Best Installation Ever: Dickinson Diesel Heater

I installed a Dickinson Diesel Heater on my Beneteau 37’ Sailboat. This video was in 2021 when I was still working on the install. Here's what I've added to it so far, and what I like about the heater on my sailboat.
My sailboat is in Shilshole Bay in Seattle, Washington.

[@CourtneyHolmes-cr9dx]

Great looking install, you’re a pro !

[@garyabc]

Really nice installation! Looks really nice. Well done.

[@gregfawcett5152]

Thanks for the comment...Going to put out another vid as about 98% complete on the install with new cushions, and finished trim work....Best SV Aquila...Seattle.

[@flyingfish5276]

Looks pretty warm and toasty in there. Nice installation!

[@gregfawcett5152]

Thanks...Hope to put out another one that shows things in more detail and I have almost finished the detail, trim work, new cushions, etc.

[@williewonka6694]

Beautiful installation! I think Dickinson recommends a barometric damper in their manual.

[@gregfawcett5152]

It's possible...it's been 3 years since I installed the heater so I can't remember. The chimney stack inside the boat is 4 feet plus the stack on the outside is another foot and have not had any issues with down drafts in 35 knots of wind. Put the heater as low as you can...I cut away a portion of my setae and some cabinets to get it low so the heat is down closer to your feet and also radiates more heat inside the boat and as the chimney exits the cabin top the heat/fire danger is reduced....Best SV Aquila...Seattle.

[@gregfawcett5152]

Looking forward to snow this coming winter (Jan 24)...done with the heater and will post another video with the completed Heater.

[@LindaRussell-ev9ro]

Looks great- good job Greg

[@gregfawcett5152]

Thanks Linda...

[@bnkwupt]

Great looking heater!

[@gregfawcett5152]

Thanks...I spent Jan 12-14 2024 on the boat and the weather in Seattle was unusually cold... low of 15 degrees. I took about an hour to get the boat warm as the walls and ceiling of the boat were cold. Kept the heater on all night and used about a gallon of diesel per day to keep the boat warm..I usually don't run the heater at night when I sleep but it was cold so I did....best SV Aquila...Seattle.

[@gretaserrin]

Great install Greg!

[@gregfawcett5152]

Thanks Greta...Hope to do another Video almost 100% done.

[@michaelhawkins1915]

Super freakin' cool!!

[@gregfawcett5152]

Thanks Michael...just finishing up with some wood trim...hope to put out another (better) video soon showing it 100% completed. Are you thinking about putting one in your boat or RV?

[@rimasmeleshyus9486]

Great job ,impressed. Thanks for sharing

[@gregfawcett5152]

Your welcome...my advice is to put it as low as possible even if you have to take out cabinets and redesign the space....Best SV Aquila.

[@sailnorthwest1]

Greg, great install. Let's see the finished product.

[@gregfawcett5152]

Hey Bob...Thanks...have to have you over to take a look over a wee dram of Red Breast.

[@JohnSchneidersWildLife]

Beautiful set up.

[@gregfawcett5152]

Thanks John...3 winters now and a couple of weeks ago in Seattle @ January 15th it got down to 15 degrees in Seattle...I kept the heater on all night as my boat has a poor R factor. Best...SV Aquila...Seattle

[@JohnSchneidersWildLife]

@@gregfawcett5152 I am just north of you in Point Roberts...I went through that same cold spell! I have a wood stove on the sailboat though. Like you, I was fine.

[@gregfawcett5152]

Fair Winds and enjoy that wood stove...@@JohnSchneidersWildLife

[@gregromanoff5549]

Sweet install!!

[@gregfawcett5152]

Thanks Greg...will put out another vid soon...

[@gregfawcett5152]

First video of Dickinson Diesel Heater...Hope you enjoy...send any questions and make sure to comment and hit the like button...Best...SV Aquila...Seattle

[@magician2020]

Nice video. I am looking at doing this for my Class A RV.

[@gregfawcett5152]

Put it as low as you can even if you have to cut out cabinets or seats. I removed a wine cabinet and a portion of my setae to get it as low as possible. A low position gives you more heat where you want it (on the floor) and allows for a longer chimney stack, so you get more convection heat and leads to a lower temperature where the chimney exits the roof of your RV. In addition, if you have howling winds outside the longer chimney stack reduces any down draft that could put out the fire.

[@nz_sailor]

Great heaters. I have one also. Love it!

