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hd002e · 08-03-2022, 07:30

Not sure if this is the right forum but figured since this runs with diesel, it would best fit with engine stuff. Apologies if incorrect location.

I am having a hard time figuring out which knob adjusts the fuel flow and which is the shut off valve. Does anyone have any experience?

I loosened the fitting and there is fuel coming from the hise that you see entering from the bottom of the frame here. The hose is connected to the gravity feed day tank thats about 3-4 feet above the burner.

Thank you in advance for your help!

sv_pelagia · 08-03-2022, 08:09

A somewhat unusual setup, with apparently 2 (rather than just 1) valves BEFORE the Dickinson valve.

The large round knob is the valve adjustment by Dickinson for adjusting the fuel flow.

http://dickinsonmarine.com/dm/wp-con...ter-Manual.pdf

I can understand why one shutoff valve has been added. But why 2?

[By the way: the overflow outlet at bottom needs a bit of hose/pipe. (I have a short piece of hose going to a small resevoir below. You want to be able to see this... rarely, needle valve gets stuck and fuel flows out overflow. You want to be able to see this and shut off fuel flow.]

hd002e · 08-03-2022, 08:42

Thank you so very much! Nowhere on the stove does it say Dickinson so I wasn’t sure what it was. This certainly is very useful and I have a lot of troubleshooting to take care of.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sv_pelagia

A somewhat unusual setup, with apparently 2 (rather than just 1) valves BEFORE the Dickinson valve.

The large round knob is the valve adjustment by Dickinson for adjusting the fuel flow.

http://dickinsonmarine.com/dm/wp-con...ter-Manual.pdf

I can understand why one shutoff valve has been added. But why 2?

[By the way: the overflow outlet at bottom needs a bit of hose/pipe. (I have a short piece of hose going to a small resevoir below. You want to be able to see this... rarely, needle valve gets stuck and fuel flows out overflow. You want to be able to see this and shut off fuel flow.]

Dickinson_Tech · 08-03-2022, 08:55

Hi hd002e,

The round aluminium knob numbered 1-5 is for fuel adjustment. The other two valves must have been added later on. My guess would be someone added those when the valve was in need of a service, thinking they could use them to regulate fuel without getting the valve working again.

**hpeer** · 08-03-2022, 09:08

I take it you are new to the stove.

Have yo read the start up and adjustment procedure?

If not I suggest you do. It is not difficult but likely not what you would think.

I believe the procedure is the same for all “pot burner” type stoves.

http://www.dickinsonmarine.com/Manua...ual-2011-2.pdf

mikereed100 · 08-03-2022, 09:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dickinson_Tech

Hi hd002e,

The round aluminium knob numbered 1-5 is for fuel adjustment. The other two valves must have been added later on. My guess would be someone added those when the valve was in need of a service, thinking they could use them to regulate fuel without getting the valve working again.

This was my thinking as well. You can download the Dickinson manual here:
http://dickinsonmarine.com/dm/wp-con...ter-Manual.pdf
Fuel flow instructions begin on page 27. You can remove one of the shut off valves and adjust fuel flow as described in the manual. I would take the regulator apart (very simple) and clean it prior to doing this.

Manateeman · 08-03-2022, 12:55

The big knob has a over heat safety shut off built into it so it shuts off the fuel if the unit gets red hot. This might occur if no one is in the boat and the outside temp climbs. The fuel gets hotter and hotter as the cabin temp climbs and it’s like a thermal runaway with the increasing temperature comes a hotter flue and more air as well. Had a friend who almost lost his boat after a winter storm when the day time sun warmed the boat up. The glass was black and the stove was super hot. The shutoff did not work and he was lucky he had great insulation and a cast bronze water deck fitting.
You can buy a thermal safety link if you are going to leave it running alone for days. Also have seen a tee fitting added at the bottom of the burner to help cleaning the pipe where the fuel enters the burner. The fuel valve has a letter and number which tells you which type of diesel. A little filter helps. We used a H cap but if you want real class see a Concordia Yacht cap. Great heat once you get past the learning curve. Lots of prior posts with good advice.
Happy hot toddy and hot pizza.
The manatee crew.

