Diesel for a stove?

[indiana_ct]

If we are doing photos:
The cooker - Force 10 Diesel

How the burner should look


After some trial and error - as a preheat I use a mixture of chafing gel and methylated spirits. It's poured into the preheating cup from a plastic squeezy fuel bottle with a long aluminium tube. Tht way you can make an accurate aim and the mixture means it's not too thick to pour but it doesn't slosh around.
The oven easily gets up to 275 degrees celcius since we insulated the sides.

[redhead]

It's a 35 year old Dickinson Diesel "Atlantic" stove. At it's lowest setting it uses about a gallon a day. We have only replaced the Oil Metering Valve ($71US) and it has worked perfectly every day from about November until April for the last 3 years.

My only complaint? It doesn't get hot enough to make pizza. Sigh.

Her name is Esmerelda.

[tmoandj]

We run a Dickinson diesel stove and would never change it! We have no propane below deck on the boat. Diesel is safe and we have two enormous tanks of it anyhow so it seemed like the obvious choice. If you can smell the exhaust you probably need to review the exhaust/ventilation situation anyhow. When it's too hot out we put a Origo alcohol stove on top (turn the diesel off first of course!) for cooking so that the cabin isn't too warm. Alcohol is another relatively safe fuel and not too expensive as long as you don't buy it labeled as stove alcohol! People frequently tell me that you can't find alcohol in a lot of places but that has not been my experience so far. Good luck with whatever you decide!

[tmoandj]

Redhead, have you considered getting in touch with Dickinson and asking if there is something you can improve to get the oven up to temp? We have made pizza in ours although it is the "Pacific" model. In any case, they are extremely helpful and if there's a fix they'll help you find it!

[Scot McPherson]

origo is what I have currently. $16/gallon of strip kleen alcohol. Its the cheapest source I have found so far (of 4 months of looking)

[tmoandj]

We go to the hardware store and buy methyl hydrate (which is methanol) its often in the painting section. I can't actually tell you how much it cost off the top of my head but it hasn't broken the bank!

[buzzstar]

Originally Posted by wiekeith

Oh dear, there appear to be a lot 'opinions' which are simply not true wrt modern diesel stoves - possibly true for those of a couple of decades ago though?

Modern hob/stoves, such as the Wallas range, which has already been mention in this thread, are an example.

• They can be gimballed
• They don't smell
• They light easily
• They're easy to use
• The ceramic hobs are easy to keep clean

And an aspect that I personally like: they don't require having gas on board.

There are some negatives though. They won't operate without electrical power; ignition is via a glow plug and the whole system is controlled by its internal electronics. They take a while to heat up. They don't come cheap.

Incidentally, I have no affiliation with Wallas or any of its reseller, I'm just a satisfied customer.

I am glad I was busier earlier. I'd have liked to have said this, but surely would not have done so as succinctly or as well. The residual heat might be still a problem, I have not owned one of these despite wanting to, just the types of "a couple of decades ago," which I liked except for the residual heat and the lighting using alcohol.

[geedee]

Originally Posted by TeddyDiver

But it is..
Archives - Dickinson Marine | Dickinson Marine
Wallas | Boat stoves | Boat cooking | Diesel boat stoves | Paraffin boat stoves

Dickson diesel stoves are very common and popular on commercial fishing boats and some pleasure craft here in southern New Zealand (46/47deg south )
They are very good stoves..and also provide good wheelhouse and cabin heating during the colder weather...some yachts have the heater also made by Dicksons

[wiekeith]

Originally Posted by buzzstar

I am glad I was busier earlier. I'd have liked to have said this, but surely would not have done so as succinctly or as well. The residual heat might be still a problem, I have not owned one of these despite wanting to, just the types of "a couple of decades ago," which I liked except for the residual heat and the lighting using alcohol.

Well thank you Buzzstar

As for residual heat, and speaking for the Wallas only, there's not much more residual heat than for a conventional hob/oven. The oven retains its heat for a while after it's turned off, as does any well-insulated oven, but the hob plate cooling is not instant. It doesn't take too long to cool down though.

