Burn Kerosene in Diesel Cookstove?

wolfenzee · 01-07-2009, 17:42

In my galley refit I am installing a Dickinson Bering diesel cook stove. It was suggested to me by someone that has cruised a lot with diesel stoves that I might want to run the stove on kerosene rather than diesel. I was told, because of the higher BTU rating, heat up time is shorter and it burns more efficiently.....any opinions on this. Because of my set up I would be able to use gravity feed, can I use the diesel "carborator" that came with the stove or do I need one designed for kerosene, and would the one from my recently retired kerosene heater work (I replaced it with a wood stove).

roverhi · 01-07-2009, 17:59

I doubt that there would much, if any, difference between diesel and kerosene in your stove. As far as energy output, believe they are very close and doubt the start up time will be any difference. You are talking about a drip burner, her not something like the Primus burners. Kero may not even work because of it's slightly different density. I can tell you from experience that diesel does not work in a Kero stove. The cost is going to be a lot higher with kero unless you can find a source for it in bulk. Check your local Home Depot to see the retail cost. If you can find diesel without the road tax, it's really quite cheap.

Aloha
Peter O.
Pearson 35 with a Taylor Kero Cooker.

Aloha
Peter O.

wolfenzee · 01-07-2009, 19:27

actually diesel with out the road tax (at the marina fuel dock) is about 80 cents a gallon *more* than at the Safe Way gas station 100yards from the fuel dock w/road tax....I carry 5 gallon cans over to the gas station in a dock cart and save $20 if I were to fill my 25gal fuel tank from empty.
I can get kerosene a lot cheaper than at places like Home Depot.

mesquaukee · 01-07-2009, 21:12

Kerosene has a lower viscosity than diesel. Therefore more kerosene than diesel would be sprayed out, if I had to guess 10-20% more. They both have the same heat content per gallon. It would be hotter as you are burning more fuel per hour.
You may have to fiddle a little with the air mixture a little to compensate for the different type of fuel.
That’s my best guess.
Kerosene does burn cleaner.

wolfenzee · 01-07-2009, 22:30

i have a carborator set for a kerosene heater.

mesquaukee · 01-07-2009, 23:14

The two carburetors may not be and most likely are not interchangeable.
Operating the stove with a hotter or to be more precise a flame which produces more heat could cause problems.
It is tempting of course and I have done the same with propane by installing an adjustable regulator. We have turned up the pressure so we could heat water quicker for lobsters or noodles. It now puts out about twice the heat as it did before. We also use a lot more propane.
If the manufacturer does not have a recommendation either way there is only one way to find out.

Talbot · 02-07-2009, 02:08

It is not an exact corollary, but you can use kerosene in an eberspacher heater, and it will burn much more cleanly - as red diesel in UK does not have a lot of the fancy additives used in road diesel, it can burn very dirtily and clog up the jet, a brief use of kerosene instead will clean it up nicely.

You can use kerosene in a diesel car as well, but it needs some additional oil in it otherwise the pumps complain.

I remember on my Grandparents farm in the 50s, the old tractor was actually a kerosene burner, started on petrol, and once warm turned over to kerosene (much cheaper then)

wolfenzee · 02-07-2009, 09:12

I will not have a problem with the pumps complaining (my stove is gravity fed), then main problem with running kerosene in a diesel engine is that you don't have as much lubrication in the cylinders, but this is a diesel cookstove/oven, I am not debateing whether to have propane or diesel....I will be able to keep my two burner propane cook top. This is what my diesel stove looks like, I have been told that kerosene *will* work and is actally better, I just wanted a second opinion and to find out some of the fine points....like carborator, fuel consumtion, etc...

Cheechako · 02-07-2009, 10:30

Years ago I had drip feed diesel boat heaters (two diff ones, one was a High Seas brand, I thnk the other was a Shipmate?) They both burned far better and cleaner on kerosene.

wolfenzee · 02-07-2009, 11:28

It's not a major retrofit, I can experiment with both. Kerosene *will* run in a heater/stove designed for diesel, but not the other way around. The person that told me about this has been cruising for quite some time with a variety of Dickinson Diesel stoves and heaters and has used kerosene with superior results....so he told me, I just wanted to know if anyone else had experience doing this.

anjou · 02-07-2009, 12:03

You need to either recalibrate the float chamber or buy one ready set up

Kerosene is known as 28 second fuel. ........thats the time a measured amount takes to run via gravity through an orifice of a given size
Diesel is known as 35 second.

