Diesel Stove?

AK-Brando

Advanced Member
Joined
Apr 9, 2004
Posts
55
Location
Valdez - The snow capital of Alaska
Has anybody tried installing a diesel stove? We use these all the time on our commercial fishing boats up here in Alaska. They work great as heaters and pretty good at cooking and baking too. On hot days we would shut the stove down and put a portable propane stove on top for cooking. I was thinking of installing one and not having to deal with installing propane at all.

This is the model I am looking at (unless eBay provides something else). I have found it new at Boat Owners World http://www.boatownersworld.com/dickinsonmarine/stoves_ovens_cookers.htm or direct from Dickinson Marine http://www.dickinsonmarine.com/shop5/shopdisplayproducts.asp?catalogid=34

I already have a diesel engine heater installed and plumbed to the main tank, so I think I could just tap off that line for the diesel stove.
 
WOW! Those are nice. I would love to do one of those, and my wife would probably like it even better. Seems like it should work great in a bus. Some of the guys with Webasto diesel fired water heaters install a smaller diesel tank and use the off road fuel for them. You can get the tanks cheap from any place that deals with reefer trailers. That way you don't have to pay road tax to cook and heat. Of course AK has a really cheap fuel tax so it may not be worth it.
 
Well they supposedly only burn about 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 gallons of diesel in a 24 hour period. On our fishing boats we would run them all summer, unless it got really hot or we were leaving the boat unattended. I know these can take some abuse, and even high winds didn't seem to bother them too much as long as you run the combustion assist fan. I've personally seen 90 kt winds while at anchor running one of these - although we were in a lee, so we probably only had 30-40 across the stack.
 
Wow, they are really easy on the fuel. I guess for the little bit they burn it would probably not be worth the trouble/cost for a seperate tank. If I can afford one I will get one. If I can avoid propane I will.
 
diesel stove

Most of the drillers I work with have stoves in their drill rigs, made by their shop. Basically a modification of a wood stove design. Steel tubing approx. 20" dia +/-, a door with a air intake/flue in the front, welded shut at the other end and a stove-pipe at the top-back. A set of legs, a sheet of metal bent into a ] shape welded on top for a cooking surface, and you're in business. A fine-threaded valve drips fuel onto sand/lava rock for combustion. I'd add a thermocouple and 12volt solenoid/valve to shut the flow off if the temp goes way low, to avoid a messy spill! A lot of heat for little money. If anyone builds one, post pics and details!!
 
I've tried that type of waste oil burner before...mother earth news did an article on it some time ago...

i've yet to find anyone who actually got it to work safely. The problem is that as the oil heats up, it starts running faster and faster. What was a slow drip becomes a stream of oil. In my R&D I had 6 foot flames shooting out the top of my "stove" (it was really a 55 gallon drum)


but this sort of homemade device is a completely different animal from what the original post was about.

I think the commercially available diesel stove is an excellent idea. It's so much safer than propane, and the added benifit of sucking the fuel out of the stock diesel tank is very attractive.
 
I wonder if one could be had from a military auction? I suppose the hassle with an auction might make the price worth it.
 

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