Lighting a Dickinson Diesel Stove - Step-by-Step Instructions - Ep. 11

Learn how to light your Dickinson Diesel Stove and start feeling the heat! These economical stoves are used for heat, cooking and hot water; and a common feature in fishing & commercial boats in cold climates. We keep ours going from September until May. Check our Diesel Stove playlist to learn about maintenance, full metering valve tear down, cooking tips and more!
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Welcome Aboard!
We are a normal Canadian family who has chosen to live a not so normal life off-grid on the ocean for the past 15 years. Neal has lived on the ocean for over 25 years, and I married into this lifestyle in 2007. Finally, in 2015 our family was complete with the arrival of our son Decker. In late 2018 we moved aboard our 1974 John Samson built, 55 foot ferro-cement staysail schooner Kiva. She had been abandoned and locked up airtight on a dock for ten years. The sailboat was originally built to travel through the fierce Northwest Passage. After leaving too late in the season, they
became stuck in the pack ice in Homer, Alaska. Thanks to the incredible hull design and construction, the crew were able to sail out the following Spring, completely unharmed.
Join in our adventures as we be exploring the beautiful coastline of British Columbia, Canada and eventually the world...some of us just need to learn how to sail first!
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Melanie, Neal, Decker and Bella the Guard Dog
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CREDITS
Opening Photo:
"Atlantic Storm" by Joe Thomissen is licensed under CC-BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit creativecommon....
Diesel Stove Thumbnail image from Dickinson Marine
Music/Audio:
"Dude, Where's My Horse?" by Nat Keefe with The Bow Ties
Waves:Haldigital97:freesound.org/...
Waves: szegvari: freesound.org/...
Seagulls: DaveGould: freesound.org/...
Seagulls: Kinoton: freesound.org/...

[@TheSeatug]

It is nice to see the stove up running.

[@schoonerkiva]

And the top is looking great to..

[@childrenstoriesreadbygrand4083]

I loved everything about this video. you make it look so easy...well done..

[@schoonerkiva]

Glad you liked it! Thanks!

[@schoonerkiva]

The cooking is coming out soon, we are hoping it get the water pipes hooked up so a the will make hot water for the hole boat..

[@TheSeatug]

We are working on some good dish to show.

[@bigbattenberg]

Going through the Dickinson manual I see a 'barometric' mentioned. It seems you do not have one? I do see a water jacket if I am correct.

[@schoonerkiva]

Hi there! Thanks for the comment! No, we don't have a barometric damper. Our chimney is not configured to allow for it as we have too many bends. We switched from a Dp Exhaust Cap (round one) to the H-Exhaust Cap (H shaped). We haven't had any more issues with down drafting since switching. I think the problem comes from the wind being able to blow straight into the exhaust cap sideways and then down. The H exhaust cap only has vents on the top and bottom, acting as a sort of wind break from direct wind. Not sure if that makes any sense!? And yes, we have double water coils which are SO WORTH IT!!! We have them connected to our motor, hot water tank and a radiant heater in a bedroom. So if our diesel stove is on (approx. Sept to May) then we have hot water, heat in the forward cabin and a warm motor. Are you thinking of doing the same thing? Thanks!!

[@gregfawcett5152]

Nice...I am installing a Dickinson Diesel bulkhead heater now...Hope to put out a U-Tube Video on it once I have it up and running...Best...SV Aquila Seattle

[@schoonerkiva]

Thanks Greg! I really like the diesel heaters. We have had propane and wood airtight stove too. Wood is nice, but you have to feed it all the time. We will be doing a video on disassembly and cleaning of the metering valve soon too. Just need consistent warm weather to keep the stove turned off. Good luck with the install!!! Thanks for commenting!

[@waterman79]

Thanks for the video! I just bought an old boat with one of these stoves. I seem to be missing the heat riser thing you pulled out of the middle. Also is yours fed by a pulse pump?? My pulse pump ticks and is kinda loud, looking at figuring something else out??

[@schoon111]

That chunk of gunk on the bottm of the super heater is yesterdays piece of toi;et paper.

[@schoonerkiva]

Hahaha! Yup! Thanks for watching and leaving us a comment!

[@schoon111]

@@schoonerkiva I preheat mine with an ounce of alcohol,(like a primus burner).No ash.Of course, only with a cold stove.

[@schoonerkiva]

We have done that before and it works well. We had lamp oil on hand and used that. A friend uses methyl hydrate. We leave ours going 24/7 from October to April. We just add more fuel to the tank.

[@schoonerkiva]

We have the hot water coils which we will be hooking up to a set of radiators in the future.

[@TheSeatug]

So I see the diesel stove is up and running again how are you do ok in the cold weather? And are Bruning marked fuel.

[@junklist99]

Neal and Melanie, I have a Dickinson Pacific stove, it turns out that I was not correctly lighting the stove, I have just pulled the stovetop and cleaned the burner. I am hoping the new starting procedure will help with smoking and sooting.

[@schoonerkiva]

Hi there!! Thanks for commenting! Be sure all of the airholes in the burner pot are clean as that allows for proper airflow. We have found that the lowest setting to run it on is about 1.5 to 2. Below that seems to give lots of sooting problems. Even if that is too hot for the weather, just open the portholes instead of turning the stove down. It takes the stove time to respond to any changes in settings. These babies are not automatic (too bad!), so it takes a bit of time. Good luck and we sincerely hope the new procedure solves your problems! Let us know how it goes!! Thanks!