[deblen]

I've had a lifetime of experience with "diesel" stoves @ N45deg.

Mostly Dickenson & Refleks (Hamilton Marine)

They operate on kerosene,stove oil,furnace oil & diesel fuel equally well.

They are left burning 24/7 for 12mos/yr,unattended, in eastern Canadian fishing boats. Troublefree,as long as they are cleaned (de-carboned) once a yr or so.

They would put out too much heat,if used for cooking,during the heat of summer,or in warmer latitudes.That is what propane & other quick heat fuels are for.

They REQUIRE a proper HOT stack-preferably insulated or double wall pipe-in order to draw & burn cleanly. A cold stack will NOT draw.
A proper stack will eliminate 90% of so-called problems with oil (or wood)stoves.
An outside stack extension,with wind cap,is recommended in most cases. This is to prevent baffling & downdrafts caused by nearby deck obstructions & can be removable.

They light easily. Turn the carburetor full up & let some oil run in to heavily dampen the pot bottom.Turn the carb. to low. Use a paper match,small piece of burning kleenex or a proper oil stove "taper/lighter".
A cold stove will not explode-(it's diesel fuel!),but it may "roar" a bit as it burns off the fuel that you allowed to dampen the pot.This is completely harmless as it is totally enclosed in the stove & stack.

Use the ramrod to clean the oil inlet pipe on a regular basis,as it will carbon up over time.
Disassemble & clean carbon deposits from the pot bottom as required.

Cheers/ Len

[softdown]

Originally Posted by Scot McPherson

origo is what I have currently. $16/gallon of strip kleen alcohol. Its the cheapest source I have found so far (of 4 months of looking)

I think alcohol has about 75,000 BTU/gallon. Propane is about 90,000 BTU/gallon. Not that big of a difference.

Propane can be bought for about .99/gallon during the summer...for those with a large household propane tank......something to consider if someone cooks on the boat frequently.

There must be a cheaper way of buying alcohol. I think ethanol is the same. Methanol is close.

[mitiempo]

Originally Posted by indiana_ct

If we are doing photos:
The cooker - Force 10 Diesel

How the burner should look


After some trial and error - as a preheat I use a mixture of chafing gel and methylated spirits. It's poured into the preheating cup from a plastic squeezy fuel bottle with a long aluminium tube. Tht way you can make an accurate aim and the mixture means it's not too thick to pour but it doesn't slosh around.
The oven easily gets up to 275 degrees celcius since we insulated the sides.

I owned a Force 10 kerosene stove - 3 burners w/oven the same as the one above - many years ago. They haven't been made for a few decades though.

[UNCIVILIZED]

Great Stuff!!! BTW how does one make their own alcohol gel for preheating?

[indiana_ct]

Originally Posted by dofthesea

Why is diesil never used as a fuel for a stove oven combo? Would be nice as its already on board most sailboats.

Originally Posted by mitiempo

I owned a Force 10 kerosene stove - 3 burners w/oven the same as the one above - many years ago. They haven't been made for a few decades though.

The age is not important to me. You can still get replacement burners and replacement parts for the fuel tank, as we have done recently. I would rather put up with some extra maintenance and inconvenience in order to avoid the problems of propane (explosion potential, refilling tanks, different standards and connectors). We also run a Sigmar diesel drip feed heater - another marvellous piece of kit that replaced a smaller Dickinson heater. We have a little butane/propane on board for the blow torch. Spare fuel is vacuum packed. For hot weather cooking we have a charcoal Cobb, thought it hasn't been tried yet.

[double u]

Originally Posted by softdown

Diesel generally will not light with a match. Even kerosene, which is more flammable, seems to be pre-heated with alcohol. Diesel is very similar to kerosene though oilier, thicker, and offering more energy. Plus harder to light.

I might suggest a kerosene stove that would allow the use of diesel when kero is not available.

Even propane is apparently hard to find in some places.

on our shipmate kero stove (optimus burners) one could add 50% of diesel to the kero without negatvie sideeffects (same preheating with metho as with 100% kero), adding more diesel would result in sooting up the bottom of the pans