Great video. A Newport came with our boat & we love it. However we have found issue with back draft when it's been windy. Our flu is around 1m in length with no barometric damper. Also it did not come with the baffle above the superheater, so that looks like the first improvement! Thanks again for taking the time to make this vid. 👍
Excellent brilliant. Thank you so much for this fantastic video, very clear and helpful without bla bla etc. I am retrofitting an antartic dickinson diesel heater on my trawler M/V Balder VIII ( same carb etc than the bulkead newport model) and very happy to learn more about lightning process. Congratulations
Nice job, very informative, exactly what I needed. My first attempt at lighting ours was the orange firebox scenario, not so fun. Have not tried it again in 3 years as we've been in warm climes.Now we're in Scotland, ready to use again-confidence level way up thanks to you!!
12:45 A trick to avoid cross-threading is to press the bolt into place and rotate it backwards CCW. You will feel a "click" when the threads are ready to align; now proceed to tighten with CW rotation. You might also use a sharpie pen, or otherwise, to mark a spot on the head of bolt at the "24 o'clock" position to show the "threads aligned INDEX mark."
Thank you so much for this! We have been trying to figure out how to use our new-to-us Luke diesel heater and this helped us understand how to make it the most efficient
Nice video, but I use my Dickinson quite differently. I light it with 98% alcohol. That way it is hot before diesel is burning. No soot and no smoke at all. During operation the fan is off. I can let it go for weeks mid winter. Turning it off, the fan goes to mid position to prevent soot. I always burn it as blue as possible. This is the most complete and clean flame you can get. To each his own.
I’m happy you liked the video. I’ll give the alcohol start a try. I think that’s interesting and haven’t considered that. So the manufacturer warns that burning blue is too oxygen rich and can lead to hard carbon buildup. They recommend a lemon yellow flame for maximum heating efficiency. I think with these heaters- it’s a case by case scenario about what works on the owners boat and install. ( Edit 11/9/2020: I used denatured alcohol to light the stove. I determined it takes about 2 ounces to light and warm the burner pot. There is a magnificent “whoosh” when I light the alcohol because the evaporate is above the burner pot and the liquid is below the superheater. Minus a few knuckle hairs, this is an excellent way to light the heater and it is a much cleaner method. Thank you for your comment.
I have to agree with a blue flame , like you see on a propane stove, is the ideal goal classically. A yellow flame or yellow with dark tips would make soot…
That’s a great video on a Dickerson diesel fuel stove. I have huge Refleks that is just too big for my boat, and difficult to control. I first cleaned up the Refleks and got familiar with it by firing it up outside in the yard. I never could get satisfaction with that Bad Boy… My grandmother had a diesel fuel stove, it was a wood/ coal/ oil kitchen range. She used it as primary heating in her house all winter long. Perhaps I’ ll have to ‘ channel Grandmama, ‘ to get her advice….haha Maybe I will buy the smaller Dickinson…
That’s really useful thanks. I tried mine today for the first time. Struggled to get much flame above the burner. Your advice will help. Interested in how much fuel they use? Cheers
I am also in Maryland and am currently installing the same heater. I am going to use a 3 gallon day tank mounted high in the head and gravity feed to the heater. Very good video, I will have to watch it again I am sure. Good idea on the firewall tape. I'll be curious to see how warm the bulkhead behind the stainless actually gets. I would be interested in a more detailed explanation of how you modified the fuel regulator, why and how you accomplished that. Also, do you use the H flue top or the round one. I have the round but have heard the H flue works better. That idea of using alcohol is interesting. I have an old Sea Swing on gimbals from my dads boat. It is a cast aluminum gimbal with a kerosene Primus camp stove attached. To light it you start with alcohol to heat the burner. when the alcohol is almost out, you turn on the pressure kerosene. Works great. I'll bet that would work well on the Dickenson. Thanks again for an informative video.
