-stove.html

ESSE looks nice but at 400mm space to combustables on all sides it seems a lot compared to others so probably getting to a choice between the Villager and a Squirrel (I keep hearing the Blackadder sketch from the Highwayman episode whenever I type or read that :D) - possibly the 1430!?

This may sound stupid but....hearth? Floor fixing kit?.....was going to put it on a tiles over fireboard base with an edging. Someone said must have a metal hearth and just leave fireboard showing....any comments, recommendations on this bit?

I thought I was spending a long time on stove choice but reading other sites they were hunting and umming and aahhing for up to 3 months! :huh: don't let me go that long please

I might be able to help you here, I have a Chelsea brought from same supplier about 5-6yrs ago. First I brought stove delivery excellent[4 days,] is installed in my house, got clip in boiler as well[2wks delivery]. it heats one rad in b/room & small towel rad & heats water. performance is very good use semi smokeless[Burnwell] & wood[has multifuel grate] no problem keeping fire in 24hr am very pleased, think you will find rating is 'up' to 5kw. One gripe is airwash is not very efficient, but just clean glass in morning when emptying grate & done, ashpan sufficient for 24hr use, empty grate once a day.

 Have a Squirrel on boat had boat 11yr works very well good heat & 24hr use easy, did overhaul 3yr ago, new flue, glass, fire bricks, sealing rope & repaint, no boiler as no rads, as boat is trad have b/mans stove in rear cabin. Find Morso sufficient for heating boat, do use fan on top at times and it doe's move heat to rear, but stove is 10' from front of saloon so more central installation is to my mind a big plus.

As to which is best must admit am well pleased with both stoves, main difference being price & difference between cast & steel, have had no trouble with Morso cracking[stove was on boat when purchased so don't know age]. you do know you can buy refurbished Morso stoves, friend of mine got one & no problems.

in my opinion both stoves are good for boat use, both give excellent heating qualities.

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9 minutes ago, rusty69 said:

You've got a fatty, hes got a thinny. 

You been peeking!? :o

2 minutes ago, br4k3s said:

I might be able to help you here, I have a Chelsea brought from same supplier about 5-6yrs ago. First I brought stove delivery excellent[4 days,] is installed in my house, got clip in boiler as well[2wks delivery]. it heats one rad in b/room & small towel rad & heats water. performance is very good use semi smokeless[Burnwell] & wood[has multifuel grate] no problem keeping fire in 24hr am very pleased, think you will find rating is 'up' to 5kw. One gripe is airwash is not very efficient, but just clean glass in morning when emptying grate & done, ashpan sufficient for 24hr use, empty grate once a day.

 Have a Squirrel on boat had boat 11yr works very well good heat & 24hr use easy, did overhaul 3yr ago, new flue, glass, fire bricks, sealing rope & repaint, no boiler as no rads, as boat is trad have b/mans stove in rear cabin. Find Morso sufficient for heating boat, do use fan on top at times and it doe's move heat to rear, but stove is 10' from front of saloon so more central installation is to my mind a big plus.

As to which is best must admit am well pleased with both stoves, main difference being price & difference between cast & steel, have had no trouble with Morso cracking[stove was on boat when purchased so don't know age]. you do know you can buy refurbished Morso stoves, friend of mine got one & no problems.

in my opinion both stoves are good for boat use, both give excellent heating qualities.

Perfect person to provide a review of both options :D

.....basically it is down to heads or tails then I guess.....I have to have my stove at the bow as no mid boat option, thanks for the feedback :cheers:

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3 minutes ago, WotEver said:

Between you and Rusty some good alternatives at a nicer price, just need to make it look slightly better....yep sorry, I'd need it to have a nice frame, but could make one of those.

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14 minutes ago, Stilllearning said:

We had a Villager C duo multifuel stove with back boiler on our last boat. Absolutely faultless over several winter, stayed in for 24 hours, and ran a 2 rad thermo syphon central heating system that was hardly ever used except for the towel rail in the bathroom. This was on a 55' modern trad narrow boat. We had another boat with a squirrel, and could never really get on with it, it suffered by comparison with the villager both on looks and controlability.

But it all down to personal choice.

That's a big help thanks, nice to have some more direct experience

I have to say I'm preferring the double doors approach, so the Villager may be the one to go for especially as it gives me a fair bit of savings for all the other bits. :cheers:

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3 minutes ago, br4k3s said:

if you are Chelsea fitting in the bow might have to install at an angle in corner as stove is 18ins W x 13ins D. just measured as at home, don't know Squirrel dimensions, but know it's not as wide. 

Cheers, I'd want to angle it anyway being honest as it will go in the port side bow corner so would angle it to have it pointing more down the boat for better heat distribution, and I think it looks nicer at an angle. The only thing I need to resolve is the glass frame next to the bow doors so will fill this in and add a ventured towards the stove to aid air flow.

Just going back to an earlier comment, do I need fireboard underneath if I have a 1/2-3/4" marble base to stand it on?

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....oh and by the way, just to answer a couple of posts, I had to be up at 3.30am the other morning in order to try and pinch a decent stove..... :ninja:....couldn't fit it in the shopping basket on the bicycle though....knew I should have taken the trike! :banghead:.......noise may have been a bit of an issue to covert operations mind!

