Taylor Heater

[Murray Glue Christine Ba]

We have a Taylor cabin heater on Dayspring, CD30 # 107. It has a fuel
tank which drip feeds a burner unit, via a magnetic fail safe valve and
a sight glass on the front.

We are about to light it as the colder weather has finally reached New
Zealand. Do they run off kerosine or diesel ? And when the very brief
instructions say to " prime the burner ", what is the best way ? There
is a long wire thingy with a clip on the end which looks as though it
was used to put some burning wadding down into the burner itself.

Much appreciate any advice.



106452.2173@compuserve.com

[Carl Jones]

We have a Taylor cabin heater on Dayspring, CD30 # 107. It has a fuel
tank which drip feeds a burner unit, via a magnetic fail safe valve and
a sight glass on the front.

We are about to light it as the colder weather has finally reached New
Zealand. Do they run off kerosine or diesel ? And when the very brief
instructions say to " prime the burner ", what is the best way ? There
is a long wire thingy with a clip on the end which looks as though it
was used to put some burning wadding down into the burner itself.

Much appreciate any advice.

Ahoy Dayspring,
I am not familiar with your heater, but I had a kerosene cooker on my previous boat. Under the burners, there was a cup. You primed the burners by filling the cup with alcohol. Then you lite the alcohol and waited until it was almost all burned out, at which time you turned on the kerosene to the burner. This got the burner hot enough to burn the kerosene without it flaring up. If there is a cup under your burner, that is what it is for. Hope this helps.
Good Luck,
Carl Jones
CD 30 "Spanish Eyes"



GreatCells@aol.com

[Mike Schwartz]

Taylor makes both a kerosene-fueled and a diesel fueled cabin heater. I have a diesel fueled model on my Cape Dory 36.It requires preheating (as a kerosene heater would) with stove alcohol. Once the alcohol has been poured into the combustion chamber and lit with a long wooden match it "preheats" the burner so that the other fuel will vaporize. I wait until the alcohol has nearly all burned,and then open the valve for the diesel fuel,which is fed by a small 12 volt pump rather than a separate day tank. The heater works great here in New England. You might be able to contact the Taylor company directly or through Defender's,which is an American vendor of Taylor stoves to find out whether your's is kerosene or diesel dueled. Good luck.

[D. Stump, Hanalei]

Murray,
Sorry to hear it's getting cold down there! It was about 60 degrees here in Connecticut yesterday, with 20-25 knot winds out of the SW. I had read somewhere on the net about using a 6" clay flower pot over the alcohol stove burner as a lite duty cabin heater. Although it was relatively warm here this weekend, I stopped at the local hardware store and purchased said pot! It worked great! With 2 companionway boards in, the cabin heated just enough to make it very comfortable. And all for $1.49! Don't know anything about your particular heater, but the other posts seem to answer your questions. Fair winds and following seas....

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei, CD-30

[Paul Scribner]

It worked great!
Dave:
I heard about that neat trick also but was warned that alcohol stoves produce a tremendous amount of moisture inside the boat which can't be very good for anything in the long run. Intersted to learn what you think.

Paul Scribner
s/v Serenitas
CD 28 1978 Hull #205



scribner@channel1.com

[D. Stump, Hanalei]

Paul,
I heard the same thing! But, this was only a temporary thing, just enough to take the chill off. Besides, if you look at my post today above, I already had more water inside than I really needed. No, I don't think I would use the pot if I were living aboard, but to take the chill off, it was great.

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

[Bill Goldsmith]

Captain Stump:

Sounds like a good idea but don't fall asleep with that thing going and all the ports and companionway closed! Without a flue, I would imagine CO could build up pretty fast in such a small area. We don't want to miss out on your future nautical words of wisdom!!!

Bill Goldsmith
CD27
Second Chance

Murray,
Sorry to hear it's getting cold down there! It was about 60 degrees here in Connecticut yesterday, with 20-25 knot winds out of the SW. I had read somewhere on the net about using a 6" clay flower pot over the alcohol stove burner as a lite duty cabin heater. Although it was relatively warm here this weekend, I stopped at the local hardware store and purchased said pot! It worked great! With 2 companionway boards in, the cabin heated just enough to make it very comfortable. And all for $1.49! Don't know anything about your particular heater, but the other posts seem to answer your questions. Fair winds and following seas....

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei, CD-30

goldy@bestweb.net

[D. Stump, Hanalei]

Bill,
CO is not a problem anymore than it would be if you had both top burners and the oven going at the same time with the cabin closed up tight. As long as the burner is getting the right amount of oxygen for combustion, it doesn't matter what you put on the stove, be it chile, steak, bacon, vegetables ("Yuch!, I don't particularly like them!) or a large pot of soup! Actually the only thing the upside down clay pot does is provide a larger surface area for radiant heat. It's not a lot, but it was enough to dry my wet socks out as I rested my feet on the aft half bulkead at the end of the port settee. (That is after I finished pumping out the 4" of seawater that had gotten inside)(see my earlier post!).

After I had tried the pot trick(that doesn't sound quite right, but you get the message), I checked the inside of the pot to see if there were any soot marks, soot would have been an indication of incomplete combustion, and there were no marks. Just a very clean flower pot. Anyhow, thanks for your concern, CO can kill very quickly, and I don't plan on going that way!

Dave Stump
Captain Commanding
s/v Hanalei CD-30

[Steve Alarcon]

Murray,

I also have (and use) the Taylor diesel cabin heater. It is quite effective here in the Pacific Northwest. Our winter temps are regularly in the 30's, and it keeps the cabin toasty. Incidently, we don't find it necessary to use alcohol to preheat.

I use the follwoing process for starting it.
1) Open the valves and hold down the starter button to get drips going through the sight glass.
2) Keep the starter button down for about 10-15 seconds, and then peer inside the burner bowl with a flashlight. You'll be looking for a wet spot.
3) Use a match to light the wet spot. Alternately, you can do as we do and use a butane lighter with a long "snout" designed for lighting barbeques.
4) Continue to hold down the starter button for another 15 seconds or so, or until the diesel continues to drip after you let up on the button.
5) Adjust the drip rate to about one per second, or a little more if really cold. I understand that it is desirous to avoid having the burner bowl glow red.

A final point for consideration. Check the cushion immediately below the heater from time to time. Heat is supposed to rise, but our cushions tend to get warmer than I prefer. I use a small battery powered fan to keep the cushion cool and keep the heat from stratifying.

Steve Alarcon
CD30 Temerity
Seattle



ALARCON@CWIXMAIL.COM

[Murray Glue]

Thanks for your message. I have posted a new message on the board.
Maybe you will be able to help. Much appreciated.



106452.2173@compuserve.com

[Tony Betz]

Perhaps I am mistaken, but my understanding is that it would be dangerous to have the burners and the oven in operation with the boat shut up tightly. There is a warning on my CNG stove to use only with ventilation. Is the CO in this situation a problem or not? Gets pretty brisk up here in Maine - Espar is out of my price range, Taylor diesel seems like good second choice. Regards to all, Tony Betz



wildings@ncia.net

[Mike Everett]

Yes, that's a great idea. Our first boat, a Pearson 26, came with a clay pot for its one-burner Origo!
s/v Dr. Pepper has a Dickinson wood heater, which is a great comfort over here in Maine. It burns charcoal and/or wood scraps. In the remote anchorages downeast, it's possible to forage for free stove fuel with a small bow saw.



everett@megalink.net