The problem with log burners in motorhomes

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Recently I had an experience where a motorhome owner was parked on a pub car park with lots of other motorhomes. Over this weekend the wind was brisk and it was blowing the smoke from his chimney down the car park into other peoples motorhomes. The guy was burning peat and the smell was really strong, in fact, I can still smell it on my van where it has coated my silver screens and the smell is coming in from the garage. Not a big problem I guess as I will just have to hose them down, a small price for me to pay so that he can enjoy a real fire in his van.

:(
 
It must have been really strong inside his van. I expect it must be easier to carry than logs and a bit cleaner than coal.
 
Lee said:
It must have been really strong inside his van. I expect it must be easier to carry than logs and a bit cleaner than coal.
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You don't get the smoke in your own van :)

I am not picking on this guy directly but there seems to be a bit of rose tinting going on.
 
As someone that spent a good 10 years or so living in a narrowboat burning pretty much anything that would burn (ranging from free range poplar wood to steam coal)
I can say hand on heart I'd never go back to a solid fuel stove in an enclosed space again....
Wind in wrong direction = boat full of smoke
Wind in wrong direction = fickle lighting
Wind in wrong direction = wouldn't stay in over night
Dusty
Smelly
Finding decent fuel
Storing fuel
Dealing with Ash etc....

Give me push button eberspacher heat any day of the week.
 
Phil said:
You don't get the smoke in your own van :)

I am not picking on this guy directly but there seems to be a bit of rose tinting going on.
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I left early in the morning and had rained at night so I assume it would have washed any smell off.
My screen covers were fine.
 
I've had similar experiences to Mistericeman. One of our narrowboats had a Squirrel wood burner and although it looked good and gave out good heat, there was a lot of effort involved in collecting and storing fuel and the cleaning out/ash disposal. One downside that most people don't consider is that they leave a layer of fine dust on everything near them. To run efficiently and keep flues clear of tar they need to burn hot, not damped down and just alight; this means for a small area you need a small stove - a lot smaller than most people imagine. Our last NB had a drip feed diesel heater and that was so much cleaner and very little effort to maintain, so for us it would be diesel every time.
 
Ah peat was it, we didn't have any problems with smells in our van as we were about as far away as you could be, in fact we were as far away as could be at the blocked end of the car park. When we walked by with the dogs though we couldn't decide if it was old boots/trainers being burnt or not but smoke wasn't black enough for that ha ha

If I were full timing and I came across a very small multi fuel stove I think I would be looking to fit it to eek out fuel costs by burning what was local. It would be for when we are alone in the wilds though rather than in a meet but if I were to play devils advocate here is it different to an open fire? :)
 
I don't know what he was burning But I've been in Eire in the winter and the smell of the peat fires when walking thru the village on a calm night was OK for me.
 
Log burners in a canal boat OK
Lots of room and can be very cold on the water in winter.
Also storage space for fuel
But in a motorhome ?
Ok if a very small unit (which is all that is needed) AND using suitable fuel (eg good quality coal/charcoal etc) Maybe..
But as has been posted other heating arrangements are probobly better.

Pete Pete come in and light the fire !
 
If everyone was walking around smiling,calling everyone “Man”, it may not have been peat,
Just thinking out loud ?
 
It’s not only in vehicles that these cause nuisance. A house 100 yards from where I keep my van has one, and it deposits a fine film of particles on my van.
 
There is another interesting insurance issue, I recently heard of someone who had to remove their log burner to be able to get European insurance on their motorhome. Apparently getting insurance for motorhomes with log burners installed and declared is getting harder.
 
Coal fires in houses are very dirty never mind in a van,folk near my home still light fires and we can smell the stink in our back bedroom for some strange reason,even folk with poor oil set ups stink to with over fueling boilers with the burner safety stat turned down to low rather than getting a proper living room wall stat set to 21c & then turn boiler up to 70c to get a good clean burn.
 
I think some of it is age and perception, when I get a smell of a coal fire it reminds me of when I was younger so doesn’t bother me at all.

I do remember the hassle of emptying ashes and having to get fire built and going ina morning to get warm though so not all rose tinted. H&S would have a field day seeing kids with newspaper stretched in front of fire trying to get it to draw then the art of getting it all in the fire when it went up without letting it go up the chimney :)
 
A 'real' fire in the house is very much like a pub smell in the pre-smoking ban days. You only really notice how smelly and dirty it was when it is gone.
Nostalgic - for sure. Stinking - for sure. Modern alternatives better - FOR SURE.

Phil said:
There is another interesting insurance issue, I recently heard of someone who had to remove their log burner to be able to get European insurance on their motorhome. Apparently getting insurance for motorhomes with log burners installed and declared is getting harder.
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I agree with you wildbus,when my g/father was alive he would not change from a parkray and my gran had all the trouble cleaning filling etc,after he passed away i and a mate installed oil heating and my gran said what a good job with no more nonsense with fires & the bungalow is always stable at 21c day and night plus no dirty mantle piece harth etc,if some folk had there way we would be back to steam engines,now there is another story.
 
but i miss the friendly flicker of the flames - blown air outlets don't mesmerise in the same way , and there's nothing magical about a radiator
 
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