Wallas stove diesel fuel protection

[baz]

I've been using our Wallas stove for some 2-1/2 years now and it still has diesel fuel remaining in the tank after this period of time. I know diesel can over time get stale/cruddy/growth etc. Not wanting to suddenly find my Wallas stove coughing/spluttering and maybe refusing to fire up due to `cruddy' fuel what is best for protecting against this from happening?

I suspect adding an additive each year to the Wallas diesel fuel tank is the answer, or even replacing the fuel with fresh once a year is the answer -- but what do others do to avoid Wallas fuel issues ?

Thanks... 🙂

 

[walldog]

Diesel fuel does not have the storage issues of gasoline. That said, maybe you should dump the Wallas diesel into your main tank once a year or so and then put fresh diesel into the Wallas tank.

 

[doke01]

I agree with Walldog. That is what I do at the end of each year. At the beginning I put in an additive to prevent growth. This is the first year I have had to do any maintenance on the stove (had it since 2007) and it was a basic cleaning.

 

[m4boots]

Baz, diesel fuel does in fact have a shelf life. Any fuel that sits around for 6 months without a stabilizer should be discarded. You run a good risk of gum and varnish, two things you do not want in your injectors, and especially in the Wallas stove. Just my opinion.

 

[baz]

Baz, diesel fuel does in fact have a shelf life. Any fuel that sits around for 6 months without a stabilizer should be discarded. You run a good risk of gum and varnish, two things you do not want in your injectors, and especially in the Wallas stove. Just my opinion.

Yes... my exact thoughts having owned several diesel powered autos. 🙂

 

[Lobo]

At the Vancouver Boat Show in 2009 the Wallas dealer told me the stove also burns kerosene and coal oil. He said coal oil was better than kerosene -- less wax. I've been using coal oil since and the stove has been operating well.

Dave

 

[bbrh842]

Baz,

Not much use for the Wallas stove down here in Texas.
I use about a half tank of diesel a year for heating, during the two weeks of winter we have in Texas.
I add fresh diesel at the end of each winter to fill up the tank.
After five years, no problems with the Wallas stove.
The tank is transulcent, so I can see there is no crud growing in the tank.

Regards,
Mike

 

[baz]

At the Vancouver Boat Show in 2009 the Wallas dealer told me the stove also burns kerosene and coal oil. He said coal oil was better than kerosene -- less wax. I've been using coal oil since and the stove has been operating well.

Dave

I'm curious about these three types of fuel (diesel, Kerosene and Coal oil) for the Wallas stove...

1) Comparative cost per US gallon ?

-Diesel today cost (in my area) $4.25 per gal.
-Kerosene cost around $3.50 to $4 per gallon.
-Coal oil as best I can figure assuming 55 gallons per barrel and with a barrel of coal oil costing $30 means $0.54 per gallon (impressive).

2) Color... diesel is red/pink (in my case), kerosene presumable is clear, but what color is coal oil ?


3) Calorific value... it seems that Kerosene and Diesel share similar values whereas Coal oil is around 78% to 87% less.

4) Availability: Diesel and Kerosene are readily available but cannot find availability info for coal oil !

 

[doke01]

The Wallus uses such a small amount of fuel I don't think the cost comparison really makes sense for the fuel. Either way it is dirt cheap to run. The fact that you have a choice of fuels makes it even better. It gives you flexibility. I would never have another boat without a Wallus. The ability to cook with just a battery and the same fuel you carry in your boat anyway makes it worth it... I remember the first day we bought the boat at Coeyman's Landing Marina on the Hudson. The daytime was in the 70's but that night it dropped into the 20's. We didn't even realize it until we cracked the door open in the morning! 🙂

 

[baz]

Doug: I don't disagree. I was just curious about the comparisons as I was unaware different fuel types could be used with the Wallus stove. Everyone I talk with about the Wallus speaks very highly of the device. The one thing to take care about is the exhaust temperature of the Wallus underneath the unit and the exit port on the starboard side - the exit temperature from the hull port is enough to melt a fender. I measured it with an IR temp probe some 2 years ago and was quite surprised. 😉 At the time I did post my findings Sep 21, 2009... see http://www.tugnuts.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=635&hilit=+temp

...and here's a quote from the July 1, 2009 posting -- "Wallas Woes" -- http://www.tugnuts.com/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=444&start=15 written by Doug at Scan Marine.

"We recommend running Wallas products every 1-2 months. If you know you will be storing the boat for more than a couple months, then start your Wallas and once it is up and running well, pull the fuel line out of the tank and let the Wallas run until it stops. This will clear the lines of unused fuel. You will need to wait for the Wallas to re-prime itself on the next start after storage."

 

[Claud'in]

Good information!
When your Tugs is all the year on the water, the better way is to use the wallas stove sometimes!
By
Claud'in

 

[bbrh842]

I agree with Claud'in.
I run the Wallas every weekend in the winter, even though most of the time I have to leave the back door open.

 

[doke01]

Barry,

I agree with you about the exhaust exit port and the heat. I have one of the original R25s and this year I added some interesting devices to the fuel vent (for another post) and where the Wallus exhaust hose went through the back of the cabinet there was some burn marks and melting. I made the hole in the back of the cabinet larger to ensure the side of the hose no longer touched the cabinet back. This occurred even with the hose insulation. I don't think it is installed this way on the newer R25s though, mine is hull #7 so they were still shaking things out when they built it.

Doug