Oil Heaters & Stoves

[Alanandchris]

I do not like GAS!! It blows up old wooden boats.

Anyone got good reports on fixed or portable oil heaters + fixed oil cooking stoves, eg Taylors

Am in UK. Boat is Buchanan Clyde cruiser 27ft wooden Gaff cutter, 3 berth.

Thanks

Alan

[Pericles]

Go here http://www.bengco.co.uk/

Pericles

[Andrew Craig-Bennett]

I've used a Taylors' pressure paraffin (kerosene) cooking stove for 20 years and more; I'm completely happy with it. The "technology" is simple, even I can understand and repair it, it is very cheap to run (one pint runs one burner at full heat for 8 hours) and boils a kettle fast. Nothing rusts or goes nasty, but it does need to be kept clean, and lit with plenty of meths.

Taylors don't advise running their cabin heaters when you are not looking at them, so I prefer a solid fuel stove for that - one that will still be alight in the morning!

I'm on my second Shipmate solid fuel cabin heater; the first was a Skippy which rusted out after 20 years. This one is a 201, a far superior model which should last longer than I will. Shipmate went out of business in the 80's so it's pot luck in the secondhand market so far as that excellent US make is concerned.

For your boat, I would try to fit a Faversham stove; made by Colin Frake in Faversham. Should be the right size. There is another little stove offered by a well known name in chandlery which is nowhere near as good despite looking similar.

[paladin]

I will echo Andrew's remarks.....although I used the similar Dickinson (canada) cook stove and used the Dickinsom Charcoal heater.....everything works properly for two decades without mishap. I use a small propane bbq lighter designed to light charcoal fires, and I use it to preheat the burners of the parafin stove.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

There is a Force 10 propane heater on Laura Ellen that has prbably never been used (never even hooked up). I don't plan on putting propane on the boat so I will either have to replace the heater or have it converted to burn diesel.

I know that Force 10 made a conversion kit to go from diesel to propane, but, I will need to go the other way.

Any suggestions?

[Dave Lesser]

Does anyone have any experience with the Wallas stoves?

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/167/476946086_603e171e77_o.jpg

Diesel fuel
Ceramic cooktop with no open flames
Exhaust vented outside to reduce condensation
Can be fitted with a blower top to provide cabin heat

http://www.wallas.com/index_eng.php?group=1&type=1&ID=38


USA / Canada Distributor:

Scan Marine Equipment Inc.
2144 Westlake Ave. N. Suite D
Seattle WA 98109 USA
Tel: + 1 206 285 3 675
Fax: + 1 206 285 9 532
www.scanmarineusa.com (http://www.scanmarineusa.com/)

UK Distributor:

Kuranda UK Ltd.
Kuranda House, Forge Road Whaley Bridge, High Peak
Derbyshire, SK23 7HY England
Tel: + 44 1663 734800
Fax: + 44 1663 733343
www.kuranda.co.uk (http://www.kuranda.co.uk/)

[Tonyr]

I confirm Paladin's experience with the Dickinson Newport solid fuel heater ( = charcoal in practice). I installed and tested a new one today, and it worked just fine for a cabin 11' by 8'. It looks as if the Bengco controls itself the same way, essentially by being judicious in adding the right amount of briquettes for the heat of fire needed. I see these tiny heaters as being for short term use in moderate climates - say to get you going on a freezing morning, for a 2 to four hour period, until the day warms up.

Tony.

[farwesthoops]

I will add a solid vote for the Dickenson's. I lived on board for 11 years in Sitka AK, first with a solid fuel/charcoal Dickenson and then an oil version. Both were excellent products. I will buy another soon for my newer boat.

[bvv]

I have the wallas stove and have been very happy with it for over 5 years. (They now make a stove/oven combo, but I just have the two burner stove). It's pretty high tech, but simple to use. I have the lid/heater attachment that does a fine job of heating my 35' sloop on those cool spring/summer/fall nights in the NW.


The vent is only 1" diameter; I had a polished SS pipe made that goes from the counter top to the cabin top through the old wood stove hole.