Thanks for watching the video and I hope you found it helpful. We use the round style cap and it’s been excellent. I’ve measured the temp behind the stainless steel bulkhead guard using my meat thermometer and I was surprised that the temperature was room temperature. This was true even behind the fireplace. I attest this to the heat shielding that I installed on the stainless steel. When I first installed the unit, I thought I’d be slick and set a fan in front of the fireplace. This was a mistake and blew the hot air onto the oil metering valve. As a result the overheat safety protection kicked in and shut off the valve. I went to the Newport website and they had detailed instructions about how to fix the oil metering value. This involved removing the set screw and the safety mechanism and re melting some solder using a frying pan. During this process I realized that I could adjust the set screw to either reduce or accelerate the flow of diesel into the burner pot. I’m sure when we head back up to Maine I will need to adjust the set screw again.
Just got mine up and running...works great...I use a round chimney cap...no issues with that. I glued and screwed 1/4" hardy backer (concrete board) to the bulkhead and then glued 3mm solid black tile to the hardy backer. After a few hours on low when I touch the tile...it is hot...not possible to tell how hot on the back side of the tile. The tile is advised as one way to keep the wood bulkhead from getting too hot. As you know tile does insulate against heat transfer so thinking it is not as hot on the back side of the tile but no way to test that. Now remember under the tile there is another layer of the concrete hardy backer so that should provide additional insulation before the heat gets to the wood bulkhead. I have a handheld infrared thermometer and readings for the hotest part of the tile was 200 degrees fahrenheit on the other side of the bulkhead in the V-berth the temperature was 80 degrees fahrenheit.
Thank yo for the great video. Do you have the manufacture name and part number for the fuel pump you used? I want to tie my heater into my main diesel fuel tank. Did you need a fuel pressure regulator? Grant
Hello Grant, there are two options for fuel pumps. One is a low pressure pump and the other is a high pressure pump. I ran approximately 25 feet of fuel line from my main tank to the fuel pump. The fuel line was level with the main tank for the entire run. The fuel pump is excellent at pulling fuel and doesn’t push very well. I installed the pump about 3 feet from the heater. The fuel pump is slightly above the heater with a dip in the line allowing a gravity feed to the heater. I did not need to install a pressure regulator. I installed the low pressure fuel pump and it does very well. Here is the link to where I purchased the fuel pump. www.defender.com/product.jsp?name=dickinson-marine-low-pressure-fuel-pump&path=-1%7C6880%7C2061076%7C2061078%7C2061092&id=545851
Is the vent assist fan wired to electric? Mine does not turn on. I never seemed to need it but sure see a difference from videos I have watched. I also dont have the top baffle or the long screw tool. Seems I could make one with a drill bit.
I did wire the 12 volt assist fan into my 12 volt system. Because of the clearances where I installed the heater, draft assistance was necessary. I also used the draft assistance fan on very windy days and it prevented the fire from being snuffed out. As for the top baffle, I’d spend the money and purchase from defender.com . That being said, if your installation works well, why change it? Cheers.
Hi Greg and thanks for viewing the video. I have used alcohol in the preheating sequence on a few occasions. I’ve had some great results but it can be a little sporty. Typically the alcohol vapors catch as I’m lighting the burner pot and WHOOSH! Fire! It’s a fast clean method but it can be a little interesting. The method in the video is much safer.
Hi Greg. Thank you for viewing the video. The first thing I did to mitigate fire in the coach roof was to follow all recommendations made by the manufacturer. After I cut my hole with the recommended spacing, I added high temperature heat shielding to the area. I figured if the heat shielding worked for NASA it would work for me!
@@gregfawcett5152 - Dickinson makes a stainless steel wall liner and a flu guard. When I mounted the wall liner to my bulkhead I added spacers to stand the guard an inch off of the bulkhead. This allows airflow behind the wall guard. I saw a few videos where these heaters “ran away “ and essentially turned into a blast furnace. This made me a little uncomfortable so I added high temperature automotive heat shielding to the front of the wall guard. It’s ugly but it works amazingly well.
