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Anyone know...can an oil fired range run on Red Diesel?


4LeggedGrasshopper

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Hi, I’m hoping someone can help answer this as numerous google searches have failed. Pfft Technology! 

Basically we’ve set our hearts on a heritage style range which we’ve seen can run on red diesel, we just don’t know how?? And whether we can buy an oil fired range (much, much more affordable) and it run on red diesel - convert it or something I assume? I’m hoping someone can enlighten us...please pass on your knowledge :) Thanks in advance 

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On 17/12/2017 at 00:54, 4LeggedGrasshopper said:

Hi, I’m hoping someone can help answer this as numerous google searches have failed. Pfft Technology! 

Basically we’ve set our hearts on a heritage style range which we’ve seen can run on red diesel, we just don’t know how?? 

 

Why do you need to know 'how'? Surely if the manufacturer says red diesel is the fuel, then you're home and dry!

 

On 17/12/2017 at 00:54, 4LeggedGrasshopper said:

And whether we can buy an oil fired range (much, much more affordable) and it run on red diesel - convert it or something I assume?

 

Never assume ANYTHING. Always check. It depends which oil fired range specifically, then consult the manufacturer for definitive advice on which fuels it will run on. The manufacturer always knows better than some bloke on the internet. 

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"Oil Used in Central Heating

Just about all oil fired central heating used in Britain on a domestic level uses 28sec oil. This oil is sometimes referred to as Kerosene. The "sec" part of the oil description refers to seconds.

This seconds part is used to define the viscosity (or thickness) of the oil. Originally this was measured by the time it takes for a ball bearing of a set size and diameter to pass through a set distance of the oil.

28sec oil burns very cleanly leaving minimal deposits such as smoke and soot on afterburn. 28sec oil can also be used in popular kitchen ranges like AGA. The other type of oil that can be used in a domestic situation is 35sec oil.

You may be thinking, "how do I tell these two oil types apart?" There is quite an easy way of doing so by checking the colour of the oil:

  • 28sec Oil = Yellow
  • 35sec Oil = Red"

http://www.diydoctor.org.uk/projects/centralheatingoil.htm

So, the answer is probably 'yes'.  But, as others say, 'get advice from the supplier'

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I was curious so I looked on the AGA web site and they say "Oil AGA cookers should be serviced every 6 months. 3-oven and diesel models may extend to 12 months." so not sure if there is any difference in the cooker between oil & diesel, or if it is just the fuel that is cleaner.  Worth giving your supplier a call.

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On 17/12/2017 at 10:30, Chewbacka said:

I was curious so I looked on the AGA web site and they say "Oil AGA cookers should be serviced every 6 months. 3-oven and diesel models may extend to 12 months." so not sure if there is any difference in the cooker between oil & diesel, or if it is just the fuel that is cleaner.  Worth giving your supplier a call.

 

Depends on the type of burner. If its a pressure jet then conversion from one fuel to the other will involve changing the jet, setting the oil pump pressure to a different value and using a combustion analyser to set the CO2 content of the exhaust gas. 

If its an evaporative type of burner, I know nothing about these! 

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Quote

 

I'm on sticky ground her as I don't have the relevant experience, but -

if you take the question as "can you run any oil fire range on Gas Oil - then the answer is No.  Specific models may be available and designed to run on MGO, but I don't know which. It's difficult enough to get something like an AGA  on kerosene, so MGO may be a step too far. It's heavier and more difficult to vaporise. AFAIK you can't just turn them on and off - they have to run continuously. Fine in the winter, "inconvenient" in the summer. I once saw a NB on the Thames in summer and their tiny kitchen was like a sauna... 

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16 hours ago, 4LeggedGrasshopper said:

Hi, I’m hoping someone can help answer this as numerous google searches have failed. Pfft Technology! 

Basically we’ve set our hearts on a heritage style range which we’ve seen can run on red diesel, we just don’t know how?? And whether we can buy an oil fired range (much, much more affordable) and it run on red diesel - convert it or something I assume? I’m hoping someone can enlighten us...please pass on your knowledge :) Thanks in advance 

mmmmm a tough one. What you will find is that any solid fuel range will run on any solid fuel some better than others but easily obtainable even from supermarkets and the like.

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3 hours ago, OldGoat said:

I once saw a NB on the Thames in summer and their tiny kitchen was like a sauna... 