[Dave Lesser]

bvv,

Thanks for the feedback. It looks like a pretty nice piece of equipment, but pricey. Seems like a good way to do away with propane. A couple of additional questions:

Does the vent do away with diesel fumes in the boat interior?
How long does the ceramic top take to reach cooking temperature?
Is it possible to quickly vary the cook top temperature like with an open flame?
How about soot/staining from the exhaust?
The other Wallas cabin heaters have hoses to distribute heat to distant parts of the boat - can such an arrangement be applied to your unit?
Does it get too hot to stand in the galley when the top is down?

Thanks for the info.

[bvv]

Hi, Dave.
Absolutely no diesel fumes in the cabin from the stove. Our vent is 6" from the companionway, so if there's a downdraft in the right direction, you can get a whiff.

The ceramic top gets hot pretty fast (5 min?); I expected it to take much longer than it does to boil a pot of water. There is one control knob that sets the temperature for both the right and left cooking areas. The stove is designed so that the right hand burner is about half as hot as the left hand one.

Absolutely no soot or staining (or even visible exhaust) from the vent; very complete combustion from the electronic burner control; much different than a typical pot burner.

The top down heating function is simply a hinged cover that drops and starts a supplementary blower to scrub heat off of the cooktop, so no option to duct the heat anywhere else. Because of the volume of air, the actual air temperature was 80-90 deg I'd guess. Definetly not too hot to stand next to.

That being said, (and I've been very happy with it and would recommend it still) after not using it for the last couple years, it did not start. The folks at Scan Marine have been very helpful in giving me help, and after a little investigation it seems that the fuel line is plugged, which seems to be common when it is not used regularly. WD 40 is the suggested solution, and once I get the electrical system back on line (the boat is on the hard, and that's one of the systems I'm upgrading); I'll finish fixing the stove. I need it for next winter's cabin refit! Working on it, with Scan's advice, has been straightforward.

Here's a photo of the installation.
http://i14.tinypic.com/4m1skza.jpg

[Dave Lesser]

Thanks, bvv. I was hoping that you would have a photo of the installation. Definitely looks like something to check out.

[py]

I like a man who complains about the quality of a stove that rusted out after only 20 years.

[Jay Greer]

Does the Wallace stove require electricity in addition to the diesel fuel or is that just for the heater blower?
Jay

[bvv]

It does require electricity. The fuel/air control is a printed circuit board, hence the complete and nearly smokeless combustions, and there is a fuel pump because the fuel tank cannot be above the burner.

Bill

[nico108]

Does anyone have info on using a Dickinson stove with biodiesel? I am considering installing the Dickinson Bristol on board? I need an oven because I like to have fresh bread in the morning... Cand the stovetop double as a heater (in other words, can I get rid of my force 10?)

It's either the Dickinson or an Origo Alchol (the 6000D) I think. Can anyone offer a well founded comparasion between the two? They seem similar in dimensions...

[Ian McColgin]

No clue about biodiesel, but I had a Dickenson oil heater on Granuaile and will put in a stove/heater on Marmalade this fall. I have no dread of leaving it on while I'm not about as the only things that go wrong cause it to go out.

One Dickenson guy I talked with told me that they are not supposed to recommend leaving it on when off the boat but he fires his up in the fall and shuts it off in the spring. . .

On Goblin I had the Force 10 diesel cook stove. At first I was going through nozzels due to carbon build-up. Force 10 told me that they have nicer diesel out west than we do here and told me to switch to good clean kerosene. No more problems. Great stove - quick light to fast heat. But Force 10 is at least not marketing diesels widely any more.

[neilm]

I put a single burner Wallas Oil stove/heater in my camper van. I think it cost about $1000. I like it but it's a bit noisey. The pump goes click click click etc. Also it smells a little at start up. Other than that it's very safe and efficient. It runs on 12v but I can run it all night and not kill my battery. They are tricky to install. The exit pipe needs to be exactly 7" below the outlet or it will have problems. The double stove is very popular in cabin cruisers.

Neil

[mike hanyi]

in finland we have webasto's types, they dont use too much power and come in diesel and gas models, will keep your sailboat nice and toasty for the evening -does use electricty, have a house battery and its ok in the morning

[Chan]

Along the same line, how about hot water heaters?

[Dave Lesser]

This is the only diesel water heater that I have found in the US. Also can function as a space heater using radiators and fans. Anyone have experience with them? They will be at the Seattle boat show in January.

ITR Water Heater (http://www.itrheat.com/waterheater.html)

http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1094/1067615170_5ae6ff9096_o.jpg