[@gregfawcett5152]

David...Thanks...I go to a lot of sailing videos and most mount it too high...my advise would be to reconfigure the cabinets and put the heater as low as possible...also the mounting brackets can be hidden if you cut them in half and mount them in a vertical orientation.

[@captaindrew3061]

good job. i love mine.

[@gregfawcett5152]

I can watch the fire for hours with a glass of wine. Where is your boat?

[@SerrinGlenwoodClassOf]

Good job gampa❤

[@gregfawcett5152]

Thanks Sabra..you should come out sometime and check it out...

[@SerrinGlenwoodClassOf]

That comment was from your granddaughter! She hijacked my phone 😳

[@Adam-en4zm]

Nice install, I might have to replace my propane heater with one of these and put it in a lower mounting location

[@gregfawcett5152]

Yes...put it as low as possible. I had to tear out some cabinets to get it low but puts more heat down low where you want it and allows for a longer chimney so that the temperatures are lower going through the deck/fiberglass/cabintop.

[@Adam-en4zm]

@@gregfawcett5152I was thinking of putting it in the same place you did, looks like a great location. Longer chimney should also help with radiating more heat into the cabin instead of the atmosphere.

[@gregfawcett5152]

Are you going to use a separate diesel tank (gravity flow day tank) or are you going to put a pump in to pump diesel from your main engine tank? I have finished it from this video and will put out another video showing the completed install...soon.

[@Adam-en4zm]

@@gregfawcett5152I'm leaning towards putting in a separate 2-5 gallon day tank above the unit to gravity feed in, filled via a 12v pump after the fuel filter/water separator leading to the engine. Looking forward to seeing the completed install!

[@gregfawcett5152]

I think the separate day tank is a good idea...make sure you put a sight glass on the day tank so that you can easily tell when that day tank is getting full. If the day tank overflows you will have a major mess that may never be able to be cleaned up with the diesel smell forever remaining in the boat. Dickinson advises an overflow tank to capture the excess diesel...keep me posted perhaps a few pictures?@@Adam-en4zm

[@stevecarlisle3323]

Yes, the Dickenson products are well made, and very functional. I have had boats with heaters and stoves, but what most owners do not realize is the fuel smell that permeates items like clothes and seat cushions. The owner will not notice it, but anybody coming on the boat, or standing next to you in the super market line up will. The forced air diesel heaters, like Espar, are more efficient, and are cheap compared to Dickenson type heater. You don't get the ambiance though.

[@gregfawcett5152]

I have not had that problem ... no smell of any kind and all kinds of people on my boat in the winter for three years now. If properly installed and properly vented no smell ask yourself if the people on the East Coast smell oil in their home as they use oil heating...the answer is no. I have a Webasto forced air furnace (similar to Espar) on the boat but the problem with that is that is works for 2000 hours which is about 83 days and then a $2000.00 rebuild just when you need the heat...Best...SV Aquila...Seattle.

[@stevecarlisle3323]

@@gregfawcett5152 Great, but boats are a little different than homes, but only based on my direct expierance.

[@theislandpackrat]

where did you get the double fan on the bottom?

[@gregfawcett5152]

It's been 3 years now and is still working perfect. If memory serves me I got it on Amazon. It is so quiet I can't hear it and it pushes the heat out between a foot and a foot and a half. It fits the space on the top of the Dickinson perfectly, and the black matches the black tile. If you are going to put this type of heater in cut your settee as I did to get it as low as possible. You want a 4 foot chimney maybe more as this will via convection put more heat into the boat and putting the heater lower is where you want the heat and you will have a cooler chimney (safer) as it exits thru the fiberglass cabin top by putting the heater as low as possible. I see so many boat or RV heaters and they put it on the counter top instead of redesigning the cabinet space. Their head is backing, and their feet are freezing. Best SV Aquila...Seattle

[@aaronlapointe4335]

Did you have to install heat rated tile or did you just use run of the mill tile for the backing?

