Wallas Smoking...help!

2

20dauntless

New member
I'm swinging on a mooring buoy at Sucia Island and the Wallas has stopped working properly. It worked fine last Friday and worked for an hour or so today on the way over to Sucia. Then it "blew out," odor in the cabin, lots of soot by the exhaust, etc. I turned it off and turned it back on and the lights indicate normal operation but black, sooty smoke billows out the exhaust and the burners don't get very hot. After 30 minutes or so, smelly smoke starts coming out of the Wallas inside the cabin and I have to open all the windows and the door to air out and shut down the Wallas. I've restarted the Wallas several times, always with the same result.

I filled up with fresh pump diesel today. I talked to Scan Marine and their expert wasn't in today (he'll be in tomorrow and I'll call first thing) but the gentleman I spoke with thought I might have bad fuel. It's almost dark and blowing a gale up here so I can't try a different fuel now, but I'll head to Roche Harbor in the morning and buy some kerosene to try.

Has any one here experienced symptoms like I have and, if so, how did you solve them?
 
Sam,

I have not, but need to be sure that you have consistent electrical voltage, No surges, so engines off or on, prior to starting the Wallas, if the voltage gets low it will not burn properly. Might start the OB's and have them running then try starting the Wallas again and see if that works.

Good Luck,

Harvey
SleepyC :moon
 
I second that and only saw that behavior once running low voltage with the dial set low as well. clean fuel helps too but i have only run kleen heat and still had it occur with low voltage. start the outboard and try again.
 
It sounds as if you had a "back draft"--which will happen with any drip pot burner. The other problem that occurs is sooting up of the burner, and stack--and they may have to be cleaned. I believe that there is a PDF on the cleaning procedure in the archives.
 
Hi, on the run there did you get into some big waves? You might have water in the exhust pipe that is blocking the exhust. Disconnect the exhust tube at the unit and drain it. I had the same thing happen a time or two.
 
Voltage atthe Wallas without the engine running is 12.36, over 14v with the engine on. Even with the engine on, the Wallas smokes like crazy. I checked the exhaust line and there's no water or other obstructions.

I think the burner may need cleaning like Bob mentioned. I can't find the directions, if anybody has them handy let me know.

Thanks!
 
odor in the cabin, lots of soot by the exhaust, etc...black, sooty smoke...
Click to expand...

Sounds like the Wallas is functioning normally. :cry

Just kidding.

I've had this happen quite a few times over the years.

The reason was always the same...dirty wick (fuel vaporizer). From bad fuel, condensation, or simply the passage of time.

My old model( '92 or '93) has a fuel return line and I can usually get it working again by running 99% isopropyl alcohol from a jar through it for a few minutes. Temporary fix only.

Goes in crystal clear and comes out black.

I've learned that a new wick is ultimately required. About $70.00 + s&h last time.

With that in mind I taught myself to perform my own replacements right on the dinette table.

It can be done in well under an hour IF you have a spare, some tools, and a few zip ties.

It's a sad fact that they usually fail at the worst possible time and place. At dusk and away from shore power.

I see your post time was 4:40 pm at Sucia so the tradition continues.

When the Wallas fails it goes from cheery and warm to cold and dank very quickly.

Time to pull the sleeping bag over the head.
 
Yes, everything seems to fail at the worst possible time. I'm sitting here with 35 knots of wind and rain falling sideways...and no heat. At least I have plenty of warm clothes.

I believe the problem is a fuel leak. I put a paper towel below the Wallas and sure enough fuel leaks onto it. Now to find the leak...

Thanks again for all the help.
 
A very good friend gifted me a Mr.Buddy a few years ago. During the winter months it's always in the boat. It makes those "ah shit" times a lot less painful. :shock:

H :wink:
 
Took me all of the above plus two trips to Scan marine to be told each time that the unit was functioning perfectly andit was ll my fault until finally I talked with the the tech guy and he "rebuilt" it and tweaked everything from which point it functioned flawlessly.

Now have a D-40 which is a lot better but still very susceptible to use of bad words and requires me to get down on my knees and press a certain sequence of prayer buttons to make it start. When it does, it is a far better heater than the stovetop version.

