Dirty, Filthy, Dickinson Heaters

[Sailor_Hutch]

Originally Posted by Rhapsody-NS27

I think one of their Youtube videos showed them getting scrap wood while they were in Greenland.

Maybe they're using the wood burner at dockside then. They could have alternative heat for the water. Not sure one could efficiently store the number of cords needed, and keep them all dry for the duration.

[Jammer Six]

Electric heat is where two pound boogers live.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by Jammer Six

Electric heat is where two pound boogers live.

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[JDS61]

Every heat source has its good and bad points. My first cruising boat had a wood and coal stove for heating and cooking, worked great and loved it, despite the ash and soot everywhere. Was never cold. When I walk down the dock on a cold evening now I wonder if I am at a airport, the Webastos and Espars, forced air or hydronics are winding up till I think a jet is going to crash on me. My friend who I cruise with had a propane wall mount heater till his insurance dumped him because of it. He now has a nice hydronic espar with a muffler, so it is more like a 747 than a 707. He always wonders why I wait till he anchors first, so I can get far away enough to get a good nights sleep. But he wants to stay close so I can give him a jump because his batteries are dead. I need to get longer jumper cables. So what do I have now?, that nasty Dickenson Alaska Heater, works great, twitchy to lite, burns clean, too much heat, no power drain, heats my water and wife and son love it with flame in window on a cold night. Soot, yes a little when air and fuel mix is not balanced, but nothing compared to some of the boats here at the marina with a white hull and black transom. Dickenson is a good company with good people, I like there product.

[Delfin]

My experience is not that of the OP, and I am not sure what would cause the effects described. My Dickinson has a run of around 8 ft before the exhaust exits, so perhaps the draft is more effective. We have hydronic heat, but in the winter, run the Newport more or less 24 x 7 with zero sooting inside or outside the boat.

[zboss]

We also get soiling from the Newport but we notice it does this:

1) if we don't regularly clean it.
2) if we burn it too high.

We had to adjust the flow meter very low because we found that it's just too hot at night otherwise.

FYI... Tuff enuff is excellent at cleaning that soot right off the deck.

[Jammer Six]

Originally Posted by cburger

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Install electric heat, stand by to pick your nose. Do it, you'll see what I mean.

[cburger]

Originally Posted by zboss

We also get soiling from the Newport but we notice it does this:

1) if we don't regularly clean it.
2) if we burn it too high.

We had to adjust the flow meter very low because we found that it's just too hot at night otherwise.

FYI... Tuff enuff is excellent at cleaning that soot right off the deck.

Thanks for the tip on the cleaning solution, any negative effects on painted surfaces?

[zboss]

[QUOTE=cburger;1531626]Thanks for the tip on the cleaning solution, any negative effects on painted surfaces?[/QUOTE

Not really, we use it on our painted non-skid and it seems to be fine. Don't get it on canvas.

It does remove the wax but we use "woody's wax" so we just spray some on a wet deck and let the water evaporate, then rinse the deck with a hard stream of water.

[Sailor_Hutch]

Originally Posted by Jammer Six

Install electric heat, stand by to pick your nose. Do it, you'll see what I mean.

What you're saying is true. You get air stratification with electric. I think that would mostly be a dockside problem where the air isn't mixed much. But then - electric is more useful at dockside...

[mikereed100]

cburger,

Thinking about your problem a couple of questions come to mind.

Do you have the minimum 4' stack height for proper draft?. Might be difficult on a W32 but could be fixed with an extension outside the boat.

Do you have a method of providing positive pressure inside the boat while running the heater? We do this by cracking a forward facing hatch and making sure all the back windows are closed. In a marina this would be problematic as the boat doesn't swing to the wind. Some folks instll a small fan and vent to help with this.

Our heater came with an insert to be used with high sulfur fuel. We have never had to use it, but I wonder if you have one?

Before you give up on the Dickenson consider that an electric heater puts out far less heat than a diesel heater. We run a Dickenson at the lowest setting in our starboard hull with an electric full blast in the port hull when we are in a marina and the difference is striking. The electric will take the edge out of an arctic Southern California evening, but the diesel actually makes the boat warm. Also, retrofitting a forced air heater will be very expensive and is no small job.

[ScuzzMonkey]

I am no Dickenson fan, though for different reasons, but to echo what others have said, we found our Lofoten burned a lot cleaner and more efficiently when we fed it kerosene.

Have since gone with a Wallas forced-air model; even using diesel it burns quiet and clean.

[NRosenthal]

I have an Dickinson Artic heater, 3 gallon day tank, no pump, almost never use the fan (only on start ups when very windy) boat is clean inside and out, dry and warm, even when winter sailing out on the local Islands.

[Terra Nova]

Originally Posted by cburger

...we had a significant rain event and I returned to the boat to find that water was working its way inside the flu cap and washing black soot out of the joints of the chimney and on to the top of the stove and the blanket below the heater...
Very disappointed with this equipment and have come to the conclusion that it is very old technology...

Sounds like a poor installation, if you're getting rainwater in the chimney. Photos? And move the blanket.

As far as old technology, so is a Westsail. (So is my Freya--I have the same heater)

[Lostsailor13]

I have Dickinson Antarctic and have dialed it in perfectly,here are a few tips,use the 12v fan,make sure it is clean,including stack,i blow mine out once a week with compressed air,make sure fire pot is clean,and use the h cap to help with backdraft,im a full time liveaboard in Massachusetts,and my heater runs 24/7 when im on the boat,mske adjustments until flame is purple and you will have a clean topside and efficient burn,and make sure ring is sitting properly in the groove,i can dial it in till the flame is all purple and burn about 1.5 gallons per day,i also have a Chinese diesel heater which is even more efficient but the nice glow off the fire makes for a wonderful atmosphere,and very dry,the hygrometer is usually at 25 to 35 percent