Diesel Stoves and Servicing

[Tecka]

Good morning all, after solving the non starting engine issue and finally picking my boat up I'm looking at ensuring some of the equipment is in good order. Although the surveyor gave the stove a clean bill of health he did caveat that he doesn't know a lot about diesel stoves. I'd feel more comfortable putting it back into daily use after a full service, I'm not averse to doing these things myself but not when it's equipment I've never seen before.

 

The stove is a Dickinson Adriatic and runs the radiators fitted on the boat also (3) If you've seen the other thread about my engine you'll know that the engine needed bleeding before I could use it, this runs off the same tank so this may also have air in the fuel lines.

 

Does anyone know of a good reliable diesel engineer to give it a full service. If you know of one that'll let me watch / teach me the service requirements then that would be even better. I'm willing to pay a premium for the latter if someones willing as I realise I'm essentially asking to save money in the future by reducing their pool of customers by one.

 

Preferably round the BCN as that's where I'm planning on spending the winter.

[Neil Smith]

Contact dickinsons and get a list of their agents or service centres.

 

Neil

[Graham.m]

Kuranda appear to be the UK agents.

tel no 01663 734800

 

Website http://www.kurandamarine.co.uk/index.php?route=common/home

 

They I am sure will be able to help.

 

Do you have the manual?

 

If not suspect this is the one http://www.dickinsonmarine.com/Manuals/Diesel-Stove-Manual-2011-2.pdf

Edited November 27, 2015 by Graham.m

[ditchcrawler]

Not much to them really, I run mine from a day tank via a filter. Its much better now that the red diesel contains less sulphur. The only problem I had was the low flow stop screw on the oil regulator vibrated out of adjustment. I have only stripped down the controller once in 14 years. I use to clean the burner pot regularly but thats down to once a year now. An important point is to make sure all the air holes are clear in the burner pot.

[Ex Brummie]

Download the manual and you will see it is quite straightforward. A quote from the manufacturer of these burners was that the only problem with this type of appliance is the nut on the end of the screwdriver adjusting the fuel metering screws.

[ditchcrawler]

Download the manual and you will see it is quite straightforward. A quote from the manufacturer of these burners was that the only problem with this type of appliance is the nut on the end of the screwdriver adjusting the fuel metering screws.

Not so easily done as said. I find that the diesel temperature make a big difference to the feed rate. When we arrived at the boat on Sunday and lit the stove I had the metering valved turned up to maximum, by the next morning when things had warmed up it was turned down to 3 for the same rate of burn.

[Ex Brummie]

It is the flue temperature that increases the rate of burn for vapourising burners. The flash point of the fuel is always the same, 35 sec oil vapourises at around 80c. When you light it, a glowcoil on some burners will raise the temperature locally, or alternatively, a piece of tissue or wick will give off a little vapour to start things off.

Once a flame is established, this raises temperature to a greater area. This then warms up the flue which starts to draw. This then pulls in more air to create more vapour which then burns hotter. After an hour or two, you reach optimum levels of fuel introduced and combustion air. This is why, if you need to adjust the firing rate, you do it when the burner is hot, and about 1/8th of a screw turn at a time with 15 mins between each adjustment.

Servicing is straightforward. Keep the pot clear, and keep the oilways clear. If you really want to go deeper into it, then you can measure the cold oil flow by disconnecting the outlet from the oil control valve, turn it on low and collect the fuel. After 5 mins, measure the volume out put for 2 mins, divide it by 2 and check what the manufacturers is for flow per min. Turn it up to maximum, wait 5 mins then repeat for 2 mins, divide by two and compare with the maximum output. Unless the factory settings have been altered, just clean the pipework and pot, and make sure you have the best flue option you can get. High and insulated outside the boat is optimum.

[Jamm]

Hello Tecka. I have a diesel stove. It is a Deville 2000. The instruction manual was horrendously remiss and I found very little info online regarding this particular model. However, it may be useful to note that it seems many diesel stoves have features in common. I gleaned maintenance and service info from other makes and models.

 

I agree with what is advised from other posters so far, especially the gradual increments if you require to adjust from the standard heat level that is used for lighting (number 2 in my case).

 

I found this on a totally different model online but it was the same setup:

Look where the fuel pipe enters on the outside of the burn pot, see if there is a small metal lever there. This is used to de-coke the fuel line. Pull this outwards whilst twisting it around and then do the same when pushing it back on. You will probably feel and hear crunching noises... this is the carbon being cleared from the fuel line, where it enters the pot. I do this every other time I light the fire.

 

Before lighting make sure there is enough diesel in the bottom of the pot by waiting a few minutes before putting the firelighter in. Do not wait any longer as you really do not want to light a flooded diesel stove... it's frightening! Keep an eye on it to make sure the diesel has ignited. Diesel takes a while to ignite as it needs to warm up first, which is why you do need firelighters. After about 20 minutes (this can differ depending on cleanliness of the pot and flu temperatures) the flame should begin to burn with a predominantly blue colour as it stabilizes. In a very clean stove and when the flu is not freezing cold to start with, this can happen very quickly.

 

A tall chimney gives best results.

 

I personally clean the pot and its fittings about every month. I vacuum the pot itself, lift out and scrape the fittings to remove carbon. Wipe around the air holes.

 

I really cannot see what there is to actually service on these stoves.

 

Good luck.

Edited November 27, 2015 by Jamm

[Phil Ambrose]

Much the same with the Glembring that I had, my mate did similar with his Refleks, scrape the crud out once a month, job done.

Phil

[Graham.m]

I have an Old Dutch diesel stove and have found the easiest way to light it is

 

1 Open the fuel regulator to full, wait a minute or two until there is the wet stain of the fuel is visible in the bottom of the pot

 

2. Add about 25ml of Meths

 

3 Light match away from the stove opening and drop into the pot. Keep head back as it will ignite almost instantly

 

4 Put the top cover back on and turn the fuel regulator back to the level required

 

5 Let it heat up and adjust as required

Edited November 28, 2015 by Graham.m

[cuthound]

I have an Old Dutch diesel stove and have found the easiest way to light it is

 

1 Open the fuel regulator to full, wait a minute or two until there is the wet stain of the fuel is visible in the bottom of the pot

 

2. Add about 25ml of Meths

 

3 Light match away from the stove opening and drop into the pot. Keep head back as it will ignite almost instantly

 

4 Put the top cover back on and turn the fuel regulator back to the level required

 

5 Let it heat up and adjust as required

I too have an Old Dutch, and this is how I light mine.

 

When letting the oil in manually to light the stove, I find a puddle about the size of an old penny is the right amount, before adding meths and lighting. I use a long wax tsper to light the stove.