Being from Skarthisburg originally, I have norse blood and so I can say with some certainty that what you saw is a standard feature of Viking boat design. Scandinavians don't really need a galley cos they eat cold pickled herrings, so they may as well line the kitchen with pine, fit a dry heater and then have somewhere to sit in their towels reading strangely atmospheric detective stories while they wait for enough snow to go out and roll in. ;)

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I had a Dickinson Pacific oil fired ships stove in my boat. Although it ran quite happily on red diesel it could not reach the same high temperatures achieved when running on kerosene. To come close on diesel it had to be turned right up which usually resulted in black smoke at the chimney. Servicing intervals were also reduced, when running on diesel, due to rapid soot build up.

It never performed anywhere near as well as the distributor suggested it would even though it was installed exactly as the manufacturer laid down. All in all a disappointment compared to a solid fuel stove. I wouldn't want to down play how unpleasantly hot it can be in the boat during the summer months and how slow to warm up for cooking it could be.

For me a Squirrel stove and a gas cooker wins hands down.

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1 hour ago, steamraiser2 said:

I had a Dickinson Pacific oil fired ships stove in my boat. Although it ran quite happily on red diesel it could not reach the same high temperatures achieved when running on kerosene. To come close on diesel it had to be turned right up which usually resulted in black smoke at the chimney. Servicing intervals were also reduced, when running on diesel, due to rapid soot build up.

It never performed anywhere near as well as the distributor suggested it would even though it was installed exactly as the manufacturer laid down. All in all a disappointment compared to a solid fuel stove. I wouldn't want to down play how unpleasantly hot it can be in the boat during the summer months and how slow to warm up for cooking it could be.

For me a Squirrel stove and a gas cooker wins hands down.

Even tho I have a Dickinson Heater (not the cooker versions) and works as should, I prefer it more than any solid fuel stove.  I wouldn't get the cooker/hob version due to the nature of how they work, this goes for any "Aga" type cooker that uses diesel or solid fuel.   They are may be nice in winter where they can be on all the time, but in summer you will more likely have it turned off or suffer the heat and need another cooker/hob.

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13 hours ago, steamraiser2 said:

I had a Dickinson Pacific oil fired ships stove in my boat. Although it ran quite happily on red diesel it could not reach the same high temperatures achieved when running on kerosene. To come close on diesel it had to be turned right up which usually resulted in black smoke at the chimney. Servicing intervals were also reduced, when running on diesel, due to rapid soot build up.

It never performed anywhere near as well as the distributor suggested it would even though it was installed exactly as the manufacturer laid down. All in all a disappointment compared to a solid fuel stove. I wouldn't want to down play how unpleasantly hot it can be in the boat during the summer months and how slow to warm up for cooking it could be.

For me a Squirrel stove and a gas cooker wins hands down.

I have a Dickinson now and since Diesel was cleaned up it runs a lot cleaner. It use to be a regular job chipping out the burner pot, now its once a year and then not that bad. 

When there was talk about stopping red diesel for boats i looked into using heating oil and contacted Dickinson, it seams it would require a new calibrated needle which they could only supply after I sent them a sample of heating oil all the way to Canada for testing. 

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Pressure jet burners are readily convertible to run on 35 sec. If using a vapourising burner, you need a pot burner (Bubble, Lockgate type) . An Aga wick burner with concentric rings is no good on a boat as it needs to be kept level. Bubble do a small range, it depends how serious pour cooking is.

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  • 3 months later...
On 12/25/2017 at 10:06, Cloudinspector said:

We have a heritage range on our boat which runs on red diesel. We’ve lived aboard this particular boat for 4 years and it’s worked perfectly providing heating, cooking and hot water. We have it serviced every 12 months.

May i ask who does your servicing for you.

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On 18/12/2017 at 08:31, steamraiser2 said:

I had a Dickinson Pacific oil fired ships stove in my boat. 

For me a Squirrel stove and a gas cooker wins hands down.

Me too. Here endeth the lesson.

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On 17/12/2017 at 14:20, OldGoat said:

you can't just turn them on and off - they have to run continuously. Fine in the winter, "inconvenient" in the summer. I once saw a NB on the Thames in summer and their tiny kitchen was like a sauna... 

This is, I think, true of Agas, but not of Rayburns - strange, as they are both made by the same company. I can't speak for other makes.

I see that the O.P., Mrs. Hopper, has not visited CWDF since February. I wonder if she ever did buy a stove.

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