I think the PC word is "sensisitive" and I am well known for my "sensittivity" :-)

M
 
check the exhaust mine was smoking and it was the exhaust not fitting on exhaust port also water can get in from side port also use only Kleen heat regular diesel will skrew up wick and smell .Make sure you have a good battery when starting always start in high position and shut down in high also . Just my observation We live in naples florida so we only run wallas a few months a year . But I do start it once a month even in summer just to make sure it works . Good luck with Wallas
 
I will get the usual flack ("My Wallas has worked perfectly for 10 years", etc., etc.) but this just proves once again, there are two kinds of people in the world - those whose Wallas has failed, and those whose Wallas is going to fail. One by one, every Wallas is going to bite the dust and leave its owner inconvenienced at least and possibly worse.

Its "problem" is not solved by KleenHeat, running the engine every time you start it, or anything quite so simple. The fact is, Wallas is not very good as either a cooktop or heater. It is too complicated, and has too many components that are prone to failure. It just violates the KISS principle in every conceivable way.

The Emperor has no clothes. Wake up and smell the coffee, folks.
 
I know I am gonna regret this, but our emperor is wearing shorts and a t-shirt. Before we ordered our boat, everyone on this forum was singing the praises of the Wallas. Now: not so much. Were y'all just snakin' me??

Not an inexpensive accessory, but it makes up for it by being slow to generate heat and another type of fuel to carry onboard. :wink: That said, I am in the camp that likes my Wallas... it cooks our food and heats our cabin. In a small boat, it is nice to have things do double duty. We do use an electric heater when we have a plug in, and in a bad situation, the generator could power that. We also carry a butane cooktop, and do use that when it's hot out, since it generates less residual heat than the Wallas.

We have used a Black Cat propane heater on other boats (similar to the Mr. Buddy), but I don't think that's as safe as the Wallas. During the night, we would put the propane canister out in the cockpit of our sailboats, then fire up the Black Cat first thing in the morning.

After Brent and Dixie loaned us the EcoFan, we bought one of those to use with the Wallas (add another $100) - sure is quieter and directs the heat better than the fan in the Wallas. But, you still need the Wallas for that to work. 8)

So, while I'm in the "it's working" camp, I'll be using my Wallas on cool mornings and for cooking. If it craps out on us, I'd have to think twice about spending hundreds on it. I sure understand the frustration of ANY item that lets you down. If I were ordering a new boat today, I'd check out the options... when we ordered our boat, the Wallas seemed suited for the job... still does.

Best wishes,
Jim B.
 
20dauntless: the "fuel leak" you observe makes me suspicious that it's not a leak at all, but an overflow. If the pot in which combustion occurs does not ignite the fuel (low voltage, wind blowing back through the exhause, bad ignitor, or whatever), and you keep trying to get the unit to ignite, what happens is that fuel is pumped into the pot, but it never burns off. Eventually, the pot is full, and as fuel is pumped in, it simply overflows.

I'd suggest you put a few rags under the unit and pull the pot, which you're going to have to do anyway. If it's full of fuel, dump it out, put the pot on a dock, and light it off with a lighter. DON'T DO THIS ON THE BOAT. The pot will cook off quite well, and take about 5-10minutes to do so. Wet the dock down if the pot's on wood, otherwise find a patch of concrete. Don't try to pull the ignitor or temperature probe and light the pot off while it's still mounted under the stove. The flames might be way more than you can deal with on board.

If the pot had residual fuel, you now have to figure out what caused the ignition or flameoup problem in the first place. Assume bad fuel and or back pressure, since they're the easiest to address. If they're not the cause of the problem, you'll find out soon enough.
 
We had the same symptoms you described about three years ago. Heavy black smoke and fuel dripping out of the underside of the stove. Fuel dripping out of a hot pot makes for uneasy feelings when you have small children aboard. We had our stove fixed at lake union, but decided to correct our situation.

We installed an espar d2 to heat the boat and only use the wallas to cook with. We also carry a Coleman camp stove as back up. When the wallas craps out again it will be replaced with a propane or alcohol cooktop. For what some have payed to repair their wallas you could replace an espar. And the espar is very efficient at heating the boat.

We also used to be in the "love our wallas camp".

Best of luck,

Karl
 
over full pot sounds right. Had this happen many times. after you burn off the fuel clean the soot off the ingitor and the temp probe. soot will cause booth to not function.
 
I don't have a wallas but if I did I would have a complete manual with a selection of spare parts etc. That being said, having no one available to work you thru this problem seems to be very sad for a stove that technical. Given that these stoves are so expensive that they would not think to have at least one tech available during all normal business hours at the main outlet seems scandalous. Pardon the pun. Again this is why some folks go to competition. These stoves always seem to quit when you need them most.
D.D.
 
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