diesel cooker

[Neil Smith]

hi all, i am thinking about a diesel powered cooker that i can also use to heat rads and water via a calorifier as i really dont want any gas,has anyone got this setup if so are there any problems with it.what one to go for and the cost involved.cheers Neil

[mrsmelly]

hi all, i am thinking about a diesel powered cooker that i can also use to heat rads and water via a calorifier as i really dont want any gas,has anyone got this setup if so are there any problems with it.what one to go for and the cost involved.cheers Neil

 

Hi

 

After listening to many of my friends who said DONT DO IT I knew better and spent in excess of 2.5k on a Dickinson diesel stove/heating system. WHAT A LOAD OF CRAP, binned it and back to the ultra safe ultra reliable instantly controlable super gas system that I should have had in the first place.

[Ex- Member]

hi all, i am thinking about a diesel powered cooker that i can also use to heat rads and water via a calorifier as i really dont want any gas,has anyone got this setup if so are there any problems with it.what one to go for and the cost involved.cheers Neil

 

Their not that popular from what I've heard, people I've spoken to who have used them say the cookers can be problematic. I suspect there are some out there though that have it fitted and are happy with it. I would much prefer gas it's instant and cleaner IMO and for just cooking a bottle will lasts ages, you can have instant hot water from it also.

 

 

Not for me as I can't see any advantages. Their very pricey too I recall.

 

 

[MtB]

Their not that popular from what I've heard, people I've spoken to who have used them say the cookers can be problematic.

 

That's a bit vague. No-one ever seems to come up with what these problems are in any detail.

 

I wonder if half the problems are caused by boaters running kerose appliances on diesel.

 

 

(Edited to cerrect a rodiculous spelling mistake.)

Edited August 23, 2011 by Mike the Boilerman

[Ex- Member]

That's a bit vague. No-one ever seems to come up with what these problems are in any detail.

 

I wonder if half the problems are caused by boaters running kerose appliances on diesel.

 

 

(Edited to cerrect a rodiculous spelling mistake.)

 

 

The main problem is getting a decent constant blue flame, you're right that their not keen on Red diesel there for problematic.

 

Oh and igniting problems.

 

 

Edited August 23, 2011 by Julynian

[jonk]

hi all, i am thinking about a diesel powered cooker that i can also use to heat rads and water via a calorifier as i really dont want any gas,has anyone got this setup if so are there any problems with it.what one to go for and the cost involved.cheers Neil

 

I seem to recall there was a thread about Heritage cookers recently - might do a search for it. They seemed to have good reviews. No experience myself so can't help I'm afraid.

 

John

[steelaway]

hi all, i am thinking about a diesel powered cooker that i can also use to heat rads and water via a calorifier as i really dont want any gas,has anyone got this setup if so are there any problems with it.what one to go for and the cost involved.cheers Neil

 

Hi

 

 

What's wrong with installing gas - 99% of NB's have it

 

Alex

[MtB]

Hi

 

 

What's wrong with installing gas - 99% of NB's have it

 

Alex

 

 

Its a lot more than 99%...!

 

And wasn't the bloke from Heritage Cookers on here a while ago spamming the boards furiously?

 

The cookers may or may not be good but I have a feeling most of the good comments were from the bloke making (or selling) them :-)

 

Forgive me and correct me if I'm wrong please Mr Heritage Cookers!

 

Mike

[nb Innisfree]

The main problem is getting a decent constant blue flame, you're right that their not keen on Red diesel there for problematic.

 

Oh and igniting problems.

 

Mind you our Mikuni is trouble free now we have ULSD, could that improve diesel cookers as well?

 

The main problem is getting a decent constant blue flame, you're right that their not keen on Red diesel there for problematic.

 

Oh and igniting problems.

 

Mind you our Mikuni is trouble free now we have ULS gas oil, could that improve diesel cookers as well?

[rjasmith]

Its a lot more than 99%...!

 

And wasn't the bloke from Heritage Cookers on here a while ago spamming the boards furiously?

 

The cookers may or may not be good but I have a feeling most of the good comments were from the bloke making (or selling) them :-)

 

Forgive me and correct me if I'm wrong please Mr Heritage Cookers!

 

Mike

 

I think he was "Son of Heritage Cookers" Mike ie he has started a new Co doing very similar cookers after a split with his business partner at Heritage.

 

So to be fair it wasn't Heritage themselves doing the spamming, just their new competitor!

 

I have a friend with a Heritage who thinks it's wonderful and was happy to pay the substantial price for it.

 

I've gone for Wallas Hob and Oven but can't report on their performance yet as I'm still a long way from fitting them

 

Time will tell whether I shall swear by or at them (They're also expensive things but not as much as a Heritage and nothing like as heavy!!

 

Richard

[Midnight Rider]

 

I've gone for Wallas Hob and Oven but can't report on their performance yet as I'm still a long way from fitting them

 

Hello Richard

 

First of all I would have put money on Mrs Melly being an early poster. He is of course entitled to his opinion, but it is always black or white, never grey.

 

We have had the Wallas oven/hob from the start. Had a few teething problems but overall we are very satisfied. We also have a microwave oven as a back up.

 

One tip --- when you get the boat blacked, don't forget to cover up the exhaust outlets --- we forgot & the water blast did the Wallas no good at all.