@@movingontooldmaui245 Yes...I saw that in your video...I am thinking about and installing one now. What I am concerned about is where the chimney exits through the cabin top (fiberglass and resin). The manufacturer advises a one inch space from the hot metal chimney and the beauty ring with the holes inside the boat at the ceiling has no where for the heat to escape to. The heat is trapped right where the plastic resin/fiberglass is located. How did you mitigate that fire risk?...Thanks...Capt Greg "SV Aquila" Seattle Shilshole.
@@gregfawcett5152 - Hi Greg, I understand your concern. I was worried about that too. I installed some adhesive backed heat shielding rated for 800 degrees on the fiberglass. I also installed a 12 volt fan about 10 inches from the top of the chimney. This was a smart addition. I found a significant heat concentration at the cabin top when I ran the heater. Using the 12 volt fan mitigates the heat build up and circulates air around the cabin. I hope this was helpful.
Great video..! in my previous boat I had a Taylors heater, where the blue flame was to hunt. I would like if you have showed us how the flame responded when you added fuel to early, or increased the fan rpm, but all in all it was a very informative video..!
Upon lighting, there may be a diesel odor. The odor is infrequent and dissipates quickly. We usually run the fireplace in the afternoon and throughout the night or from Friday- Monday. During these long run uses, there is never an odor.
Great video. A Newport came with our boat & we love it. However we have found issue with back draft when it's been windy. Our flu is around 1m in length with no barometric damper. Also it did not come with the baffle above the superheater, so that looks like the first improvement! Thanks again for taking the time to make this vid. 👍
This is the BEST! I especially appreciate your lighting technique and the explanation of the stages and colors of the flame. Can't thank you enough!!!
Absolutely and happy you found this informative.
Excellent brilliant. Thank you so much for this fantastic video, very clear and helpful without bla bla etc. I am retrofitting
an antartic dickinson diesel heater on my trawler M/V Balder VIII ( same carb etc than the bulkead newport model) and very happy to learn more about lightning process. Congratulations
Nice job, very informative, exactly what I needed. My first attempt at lighting ours was the orange firebox scenario, not so fun. Have not tried it again in 3 years as we've been in warm climes.Now we're in Scotland, ready to use again-confidence level way up thanks to you!!
Thanks for the comment.
12:45 A trick to avoid cross-threading is to press the bolt into place and rotate it backwards CCW. You will feel a "click" when the threads are ready to align; now proceed to tighten with CW rotation. You might also use a sharpie pen, or otherwise, to mark a spot on the head of bolt at the "24 o'clock" position to show the "threads aligned INDEX mark."
Thank you so much for this! We have been trying to figure out how to use our new-to-us Luke diesel heater and this helped us understand how to make it the most efficient
Nice video, but I use my Dickinson quite differently. I light it with 98% alcohol. That way it is hot before diesel is burning. No soot and no smoke at all. During operation the fan is off. I can let it go for weeks mid winter. Turning it off, the fan goes to mid position to prevent soot. I always burn it as blue as possible. This is the most complete and clean flame you can get. To each his own.
I’m happy you liked the video. I’ll give the alcohol start a try. I think that’s interesting and haven’t considered that. So the manufacturer warns that burning blue is too oxygen rich and can lead to hard carbon buildup. They recommend a lemon yellow flame for maximum heating efficiency. I think with these heaters- it’s a case by case scenario about what works on the owners boat and install. ( Edit 11/9/2020: I used denatured alcohol to light the stove. I determined it takes about 2 ounces to light and warm the burner pot. There is a magnificent “whoosh” when I light the alcohol because the evaporate is above the burner pot and the liquid is below the superheater. Minus a few knuckle hairs, this is an excellent way to light the heater and it is a much cleaner method. Thank you for your comment.
I have to agree with a blue flame , like you see on a propane stove, is the ideal goal classically.