**hpeer** · 08-03-2022, 13:33

Manatee,

Thermal run away is real, when I got my stove I could only turn the flow so low. Just as you noted on a warm day the stove just got hotter and hotter. I shut it down. Since I have adjusted the big knob to a lower burn rate but can go no lower.

Quote:

Safety Fuse
A high temperature fuse is incorporated into the oil metering valve. The adjusting screw on the top of the knob of the oil metering valve is fitted with a fusible sleeve. This fuse will melt if the valve knob reaches a temperature of 165 degrees F. This will shut-off the flow of oil into the burner. Under normal conditions, the valve is at room temperature. If the high fire sleeve melts it indicates too much heat is by the valve compartment. Overheating of this kind is due to burning the heater too lean with the flames burning down in the burner pot and should be rectified before the heater overheats again.

In case of the release of the high temperature fuse, remove the brass nut and do not move the adjusting screw. Apply heat from a lighter to re-solder the link back into its original position which was flat on the top. Once back in place the adjusting screw will not need re-adjusting. Make sure to now burn the heater correctly with ALL flames above the top of the burner. See the Operating Tips section of this Manual.

sv_pelagia · 08-03-2022, 13:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpeer

Manatee,

Thermal run away is real, when I got my stove I could only turn the flow so low. Just as you noted on a warm day the stove just got hotter and hotter. I shut it down. Since I have adjusted the big knob to a lower burn rate but can go no lower.

Of course, Dickinson indicates a shutoff valve must be placed between tank and heater. We have 2: one at tank and 1 closer to heater (but not "in the way" like in this thread's photo!).

nuku34 · 09-03-2022, 01:22

The fuel control valve is not made by Dickinson. Its generic and used by many other diesel stove builders such as Reflex. There are a couple of different sizes depending on the BTU output of the stove. As stated above, the valves are factory set up for various viscosities of diesel (or kerosene) Your stove may not be a Dickinson, but all pot burners work the same way.

In the center of the big knob on the control valve is a set screw. under neath that set screw is another set screw (the top one locks the bottom one so it cant move). screwing the the bottom set screw out will adjust the minimum setting of the fuel valve. This might be necessary if your boat cabin is small and the heat output at low is too much. You can't set the fuel too low however. or the flame will not burn correctly. It takes a fair amount of experimenting to get the fuel/air mix right and that depends also on the length of flue, the type of rain cap, etc. Play around, but DO NOT leave the heater unattended!

Bill O · 09-03-2022, 05:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by hpeer

Thermal run away is real, when I got my stove I could only turn the flow so low. Just as you noted on a warm day the stove just got hotter and hotter. I shut it down. Since I have adjusted the big knob to a lower burn rate but can go no lower.

Agree with the above that the big knob regulator setting can only go so low. I see the needle valve just before the regulator not as a shut off valve, but as a way to further regulate the flow (decrease) when the big knob regulator can't be turned down low enough. The first valve inline w/the incoming fuel is the gross shut off valve.

**hpeer** · 09-03-2022, 07:42

Good conversations above. Thanks.

hd002e · 13-03-2022, 15:39

Very helpful comments thank you! It’s been pretty cold here lately so I got to experiment a bit more with the settings and I am hoping to get a hang of it slowly. It was very windy the other day and the atove got backdrafted (i believe this is the term) and the flames went out with a lot of amoke filling up the cabin and then it caught fore again violently. Definitely scary stuff but I think I could have overcome that by turning on the bottom fan? Not sure. We ended up shutting it down and leaving the boat!!

Anyways, how is the barometric damper supposed to function. Mine looks to be broken. Is it supposed to lock into position? Mine simply swings open with the wind.

Thanks everyone for your very helpful comments. I have gone through the manuel and will attempt to clean the inside and then the regulator this week.

**hpeer** · 13-03-2022, 17:01

While I have a diesel pot burner stove in my hunting cabin and it works great there I am not in favor if them in sailing boats. Others may have different opinions.

On my boats I have an Espar/Airtronix D-4 diesel hot air furnace. Being stuck (live aboard) on the US east coast the last 2 years it has run for nearly 3 months straight. We leave it on when we leave the boat. The D-4 is a bit small for the 44’er, but can maintain a comfortable indoor temperature well below freezing outside. Once a year I need to replace the burner screen and glow plug if I break it. We have run over 100 gallons of diesel through it this winter so far since before Christmas when we got back aboard.