Solid fuel heaters

[low bum]

Does anyone here have experience with a solid fuel heater on a medium size yacht?  I have a 31' and am considering that, all things being equal, the easiest and warmest and driest heat, with the most convenient fuel storage and availability, might be coal.  Any estimates on how much coal you go through over given periods of time?  

My second bet is for a small diesel.  I don't want propane - I don't use it for cooking either.

 

[schessor]

I used puck sized chunks of compressed wood logs in a Newport by Dickenson  https://www.stevestonmarine.com/dickinson-heater-sld-fuel-newport-00newsf on a Crown 34' sailboat many years ago, it was mounted on the side of the chart table, opposite the galley, just inside the companionway.  We used it while cruising in the winter from Vancouver, it did a pretty good job of keeping me warm, but I slept closest to it in the quarter berth, the V-berth would have been cooler.  

 

[PaulK]

You have a ready supply of coal? Diesel is warm and dry, and probably easier to get, store, and clean up after. 

 

[Zonker]

Are you in the UK by any chance? They're the only place I think you can find coal easily available.

 

[harrygee]

The cheap Chinese diesel heaters are hard to beat.

I had a 2kw in my 24', now a 5kw in my 28', both more heat than I need but controlled.

I have installed a few in other boats, with a 5% experience of faulty parts, which are readily available and cheap.

If you are handy, they are a good thing.

Be aware that the exhaust mufflers that come with the kit are dangerous and should not be used on a boat.  Built to leak.

Cheers

 

[hdra]

Where are you getting coal?  We've got a Refleks diesel stove and it's been amazing - runs on the same fuel as the engine, no mess and dust, heats the boat wonderfully, and can boil a teakettle too.  We burn wood in our house for heat, and I can't imagine doing that on a boat - we don't have nearly enough space to store enough for a reasonable time on board (I guess coal is a bit more energy dense than cord wood, but still) and it's messy enough going in and cleaning out ash that I wouldn't want it on the boat.

 

[low bum]

I was thinking coal because it has tremendous energy density - it burns hot, and a couple of bags would last a long time.  

I am also considering a Sig100 diesel heater.  I know diesel is hot and dry and there is of course already diesel on the boat, but it seems like most diesel heaters require a gravity feed.  I suppose a deck mounted tank is one option.  My Contest 31 is a great, tough boat but is small inside so every square inch counts.  An interior elevated diesel tank would be really difficult to arrange.  Kevin Boothby has a red plastic tank on deck but it looks like a hard wave would take it right the hell off.

The Dickinson solid fuel heater says you get 3 - 5 hours from a "load" of fuel, which I take to be probably along the lines of a double hand full.  I have cut wood and heated with wood for years so I understand that world intimately.  I would start a little coal fire, stoke it up good and hot, and then every couple of hours drop in another lump or two of #9 coal.  But then I would owe my soul to the company store.

Tennessee Ernie Ford Sings 16 Tons - YouTube  

 

[harrygee]

The Chinese heaters all have a fuel pump in the kit.  Bleeding the lines using the pump takes a minute or so and the heater runs happily with air in the lines.

Mine has the heater mounted about a metre above the 10 litre tank, uses about 1/4 litre per hour.

The digital controller shows an error reading when it is unhappy, so you know you have a fuel issue, low voltage etc.  The analogue controller is simple and cheaper but gives no feedback.

I burn wood at home so I'm not a diesel heater obsessive.

 

[rustylaru]

Where are you getting coal?  We've got a Refleks diesel stove and it's been amazing - runs on the same fuel as the engine, no mess and dust, heats the boat wonderfully, and can boil a teakettle too.  We burn wood in our house for heat, and I can't imagine doing that on a boat - we don't have nearly enough space to store enough for a reasonable time on board (I guess coal is a bit more energy dense than cord wood, but still) and it's messy enough going in and cleaning out ash that I wouldn't want it on the boat.

Could you answer a few question for me.

How have you found the odor at start up and how often do you have to clean it?

Diesel seem by far the best fuel source. But how is it for intermittent use for 3 season sailors. I foresee us wanting a blast of heat in the mornings or on a rainy day to dry out cloths etc when on our multi week adventures. I know the propane dickerson is far easier to light but ..propane. The solid fuel option seems to fit the bill for intermittent use. The diesel would seem to me to excel for long running. How are my assumptions?

My wife is very sensitive to the smell of diesel. It makes her feel instantly sea sick. I have worked hard to have a spotless engine room.

NW summertime sailors with 3 season ambitions. 32" boat.

 

[hdra]

Could you answer a few question for me.

How have you found the odor at start up and how often do you have to clean it?

Diesel seem by far the best fuel source. But how is it for intermittent use for 3 season sailors. I foresee us wanting a blast of heat in the mornings or on a rainy day to dry out cloths etc when on our multi week adventures. I know the propane dickerson is far easier to light but ..propane. The solid fuel option seems to fit the bill for intermittent use. The diesel would seem to me to excel for long running. How are my assumptions?

My wife is very sensitive to the smell of diesel. It makes her feel instantly sea sick. I have worked hard to have a spotless engine room.

NW summertime sailors with 3 season ambitions. 32" boat.

There's definitely a bit of diesel smell when you light it, but it goes away pretty quickly once the stove starts drafting.  Neither of us are that sensitive to diesel smell (we have an old leaky perkins 4-108), but I would say that the diesel stove is definitely the least smelly thing in the boat once lit.

  Cleaning is pretty easy - scrape the gunk in the bottom loose with a screw driver, then wipe it out with a paper towel.  Sometimes I'll let a little diesel in to make the ashy stuff stick to the paper towel.  We maybe cleaned it once every two weeks when running it 24/7, less often with intermittent use.

