Dickinson Marine heater

[uriedog]

Anybody using a Dickinson (or other) type propane or solid fuel heater?

I am thinking of putting one in, but would like to here some real world numbers of how they work.

[buta4]

skipbee wrote:
We had a very good wood burning (solid fuel) device in our sailing yacht for many years. It was terrific! I was getting ready to cut a hole for the pipe in the after cabin overhead, when a Mainer came by and said, "You can't put that fireplace in that little cabin, you'll be able to bake bread on the bunks!" We fitted in the forward cabin salon with a duct to the aft cabin and it was excellent. I tried some anthracite coal but it got so hot it scared us.

I have not put it in our TC, although I would love to, because I'm concerned with the very hot stove pipe and someone getting burned in the small space. Our TC is just a little bit larger than the aft cabin. I know the pipe could covered with asbestos but having to go to the roof to remove the pipe cover and the high heat discouraged us. I have yet to find a suitable place to locate it in our rig.

Carefully examine the Kimberly stove described above. The gasifier event produces cooler stovepipe emissions. The camper install VIDEO shows the minimal stove clearances needed and the stove installed through wood cabinets, etc. to the roof.

By the way, I do not have any connection with this fairly new company but if I had a camper presently I probably fit one into it if I had the cash. Doesn't use "normal" stovepipe per se.

[skipbee]

We had a very good wood burning (solid fuel) device in our sailing yacht for many years. It was terrific! I was getting ready to cut a hole for the pipe in the after cabin overhead, when a Mainer came by and said, "You can't put that fireplace in that little cabin, you'll be able to bake bread on the bunks!" We fitted in the forward cabin salon with a duct to the aft cabin and it was excellent. I tried some anthracite coal but it got so hot it scared us.

I have not put it in our TC, although I would love to, because I'm concerned with the very hot stove pipe and someone getting burned in the small space. Our TC is just a little bit larger than the aft cabin. I know the pipe could covered with asbestos but having to go to the roof to remove the pipe cover and the high heat discouraged us. I have yet to find a suitable place to locate it in our rig.

Our stove is the Dickinson Newport model that the OP showed. I'm looking into the improved stack pipe mentioned, that would be a game changer.

[buta4]

AS far as solid fuels, read up on Kimberly Wood Stoves. Expensive but worth the cost. Very safe and effective! Caveat is it uses smaller chunks of wood, not big logs. But it runs for hours and is a gasifier-type stove.

Wood lasts a long time in the base firebox. There are two fireboxes due to the upper gasifier chamber which burns unburned gas from the lower wood firebox creating much more heat from the same load of wood.

Couple of excellent videos on the site showing installs on a large sailboat and a class C.

The camper install used a drilled hole in the floor to the outside for the air feed to the stove. Thus NO cabin air is in use, as all air draws from the outside air.

The boat install is different in that the air intake is not installed with a hole in the floor! :B

Unforgetablefirellc.com

[pjay9]

I see some 'but' jigs....looks cozy...I am thinking of adding a closed cabin.

AAB

[garryk6]

pjay9 wrote:
Garryk6...are you on AAB with your alloy boat? Capt PJ

Here's my heater install on th boat. The boat is only 23 ft Alaskan made river boat converted to multi-purpose for here on Kodiak island. What's AAB?




Garry, Kodiak

[uriedog]

Espar heater would be great, but how to deal with the diesel hookups. This is a truck camper. I do have a diesel truck, and am thinking of an espar for heating the engine in the morning. But seems like a pain running lines and quick couplers to the truck camper.

Clearances on the dickinson heaters are not a problem. I looked at those as they are made for small spaces. And I like they way they exhaust. The propane heater is a little spendy. Hoping to find a used one. The solid fuel heater is on sale now for $349 which is almost low enough to convince the finance department (wife) we need one.

[pjay9]

Garryk6...are you on AAB with your alloy boat? Capt PJ

[garryk6]

That sure is a clean install in that class c! Too bad those solid fuel heaters and stack are so expensive.....

[pjay9]

Why don't you use one of these Espars.
Espar

It seems to me to be a bit of a safety hazard in a TC because of space and clearances reqired for the flame burner box type...in a MH it could be nice and comfortaing to have a flame going. Particality for heating, I wonder!

Also when at the Espar site look at all the heaters for semi-trucks, neat stuff. I had also thought if the OEM propane blower heater ever died, I be installing an Espar...and using the same ducts I have now. Deisel truck deisel heat, no brainer!

Good luck and make sure you post install pics and explanation. This should be fun.

[Stars101]

That's a pretty interesting link to the Class C.

Subscribed so I can see what people say.

[uriedog]

I would like to put it in my Bigfoot 9.5c. The low power consumption is the goal. We have the factory forced air heater now. I am good for 2 days on my batteries but don't want to have to depend on them. I do have a gravity heater I could put in, but there is some issues with the exhaust, and the seams of the exterior.

Will the Dickinson heater warm a TC space in the winter? We use our TC for skiing. Over night temps often hit -30'c. I know the gravity heater will keep the interior 20+'c. But a wood stove or even the Dickinson gas heater would take up less space and be pretty cool to have running.

[IAMICHABOD]

This Guy has something like that in his Class C.

[garryk6]

I have a force10 Cozy Cabin Heater


Installed in my aluminum boat. My boat is smaller than my camper, but is totally in-insulated, and even in the low 30's it will warm the cabin up to warm enough that I have to take my jacket off. Even with the stack, the propane version emits a fair amount of moisture, so if I were to consider a heater made for a boat to use in a camper, I would consider either the diesel, or better yet the solid fuel, as it is better for use boondocking to save propane for the stove.

Garry in AK

[bb_94401]

I have the propane version in my 31' sailboat. Keeps it nice and warm when sailing in the high 30s to low 40s F (2-8 C). I have it mounted on a stainless steel plate that keeps the back of the heater about 5cm from the fiberglass.

The fan is fairly quiet. Once the boat warms up we shut off the fan and run the heater on low to use less battery power for the rest of the night. Double walled chimney works well, although the cap is large, at about 15cm, with three inverted bowls on top. These keep the inlet and outlet air separated.

The heater came with the boat. If I were to do it from scratch I'd get the diesel/kerosene burning version verses propane.

Curious what you plan to do with it.

[RoyB]

Interesting - Have never considered one of these. The FIREBOX is pretty small but from the spec sheet I see it will last three hours or so...

DICKISNSON SOLID FUEL SPEC