Wallas Diesel Cooker - Any views?

[GilesC]

I'm currently in a dilemma about my gas installation, and having read previous posts about it, I'm going to need to spend a lot of money to get up to spec. for my insurance renewal. Fireretarding gas locker (over £100), all new pipework, leak detector etc, and get it professionally fitted looks pretty expensive, plus I need a heater.....

So, I was thinking about killing 2 birds with one stone, and looked at the Wallas diesel cooker, with the blower fan to act as a cabin heater. It looks great, and safe, but I can't have the cooker gimballed with the blower lid, which is a bit annoying. It all costs about £1000 so it would have to be good. Does anyone have any experience of one and are they worth the money?

 

[spannerman]

I have one in my boat, it works fine, and as its a totally enclosed system there is no smell or fumes, and now as there are no naked flames to be affected by draughts I feel quite safe going for a stroll along the dock or chatting to other boaters on deck while the water boils. One feature you should be aware of is because of the way it is constructed both plates are on at the same time. The way it works is the hot exhaust from the burner goes into one hot plate first ( this being the hottest) then into the second one (now somewhat cooler) before exiting through the exhaust. It has two heat settings and and boils water and heats frying pans effectively. At first I thought it was a disadvantage to have both plates going
but practice I usually need both, one for cooking and one for keeping another pan warm.

 

[30boat]

I could also be interested in one. I've E-Mailed them twice for prices but got no response.Does anybody know how to extract a reply from them?

 

[Trevethan]

Give Kuranda a call. They appear to be involved with most of the major diesel oven producers. They are knowledgeable and will respond to both phone and email requests.

You might also consider buying from the US.

For £400 including shipping (still waiting the vat bill) I just bought a Dickinson Newport heater in brass, dress ring, chimney cap and some other bits and pieces needed from www.go2marine.com

They arrived yesterday, about a week after placing the order. Very impressed and around £200 cheaper than anyone in the UK could deliver.

regards,

Nick

 

[HaraldS]

Not sure buying from the US is better in this case as Wallas is a Finish product. Also had a serious look at it. No problem getting it from some of the German chandlers. While I would like to do away with gas on the boat and revert everything to diesel, my wife seems less than convinced after looking at the Wallas thing at the fair. Her concerns are the two 'synchronized' 'burners', and the recessed middle part wouldn't allow us to place the two big square pans, that we often need to feed the hungry youg crew.
Other than that, Wallas heaters have a very good reputation, and I wish my heaters were Wallas and not Ebersbacher.
Will be watching that space and hope to get some usage reports some day.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.taniwani.de>http://www.taniwani.de</A>

 

[spannerman]

Quite agree I had an Eberspacher which was temperamental and ultimately packed up, it neede a new ECU so I threw it out and installed a Wallas 300, very pleased with it, its extremely quiet and cheap to operate, I was so impressed I chucked out the spirit stove and installed a Wallas cooker instead. And the only thing that goes wrong I know cos I repair both Wallas and Eberspacher is the glow coil that starts it eventually burns out but they are very easy to change even at sea so I carry a spare one which fits both bits of kit.

 

[rwh]

Re: Wallas Diesel Cooker - (LONG response

I did have the misfortune of having to replace a cooker on very short notice, after the original Wallas parrafin cooker died en route to the USA this past May. The cooker died right after we had departed Holland and while we were in the English channel. So we looked for the nearest dealer and found him in Shamrock Quay Marina in Southampton. Already having a Wallas made the decision easy to replace it with another. This time, however, we opted for the diesel cooker and had the model 9610 (combined hob and oven) installed. While the Finnish made Wallas is considered a top shelf product around the world, I am not so happy with their dealer network, which is somewhat limited. For instance, after we had left England and during the crossing of the Bay of Biscay, the brand new cooker stopped working. (The reason for this problem is a long story and had nothing to do with the Wallas cooker) However, while diagnosing the problem and being in direct cell phone contact with the factory, we learned they had no distributor in France. Well, we were heading into Brest. So we convinced the English dealer to fly out and assist us. Anyways, being a captive audience, we paid full list and this meant about 1700 Pound Sterling for the cooker, plus about 700 Pound Sterling for removing the old cooker and installation of the new one. At that time, this would have been about $3600 - thus, terribly expensive, when considering the alternative of installing a gas/propane cooker, which can be bought at every street corner for an amount of $500-$1000 - However, at the end of the day, we did not have any choice because we were on a schedule and we had an existing opening. Thus, we were keen on getting to go on and not having to deal with any major carpentry work. Well, as far as the cooker goes, we like it very much. It takes a little time to get used to because it is different. However, after a short time and for the duration of the crossing which took about 37 days, we were using it all day long to cook regular meals, bake bread and cake and, yes, to boil water for the PM tea. Another post indicates the limits of the 2 burner hob but it is something you can live with. You just have to get used to its limitations and learn how to use it. We like it overall because we do not need to worry about having or needing to have propane on board. It is plumbed direct into the main diesel tank and there is plenty for all sorts of cooking. Incidentally, trying to buy this in the USA would not be a good idea. First of all, there would be no savings (it comes from Finland to begin with) and there is ONE dealer for all of the USA. Thus, making it a long distance relationship for most buyers. However, if you are in Europe, go for it.

 

[rwh]

Re: Wallas Diesel Cooker - (LONG response

I forgot to comment GilesC remarks about the blower and gimballing. He is right. You can have one or the other but not both. I opted for the gimbal because that is certainly much more important. Thus, I had to forego the heat and blower option. Using the Wallas as a heater is, in my opinion, only good for supplemental heat but not sufficient for a main heating source. I hasten to add, this may depend a little bit on the size of your vessel. Mine being a 40 footer, this would not be a viable option.

 

[GilesC]

Thanks everyone - useful and very positive feedback.