Wood stove in your motorhome or trailer

[WOODYDEL]

Yes. If you can use it in a BOAT I'm going to use one in my MOTORHOME.

Traditional Cast Iron Marine Stoves by Navigator Stove Works,Inc.

Everything you need to safely install a wood burning stove in your motorhome is there. Some you can use lump coal so you don't have to worry about what I consider a silly rule about transporting wood since I BURN my wood not spread it around the woods. Wood you burn could be transported in a metal box.

I always thought those silly electric "FIREPLACES" were a joke and useless.

[RickO]

Originally Posted by WOODYDEL

I always thought those silly electric "FIREPLACES" were a joke and useless.

I thought the same thing until I got one. Now we wouldn't be without it.

Rick

[ralper]

Some of us are more adventureous than others. I think that is a bit of a dangerous thing to put into an RV. Is it Under Writers Laboratory approved for RV's ????

[38 Special]

Having been in the fireplace and wood stove business for 35 years, there is no way I would put one in an RV. All our chimney is not certified in "Recreational Vehicles". We used to travel around with a burn trailer showing our wares to retailers and county fairs. You were always having to repair due to the road conditions. I think your chance of fire would be less if you installed ten recalled Norcolds instead.

[wildtoad]

It may be possible to install a wood burning stove in an RV but why? The air required to burn wood has to come from somewhere which means cold air coming in. Burn coal? Are you kidding? Not only is it dirty to handle, it stinks. Just an opinion... (or two)

[wardy]

Maybe add a steam turbine too, your own mini trash-to-steam plant....

[offshore]

Well, if I add a wind turbin on my roof, can I remove my generator?

[Iron Man]

Just when I thought I had everything. The fireplace is our old house would get so hot, no way I would want that in my motorhome, it would melt the walls.

[SlyFox]

I guess you could also get rid of your LP Gas Detector too, as I'm pretty sure the explosion would let you know you have a gas leak. As has been previously said through the other posts there is no way you can make that safe. Also there are no products out there that I know of that are ULC compliant. Please don't do it, I don't want to read about your bad fate. Think of it this way, if it could be done they would all have it.

[Dixieray53]

Funny thing just happened...Left the dogs home alone and set the AC at 75 so it would come on when it warmed up in So. Alabama where we are set up...It was getting cool in the MH so we turned on our fireplace, it works really well. It worked so well the
AC kicked on...OPPS. Forgot to turn it off. Wood burning in a MH ? Just because you CAN do something doesn't mean you should...The electric fireplace work great.... D

[WOODYDEL]

Don't have to MAKE IT SAFE. It is safe. The designs are over 80 years old. Their product is tested and approved. I thought the conical top would be a good choice. They said to use an insulated pipe through the roof with a flexible seal to the roof. This precluded the use of the conical cap. They know where I will get the proper parts for the roof. This company knows its business and is safety conscious to the extreme.

Any electric heater will only put out 5000 BTU's. Doesn't matter how big it is either. A dinky $19 electric heater and a big electric fireplace put out the same insufficient amount of heat. I don't want esthetics like flames. I want heat sufficient to heat my motorhome. I don't want to bother with the cost of propane or having to travel usually a great distance to replenish my meager propane supply. I boondock almost exclusively.

The methods shown to protect surroundings are not new. They are tried and proven, even by myself.

If you're nervous don't do it. I'm reassured by what I've seen and my own experiences over the past vast number of years of my existence.

It's just an idea I'm pursuing.

[Engineer Guy]

I 'formulated' my thoughts, and then got around to looking at the Marine Stove Website. Kewl. I'd do it, having burned Wood for eons, but with lots of Fine Print conditions, and with key questions addressed. If the Manufacturer told me 'don't', I wouldn't.

Putting Metal sheets on spacers 1" away from inflammable Walls, and spaced up a bit from the Floor, is the first trick. Embossed sheets look nice, too. This lets Air draw in and convect up the back of these Sheets. That, and Infrared [IR] reflection, keeps Walls surprisingly cool to the touch. Put the outside Probe of an Indoor/Outdoor Thermometer on the Wall to monitor temperature, if you like. Having worked in the Industries that Vacuum-deposit them, the Gold and other-colored Film surfaces around Space Hardware on 'Space Blanket'-type sheeting is what keeps Astronauts and Instruments from roasting when in Sunlight.

The metal Base in the Web pic is very nice. An alternative we used was thin Tiles set into tamped Sand on Aluminum Foil in a base surround like a horizontal Picture Frame. We were poor Mountain Dwellers back then. Also, it was important in Rentals to be able to remove the whole installation.

For me, the potential dilemma was the Stovepipe Cap, and downdrafts. Looks like their Cap addresses these issues. I deeply respect the cautious viewpoints above, but perhaps we all were thinking of the misapplication of standard Woodstoves to mobile settings [vibration; the wrong Hardware]. Hippie Bus Conversions and Cabooses are settings where Wood has been burned safely [non-RVIA applications]. I'd never burn Coal; too hot a burn.

Woodstoves pass single wall Stovepipe through a ~1.5 sq. ft. Sheet Metal Roof piece when used in Hunter's Tents all around us. Sparks falling on RV Roof surfaces would be a huge concern to me, and I'd learn the Manufacturer's manner of dealing with this issue on Boats.

Circulate/de-stratify warm Air with lil +12 VDC Computer Fans. Use Gas/CO Detectors religiously, and ensure replacement Air supply. Fire Extinguishers are nearby when we burn in Houses, and your Fire Exit Window should be handy.

Light Switches; Dish Washers; Washing Machines; Electric Clothes Dryers; and Refrigerator Relays produce small sparks in Homes using Natural Gas and Propane. Simple Furnace Thermostats and any Fridge run on Electricity in RVs produce small sparks where there's Propane Tubing/leak potential inside the RV Walls. Our Cooktop/Oven has a flame Pilot. Demand Water Pumps turn on/off with small sparks in low-lying areas where leaking Propane could pool. Our's is under our Couch in our RVIA-certified TT.

As with High Voltage, Propane, Chainsaws or Air Travel - risks that are considered acceptable because, like the 'risks' listed above they're familiar - observe Safety First!

[Ray,IN]

That one might be a workable idea. Instead of coal or wood, do they have pellet or corn stoves? Storing and hauling would be much cleaner and space-saving too. Wondering out loud, where would one carry coal in a MH? Wood may be purchased at most CG's, coal_not many sources for small purchases.

[WOODYDEL]

Ray,In If you call their number they will suggest a compressed wood product to use. They say a 7 hr burn can be achieved. Though I mentioned coal they only have one model which can utilize lump coal. That's the version with the oven. You can use charcoal but their recommendation of the compressed wood product I think is cheaper to use. As you stated, wood is everywhere. I only mentioned coal because coal offers far more energy in a compressed form. Also no creosote. My son uses a 1919 Glenwood C kitchen stove to heat his entire 2300 ft home when he wants to. All while being able to cook a turkey and keep 5 gallons of water as hot as needed with a side tank. The wall behind his stove is metal studded, layer of cement board and 3/8" marble tile. The gap behind this wall is 3" to the outside wall. Vents at floor level and on top of this heat shield wall make the possibility of a fire negligible. He uses bagged coal. It is washed before being bagged. It's clean.

I too thought of pellet stoves. Seems like they are much more complicated than this design. I prefer simple. Less to go wrong.

About this fresh air business. Look on the site for my posts about air to air heat exchangers. Wood stoves don't like negative pressures. That's all I will say about that.