A yellow flame or yellow with dark tips would make soot…
excellent video! investigating diesel heater options for my sailboat. thanks very much for posting.
Thank you. We are happy that you found this video helpful.
Well done great video and well presented thank you happy sailing
That’s a great video on a Dickerson diesel fuel stove.
I have huge Refleks that is just too big for my boat, and difficult to control.
I first cleaned up the Refleks and got familiar with it by firing it up outside in the yard.
I never could get satisfaction with that Bad Boy…
My grandmother had a diesel fuel stove, it was a wood/ coal/ oil kitchen range. She used it as primary heating in her house all winter long.
Perhaps I’ ll have to ‘ channel Grandmama, ‘ to get her advice….haha
Maybe I will buy the smaller Dickinson…
That’s really useful thanks. I tried mine today for the first time. Struggled to get much flame above the burner. Your advice will help.
Interested in how much fuel they use?
Cheers
I am also in Maryland and am currently installing the same heater. I am going to use a 3 gallon day tank mounted high in the head and gravity feed to the heater. Very good video, I will have to watch it again I am sure. Good idea on the firewall tape. I'll be curious to see how warm the bulkhead behind the stainless actually gets. I would be interested in a more detailed explanation of how you modified the fuel regulator, why and how you accomplished that. Also, do you use the H flue top or the round one. I have the round but have heard the H flue works better.
That idea of using alcohol is interesting. I have an old Sea Swing on gimbals from my dads boat. It is a cast aluminum gimbal with a kerosene Primus camp stove attached. To light it you start with alcohol to heat the burner. when the alcohol is almost out, you turn on the pressure kerosene. Works great. I'll bet that would work well on the Dickenson.
Thanks again for an informative video.
Thanks for watching the video and I hope you found it helpful. We use the round style cap and it’s been excellent. I’ve measured the temp behind the stainless steel bulkhead guard using my meat thermometer and I was surprised that the temperature was room temperature. This was true even behind the fireplace. I attest this to the heat shielding that I installed on the stainless steel. When I first installed the unit, I thought I’d be slick and set a fan in front of the fireplace. This was a mistake and blew the hot air onto the oil metering valve. As a result the overheat safety protection kicked in and shut off the valve. I went to the Newport website and they had detailed instructions about how to fix the oil metering value. This involved removing the set screw and the safety mechanism and re melting some solder using a frying pan. During this process I realized that I could adjust the set screw to either reduce or accelerate the flow of diesel into the burner pot. I’m sure when we head back up to Maine I will need to adjust the set screw again.
Just got mine up and running...works great...I use a round chimney cap...no issues with that. I glued and screwed 1/4" hardy backer (concrete board) to the bulkhead and then glued 3mm solid black tile to the hardy backer. After a few hours on low when I touch the tile...it is hot...not possible to tell how hot on the back side of the tile. The tile is advised as one way to keep the wood bulkhead from getting too hot. As you know tile does insulate against heat transfer so thinking it is not as hot on the back side of the tile but no way to test that. Now remember under the tile there is another layer of the concrete hardy backer so that should provide additional insulation before the heat gets to the wood bulkhead. I have a handheld infrared thermometer and readings for the hotest part of the tile was 200 degrees fahrenheit on the other side of the bulkhead in the V-berth the temperature was 80 degrees fahrenheit.
There seems to be a synchronicity whereby everyone over-fuels the Dickinson on light up….by their accounts. As you say patience is strategic.
Thank yo for the great video. Do you have the manufacture name and part number for the fuel pump you used? I want to tie my heater into my main diesel fuel tank. Did you need a fuel pressure regulator?
