sigmar 190 diesel heater vs dickinson lofoten diesel heater

[donhodd]

I am wanting input on these two heaters. I have a 40 foot dean catamaran and am looking for a diesel heater. There is not many places to put a vent up through the deck and if I went with an espar I would require two. As well I have the person who installs them to come in a he didnt know how to install it in my cat. So I am thinking of getting a larger heater and put it in the saloon area and use fans to push the hot air into the various births and rooms. Any thoughts would be great.
1 Do they smell up the cabin.
2. Do they work well.
3. which one is better.
4. how easy are they to maintain.
5. do they smoke bad.

Thanks Don

[DickinsonMarine]

Hi Don,

I would reccommend the Lofoten over the Sig190 as the Sig190 was discontinued in 2007 when Dickinson purchased Sig from Force 10 so only the Lofoten will have spare parts available. Also, the Lofoten has a 6" burner where as the Sig has a 5.5" burner so more heat from the Lofoten. Otherwise, the contruction and the internal components and contruction is pretty much exactly the same. Here are answers to your questions....

1 Do they smell up the cabin. ***No, if operated correctly.
2. Do they work well. ***Yes, if installed to spec and operated correctly.
3. which one is better. ***Lofoten, reasons stated above.
4. how easy are they to maintain. ***Pretty easy, yearly cleaning. If soot is being created, that is indication something is wrong. Dickinson has a tech team to help troubleshoot.
5. do they smoke bad. ***only is something is wrong.

Any more questions feel free to ask. ~Michelle info@dickinsonmarine.com

[FamilyVan]

I also looked into the sigmar 190 and got a response from Dickinson that it was discontinued. My understanding is Dickinson bought out Sigmar.

The lofoten looks like a really nice unit, bit deeper investigation lead me to the understanding that the cooktop on the lofoten won't do much more then keep something Luke warm.

I still haven't bought a unit from Dickinson and am currently thinking I might keep my old propane range and get a cubic mini for heat. Haven't decided yet.

I will say when I was shopping I got excellent responses from both Dickinson and their local distributors. Even though I didn't buy there product I was very impressed with their customer service.
Plus they are a Canadian company, so if you're in the Americas, they speak English and you can easily get parts and service (unlike- Refleks).

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[redhead]

A bit off topic but oh, well. I just bought a boat in BC that came with two Dickinson diesel stoves. The Atlantic model in the galley and the Adriatic in the Capt's quarters. They had been installed in 1981 when the boat was commissioned but neither one had been used in well over a decade.

We read instructions so old they had been mimeographed (haven't seen that in a while) followed said instructions and they both started and took off without a whimper. Aside from the gentle heat I've been cooking/baking on the Atlantic and other than adjusting to new times and temps I have no complaints.

You know, I should write the manufacturer....

[DickinsonMarine]

Yes, Dickinson is a family owned, Canadian company that thrives on giving the best customer service possible. Thank you.

Dickinson did purchase Sigmar from Force10 in 2007 and only continued manufacturing the Sig100, 120, 170 and 180 diesel heaters.

Just to inform you, a Lofoten diesel heater if operated and installed correctly can achive aprox 1100F on the cast iron cooktop, which is hotter then any gas stove burner, so the understanding that the cooktop on the Lofoten won't do much more then keep something luke warm, I would say is inaccurate.

If anyone has any questions on the dickinson appliances, I welcome them.

~Michelle from Dickinson Marine

[FamilyVan]

Okay, ask I shall.
1100 F is what in Celsius? What does an electric range reach?
Can I install a Lofoten and expect decent operation without 12 volt power (I have 12 volt power, but say I wanted to conserve my batteries.)?
When doing my research I discovered the Lofoten would fit beautifully in my cut out, meaning the front of the unit would face inboard, would the unit work well like this?
The other thing that gave me pause about the Lofoten was the 3" flue, it's just inconvenient for me because I already have a 3" hole in my deck (if I understand correctly- that's whats needed for a 2" flue?
I'd be buying from Genco Marine, I have received nothing but amazing advice from Mitch there.

