David, thanks.

I thought that for the butane to run a stovetop, that tank had to be
below the stovetop. I know that is not necessary for propane.

If that is true, then the location of the butane locker is more
critical because I was thinking of putting the gas bottle locker on
the boat deck above the salon.

For the rest of the list, was not planning on having an AC generator,
just a DC one, with a large battery bank, which is why I ruled out an
electric stove top, but not microwave.

Still, it seems from the few replies so far, no one has a diesel
stove, nor knows someone who does...

Lee

On Jul 9, 2006, at 17:00, david.lyon27@ntlworld.comwrote:

all you need do is change regulator from a butane to propane and back
again depending on which way you are going. In the Uk you can get both.

Lee Licata wrote:

Hello. We have a Dickinson 'Pacific' diesel stove on board, and love it.
When the conditions are right, it really shines. But if you are in
conditions not suited to it, it is not so good. The conditions being: Cold
outside or not...

During the Winter is when this stove is great. It takes about 1hr to
'light', and about another hour or two to come up to temp. Once it is up I
turn it down and just leave it all the time we are on the boat. Use it not
only for cooking, but also heating. What makes it so great is that it dries
out the cabin while heating. We know of other live-aboards who heat with
electricity; their boat is a dripping wet clammy cave during the winter. And
there is nothing better then standing next to the Dickinson to warm up
those parts of the body needing a little 'deep heat' or to chase off the
chill after coming in from outside.

But during the summer, or any other time when it is not cold out enough to
leave this stove running 24hrs a day, we use Propane. Most people who have
these pot-stoves also have a propane cook-top to use during the summer...

If I was fitting the boat out from scratch, I think I would try a smaller
wall-mounted diesel heater in the aft stateroom, and then just have a
propane range in the galley, but the boat came with this cast iron stove and
I am keeping it until I get to an area where I will NEVER see temps below 60
:-) (and I am not sure how those wall mounded heaters would work in giving
off radiant heat to chase out the chills)

I did check a little into the Wallas diesel cook-tops to use during the
summer. Really liked the idea of having one less fuel type on board. They
are used a lot on the C-Dory boats here in the PNW, but I was never able to
get a clear consensus that these stoves would be a good choice during the
summer. (Goal being able to cook on them, and not put an undue amount
of excess heat into the cabin). Most people who have them used them in a
dual cook/heating mode.

In the end I went with propane for two reasons: 1) Proven tech, I KNEW it
would be usable during hotter days. and 2) realization that I was going to
install a BBQ, and hence I would need a propane source on board anyway. As
a side, a propane burner is lower cost then a wallas stovetop.  It could be
the Wallas would be a good solution, but once I realized I was going to have
propane on board anyway, I stopped investigating it.

One more thing. The Dickinson is very simple, but it needs to burn correctly
or you will not be happy. When lighting you have to make sure it burns 'up'
and now down deep in the pot. Once the stove it up to operating temp you can
turn it down, but need to get it all warm before doing so. If you don't, you
will get a cold flame burning down in the pot, soot, and the pot will cake
up. One also needs to make sure the pot stays clean. I vacuum out our about
twice a year, and have no problems.

So for me, I ended up with propane cooker for the summer, and the Dickinson
Diesel for the winter cooker as well as its wonderful heat source.

-al-

----- Original Message -----
From: "Lee Licata" lazilicata@gmail.com
To: david.lyon27@ntlworld.com
Cc: trawlers-and-trawlering@lists.samurai.com
Sent: Monday, July 10, 2006 1:59 AM
Subject: T&T: Butane and Propane and Diesel Stoves