The difference is the viscosity.

Kerosene is also known here as heating oil and is the same fuel as AVJET......aviation jet fuel

Its not wise to use kerosene in diesel engines other than as a brief cleanser or winter fuel additive to prevent waxing of diesel, at 10% blend.
Kerosene will soften and deteriorate seals and O rings in some fuel systems.
It can burn in a different pattern in certain cylinders and cause hot spots which the engine wasnt designed for

Red or duty free agricultural diesel doesnt have the low sulfur additives that road fuel has, it produces marginally less power and requires a different type of oil which contains different detergents needed to keep the engine clean

scott · 02-07-2009, 15:25

We've had much better luck burning kerosene in our Dickinson than using diesel... the kero burns hotter and much cleaner. You may need to recalibrate your metering valve slightly to avoid overheating. I would say, go for it.

wolfenzee · 02-07-2009, 18:51

Dickinson sent me instructions on how to recalibrate the stove for kerosene

01-07-2009, 17:42	#1
wolfenzee Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Port Townsend, WA (NW corner of Puget Sound) Boat: 30' William Atkin design "Captian Cicero"' - S/V ROVER Posts: 152	Burn Kerosene in Diesel Cookstove? In my galley refit I am installing a Dickinson Bering diesel cook stove. It was suggested to me by someone that has cruised a lot with diesel stoves that I might want to run the stove on kerosene rather than diesel. I was told, because of the higher BTU rating, heat up time is shorter and it burns more efficiently.....any opinions on this. Because of my set up I would be able to use gravity feed, can I use the diesel "carborator" that came with the stove or do I need one designed for kerosene, and would the one from my recently retired kerosene heater work (I replaced it with a wood stove).

02-07-2009, 02:08	#7
Talbot Registered User Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Stavanger, Norway Boat: Last boat was a Catalac 9m Hi-Jude Posts: 2,981 Images: 23	It is not an exact corollary, but you can use kerosene in an eberspacher heater, and it will burn much more cleanly - as red diesel in UK does not have a lot of the fancy additives used in road diesel, it can burn very dirtily and clog up the jet, a brief use of kerosene instead will clean it up nicely. You can use kerosene in a diesel car as well, but it needs some additional oil in it otherwise the pumps complain. I remember on my Grandparents farm in the 50s, the old tractor was actually a kerosene burner, started on petrol, and once warm turned over to kerosene (much cheaper then) __________________ "Be wary of strong drink. It can make you shoot at tax collectors - and miss." Robert A Heinlein

02-07-2009, 12:03	#11
anjou Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: Malvernshire, on the sunny side of the hill. Posts: 900	You need to either recalibrate the float chamber or buy one ready set up Kerosene is known as 28 second fuel. ........thats the time a measured amount takes to run via gravity through an orifice of a given size Diesel is known as 35 second. The difference is the viscosity. Kerosene is also known here as heating oil and is the same fuel as AVJET......aviation jet fuel Its not wise to use kerosene in diesel engines other than as a brief cleanser or winter fuel additive to prevent waxing of diesel, at 10% blend. Kerosene will soften and deteriorate seals and O rings in some fuel systems. It can burn in a different pattern in certain cylinders and cause hot spots which the engine wasnt designed for Red or duty free agricultural diesel doesnt have the low sulfur additives that road fuel has, it produces marginally less power and requires a different type of oil which contains different detergents needed to keep the engine clean __________________ Ex Fortis Fils Dulce

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01-07-2009, 17:59	#2
roverhi Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Kona, Hawaii Boat: Pearson 35 #108 Posts: 853	I doubt that there would much, if any, difference between diesel and kerosene in your stove. As far as energy output, believe they are very close and doubt the start up time will be any difference. You are talking about a drip burner, her not something like the Primus burners. Kero may not even work because of it's slightly different density. I can tell you from experience that diesel does not work in a Kero stove. The cost is going to be a lot higher with kero unless you can find a source for it in bulk. Check your local Home Depot to see the retail cost. If you can find diesel without the road tax, it's really quite cheap. Aloha Peter O. Pearson 35 with a Taylor Kero Cooker. Aloha Peter O.

