Diesel Stove & Oven Options??

Jolly Roger

Adventurer
Hi all

I'm looking for a high quality stove and oven for an expedition camper. I'd prefer diesel ones as I wouldn't have to mess around with LPG. Is anyone using diesel stoves and/or ovens in their rigs? If so, which models do you have and what are the pros and cons?

I was at the local boat show this past weekend and saw a stove and oven from a company called Wallas. These are primarily designed for boating, but I don't see why they couldn't be used on an Expo rig. Anyone had any experience with these particular products?

http://www.wallas.fi/default.asp?id=boat-stove-en

I'm open to any and all recommendations.

Cheers
:chef:
 

dwh

Tail-End Charlie
The main issue with these is that they are designed to work at sea level and run rich and soot up at higher altitudes. This issue also crops up with diesel fired heating units.

The standard workaround is running two fuel pumps, one that puts out less than the other. You flip a switch to change between the pumps.

Newer Wallas units apparently have an optional switch for altitude - whether that setup uses two fuel pumps I do not know.

There is a guy who has one in his Sportsmobile and came up with his own workaround. What he did was to mod the control board. His page is here:

http://www.badgertrek.com/sportsmobile/appliances.shtml

In which he says:

"A bit of investigation revealed that one of the potentiometers (R13) on our stove control board was the mixture control, adjusting the periodicity of the fuel pump strokes. As set from the factory it was 69k ohms and yielded 44 pump strokes per minute at full, while 87k yielded a 5000ft friendly 38 stokes per minute. We removed the potentiometer and replaced it with a fixed 70k resistor plus a dial potentiometer calibrated to altitude settings where we dial in altitude before firing up the stove."


BTW: The Badger Trek site is a must read. The technical aspects are top-notch.
 
Last edited:

Jolly Roger

Adventurer
That's great, thanks for the info. I'll be sure to check-out the site. Yes, I have heard that the newer models have an option which allows you to run the stoves at a higher altitude with just the flick of a switch. I've managed to find a few other reviews on line and they all speak highly of the stove.

Thanks again
 

bobDog

Expedition Leader
Yeah, they are NOT cheap. I think and oven and stove (with the heater option) would work out at over $5,000.
5k is a lot of Coleman stoves or firewood or charcoal and a Dutch Oven.
Heck for 5K I could hit a lot of back road taco stands.....now the heater part might cut into that a little bit:sombrero:
 

Jolly Roger

Adventurer
Yeah, its obviously a lot of $$$$ but we hope to be on the road at least 5 years so it would be a long-term investment. We're rather pay for a good system and have it be reliable, than keep having to change out multiple cheap systems if the break. We also like the fact that its diesel so we can run it off the main tanks if we had to.
 

Black Dog

Makin' Beer.
I've used an MSR Whisperlite International stove quite a bit in the past for backpacking and regular car camping, but if you are looking for something more for use in a camper or with more than one burner then this probably isn't the answer. I like it though because it will run on white gas or unleaded or jet fuel or just about anything you can pour in it.
 

bobDog

Expedition Leader
Yeah, its obviously a lot of $$$$ but we hope to be on the road at least 5 years so it would be a long-term investment. We're rather pay for a good system and have it be reliable, than keep having to change out multiple cheap systems if the break. We also like the fact that its diesel so we can run it off the main tanks if we had to.
I wonder how much fuel you would use in one average chilly day?:coffee:
 

Jolly Roger

Adventurer
I've used an MSR Whisperlite International stove quite a bit in the past for backpacking and regular car camping, but if you are looking for something more for use in a camper or with more than one burner then this probably isn't the answer. I like it though because it will run on white gas or unleaded or jet fuel or just about anything you can pour in it.

Yep, the Whisperlite is a great stove. We have one that we used when we were travelling on our motorcycles. It's great for camping or biking but I'm not sure it would work very well inside a cabin. Not too sure about the fumes, open flame, etc.!! The nice thing about the Wallas is that its externally vented so you don't get any fumes, smells, etc. It also doesn't have any open flames which.
 

Jolly Roger

Adventurer
Try: www.petromax.com

http://www.petromax.com/stoves.htm

They have a lantern and a stove, sorry no oven. I have their 500CP lantern and it rocks... or should I say sears my retinas. :victory:

Mark

Thanks for the link Mark. Looks like a cool stove but I'm actually trying to find something that can be built-into the cabin on more of a permanent basis as all of the cooking will be done in the vehicle. Something along the lines of the one pictured here. I'd be particularly keen if it comes with its own young woman do do the cooking! :)

1189478785_wJssr-M.jpg
 

etbadger

Adventurer
I think ours cost about 1500$ with the heater-lid option (it is just a squirrel cage fan and a baffle that forces air to be blown over the stove-top). This was 6 years ago, purchased from ScanMarine in Seattle.

-e
 

dzzz

The disadvantage compare to propane is lack of open flame and some diesel smell.
On a boat there's good reason to avoid propane. Less so in a vehicle. If propane is not used for heat a tank lasts a long time.
 

Jolly Roger

Adventurer
The disadvantage compare to propane is lack of open flame and some diesel smell.
On a boat there's good reason to avoid propane. Less so in a vehicle. If propane is not used for heat a tank lasts a long time.

I'm curious as to why you'd consider the "lack of open flame" be a disadvantage? I would have assumed in a closed environment where things could potentially catch fire, the lack of an open flame would be an "advantage". According to the specs, all of the fumes, smells, etc. are vented to the outside. Not sure how true that is??? I certainly don't want the cabin smelling of diesel all the time.
 

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