[@gregfawcett5152]

So I used the black flat tile as I liked the look. It is 3-4 mm thick. The reason that I used it was that under the tile I used cement fiber board for heat insulation and the thickness of the tile (3-4mm) plus the thickness of the 1/4 inch cement fiber board was exactly flush with the door trim on the left hand side of the tile. The two together provide for a safe insulation so that the wood underneath does not catch fire. The hottest point or area is directly behind the heater against the tile starting from the top (flat area) of the heater and goes up about 6-8 inches above the flat top of the heater. The 2 mounting brackets for the heater stand off about an inch and a half from the heater. They are designed to be mounted horizontal but I did not like seeing the brackets so I cut them into two pieces (four altogether) and mounted them vertically so that the heater appears to be suspended in mid air without seeing the brackets. If I were to do it again I might double the mounting brackets so that I have a 3 inch space between the heater and the tile but it might not look as nice. You could experiment with tile to see what the R factor is for insulation but I feel safe with the cement board and the tile together. I do not leave the heater on when I am not on the boat and have three smoke alarms and two CO detectors. I rarely leave the heater on while sleeping but I did in January of 24 as it got down to 15 degrees in Seattle Not sure what the difference in R value is with different tiles.. Mount the heater as low as possible even if you have to cut out cabinets and or a portion of your settee...so that you have at least a four foot chimney (longer if you can).Best and thanks for the questions...SV...Aquila...Seattle

[@terryfrimmet3456]

How do you access the overflow tank, and how do you know when you need to check it?

[@gregfawcett5152]

At about 7:00 minutes into the video you will see my foot on top of the tile and under the tile is where the the overflow tank is. I haven't checked it for two years now since the install as everything seems to be working well, but I should do that...best...SV Aquila

[@gregfawcett5152]

So thanks for your question. I just checked the overflow tank and there is about a quart of diesel in the overflow tank. I have no idea if this excess diesel is a recent occurrence or has occurred slowly over the last couple of years. This weekend I will suck the quart of diesel out of the overflow tank. I will then check it in about a month to see if any more diesel in the overflow tank and go from there....best SV Aquila

[@gregfawcett5152]

So...I sucked out the quart of Diesel in the overflow tank about a month ago and have just checked it again and there is no diesel in the overflow tank. I am thinking that the diesel that was in the overflow tank got there from all the times I have been out sailing over the last couple of years with the boat healed over and the diesel in the metering valve sloshed over and then went into the overflow tank. No smell of diesel at all as I have both my gravity flow supply tank and the overflow tank vented to the outside...best SV Aquila...Seattle

[@whoanelly-]

how much diesel does this go through? ( I know loaded question)

[@gregfawcett5152]

So...good question...if I keep it on a low setting it goes through about a gallon of diesel maybe less in a 24 hour period. I turn it off at night when I sleep as I don't think it wise to leave it on when sleeping so a gallon of diesel lasts more than 24 hours as I sleep for a good 8 hours. I have multiple smoke and CO detectors on the boat but I still think it safer to turn if off when sleeping or if I leave the boat. When I get up in the morning it is cold so I start it up and get under the covers for 30 minutes and it begins to heat the boat up...takes a couple of hours to really get the boat toasty as the walls and ceiling of the boat are cold. Hope this helps. If you are putting one in...put it as low as possible even if you have to remove cabinets or cut some of your settee away. A longer chimney 4 feet or more inside the boat will put more heat into the boat via convection and also lead to a lower heat as the chimney exits thru the cabin top so safer as well. Best..SV Aquila Go to Dickinson Diesel Heater best install ever.

[@thomasgertsch4171]

Where does the heater get the oxygen from ? Cabin or outside ?

[@gregfawcett5152]

My boat is a 37 monohull so not a big boat...so mine gets the air from the inside of the Cabin. It would be more efficient to get the air for combustion from the outside if you have the room or can figure out a way to do that. Put it as low as you can so that you have at least a 4 foot chimney more if you have the height. Cut away any cabinets or portion of the setae to get it as low as possible. Best...SV Aquila...Seattle

[@TheJessehart05]

How many btu?

[@gregfawcett5152]

Not sure...If I crank it up and run it for 24 hours it burns one gallon of diesel in a 24 hour period. My boat is a monohull sailboat 37 feet and it heats the interior to at least 72 degrees in the winter in Seattle. I turn it off at night when I sleep as I don't think it wise to leave it running unattended, I do the same with my Webasto forced air furnace. Now that I have the Dickinson, I rarely use the Webasto. The Dickinson heats by convection and I have a couple of thermo activated fans (really quiet) to circulate the heat. Put the heater as low as possible even if you have to cut out cabinets or a portion of your settee...make your chimney 4 or more feet high if you can=more heat convectioning thru the boat and cooler chimney temperature exiting thru the fiberglass cabin top. Best...SV Aquila.

[@gregfawcett5152]

So I googled Dickinson and the info that I got was 6,000 BTU's on low and 16,000 BTU's on high.