Smell from Diesel Heater

[bcboomer]

I'm debating between a propane or diesel bulkhead heater, probably Dickinson. I was told by a vendor that installing the diesel one will always result in some amount of fuel smell. I hate diesel smell but wonder if one could eliminate it with a careful installation.

[Pau Hana]

We recently installed a Wallas DT-40- no smell. I think any of the forced air heaters will be similar.

[hpeer]

I run a kerosene bulkhead heater. I don't find it objectionable.

I have a Dickenson stove in a cabin, fine there but not for my boat.

Perhaps you can run kero through a diesel bulkhead heater, if it's a pressure primus) type and not a "pot burner".

Kero is cleaner and smells less.

[roverhi]

Propane is quick to light and cleaner burning. Unfortunately, it will go through bottles fairly quickly when you really need it. So its suitability depends on your use and where you venture on how practical it would be. Most places, propane is not convenient to the docks so schlepping bottles to and from the boat can get to be a major PITA. That could dictate how far from civilization you can go and how long you can stay away.

Diesel heaters take more care and maintenance but fuel is readily available and easy to store. Loading up on Gerry Jugs full of diesel you could stay away from civilization for a long time even in the arctic. For that reason, went with diesel though haven't gotten anywhere where I need it, yet.

[starminx]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

I'm debating between a propane or diesel bulkhead heater, probably Dickinson. I was told by a vendor that installing the diesel one will always result in some amount of fuel smell. I hate diesel smell but wonder if one could eliminate it with a careful installation.

Diesel smell is caused by air leaks in the steel construction of the unit, or and improper fittings of te exhaust tubing. Of course diesel leaks from fuel lines connections will also cause smell, especially when collected in a collector plate underneath the heating unit.
Last but not least if the installation is not installed with a balanced draft system back draft will definitely create diesel smell from uncombusted vapors.

I have done up experience with the 2 major brand and never had full combustion until I happen to run into a unit called acticblueflamme. Since then no smell at all, no more soot on my deck, no more cleaning and a very low consumption. Suggest you investigate.

[toddster8]

I ran a Newport diesel bulkhead heater all winter. No noticeable smell, except a bit on start-up and shut-down. Mostly outside the boat. No soot on the deck or dodger. There is a bit of a mess to clean up once a month or so- carbonized crusty crud gradually builds up in the combustion chamber and needs to be cleaned out. So say one hour of smell and mess per month.

Once it's dialed in, it just runs day and night for weeks on end without any fuss. It becomes second nature to reach down and adjust draft or fuel if you notice that the flame isn't quite right. Much less fuss than the wood-stove I lived with for decades. Doesn't seem to care about storms or 45 knot wind gusts. Do get the barometric damper and over-temp fuel shut-off. About the only thing I had to fuss with was the dorade vents, which serve as the air intake. Sometimes there was too much cold air coming in and I had to go out and plug one of them until a storm was over. Oh, I also got the adjustable fuel pump, which I always ran at the lowest pressure, but after six months, sometimes I have to bump it up a little on start-up. Probably a sign that the fuel filter needs to be changed or the chamber needs to be cleaned. But it's nice to be able to just power up and deal with the problem tomorrow. Or next week.

Now we're in the shoulder season where it has to be started every night and shut down in the morning. A bit more fuss. But overall, I think it heats up the boat a lot faster than the propane burner in my old boat.

Just as importantly, it dries out the boat. I had awful condensation problems before installing it. They Just Went Away.

[Lepke]

I've used diesels stoves for 65 years. There's no reason for a properly installed stove or heater to smell like diesel. The diesel fuel smell usually comes from leaking fuel lines and exhaust smell from poor exhaust placement or pipe cap.

[silvercreek]

I have spent many hours troubleshooting a diesel exhaust smell on startup and shutdown on my Webasto heater (see post history). Finally, I figured it out. My combustion air intake was taking from the same lazarette as the heating air intake. As an earlier poster here mentioned, these units do have some backdraft that happens during startup/shutdown, which comes out of the combustion air intake tube. This was my problem. Plumbing it to the outside should fix it. The manually clearly states this too, FYI.