Fitting a woodburner

mike13401 said:

A bit of a long shot I know but has anyone in my area any experience in fitting a woodburner in a van.
I have the burner in the van and ready to plumb.

Just looking for some advice as it will involve cutting a whole in the roof of my bus,and I would rather not get it wrong.

Cheers
Mike

Click to expand...

I was going to do this but have opted for gas. I spoke with a stove salesman last month who said I'd need a meter of flue/chimney sticking out of the roof!

He did say I'd need a double skinned flue so I would not burn myself against it, if you have children in the van then I'd agree with this, if not then I'd stick with single flue and benefit from the heat it gives off.

You must bolt the stove to the floor of the van, preferably a ply floor. I think 6" is advisable as a gap between the rear of the stove to the van wall (simialr with boats). Also, a metal panel aginst that wall.

I am not an expert but these are things I have learned and observed from pictures.

Personally I love the idea of a wood stove in a camper especially since I will be full timing soon but unless you will be parked up for long periods at a time (which I wont) then instant gas heat at the press of a button will make life easier than making and cleaning a wood stove each day, sometimes twice a day not to mention disposal of the ash and storage of the coal/wood.

Shane.....

I have often thought about this, and would use some of the accepted practice from boating stoves:

The flue does not need to extend 1m above the roof as it does in houses, because the Building regs don't apply in this case, Many narrowboats mannage with just a 12" projection.

Use a single skin flue not a twin skin insulated, as this will emit a good proportion of the heat.

Hippy/traveller types make their own stoves by cutting out a door in on old 4.5kg gas bottle and welding a flue collar to a hole on the top. This is a good idea as it will be light, robust and not too big for the space.

The stove will have to fit relatively close to the body lining. I would use fire resistant board (eg 12mm supalux) with an air gap between it and the body.

Where it passes througfh the roof, I would fit a col;lar with a 50mm upstand through the roof, 3" wider than the flue.Pack the gap with a mineral wool or asbestos rope. A flange/drip welded to the flue fits over the roof upstand, again stuffed with asbestos rope.

I have posted information that is worth looking at, some is for fitting on boats, other bits are for in a house but are important to know if fitting in a motorhome.


In order for the stove to function correctly, most stove manufacturers will call for a
minimum flue height of 4.5 metres (15ft) or they will specify a minimum and maximum
chimney vacuum which must be attainable under all conditions.
(Chimney vacuum is generally measured in negative ins water gauge or negative millibars. Qualified land based
installers are HETAS registered, any HETAS registered installer would have a flue vacuum gauge and know
how to use it for both flue vacuum readings and fault finding.)
Whoever is installing the appliance, must always check that this information is
provided by the manufacturer in the technical manual supplied with the appliance.
If it is not possible to provide the flue height or chimney vacuum specified by the
manufacturer, then the appliance should not be fitted in a boat, if it is and there are any
problems the manufacturer will say that the appliance has not been fitted in line with our
instructions, and decline to accept any responsibility whatsoever.
As insurers learn more about this situation they too will use it to refuse making claim
payments and the claim will then be placed on the installers doorstep.
If you are in any doubt check it out and get it in writing from the appliance
manufacturer.
The power, suck or vacuum the chimney can develop depends upon the following-:
• ITS HEIGHT.
• ITS DIAMETER.
• THE TEMPERATURE OF THE GASSES IN IT.
• THE RESISTANCE OF THE INNER SURFACE OF THE FLUE PIPE OR
PIPES.
• LOCATION OF MOORING
• THE PROVISION OF ADEQUATE VENTILATION IN THE VESSEL
It is obvious that on a boat the first and second requirements are in short supply, we normally have low flues, which are small in diameter and generally not very well insulated.
Any bend in any part of the chimney roughness on the internal chimney wall will slow down
the velocity of rising gasses and reduce the effectiveness of the chimney.
Any slight reduction in the flue gas temperature will reduce the chimney vacuum or pull, hence when the stove is slowed down, the flue gas cools down, the chimney vacuum reduces
and the stove could go out. This problem is highlighted even more during very cold weather when the external part of the chimney cools down even faster.

There is a series of Bubble Deck Flange Kits designed to -:
1. Allow accurate vertical alignment of the traditional chimney or twin wall stainless
extensions irrespective of the roof curvature.
2. Create a better fire stop distance from hot flue pipes.
3. Provides a safer and neater way of getting a hot flue pipe through the inner and outer ceiling skin on a narrow boat, broadbeam boat or Dutch Barge.
4. Provide a fully insulated above deck extension with a simple and secure fitting.
Chimneys require a suitable firebreak from any combustible material and the traditional cast iron deck flange does not provide this.
The downward projecting socket on the old cast iron deck flange can come into contact
with the flue pipe and in extreme cases where solid fuel stoves have been left with ash pit doors open, the heat from the overheated flue pipe can conduct into the cast iron and cause a serious fire hazard to combustible materials used in the roof construction and lining out process.
Keep the flue pipe away from the deck flange.
Create a fire stop from foam, roof panel fixing battens or roof panels.
In houses the horizontal distance from an uninsulated flue pipe to any combustible is 2.5 times the diameter of the flue pipe. The horizontal distance from approved twin wall flue pipe to combustible is 50mm
(See Part J of the building regulations.)

We followed a hippy bus for a few miles a couple of weeks ago.

How did we know it was a hippy camper?

Well the flowers and general falling apart of the thing plus the fact that it would only do about 15mph downhill and with a following wind rather gave the game away!

Anyway, to the point.

It had a rickety ladder on the back and tied to it was a smoke-stack extension, about a metre or so long.

It seems that when parked up they climb the ladder and bung the extension onto the short stub of flue that was sticking out through the roof!

E&OE, I make no technical claims and give no advice, just reporting what we saw.

pippin said:

We followed a hippy bus for a few miles a couple of weeks ago.

How did we know it was a hippy camper?

Well the flowers and general falling apart of the thing plus the fact that it would only do about 15mph downhill and with a following wind rather gave the game away!

Anyway, to the point.

It had a rickety ladder on the back and tied to it was a smoke-stack extension, about a metre or so long.

It seems that when parked up they climb the ladder and bung the extension onto the short stub of flue that was sticking out through the roof!

E&OE, I make no technical claims and give no advice, just reporting what we saw.

Click to expand...

Now that is something I had considered,carrying and extension and fitting it when using the stove.

This is my stove which came without any instructions or specifications and as I have had it for 18months or so I have no details on the supplier,to get them.



So is anyone familiar with this stove,I must admit the attraction for me was the cooking facility,having been previously in a situation where gas was unavailable.

ATB
Mike