[@junklist99]

@@schoonerkiva Neal and Melanie, After cleaning everything from the burner to all of the chimney. I am able to run without sooting the entire marina. , so When at night I will try to see what the lowest I can run and still have the blue-yellow flame. At night I had been running on .5, thus this may be why it sooted. What is it like working on a ferrocement boat? I have only owned wood and fiberglass boats. Thomas -

[@schoonerkiva]

Hi Thomas! Thanks for the update with your stove! I am really glad to hear the sooting up problem is getting better. Yes, we have found that running the stove below 1.5 setting will cause it to soot up. I don't know why. Spring/Fall are tough for using the stove. It is always too hot or too cold! We keep it set on 1.5-2 and open/close portholes as needed. We have always had wooden powerboats, and Neal grew up on a fiberglass Cooper. I love ferrocement!! It is solid, not affected by weather as much and doesn't sweat. The 2 issues are that you must have heat going or it is very cold. Also you can't really make extra holes on deck or in the hull. You must work within the confines of what is there - good and bad. For example our scupper holes are nowhere near our cleats on deck. It makes tying lines to cleats a bit challenging. Keep us posted on your progress with the diesel stove!! Thanks for commenting and watching!! Have a great day!! Melanie

[@stephanelesperance2120]

How do you get the oven to get warm,Do you pull up on the lever on the right side of the chimey on the top of the cook stove? Does that lever go up or down to allow the heat through, I can't see the difference with ours

[@schoonerkiva]

Hi Stephane! Thanks for asking! Pull up the lever beside the chimney to heat up the oven. That closes the flap inside the stove, which allows the heat to go up the chimney. Instead, it redirects the heat around the oven box. Close the oven door. Our stove needs to be on setting 2 or higher to cook. A frozen pizza on setting 2 takes 20-30mins. You can smell when it starts cooking. Once you are finished cooking, push the damper (lever beside the chimney) down. Despite what you may think, don't operate the stove regularly with the damper pulled up. It doesn't keep the heat in the way you might think. What actually happens is a reduction in airflow to the flame box, and the flame box soots up with charcoal. Yes, we have done it, and yes it is a MESS to clean up! Good luck and let me know if you have any other questions! Melanie

[@supremeflagship8965]

How long does it take for the stove to heat up (reach cooking temperature)?

[@schoonerkiva]

Great question! It generally takes 1-2 hours to get up to cooking temperature. However, there are a few tricks to possibly speed that up. Once it is started, and has been heating up for maybe 20 minutes, you can increase the setting on the metering valve. I normally leave it between 1.5 - 3. Maybe 4 if it is -15 or more outside with a cold wind. If you turn it up for cooking, remember to turn it down after you are finished! You could also pull the damper up (beside the chimney) as that will restrict the amount of heat going out of the chimney. The heat then circulates around the oven box. This will heat up the oven, but also heat up the cast iron top faster than with the damper open. I hope that helps! Thanks for asking and let me know if you have any other questions!!

[@whileysea]

Hi Folks. I used to berth at Maple Bay Marina. Now I am in Spain, preparing to sail back to Vancouver Island. I am currently looking into buying the smallest Bristol Dickinson Dieselheater-cooker. I have Diesel on Board and I want to do it all with it. What I dont really understand is, if I want to cook an easy soup or coffee water, do I have to wait 2 hours before the Bristol is getting hot? And are these Dickinsons Gimbaled? Thank you kindly, Andy

[@schoonerkiva]

Hi Andy, Thanks for your question. No they are not gimbaled. They have a rail and pot racks to hold things. They seem to work quite well. We have never run a Bristol size so I am not sure if 2 hrs is accurate. You would need for it to heat up before cooking. We leave ours going September to April. If it is too hot we open a porthole instead of turning it off. Use a much larger pot and lid than the quantity of liquid calls for less spilling. Also get a really great thermos to hold hot water for the day. Boil it before leaving or when calm weather. You can make tea, hot soup, etc. When are you leaving Spain? What is your ETA for the Island? It's snowing here...you sure you want to come back?! LOL! Keep us posted on your journey. Hope to meet up upon a safe passage back! Melanie and Neal

[@whileysea]

@@schoonerkiva Hi Melanie and Neal. Great Infos! It is a new thought, to keep it running 24/7. As long as the Materials can handle it and service / breaking parts and cleaning out, is not too expensive or even dangerous. But it makes sense for Fishermen ovens-heater-cookers. They need it ready at all times. So it must run to do so. As we will sail into hot countries too, we must look as well for another Cooking Source. I have an Swedish Origo 2 Flame Cooker but to get the Sprit or Alcohol is very expensive per Liter and extrem hard to get and in bad quality. We need something which burns with Diesel too, for simplicity. When the SHTF there is no more going to a store, trying to buy special Sprit, Lawnmore Gasoline or Propane-Gas. I prepare for Solitude and survival. We wait now for 4 month for replacement of our new Winches. They said 1 week! And thats not the only Problem here in Europe with all the WEF War Mongering. ETA is unknown. If you would like to keep in touch, do you have other, private means? Thank you again for your expertise. Would be nice to get to know more DOERS on that most beautyfull part of this earth.

[@childrenstoriesreadbygrand4083]

Now show us some of your cooking!

[@schoonerkiva]

Coming soon!

[@TheSeatug]

We are working on it.. the cook part.