Wallas stove - fuel removal ??? Strong diesel oder

B

Bill.Secure

New member
Several months ago I removed unused diesel fuel from the Wallas fuel reservoir. However, each time I get on the boat I smell diesel fuel in the cabin (but very little under the sink where the reservoir is located). The hotter the day the stronger the smell. Today when I got on board, the smell was so strong it had triggered the CO monitor.

Neither the Wallas manual nor the CD-25 manual talked about either fuel removal or this condition. I did find a hint in one place in the manual where it said something like "avoid tipping the stove when you remove it so as not to spill fuel that's around the burner". Is there a procedure I should have been following to remove fuel from this area? The stove was dealer rather than factory installed if that could make a difference.

Is there some fuel removal procedure I should be following relative to fuel around the burner?


Bill
Edgewater, MD
 
Bill,
My understanding of the burner is that it is a "drip pot" type of burner. The fuel pump is low pressure and just drips (ok there is a little nozzel) fuel onto the bottom burner mat--and this is ignited by the glow plug. When you shut off the stove, you basically burn off all of the fuel which was in the burner pot. Since no more fuel comes in, there is no fuel to spill. But if the stove was on, or there was fuel in the "pot" it could spill out into the pan under the burners. There it could evaporate and cause the odor, but it would take quite some fuel to do this. I have owned three of these stoves, and never had an odor problem. I would take the stove out of the frame and see if there is any fuel on the bottom of the pan--or if you have some fuel still in the tube which goes from the resivoir to the fuel pump (which is in the stove). Is it possiable that someone turned on the stove briefly after the fuel was removed? This could have left some fuel in the burner pot as there would be minimal resistance to fuel flow and all of the fuel in the tubing would go into the burner pot..
 
Good advice above. Another suggestion to avoid future problems, after this is solved. Use CleanHeat as a fuel -- burns cleaner, and no odor problems. Find at your local Home Depot.
 
I'm in the process of removing the Wallas stove from the counter top and have had to stop to run a few errands. The removal procedure has been less than obvious but I think I'm getting there. At this point I need to remove the exhaust hose, and disconnect the power. Then the unit should lift out. The one thing I have noticed is that even though I had emptied the fuel reservoir, the fuel line was still full of fuel. It didn't empty until I unscrewed the fitting holding the fuel line to the pump.

Once I have it out, I'm guessing that I get to the burner pan by basically following the photos relative to the glow plug on the Wallas service document I found in the C-Brats site document section.

I can only speculate what might have caused the problem in the first place. The last time we used the stove, the smell of burning diesel fuel was substantial so we shut it down (letting it turn off on its own). I also know that on at least one occasion (when we weren't having any difficulty with the stove) we were in heavy water that momentarily blocked the exhaust vent and that gave us a heavy burst of burning diesel fuel odor. I know I haven't had the fuel reservoir any more than a foot off the floor. A final possibility is that there might have been a momentary disconnect of the starboard battery (which the Wallas is directly wired to). I think this is unlikely but still something to consider.

Bill
Edgewater, MD
 
The fuel just goes in a little sauce-like pan, and can get sloshed easy. The exhaust blocked would have done it, as would a brief gust blowing exhaust into the cockpit (the smell will come in the door readily). For whatever reason it came out, when it goes back in, it could take as much as 48 hours of running to burn any diesel (or anything else) out of the can seams, bottom, etc. (in other words, get ready to smell diesel again). I've had mine out multiple times, and while never liking the Wallas a lot, for now it is working as it should. If fuel is sloshed for any reason or multiple starts put extra fuel in the can and the seams (of the can) are saturated, it can take a very long time to burn off (smoke off) that diesel and it will give fumes in the cabin (that you can deal with by keeping it lit until it dries out).

Good luck. Part of having a Wallas.
 
I had similar problems some time ago, up to the point of getting white diesel fumes in the cockpit and always a smell.

Finally got it fixed after 2 returns and a long talk with Mike the guy who fixes them at Scan Marine. It appeasr that the assembly relies on very close tolerances to avoid any such events. Not being in a perfect world or environment, they sometimes need a complete re-build and fine tuning plus some sealant to make them work properly.
When they do work they are great.