01-07-2009, 19:27	#3
wolfenzee Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Port Townsend, WA (NW corner of Puget Sound) Boat: 30' William Atkin design "Captian Cicero"' - S/V ROVER Posts: 152	actually diesel with out the road tax (at the marina fuel dock) is about 80 cents a gallon more than at the Safe Way gas station 100yards from the fuel dock w/road tax....I carry 5 gallon cans over to the gas station in a dock cart and save $20 if I were to fill my 25gal fuel tank from empty. I can get kerosene a lot cheaper than at places like Home Depot.

01-07-2009, 21:12	#4
mesquaukee Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Western Caribbean & ocassionaly inCanada Boat: Mesqua Ukee, Buccaneer 40 (Salar 40) Posts: 465	Kerosene has a lower viscosity than diesel. Therefore more kerosene than diesel would be sprayed out, if I had to guess 10-20% more. They both have the same heat content per gallon. It would be hotter as you are burning more fuel per hour. You may have to fiddle a little with the air mixture a little to compensate for the different type of fuel. That’s my best guess. Kerosene does burn cleaner.

01-07-2009, 22:30	#5
wolfenzee Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Port Townsend, WA (NW corner of Puget Sound) Boat: 30' William Atkin design "Captian Cicero"' - S/V ROVER Posts: 152	i have a carborator set for a kerosene heater.

01-07-2009, 23:14	#6
mesquaukee Registered User Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Western Caribbean & ocassionaly inCanada Boat: Mesqua Ukee, Buccaneer 40 (Salar 40) Posts: 465	The two carburetors may not be and most likely are not interchangeable. Operating the stove with a hotter or to be more precise a flame which produces more heat could cause problems. It is tempting of course and I have done the same with propane by installing an adjustable regulator. We have turned up the pressure so we could heat water quicker for lobsters or noodles. It now puts out about twice the heat as it did before. We also use a lot more propane. If the manufacturer does not have a recommendation either way there is only one way to find out.

02-07-2009, 09:12	#8
wolfenzee Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Port Townsend, WA (NW corner of Puget Sound) Boat: 30' William Atkin design "Captian Cicero"' - S/V ROVER Posts: 152	I will not have a problem with the pumps complaining (my stove is gravity fed), then main problem with running kerosene in a diesel engine is that you don't have as much lubrication in the cylinders, but this is a diesel cookstove/oven, I am not debateing whether to have propane or diesel....I will be able to keep my two burner propane cook top. This is what my diesel stove looks like, I have been told that kerosene will work and is actally better, I just wanted a second opinion and to find out some of the fine points....like carborator, fuel consumtion, etc...

02-07-2009, 10:30	#9
Cheechako Registered User Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Skagit City, WA Boat: Fellippi 32 Posts: 2,368	Years ago I had drip feed diesel boat heaters (two diff ones, one was a High Seas brand, I thnk the other was a Shipmate?) They both burned far better and cleaner on kerosene.

02-07-2009, 11:28	#10
wolfenzee Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Port Townsend, WA (NW corner of Puget Sound) Boat: 30' William Atkin design "Captian Cicero"' - S/V ROVER Posts: 152	It's not a major retrofit, I can experiment with both. Kerosene will run in a heater/stove designed for diesel, but not the other way around. The person that told me about this has been cruising for quite some time with a variety of Dickinson Diesel stoves and heaters and has used kerosene with superior results....so he told me, I just wanted to know if anyone else had experience doing this.

02-07-2009, 15:25	#12
scott Registered User Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 8	We've had much better luck burning kerosene in our Dickinson than using diesel... the kero burns hotter and much cleaner. You may need to recalibrate your metering valve slightly to avoid overheating. I would say, go for it.

02-07-2009, 18:51	#13
wolfenzee Registered User Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Port Townsend, WA (NW corner of Puget Sound) Boat: 30' William Atkin design "Captian Cicero"' - S/V ROVER Posts: 152	Dickinson sent me instructions on how to recalibrate the stove for kerosene