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jackdale · 11-12-2012, 12:52

You might also consider a diesel hydronic system. They allow some control over individual cabin heat and they can make use of engine heat as well. The water piping takes up less space than air ducts

Fenchurch9 · 12-12-2012, 00:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by rognvald

I am looking for simplicity in design and operation and the gravity fed diesel heaters (Dickinson, Reflex) appear to be thae best choice with one possible caveat: many respondants who have owned these units lament the accumulation of soo. that despoils their cabin top and sails. Is this an anomaly or is it part of the price to pay for these heaters. We are hopefully nearing our next planned departure and wI'll exit the St. Lawrence and cruise Newfoundland and Labrador before heading South. A simple and effective heater is a necessity. Is this a concern? Are these the best choices?

We burn K1 in ours and we have absolutely no build up or soot. Also, you need to be sure thst the stack and all the parts in the heater are clean. As to prepping w alcohol; the alcohol heats up the little heater and gets it good and warm, also creating a draft It helps get the diesel burning w/o soot. We have never had soot or dark smoke come out of the stack. You want the alcohol to almost create a vortex prior to opening the diesel fuel line up the rest of the way. So heres how we prime our little heater:
1. Turn on the diesel valve at the gravity tank
2. Turn the knob that controls the diesel a little bit snd watch as a small amt of dies
el forms a little puddle in the bottom of the heater. You may need to take out some parts to see this. We have a part that looks like a tripod we remove and a ring.
3. Now measure out about 1 oz of alcohol. We actually use a shot glass for this, and pour it in the heater.
4.replace the parts you removed
5. Light a wadded up tissue or some tp and toss it in the heater.
6. Wait and watch the alcohol burn for about 5 mins and then go ahead and turn the knob or whatever you have to start allowing the fuel to flow.
7. The heater should be nice and hot enough to get your fuel burning really well.
Remember... dont skimp on the alcohol but dont over do it.if the alcohol burns out b4 you start the diesel flowing you'll have to wait to restart it or risk burning down you boat. Dont worry, its not as bad as it seems. And good luck.

rognvald · 12-12-2012, 08:58

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fenchurch9

We burn K1 in ours and we have absolutely no build up or soot. Also, you need to be sure thst the stack and all the parts in the heater are clean. As to prepping w alcohol; the alcohol heats up the little heater and gets it good and warm, also creating a draft It helps get the diesel burning w/o soot. We have never had soot or dark smoke come out of the stack. You want the alcohol to almost create a vortex prior to opening the diesel fuel line up the rest of the way. So heres how we prime our little heater:
1. Turn on the diesel valve at the gravity tank
2. Turn the knob that controls the diesel a little bit snd watch as a small amt of dies
el forms a little puddle in the bottom of the heater. You may need to take out some parts to see this. We have a part that looks like a tripod we remove and a ring.
3. Now measure out about 1 oz of alcohol. We actually use a shot glass for this, and pour it in the heater.
4.replace the parts you removed
5. Light a wadded up tissue or some tp and toss it in the heater.
6. Wait and watch the alcohol burn for about 5 mins and then go ahead and turn the knob or whatever you have to start allowing the fuel to flow.
7. The heater should be nice and hot enough to get your fuel burning really well.
Remember... dont skimp on the alcohol but dont over do it.if the alcohol burns out b4 you start the diesel flowing you'll have to wait to restart it or risk burning down you boat. Dont worry, its not as bad as it seems. And good luck.

Fenchurch, what heater do you have? Are you happy with its performance? Did you do the installation? Your comments/opinion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rognvald

Fenchurch9 · 12-12-2012, 22:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by rognvald

Fenchurch, what heater do you have? Are you happy with its performance? Did you do the installation? Your comments/opinion would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Rognvald

Rognvald,
We have a Sigmar 100. It's small but our boat isn't that big. We are happy with the performance. It is very economical. We did not install it. It was new when we purchased the boat. It was a replacement for an early 70's Dickinson solid fuel heater. We did needed to move it a little lower on the bulkhead. It was a cake job.
We have lusted over a Sardine but it's just not practical. For the amt of space we have, the diesel heater is the most effective and pushes out the most BTU's. It will burn 24 hrs on 1 gallon of fuel turned on midway.
One more thing; I would strongly suggest that you do not feed the gravity tank directly from the fuel tank for the engine. We have a separate tank for the heater fuel and pump it up into the gravity tank.
We are very pleased with it but I must say that SIGMAR SUCKS for customer service. I'm sure they are fine when trying to get you to buy their product but once you purchase it, you are on your own. We have called and emailed repeatedly and they NEVER returned any of our calls or responded to any of our emails.
Good Luck with your choice.

