Taylors Paraffin heater, conversion to diesel

[bumblefish]

Following on from a related thread, is it possible to convert a Taylors Paraffin heater to run on diesel?

 

[Poignard]

I don't know, but it might be less trouble to sell it [to me perhaps!] and replace it with a diesel heater.

 

[tritonofnor]

The diesel version uses a completely different burner which drip feeds diesel into a burner inside a pot. These do not seem (certainly in the experience of a friend of mine who has suffered one for some time) to be as efficient or as reliable as the paraffin version. They also use a three inch flue as opposed to a 28mm version. Whilst it is theoretically possible, only the outer part of the casing would remain, and at Taylors parts prices it would be cheaper to buy the diesel version and sell your paraffin one to Twisterowner!

 

[ChrisE]

I'd agree with the view to sell the Taylor and buy a proper diesel heater.

You'll need to replace all of the flues and the stove but then you'll have a heater that heats the cabin rather than merely taking the edge off the cold.

I speak as one who has frozen too often with others Taylor's and is now wearing T-shirts with his Dickinson.

 

[HenryB]

Before fitting my Taylors paraffin heater I ran it at home using diesel and couldn't detect any difference from when I used paraffin apart from the preheating was more critical. I had read somewhere on the net that either fuel can be used. I suggest that you give it a try. I haven't used diesel since fitting the heater in my boat so don't know if there might be a long term problems.

 

[Steve_N]

The 079K Taylors runs quite happily on kerosene i.e. 28 sec central heating oil - that's what the 'K' stands for after all. If you have access to it then kerosene is far cheaper than diesel anyway. In fact I find it runs cleaner on kerosene than on paraffin.

I'm pretty sure that there is a different jet available for the Primus-type roaring burner found in the K models to allow the use of diesel although from memory this wasn't from Taylors but from another manufacturer who uses/used the same burner in their products . Can't remember who though. The guy at www.base-camp.co.uk would be the man to ask..

Even if it can be done I'm not sure it would be that good: the burner isn't enclosed like on the 079D so you could get a cabin full of oily soot.

 

[doug748]

You would prabably be better to obtain a diesel model. I spent a very happy trip on a boat that burned one continiously. Lots of dry heat ,no smoke or smell. I don't know the Dickinson - can anyone say if it uses the same principle, is it better, worse, heavy, more expensive, or what?

 

[srm]

I have fitted both to different boats - ran the diesel heater on paraffin as it was cleaner. Agree that the diesel heater did not seem that efficient and was difficult to keep burning at a steady rate. Being bigger it generated a lot more heat than the smaller paraffin burner.

Now have a Dickenson diesel heater to fit to my current boat which appears to have a more sophisticated burner design than the Taylor.

The paraffin heater uses a pressurised jet burner and, as said above, should work on diesel. May burn at a different temperature though so might clog or wear in the long term.