Pot-bellied stoves on narrowboats > what is the mysterious environmental problem ?

Question

Hi Boaties,

Apart from the butane central heating, I have installed a nice pot-bellied stove.

It belts out loads of thermals, and have had to open the doors to get rid of the heat produced inside in mid-winter, with bits of chucked away timber left on the bankside. Old knackered farm fence-posts etc.

I am not a gypsy scavenger, but why not heat the thing up with discarded wood ?

OK, wood smoke out of the chimney. So what ?

What do you reckon ?

Bob

Answer 1

Now you just need a handy welder to make you a 'back-box' so you can heat water for some radiators, use less wood and circulate heat for longer. A flue damper might slow the burn rate down.

Man's impact on this globe is arguably small compared to the forces of Nature. A single volcanic erruption can spue out more carbon and other toxins than the entire history of life on this planet.

Looking at canal boats myself, efficiency of living being the priority. If it's ditched by others use it any way you can, otherwise it's a wasted rescource........Happy cruisin,  

Answer 2

Nowt wrong with using a wood stove on narrowboats/ barges, can't see the fuss, I actually know some folk with a narrowboat on the Leeds/Liverpool section of the canal waterways up here in Lancs who swear by them, also many marinas and watering stations leave piles of wood for their use. And there is nowt wrong with tidying up the banksides as you go on your merry way.

Answer 3

indeed , what is the problem . . . ! - only iissue i can see is that if you burn old fence posts/scrap timber , then they may well have been tanalised .i e treated against rot with some pretty hardcore chems .

(noticeable by the yellowy/green ashes )

never did me any harm !

one is pretty certain to get a much more pleasant heat from dead 'tree wood ' , and yer stove might stay in all night .

Answer 4

I've burned wood for heat for 18 years- first in oregon Then in Nor Cal. Great dry source. Only problem I ever had was a scary flume fire from burning to much green madrone.

I think the environmental concerns might be for ventalation. To much CO2 can be an issue as well as Carbon Monoxide. To put a wood stove in a caravan here in the states, -it must have 100% of it's incomming air for combustion from the outside. Then a "Metalbestos" thru the roof insulator must be used. Hight requirements on the stove pipe are kind of strange.

  

Answer 5

No problem . carry on mate . ( ive two woodburners ! )

Answer 6

I had a big Aga range on a narrowboat, and that was great with wood.

It was even better when I used old car tyres, cut into quarters with a big smelly chainsaw.  

Answer 7

The only problem I ever ran into in 5 years living with a wood burner was my neighbors got jealous.

However, the people downwind were appreciative of the smell of wood smoke.

Answer 8

Beside the smoke stink and mess the sparks could set fire to the overhead If it's wood>