Perkins Drip Feed Diesel Heater

[Roadkill]

Hello,

I have one of these on the boat I have just bought. The boat is still out of the water at the moment, but I gave the heater a quick try just to get the hang of it. Are these things generally only safe to use when not underway, or are they intended for use at sea as well as overwintering in marinas etc?

Thanks,

Dave.

 

[roly_voya]

Depends on the type of valve, on some it is possible they could flood when heeled or if the flame goes out. This is because on some valves diesel is fed into a resvoir and the hight of this controls the drip feed rate. 'Ship type volves have some sort of jet arrangement like a carburetta needle that works at any angle. Best bet is probably to try it out on a beat with someone watching. If the flame stays steady then you are probably OK, if you get a bigger flame on either tack than when level may be a problem.

 

[Roadkill]

Thanks, I'll try this when I eventually get the boat in the water.

The heater has a seperate gravity feed tank which is filled via a pump from the main diesel tank. Behind the Heater is a valve which opens to fill a small resvoir from the gravity feed tank. Below the resvoir is another valve which opens to allow fuel from the resvoir into the heater.

Should the first valve be closed during operation, once the resvoir is full, or should it be left fully open? I assume the lower valve is for adjusting the amount of fuel allowed through and therefore the size of the flame?

Or have I got it completely wrong?

Sorry if this all sounds really basic but I can't find any information on Google about it, and I don't have a manual.

Thanks,

Dave.

 

[robind]

Why not check out Perkins they still exist? dont they? /forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif

 

[Forbsie]

I'd be interested to know how you get on with it as I'm looking for a diesel heater at the moment and a friend mentioned the Perkins last night.