**Dockhead** · 12-12-2012, 23:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by jackdale

You might also consider a diesel hydronic system. They allow some control over individual cabin heat and they can make use of engine heat as well. The water piping takes up less space than air ducts

We have this, it has a lot of advantages, but I wouldn't recommend it to the OP. For one thing, it uses quite of electrical power (pumps, fancoils, forced air burner, etc.). For another, and more importantly, it is not field serviceable. If it fails to start for any reason a couple times in a row, it shuts down tight and won't do anything until a certified service tech puts his expensive service instrument on it and resets a code. Hard to find that in remote areas. I think he'd be better off with a simple gravity-fed stove which he can fix himself.

jackdale · 13-12-2012, 10:46

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dockhead

We have this, it has a lot of advantages, but I wouldn't recommend it to the OP. For one thing, it uses quite of electrical power (pumps, fancoils, forced air burner, etc.). For another, and more importantly, it is not field serviceable. If it fails to start for any reason a couple times in a row, it shuts down tight and won't do anything until a certified service tech puts his expensive service instrument on it and resets a code. Hard to find that in remote areas. I think he'd be better off with a simple gravity-fed stove which he can fix himself.

For all those reasons, you are correct.

cwyckham · 13-12-2012, 15:47

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dockhead

We have this, it has a lot of advantages, but I wouldn't recommend it to the OP. For one thing, it uses quite of electrical power (pumps, fancoils, forced air burner, etc.). For another, and more importantly, it is not field serviceable. If it fails to start for any reason a couple times in a row, it shuts down tight and won't do anything until a certified service tech puts his expensive service instrument on it and resets a code. Hard to find that in remote areas. I think he'd be better off with a simple gravity-fed stove which he can fix himself.

Don't lump all diesel hydronic systems in the same bucket. My Hurricane proved to be quite servicable when I had to replace the fuel pump, and the customer service was amazing over the phone. It certainly doesn't shut itself down like that. It will kick a code and is designed to be user servicable. They even have videos on their website on how to service it.

I do agree that although the hydronic systems are probably the gold standard as far as usability, they are also probably more complex than the OP is looking for.

hellosailor · 13-12-2012, 16:19

If you have the battery capacity for it, I've learned that some of the mattress heating pads (think electric blanket, but it goes under you so it is more effective) apparently consume about 100W and run on low-voltage dc, which may mean 12v, as a safety factor. 100 Watts, 12 volts, 8 hours...66 AH per night? True, it won't warm the cabin, but it should keep the bunk toasty, especially if you have shore power.

Nessus · 13-12-2012, 16:30

If I had a choice I would choose a solid fuel stove. Coal and wood. Certainly wood and coal provide a much dryer heat. My experience with diesel heaters has been damp with the fuel cooking to much moisture into the cabin; unacceptable humidity. However diesel stoves may have come a long way since I last used one 20 years ago. A draw back with wood is it's impossible to split on deck and dangerous to split on the dock. If all things were equal I would prefer the nice dry heat coal provides.

hellosailor · 13-12-2012, 16:56

"A draw back with wood is it's impossible to split on deck"
Nah, that's a business opportunity. Coupla blocks, a come-al-long, some angle iron, or you can hook up to your winch and split 'em just like a hydraulic log splitter does.

Diesel heaters, like diesel ovens, will vent moisture into the cabin unless they are built like the Esbachers, with closed ventilation and all combustion gasses taken in and fed out without any release in the cabin. Toasty dry.

Nessus · 13-12-2012, 17:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by hellosailor

"A draw back with wood is it's impossible to split on deck"
Nah, that's a business opportunity. Coupla blocks, a come-al-long, some angle iron, or you can hook up to your winch and split 'em just like a hydraulic log splitter does.

Brilliant!!

Sir Rondo Normal · 13-12-2012, 17:57

We have a Fab-All diesel heater. Fab-All later became Dickenson. The way it is set up on our boat is with a pump from the main diesel tank. We used it last winter this way and did have quite a bit of soot on the deck. This winter, we were not planning on using it, as we are paying a flat rate for electricity anyway. I don't like the electric heat. Too much humidity in the boat. We were way drier last year.
Anyway, I have decided to install a gravity tank and switch from diesel fuel to HF II (home heating fuel). It's more like kerosene and burns cleaner than diesel, (according to my boss). He should know, he runs the Chevron agency where I work.
If you are not in a hurry, I can let you know how it works for us but it won't be any time soon because I want to burn our diesel fuel first so I can clean out the diesel tanks.
Other than the soot though, I love this little heater. You can't get any simpler and I love the heat it gives. We just fired it up yesterday for the first time this season and it's so much better than electric.

DeepFrz · 14-12-2012, 17:02

Quote:

Diesel heaters, like diesel ovens, will vent moisture into the cabin unless they are built like the Esbachers, with closed ventilation and all combustion gasses taken in and fed out without any release in the cabin. Toasty dry.

Nonsense...diesel heaters, cook stoves and ovens are all vented outside, at least every one that I have seen. They put out as dry a heat as any coal or wood stove. Most of the humidity in a boat comes from propane stoves (cooking), showers and us. And it is probably us that puts the most humidity into the inside of a boat.