[rjasmith]

Hello Richard

 

First of all I would have put money on Mrs Melly being an early poster. He is of course entitled to his opinion, but it is always black or white, never grey.

 

We have had the Wallas oven/hob from the start. Had a few teething problems but overall we are very satisfied. We also have a microwave oven as a back up.

 

One tip --- when you get the boat blacked, don't forget to cover up the exhaust outlets --- we forgot & the water blast did the Wallas no good at all.

 

Thanks - that's good to hear! There seem to be an equal no of bad and good reports about the Wallas stuff on CWDF. They shouldn't suffer from the same problems as the Eberkunibastos as they're really only a pot burner controlled by electronics rather than a mini jet engine! But I expect they may have other foibles.

 

I did wonder about running them from kerosene rather than diesel (I will do this with my Kabola E5 boiler) so I emailed Wallas in Finland. The answer was a resounding NO! So I will stick to diesel for them.

 

Re the problem of water up the exhaust! All my skin outlets, including the Wallas exhausts have full bore 1.5" BSP lever valves on them to shut them off when the boat is out of use. Perhaps a strange idea but the valves weren't expensive. We'll just have to make sure we don't try starting them up with the valves closed! A little reminder notice by the control knob might be an idea!

 

Richard

[ditchcrawler]

 

Re the problem of water up the exhaust! All my skin outlets, including the Wallas exhausts have full bore 1.5" BSP lever valves on them to shut them off when the boat is out of use. Perhaps a strange idea but the valves weren't expensive. We'll just have to make sure we don't try starting them up with the valves closed! A little reminder notice by the control knob might be an idea!

 

Richard

I have on more than one occasion tried to light our Dickinson with the chimney cap still on.

[mrsmelly]

Hello Richard

 

First of all I would have put money on Mrs Melly being an early poster. He is of course entitled to his opinion, but it is always black or white, never grey.

 

We have had the Wallas oven/hob from the start. Had a few teething problems but overall we are very satisfied. We also have a microwave oven as a back up.

 

One tip --- when you get the boat blacked, don't forget to cover up the exhaust outlets --- we forgot & the water blast did the Wallas no good at all.

 

Hellloooo

 

Tis me again. Yes I call a spade a spade no waffle here, lifes too short for pussyfooting. I simply put my knowledge of Dickensons forward THEY ARE CRAP. As for any other make I have no idea apart from what I hear and the fact that still after years of diesel cookers being around less than 1 percent of boaters have em, speaks for itself.

Why complicate matters and buy a massively expensive diesel unit when Gas is ULTRA safe, reliable and controlable ?

[n.b.Goldie]

IME diesel is a reliable fuel for an engine but not for heaters. As I have just posted in a similar thread about a Lockgate stove not working almost all those I know with diesel heating/cooking equipment have problems with them and they seem to need almost continual maintenance.

 

Having once had a diesel fired stove I would not do it again!

 

Anyway with gas cooking and solid fuel heating some robustness is built into the 'system'. The thought of being iced-in and running out of diesel would worry me particularly if I were a CCer. Why limit oneself to a single fuel which will vary in cost and availability. At least with something like a Morso Squirrel SF stove one can cook on it if the gas runs out before you've bought a replacement.

 

You payer yer money and takes yer choice!

 

Regards

Ditchdabbler

[richardf]

I heard Vintage Ranges went bust in the UK and have now set up in Ireland

Edited August 24, 2011 by richardf

[Chimney]

We have an all diesel boat with Wallas Hob & Oven and Bubble fire.

 

The Wallas set up is fine most of the time but we did have some problems initially mainly due to the power supply. The Wallas sale literature states that they each take 0.5 amp but dosn't tell you thay thay take 8 amps for the first 8 minutes to fire the Glowplug. I had to run in bigger cables to reduce the volt drop. They are also voltage critical and the controls will 'lock out' if supply voltage is too low, this tends to be more of a problem in mornings. I have improved our installation by fitting a change over supply from the engine battery which can be used if the domestics are low. This works fine provided I dont crank the engine with the hob or oven on as they dont like the volt drop. Ideally they should have their own dedicated battery.

 

Repairs are also expensive, last year I paid nearly £500 for a repair to the Hob. As a result of the early problems it had sooted up under the ceramic plate and the only way to clear it is to smash it!! Kuranda the UK agents last year charged £45/hr plus vat for labour.

 

The Bubble works well and also supplies 3 small rads but and a second coil in the calorifier, the rads are ok but only takes the chill of the water in the calorifier. The circ pump is a little noisy and also take 1 amp although it is controlled by a pipe thermostat on the outlet pipe from the boiler which cuts the running time down.

 

With hindsight and now knowing the costs invlved, particularly with the Wallas equipment, gas is a better option.

[Ex- Member]

Mind you our Mikuni is trouble free now we have ULSD, could that improve diesel cookers as well?

 

 

 

Mind you our Mikuni is trouble free now we have ULS gas oil, could that improve diesel cookers as well?

 

 

 

True it might well do, but then you're paying max cost for fuel which you'll need to keep separate unless using it for everything, as well as an extortionate price for diesel cooker in comparison to gas equivalent. So on balance gas is the clear winner for me.

 

Funnily enough we were really keen on diesel cooker when first planning the boat as it seemed eliminating gas as an additional fuel supply would be safer and cheaper, it didn't take much research to change our minds though and added to that hot water supplied by gas is another bonus.