Merv
 
I'd like to begin by thanking everyone for their thoughts on this. This morning I finished removing and disassembling the stove relative to the combustion chamber (can, fiberglass mat, glow plug etc.).

The surprise to me is that the combustion chamber seemed absolutely devoid of fuel. There was no odor of fuel and a tissue showed no fuel residue after wiping the inside of the can, the fiberglass mat, etc.. Additionally there was no odor or fuel coming from or visible relative to the bottom of the stove itself. The only fuel I found was a few drops that exited the pump as I lifted the stove out of the countertop. There is a light odor of fuel in the exhaust tube.

Both the fuel line and breather tube are unobstructed. At this point, I'm probably going to remove the stove, fuel reservoir etc. from the boat, and stuff a rag in the exhaust tube for several days to insure the odor isn't coming from someplace else. Assuming the odor is gone, I'll reinstall the stove and follow Flagold's suggestion of running it hot for a prolonged period of time to burn out residue that may not otherwise be showing up. And if anyone has other thoughts, I'd certainly be interested in hearing them.

Bill
Edgewater, MD
 
I kept having fuel fumes in the cabinet and finally decided it was from the container vent tube. Probably a result of the container flexing with boat motions and fuel sloshing "pumping" vapors out. Extended the tube to cockpit, no odors since.
 
Great idea Moxieabs. I was starting to wonder if the problem had anything to do with the fuel reservoir which is a soft milky white plastic. I was wondering if fuel was slowly migrating through the container since even after sitting outside for half a breezy sunny day, the outside of the container smells distinctly of fuel.

But you may have the key since the odor has increased as the weather has become warmer. That means more expansion and contraction of the reservoir and that could dump fumes in the cabin. The only part that doesn't fit that hypothesis is that I notice fumes far more in the cabin itself than under the sink where the reservoir is installed and the breathing tube terminates.

Bill
Edgewater, MD
 
Once diesel oder gets into fabric/wood etc--it takes along time to get rid of it--evaporation is relitatively slow. Having lived aboard diesel boats--and living with clothes which smell like diesel--is part of the "experience"...
 
This is a related question...

How does a person refill the Wallas fuel container?

1. Take it out of the cabinet? Do you need to put something under the tubes to catch drippings?

2. Fill it while in the cabinet? Do the hoses need to remain in liquid in order to keep their suction?

This is all probably really simple and obvious, but Bill's diesel smell has me questioning even the most obvious of things.

thanks,
 
I just put a paper towl in a ziplok bag and dump the tubes in there. When you are finished you can close the bag and keep the demon fumes inside until you can dispose of it properly

Merv
 
I just carefully take the tubes out and leave them hanging. Fuel does
not leak out of the tubes. Perhaps there is a check value at the
pickup? I'm not sure. At most, I get a drop or two of fuel. I fill the
container either on the back deck or on land.

Mike
 
thataway":ij7bzabh said:
Once diesel oder gets into fabric/wood etc--it takes along time to get rid of it--evaporation is relitatively slow. Having lived aboard diesel boats--and living with clothes which smell like diesel--is part of the "experience"...
Click to expand...

This was a good observation. When taking the tube out of the container to refill, even a drop or two that gets under the cabinet and into the wood will give the diesel smell for a very long time. Just part of it and nothing to fear. (they don't call the big diesel boats "stink pots" for nothing)
 
flagold":ohv1rbci said:
thataway":ohv1rbci said:
Once diesel oder gets into fabric/wood etc--it takes along time to get rid of it--evaporation is relitatively slow. Having lived aboard diesel boats--and living with clothes which smell like diesel--is part of the "experience"...
Click to expand...

This was a good observation. When taking the tube out of the container to refill, even a drop or two that gets under the cabinet and into the wood will give the diesel smell for a very long time. Just part of it and nothing to fear. (they don't call the big diesel boats "stink pots" for nothing)
Click to expand...

DOES THIS MEAN THAT THE RANGER TUGS HAVE A DIESEL SMELL TO THEM ALL THE TIME?

Joe.
 
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