Wallas 800/210 Stove

[AlaskaMan]

I have the Wallas 800/210 stove heater combo unit. When I turn the stove on I get the fan and the red light flashes. According to the manual a flashing red lamp indicated too low a supply of voltage cause by dischared battery, too weak supply cable or poor contact in fuse or connections. I've checked the connections, and my fuses are good and I am running with a new battery so I don't see how it could be low voltage. I am also using fresh fuel. The unit sat unused for several years before I purchased the boat but the previous owner said it did work just fine. As I understand it the unit is self-priming so you fill the day tank, hit the switch and away you go, am I correct? Any ideas what the problem could be?
Thanks

[LisaBham]

It does take a few minutes for the stove to warm up, how long are you letting it run before shutting it off? The fan on the top unit will only run once the burner is hot. I believe the light on the switch flashes on it's start up and shutdown cycles as well.

[Chinook]

The Wallas Stove can be really twitchy. If it hasn't been used for several years, I'd suspect electrical connections. One I've had trouble with before (in my case the wire slipped out of its receptacle) is the cable from the blower hood to the stove. This cable runs from the back of the stove, under the galley counter, and a pair of wires insert into receptacles in the back of the stove, underneath. They're hard to see and easily missed. As I recall, if one of those wires is unplugged, you'll get a flashing red light and no stove start. I've gotten excellent service on my stove from ScanMarine in Seattle. If you can't solve the problem, look up their number and give them a call. They may be able to troubleshoot over the phone. If that doesn't work, they get stoves shipped to them from all over for repairs.

[AlaskaMan]

Thanks for the assistance. I talked with ScanMarine in Seattle and he gave me a few things to check out. They also told me the stove runs on Kerosene (1k or K1) but not mineral spirits which is what I was told before by another party.

[Chinook]

That's interesting. I was advised by Bluewater Yachts to use 100% mineral spirits with the stove. As near as I can figure, most paint thinner contains mineral spirits, but with some other additives or impurities. 100% mineral spirits is listed on the container as odorless. I buy 100% mineral spirits at places like Home Depot or Lowes, but it is sometimes hard to find in out of the way places. I've also bought kerosene. I understand the standards for refining kerosene can vary. The stove is listed as a parafin stove, and parafin is another term for kerosene. Not sure what all this means. I've never put paint thinner into the tank, but I suspect it would work in a pinch. However, I try to stay with the same fuel which seems to work well, which is 100 % mineral spirits.

[kmclemore]

Wallas make two types of stoves - diesel fuel and paraffin.

The 800 is a paraffin stove, and "paraffin" is the UK name for what we in the US call kerosene. Same stuff.

"Paraffin" (kerosene) is *not* the same as "mineral spirits", and I would advise against using the latter in the Wallas stove. The manufacturer has specified paraffin (kerosene) in their operation and maintenance manuals, and that's what I'd use.

[AlaskaMan]

The fuel has caused a bit of confusion. ScanMarine said Kerosene or KleanHeat (a kerosene substitute) I picked up the KleanHeat and put it into the tank. It's does not have as much of a smell as kerosene and is supposed to burn cleaner. IRT my stove, I cleaned up the contacts and got the pump to work for about a dozen cycles but the stove just didnt want to stay running, so I guess I am packaging it up and shipping it off to ScanMarine in Seattle for repairs.

[AlaskaMan]

Got my Wallas stove back today via Priority Mail from ScanMarine in Seattle. They received it on Monday and shipped it out to me on Wednesday, what great service and for 360.00 my stove is back in operation. They did recommend I spray the circuit board motor/blower housing with Boeshield and put dielectric grease on the connectors before putting it back together. This will help keep the corrison down. The PO didnt do much with the boat for 4 years so corrision has been the Wallas biggest enemy. I will cover the boat come October and hope to run the heater once a month during the winter time. I will also place a low voltage electirc heater in the boat along with a few "dri-z-air" containers. Hopefully this will keep the moisture down and keep me from having any further problems.