Lighting does take a bit of getting used to, and we found that using denatured alcohol and a match there was a fine line between burning off your eyebrows and not getting it to light off at all.  We've ended up switching to using a blowtorch to light off the alcohol, and it's much easier than the "squirt some flaming alcohol over a match down into the heater" thing that the manual and many recommend.  A propane heater would definitely be easier to light off.  I'm not sure how it would compare to a coal heater, never having burned coal, but can say that it is easier and faster to start putting out heat than our woodstove in our house..  Once it's lit it can put out a lot of heat pretty quickly if you crank it up.  It does work really well for running continuously as well - our setup has a gravity feed tank about 1' above the heater, which we can refill with a fuel transfer pump from the main tank, so no mess inside the boat.  I haven't burned solid fuel on a boat, so can't speak to a direct comparison, but we're pretty happy with it for both occasional 3 season use and when we've run it more full time for winter cruising.

If you have the space and enthusiasm for things electronic, the forced air diesel heaters that some of the others here are extolling are quite nice - I've used them on other boats.  No smell to speak of either.  Only downside is they use electricity, and there are electronics to break, and they also require a bit more ducting/air intake/etc.

 

[PaulK]

I was thinking coal because ...it burns hot, and a couple of bags would last a long time.  

I am also considering a Sig100 diesel heater....   but it seems like most diesel heaters require a gravity feed.   

When you think about carrying bags of coal, and feeding the fire with it, coal becomes gravity feed too. But a lot more tiring than diesel that you could pump into and then from the main tank.

 

[MFH125]

@hdra, how well does the Reflek's work when heeled?  I've seen several contradicting reports.  One said that it would become unreliable if there was more than 10 deg. of heel. Other places I've seen people say they've had no issues, but they don't mention at what heel angles they've actually used it.

 

[hdra]

@hdra, how well does the Reflek's work when heeled?  I've seen several contradicting reports.  One said that it would become unreliable if there was more than 10 deg. of heel. Other places I've seen people say they've had no issues, but they don't mention at what heel angles they've actually used it.

We've found that it works fine heeled when we're in flat water - not sure on exact angle, but I would say at up to 10 degrees of heel for sure.  Depending on tack, we do find we sometimes need to adjust the flow rate/heat setting on the regulator between tacks.  Our chimney is off center and just behind the slot for the jib, so on starboard tack in more than about 12 knots of breeze we find that we can't use the reflex's because the air flow off the sails screws with the draft and it either blows out or gets super smoky.  

We have also found that it's not great when it's rough, so when we were regularly sailing in colder places we wouldn't run it offshore, only inshore, because it tended to either burn too hot (regulator letting too much fuel in) or choke itself out when we were actually in offshore sailing conditions.  We used it quite a bit coastal cruising in Maine one November/December and it worked pretty well - mostly flat water, mostly low angles of heel.

I know they advertise them as being used on fishing boats, which definitely see some weather, so maybe it's the combination of heel and waves?  Also our sailboat maybe has a more lively motion than a heavy displacement danish trawler.

It originally came with the regulator mounted on a bulkhead off of the stove, and we have now moved it onto the actual heater to the location that it comes in from the factory - haven't used it enough yet with the new position to see if it makes a difference.

The other thing we have had to learn (by doing it way more times than I'd like to admit) is that if the Refleks is burning to make sure to open the companionway door or a hatch before starting the engine.  On our setup boat draw air from the interior, and even with a 3" blower pushing air into the engine room when the diesel fires up and the boat is shut up it sucks air down the chimney, putting out the stove and smoking out the interior....

We ended up installing a bus heater off the engine hot water to heat the boat on days when we were doing a lot of motoring in cold weather and wanted to be able to shut things up.

There is an option where you can plumb the refleks to have an external air supply, which would avoid this issue, but it's not feasible with our layout.

 

[seaker]

Another negative to coal is you would get coal dust on the deck and sails.  I have one of the Chinese diesel heaters in my sprinter van and I think it's great.  And used a Espar on a 38 foot boat during a delivery. and it was very nice on mornings when the temp was in the 30s and 40s. No diesel smell from either inside. 

 

[Zonker]

With the Reflecks did you mount the metering valve fore/aft in line with the burner. This was important to Dickinsons

 

[nota]

why diesel it has oil in it to lube injectors so more smell and soot

if we could find it in bulk cheap we burned mineral spirits in lights or the blue flame heater

lot cleaner and less smell or soot

if not burn kerosene  basic diesel without the oil added

diesel is for motors not heat or light

we never mess with coal and now it must be trumpian to want to use it

 

[hdra]

With the Reflecks did you mount the metering valve fore/aft in line with the burner. This was important to Dickinsons

When we bought the boat, the prior owners had mounted the valve on a bulkhead forward of the stove, but about 2 inches above the burner.  We ended up moving it back onto the stove to the location that Refleks says it should be - have had fewer issues with overfilling the burner with diesel, but haven't really sailed in cold places enough since we made the change to know what the difference is - my comments above about our experiences with the heater were with the valve on the bulkhead, not with it in the "correct" location.

 

[allweather]

Sig100 diesel heater

Why not spring for an Airtronic (or equivalent) if you can afford it? Those are widely used and rated for boats as well.
Can pump diesel from your regular tank and heats air with no fuss.

 

[MiddayGun]

Why not spring for an Airtronic (or equivalent) if you can afford it? Those are widely used and rated for boats as well.
Can pump diesel from your regular tank and heats air with no fuss.

They use a good amount of electric to run though. I see the appeal of the stand alone diesel / solid fuel heaters for certain types of boat.