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42 minutes ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

Cheers, I'd want to angle it anyway being honest as it will go in the port side bow corner so would angle it to have it pointing more down the boat for better heat distribution, and I think it looks nicer at an angle. The only thing I need to resolve is the glass frame next to the bow doors so will fill this in and add a ventured towards the stove to aid air flow.

Just going back to an earlier comment, do I need fireboard underneath if I have a 1/2-3/4" marble base to stand it on?

Yes. In a house to building regs must be on a 5 inch thick non combustible hearth unless suitable for a 12mm hearth.

 I would fix vermiculite board over the floor and build a wood frame a few inches wider and 4 inches high. Inside screw screws sticking up out of floor,  fill it with concrete at least 4 inches thick and tamp it down well and then tile on top. The screws are there to stop the concrete slab moving once set.

Fireboard the walls around and above the stove with a 25mm air gap and tile.

How about this!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hamlet-Solution-5-Multi-Fuel-Stove-5-0kW/362037338888?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D46150%26meid%3D8555cebf985a45f486405b9d95906bb9%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D253156730222&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

http://www.stovecentre.co.uk/woodburning/hamlet-solution-5.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkN3DlIys1gIVTrftCh3mUgDREAQYASABEgIp2_D_BwE

James:)

Edited by canals are us?
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3 hours ago, canals are us? said:

Yes. In a house to building regs must be on a 5 inch thick non combustible hearth unless suitable for a 12mm hearth.

 I would fix vermiculite board over the floor and build a wood frame a few inches wider and 4 inches high. Inside screw screws sticking up out of floor,  fill it with concrete at least 4 inches thick and tamp it down well and then tile on top. The screws are there to stop the concrete slab moving once set.

Fireboard the walls around and above the stove with a 25mm air gap and tile.

How about this!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Hamlet-Solution-5-Multi-Fuel-Stove-5-0kW/362037338888?_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIM.MBE%26ao%3D2%26asc%3D46150%26meid%3D8555cebf985a45f486405b9d95906bb9%26pid%3D100005%26rk%3D5%26rkt%3D6%26sd%3D253156730222&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851

http://www.stovecentre.co.uk/woodburning/hamlet-solution-5.html?gclid=EAIaIQobChMIkN3DlIys1gIVTrftCh3mUgDREAQYASABEgIp2_D_BwE

James:)

Would love to see everyone's 5" thick non-combustible hearths with a 4" thick concrete pour on narrowboats :o....the steering could be fun.

yep those were the English made Hamlets I was looking at but still have a 2-door in my head at the moment.

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1 hour ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

Would love to see everyone's 5" thick non-combustible hearths with a 4" thick concrete pour on narrowboats :o....the steering could be fun.

yep those were the English made Hamlets I was looking at but still have a 2-door in my head at the moment.

The original owner installed a concrete slab like I discussed. This is an old pic as moggy put to sleep 3 years ago Christmas and have added back boiler and reclaimed parquet floor. It actually counteracts and ballasts the boat nicely as kitchen and bathroom, bed all on other side of boat.

James.

Woodwarm.jpg

Edited by canals are us?
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On 15/09/2017 at 20:34, Iain_S said:

 

With the Squirrel, an Ecofan worked : with the Villager, it's a bit of a triumph to get the thing to go round.

......mmmmm......been meaning to respond to this comment from a few pages back. If the thing wont go round that means the top of the villager is not as hot. That seems to suggest it is not burning as much coal - as confirmed by Haggis in her subsequent post on that unit. This is what i am finding with our villager. Just on its second lighting now and been lit for 56 hours. It's used far less coal than our multi fuel stove in our old house. Really surprised how little it has taken to keep it in overnight and to 'boost' it in the morning. On tick over the stove is hot but the top of the flue is not that hot but the boat  is lovely and warm despite all the window open. Using less coal seems a big plus over a squirrel - and the single door doesnt seem a problem in keeping it running over multiple nights.

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8 hours ago, The Grumpy Triker said:

Would love to see everyone's 5" thick non-combustible hearths with a 4" thick concrete pour on narrowboats :o....the steering could be fun.

yep those were the English made Hamlets I was looking at but still have a 2-door in my head at the moment.

Fitting a stove on a boat will always be a compromise compared to fitting one in a domestic setting. The morso on the Dog House was way too cl,ose to the (wooden) front cabin steps to satisfy a HETAS installer doing one in a house.

Edited by MJG
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10 hours ago, Dr Bob said:

......mmmmm......been meaning to respond to this comment from a few pages back. If the thing wont go round that means the top of the villager is not as hot. That seems to suggest it is not burning as much coal - as confirmed by Haggis in her subsequent post on that unit. This is what i am finding with our villager. Just on its second lighting now and been lit for 56 hours. It's used far less coal than our multi fuel stove in our old house. Really surprised how little it has taken to keep it in overnight and to 'boost' it in the morning. On tick over the stove is hot but the top of the flue is not that hot but the boat  is lovely and warm despite all the window open. Using less coal seems a big plus over a squirrel - and the single door doesnt seem a problem in keeping it running over multiple nights.

It aint cold yet. I am happy to say my squirrel gets very hot as does the flue thus transfering heat into my boat.

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3 hours ago, LadyG said:

not exactly off topic but which stove is best to roast spuds in the ashes, and which have a back boiler facility.

 

My Boatman bakes spuds superbly. Roasting them has a rather different meaning to me at least, involving cooking them in a tray of fat in an oven.

The Boatman also has a back boiler, provided you specify it when you order it. 

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