Grant
Hello Grant, there are two options for fuel pumps. One is a low pressure pump and the other is a high pressure pump. I ran approximately 25 feet of fuel line from my main tank to the fuel pump. The fuel line was level with the main tank for the entire run. The fuel pump is excellent at pulling fuel and doesn’t push very well. I installed the pump about 3 feet from the heater. The fuel pump is slightly above the heater with a dip in the line allowing a gravity feed to the heater. I did not need to install a pressure regulator. I installed the low pressure fuel pump and it does very well. Here is the link to where I purchased the fuel pump.
www.defender.com/product.jsp?name=dickinson-marine-low-pressure-fuel-pump&path=-1%7C6880%7C2061076%7C2061078%7C2061092&id=545851
@@movingontooldmaui245 Awesome. Thank you very much for everything. I appreciate you responding back to me. Especially with the link.
Is the vent assist fan wired to electric? Mine does not turn on. I never seemed to need it but sure see a difference from videos I have watched. I also dont have the top baffle or the long screw tool. Seems I could make one with a drill bit.
I did wire the 12 volt assist fan into my 12 volt system. Because of the clearances where I installed the heater, draft assistance was necessary. I also used the draft assistance fan on very windy days and it prevented the fire from being snuffed out. As for the top baffle, I’d spend the money and purchase from defender.com . That being said, if your installation works well, why change it? Cheers.
Does the baffle come with the heater?
Grant
Hi Grant, apologies for not seeing your question. Yes the baffle came with the heater. I highly recommend you use the baffle.
@@movingontooldmaui245 Thank you very much
Have you tried starting/priming heater with alcohol instead of a paper wick?
Hi Greg and thanks for viewing the video. I have used alcohol in the preheating sequence on a few occasions. I’ve had some great results but it can be a little sporty. Typically the alcohol vapors catch as I’m lighting the burner pot and WHOOSH! Fire! It’s a fast clean method but it can be a little interesting. The method in the video is much safer.
@@movingontooldmaui245 Thanks...I understand...
What steps did you take to decrease the risk of fire where the chimney goes through the cabin top?
Hi Greg. Thank you for viewing the video. The first thing I did to mitigate fire in the coach roof was to follow all recommendations made by the manufacturer. After I cut my hole with the recommended spacing, I added high temperature heat shielding to the area. I figured if the heat shielding worked for NASA it would work for me!
@@movingontooldmaui245 What type of heat shielding did you use and how did you use it?
@@gregfawcett5152 - Dickinson makes a stainless steel wall liner and a flu guard. When I mounted the wall liner to my bulkhead I added spacers to stand the guard an inch off of the bulkhead. This allows airflow behind the wall guard. I saw a few videos where these heaters “ran away “ and essentially turned into a blast furnace. This made me a little uncomfortable so I added high temperature automotive heat shielding to the front of the wall guard. It’s ugly but it works amazingly well.
@@movingontooldmaui245 Yes...I saw that in your video...I am thinking about and installing one now. What I am concerned about is where the chimney exits through the cabin top (fiberglass and resin). The manufacturer advises a one inch space from the hot metal chimney and the beauty ring with the holes inside the boat at the ceiling has no where for the heat to escape to. The heat is trapped right where the plastic resin/fiberglass is located. How did you mitigate that fire risk?...Thanks...Capt Greg "SV Aquila" Seattle Shilshole.
@@gregfawcett5152 - Hi Greg, I understand your concern. I was worried about that too. I installed some adhesive backed heat shielding rated for 800 degrees on the fiberglass. I also installed a 12 volt fan about 10 inches from the top of the chimney. This was a smart addition. I found a significant heat concentration at the cabin top when I ran the heater. Using the 12 volt fan mitigates the heat build up and circulates air around the cabin. I hope this was helpful.
Thx!!
Great video..! in my previous boat I had a Taylors heater, where the blue flame was to hunt. I would like if you have showed us how the flame responded when you added fuel to early, or increased the fan rpm, but all in all it was a very informative video..!
Smell diesel???
Upon lighting, there may be a diesel odor. The odor is infrequent and dissipates quickly. We usually run the fireplace in the afternoon and throughout the night or from Friday- Monday. During these long run uses, there is never an odor.