[GRIT]

Hi Don, regards heating with a sigmar/dickinson.
We had a Dickinson in our last boat, and it was great. But it flamed up a couple of times over winter, and turned the sides red hot, so we wouldn't leave it on if we weren't there to babysit. (It does say in the manual, not to use the heater unattended.)

We also had an espar, which was always on (Annapolis over winter), and which we left on year round, and let it regulate itself. Just like the furnace in your house, you don't have to shut it off, as it will only come on if the temps are lower than the setting. We were full time cruising, from PEI, to Europe, to Trinidad; the espar was always "on", and we were never cold.

Winters aboard required a little extra heat. That's when the Dickinson came into play. The Dickinson is also very "calming" as you watch the flame, it kinda felt like my Grandmother's place.

I think you'll find a problem getting the heat from the b-deck, down to the hulls, esp to near the floor to keep your legs and feet warm. Heat is very hard to get to move "down" into a hull. You'd require some pretty strong fans to do this, even the dickinson with a water coil is unlikely to get the heat down into the hulls as you want.

At least that's been my experience whilst building our cat, I can heat a hull and be comfortable in the b-deck, but not the other way around.

PS. You can always install a "Y" fitting to an espar and send the heat to two hulls at once, but you'll want at least an airtronic 5 or a D8 to heat your entire boat.

Cheers, and good luck.
Paul.

[rognvald]

Don,
You might also want to check the Danish diesel heater "Refleks." They have models that are floor mounted and do not require an air intake vent but use the cold air from the floor. I am installing one in our boat for our next trip to the North. Good luck and good sailing. Oil Stoves - Refleks Olieovne A-S - Ringe

[DickinsonMarine]

Originally Posted by FamilyVan

Okay, ask I shall.
1100 F is what in Celsius? What does an electric range reach?
Can I install a Lofoten and expect decent operation without 12 volt power (I have 12 volt power, but say I wanted to conserve my batteries.)?
When doing my research I discovered the Lofoten would fit beautifully in my cut out, meaning the front of the unit would face inboard, would the unit work well like this?
The other thing that gave me pause about the Lofoten was the 3" flue, it's just inconvenient for me because I already have a 3" hole in my deck (if I understand correctly- that's whats needed for a 2" flue?
I'd be buying from Genco Marine, I have received nothing but amazing advice from Mitch there.

1100 degree Fahrenheit = 593.333333333 degree Celsius....
Not sure what an electric range reaches but not as hot as a diesel heater is my guess. The Lofoten heater has a 12v draft assist fan that draws only .17 of an amp and is only meant for start up and higher fuel settings so draining your battery shouldn't be a concern.

The concern of the facing of the unit is when the boat is on a heel. If the valve becomes higher then the burner then there will be some interruption in operation due to the gravity feed of fuel. In these cases, the valve can be mounted on the side of the unit. It would then allow the user to operate the unit without interruption on heels up to 15 degrees.

Unfortunately, the Lofoten is designed for a 3" chimney and a 2" would cause draft issues. Any more questions, please ask

Agreed, Genco Marine has always been a great dealer!!

[FamilyVan]

Originally Posted by DickinsonMarine

1100 degree Fahrenheit = 593.333333333 degree Celsius....
Not sure what an electric range reaches but not as hot as a diesel heater is my guess. The Lofoten heater has a 12v draft assist fan that draws only .17 of an amp and is only meant for start up and higher fuel settings so draining your battery shouldn't be a concern.

The concern of the facing of the unit is when the boat is on a heel. If the valve becomes higher then the burner then there will be some interruption in operation due to the gravity feed of fuel. In these cases, the valve can be mounted on the side of the unit. It would then allow the user to operate the unit without interruption on heels up to 15 degrees.

Unfortunately, the Lofoten is designed for a 3" chimney and a 2" would cause draft issues. Any more questions, please ask

Agreed, Genco Marine has always been a great dealer!!

Excellent. Thanks for the response. It's so hard to decide on the right unit.

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