Monday, April 21, 2014

The Diesel Heater

This thing can crank out some heat, sometimes I just sit there mesmorized, watching it turn vaporized diesel into a blue flame as Allyson asks me how my other 'girlfriend' is doing. With this and the electric space heater going the boat can reach a comfortable 70 degrees.

 Although, it’s really a love-hate relationship. This year I experimented with a 50/50 mixture of kerosene and old diesel leftover from last year. Not a smart move, it was so clogged up after a week that even with the pressure in the day-tank pinned, you could only get a small flame. It had to come apart. I tried cleaning it with some automotive carbon removers, put it back together, didn't work, tried using a diesel additive took it apart again and did some online research while also looking at buying a new burner. I finally came across a post that explained how to clean the thing. Hook it up to a compressor and heat it up red hot with a blow torch and blow air through it to burn out the deposits. As a cold week was coming up it had to be fixed ASAP. I went to my friend's shop and hooked it up to his compressor and toasted those deposits. They came out in a yellow flame with black smoke. I put it back together and rebuilt the connection to the base of the heater (took me a couple hours at the hardware store to find the right parts). I also replaced the fuel with fresh diesel and put an additive (gumout) in the tank. It’s been running for over 100 hours this winter and spring with no issues.


Force 10 Cozy Cabin Kerosene Heater



Kerosene Burner (Optimus 207b or a Hipolito burner) - Still kickin

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