Does Anyone Use a Diesel Stove?

[oceanlift]

I am going to answer as many of the questions as I can remember that I have seen.

Cooking either ceramic cooktop or oven or combination of both. Diesel heaters also. Wallas is also available in New Zealand. They are quiet & run very economically and are easy to service & fault find.

The burn is completely enclosed and exhausted outside. There is no "blue touch paper" or matches needed to light and no diesel smell. The heat is not catalytic, it is a controlled flame combustion. The heat transferance is by direct thermal conductivity.

Tune up? I guess they mean a de-carbon and new quartz mat, clean the filter. Also the pump can be tweaked a bit for atmospheric differences. Carboning generally only occurs from dirty diesel - no big deal.

Cookers can have a heater lid fitted so the double as a cabin heater. A lot of the govt infrastructure boats in NZ have Wallas.

Wallas do parafin versions also. But this fuel is not compatible with kerosene so unless you are only cruising in Europe, UK & USA get diesel. In South AM, & Pacific nations nobody really has real parafin.

[FLKokopelli]

We had a diesel cast iron stove on our first Ingrid 38 when we lived in the northwest. Being made of cast iron it took a long time to get to 300 degrees with alot smoke coming out of the topside vent. Needless to say we only used it at anchor, but it did bake a chicken & heat up the boat at the same time.

[Lepke]

As others stated, diesel is great for cool and cold climates. When first started they need to heat slowly to avoid cracking the cast iron top. When I was commercial fishing, the stove ran all the time. Most also have coils that will heat your hot water tank. In hot weather I also run a generator with induction cooking hot plates on my stove top. For yachtsmen, they do create some deck soot. #1 diesel or kerosene burns cleaner as does a taller stack. Some people run a tank just for the stove. It's probably the best for winter heat and the only cheaper fuel I've found is wood pellets.
Diesel doesn't ignite easily unlike propane that is explosive. I don't use propane inside a hull. I'm old enough to have seen a number of fires and explosions in other boats to learn by others' mistakes.
Some propane accidents:

[Capt Phil]

My experience is somewhat dated but they were the staple heating and cooking source for commercial vessels in the PNW back in the 40's, 50's and 60's. (Certainly dating my self with that comment!)
Heated up an entire vessel in a couple of hours, a bit of soot on the cabin top that hosed off easily if tended to daily, very even cooking (my first job was as cook/decky aboard a tugboat). I got to know the stove very well.
Every commercial vessel had a hugh diesel stove that I was aboard and we all got used to them and their vagaries.
If you can put up with the soot issue, they would be fine in northern climes but terribly hot any where south. Phil

[Snowpetrel]

Used a big diesel heater with a hotplate (Dickenson Lofoten) in Antarctica and Patagonia. It ran pretty much 24/7, including while sailing offshore without any problems other than a monthly clean out of soot build-up. It was great for boiling water and cooking toasted sandwiches. It would have been handy to have had an oven built into it as well. But far to hot for mid and low latitudes. Even in Antarctica we left the cabin door open most of the time to keep the cabin from overheating. We used a normal gas stove as well.

[ausnp84]

We had a Dickinson Pacific and one of THE happiest days in my life was getting rid of it. In a single year of cruising we had it working once. Once. Followed all the instructions, engaged with the local UK dealer and Dickinson Canada, and still couldn't get it to hold a stable flame.

Sold it to a guy with a canal boat, fitted a propane stove, happy as a clam since.

n

[wooden head]

Have had Dickinson stoves in two boats both worked well once you get them figured out, i cant imagine lighting one on a warm day, even in sub freezing wether I have had door and hatch open to keep temperature bearable.

[bletso]

I don't do diesel but have an old Shipmate 3 burner w/oven and a cabin heater, both pressurised kerosene. I like it over propane just due to simplicity of installation and safety concerns. No problems with heeling. Just another option.

[Badsanta]

I have a Dickerson heater and never had much luck with it. I have read they make a replacement burner that is supposed to burn modern diesel better. I am concidering testing with kerosene to see if it works better. I feel the new diesel fuel does not burn as well as the old high sulpher type.
If they would just make a burner replacement that used the wick burner from a kero heater it would work better and just a simple wick adjustment insted of endless micro adjustments.

[Ofer]

I had a Dickenson propane stove and was glad to get rid of it.

[barnakiel]

We do not have one but we know two boats with Webastos. Both owners love their stoves. However, should the plate shutter, it is very pricey to replace!!!

b.

[redhead]

I'm sitting here in the Pacific Northwest, 56F degrees outside, 72F inside. We have two Dickinson diesel stoves. the Atlantic in the forward section which heats, cooks and provides tons of hot (too hot) water. In the aft section we have heating only Dickinson stove (can't remember which model).

I am in love with my stoves from now till about July. There is absolutely nothing like coming in cold and wet and feeling the warmth and rising bread and toasty warm PJs and all that. For about a gallon of diesel a day. I would not leave it alone running for more than a half hour or so, mostly because I'm a little over vigilant.

In summer we shut it down and cook on a two burner electric stove (like I used to have in college). I'm fine with that too, it's too hot to cook elaborate meals.

Final answer: since I'm living where I'm living - it is absolutely the answer.
if I move to Mexico or Thailand, probably not.

[Ribbit]

Low sulphur diesel really is thin compared to the earlier stuff, and much closer to paraffin.

I used to have one of those Chinese Anchor lamps (like a Tilley). 500w of light (sunglasses to read with it) and also 500 w of heat, on paraffin.

Got snowed in and unable to get some paraffin one day, so tried some low sulphur central heating oil (what's now sold as diesel, but with lubricant added to lube the injector pump, without which the injector pump soon dies - one reason I wouldn't use CNG as fuel in a diesel engine, as even in a petrol engine, you need switch to use petrol in it pretty regularly, to make sure the valves get some lube) in the Anchor.

A bit brighter, and a bit warmer was the result, so used that (much cheaper than paraffin) until the Anchor died, about 10 years later (could have rebuilt it, but was a lot cheaper to buy a new one).

Rather than a drip type high temperature heater, I think I'd prefer one with a wick that burns the fuel, then it is easy to turn it very low or turn it up, as needed? Probably uses a bit more fuel, but for cheapness and reliability, plus ease of maintenance and repair, would seem to make a lot more sense to me (can always carry spare wicks).

I've enjoyed cooking with propane for over 30 years now, and that's what I'll be sticking with.