warmth below decks-my modified Force 10

[stumpy]

For those of us who insist on being on the water this time of year in the PNW, warmth can be a fleeting thing.  I used wood and coal when I had my Cheoy Lee 27...dry heat can't be beat in this damp climate.  The Electra I have now is just a little tight below for a woodstove.

So...here's the little project for today and a couple pics.  If my logic is horribly flawed hopefully someone will order up a few virtual lashes and provide the wisdom of the ages...

I've had an old Force 10 kerosene bulkhead heater sitting around for sometime with a completely buggered burner.  A&H has Indian-made replacements available for about 100 bucks, but to be honest the functional Force 10's I've used left a bit to be desired at times...flare-ups, and if it went out fuel all over, etc.  I do like the 1" diameter pipe though.

Found an old English Aladdinette P2902 "blue flame" wick heater on craigslist for $5.  Took the innards apart and cleaned them up, shortened the internal stack by a few inches, and voila!  Jury-rigged it in my hangar office at the airport and it's happily heating away.  We used wick heaters a lot when I was a kid...the Aladdins worked exceptionally well and produce very little CO when kept clean...the 1" vent seems to take care of that concern nicely.  The P2902 has a 2" diameter wick so the burner is about the same dimension as the original pressure burner.

Seems to be an excellent, almost free, reasonably safe small boat solution.  Wick doesn't require pre-heating...no flare-ups, self-contained so no leaks from pressurized fuel either, no lines or pressure tank to install, etc.  The fuel tank has a threaded lug centered underneath so I'll put a backing plate and a ss bolt through from underneath to solidly attach it directly under the Force 10 "can."  Just have to find one of the little china-hat Charlie noble/caps for the pipe and install it in the Electra.  These things burn a long time on a tankful too.  Comments?  Suggestions?  Laughter?

On a related note for kerosene users who find it costly or difficult to readily obtain.  I have always used Jet-A (civilian jet-fuel) in my kerosene appliances.  It's just kerosene refined to high standards...no dyes in it and burns clean.  If I won't be using it in rapid fashion I get the stuff with "prist" additive, which prevents microbe growth.  Easily available to anyone at small to midsized aerofields...just DON'T get 100LL avgas ;-).

[CharlieJ]

Couple of things-

for kerosene burner parts, look here-

http://www.base-camp.co.uk/

Used to use an Alladin Blue flame to heat my cabin in the boat yard when building my trimaran. Still have it, still works well in an open space.

I use a kero stove aboard the boat now- cookstove. Ceased using kerosene back in the 70's. Now use 100 % mineral Spirits. unless you can find pure stove kero( rare) it's MUCH better, and costs the same, or less

I've used nothing other than kero on stoves aboard my boats since back in the 70's, but parts are difficult to locate anymore-

[stumpy]

I've used that outfit as a parts source in the past too.  Have also had good luck with the mineral spirits.  I do have an additional reason for using "aviation kero" though...since I fly the aerofield is a regular stop, and a long time ago I found out the FBO/fuel outfits sump the tanks and filter vessels on their trucks daily.  It's always very clean, but has to be done by law.  They dump it in a drum and pay to have it taken away, so I "volunteered" to take it--a free source of extremely high-quality kerosene is gift horse worth looking in the mouth.

I think the Aladdin tank/burner I'm using is the "mini" version of the "blue flame" you have.  With a good wick it produces less nasty stuff than the pressure burner did...what is there is venting nicely out the 1" stack.  Seems less problematic than the original set-up, as long as the wick is kept clean and an extra is available.

Never have used mineral spirits in my swing stove.  Reckon I'll try it when it goes back on board.

[CapnK]

So the F10 part basically acts as a heat exchanger, right? Pretty nifty.  8)

[ralay]

Which parts came with your Force 10 and which are parts from the new stove base?  We have a Force 10 propane heater which has a very similar body.  It doesn't put out heat worth a poop.  We were thinking of trying to get some guts to see if it does any better using kerosene/diesel.

[stumpy]

Affirmitive CapnK...the Force 10 can is just a heat exchanger and means for venting in it's original config anyway...I just use (IMHO) a safer and less troublesome mechanism for the heat source.

Ralay...Force 10 bulkhead heaters are essentially the same as far as the "can" goes...yours uses a propane burner/hose/regulator/tank,  the kerosene model has a kero burner mounted in the bottom plate and uses a kero tank that's pressurized with an air pump.  You can buy a complete burner and come up with a pressure tank and easily convert yours to kero or diesel.  Frankly though, I doubt you'll be much happier with the heat output, and kero version is more to deal with.  I just don't like propane systems installed on my boat...personal preference.

I like little wick heaters, but not in an enclosed space.  Soooo...the Force 10 "can" replaced the original outer piece of the Aladdinette heater, and does the same job it did PLUS it has the 1" dia vent stack.  The supposed BTU output of the wick burner is appx the same as the original kero burner (and about the same claimed for your gas version).
All I did was drill out the four pop rivets and three spot welds that hold the bottom plate that the burner mounts on and remove it from the rest of the Force 10 can.

Basically...come up with whatever heat source that fits/works for you and use the Force 10 as a heat exchanger/vent.  On a small vessel that 1" stack is a real plus, I think.  A big reason why I used the thing.