Wood stove installations

[bcooke]

I was trying to make the best of the weather today by doing some interior projects with the wood stove going. Everything was warm and toasty but I became concerned about the wood/coal stove installation (put in by a PO) on the boat.

I noticed the area around the charlie noble was kinda dark and when I put my hand on the deck next to the chimney I couldn't keep it there because it was too hot. I don't think that is supposed to be that way. I then noticed the cabin liner above the stove is too hot to keep my hand on too. I was burning some spruce 2x4's scraps, nothing that would have been producing an extreme amount of heat.

I did some asking around at the boatyard but the yard isn't known for being a bastion of wisdom and knowledge like this forum is so I thought I should bring my problem here. I did find someone that suggested a deck fitting that looks like a cake pan (you know, with the hole in the middle like a donut) and it so happens he has one for sale ... The outer ring defines the perimeter of the hole in the deck and the inner ring is what the chimney attaches to. In between the two rings is a place for water to collect thus dissapating the heat. Seems like a good idea but I haven't seen a fitting like that before. Actually, the current installation looks pretty standard to me but I don't like the fact that the fiberglass surfaces are so warm. I thought I would reposition the stove lower to relieve some of the heat on the cabin liner but I am not sure what to do about the deck fitting.

This picture has the stove pipe in it.

and this is the stove installation (also posted on the boat pictures thread)


Any thoughts?

-Britton

[Figment]

Sounds like it's time to track down the manufacturer's rep or dealer and ask some questions.

Off the top of my head, though... did you have the flue damped down a bit, holding heat in the stove, or was it mostly open?

Did you get the sense that the deck was hot because of heat conducted from the chimney at the deck penetration, or was it hot because it's directly over the stove? Go get a big aluminum pie-plate from the grocery store and fit it around the chimney a few inches above the top of the stove and see if the deck gets as hot.

I must say that when I first saw that photo last week, "that's mounted a lot closer to the overhead than any woodstove I've ever seen" ran through my head.

[bcooke]

Thanks Mike, good thoughts. I will try the pie plate trick but if your first reaction was that the stove was too high then most likely that is it. Lowering the stove is going to interfere with the settee-as-a-berth but I can work around that if I have to. I really like that stove on gray, drizzly days :-)

-Britton

[Figment]

Don't put too much stock in that "too high" first-gut-reaction of mine. Your stove is quite different from other woodstoves I've seen, which are more like this...


Also, are you certain that your stove is intended to burn wood, not charcoal? Charcoal burns hotter than wood, but doesn't send hot gas out the chimney in as much volume as wood does, which is why I was asking if the heat seemed to be conducted from the chimney.

[Rachel]

Hi Britton,

Ah, the hours I've spent trying to figure out how one of those woodstoves (that Figment posted just above) -- or any woodstove for that matter -- would fit in a tiny boat. I know that diesel stores many more BTUs per square foot, but I just love heating with wood, so I can see why you appreciate your stove.

Speaking of installation, you might get some good facts, figures, and ideas from visiting the site of the folks who make those stoves.

www.marinestove.com

In the photos section, they show a number of installations (including small boats, and also ones wherein the stove is up high-ish on the galley counter, IIRC), and they also have drawings and info on insulation, stovepipe, etc., as well as selling parts.

I've "spoken" with them by e-mail and they seem like good people. Left an East Coast city to live on an island in Puget Sound and build boat stoves - not bad! :-)

--- Rachel

[bcooke]

I would LOVE to have one of those stoves in my boat. I would even consider donating half a settee to make it happen. If I could just find a reason to dump the one I have...

The stove says it can burn either wood or coal. I never realized the flue would actually be cooler with coal. I had the flue choked down about half-way and was burning mostly scrap spruce but in any case I definitely want an installation that is going to be safe for the entire heat range of the stove (okay, I promise not to use gasoline to start it...)

I removed the stove today to take a look. It sits about eight inches below the cabin liner but I think I could drop it another ten inches without becoming a nuisance. That and a curved reflector at the top should help a lot. I pulled the charlie noble (should that be capitalized?...) because I was sure the core had never been isolated anways and I wanted to check it out (I was right of course). The balsa core was right up against the outer pipe and was dark and crispy. I have heard of underground forest fires that smolder for months; how about balsa core fires? That could be exciting...

I am going to try and find the manufacturer's website later and see if and what they have to say. Thanks, Rachel, for that link. I will check it out too.

-Britton