Wallas or not?

[flagold]

I have witnessed a minor miracle as well. Mine started, stayed lit past 20 minutes, and since I was plugged into shorepower I simply let it run for 24 hours (at 1/2 flame). That's plenty to cook a burger, soup, or heat down here (although I carry a George Forman Grill, and Microwave so have plenty to cook with). Doubtful it would stay fired up full on, but I'll take what I can get at this point. No smoke in the cabin (Karl warned me that might happen when I got it back and it did for some time).

[teflonmom]

I almost ordered a Wallas for our 22, but then read about how they really heat up the cabin in the summer. Our 22 came with out any stove in the gally and we purchased a butane single burner from Cutter Marine. It works perfectly. We just came back from a trip on the Erie Canal and temps were near 100 degrees. I just did the cooking in the cockpit and the cabin stayed much cooler. Plus we have a lot of counter space when not useing the stove. The butane stove will turn down real low to simmer soup or a stew. If we boat in cold weather we go to a dock and get 110 for our cube space heater.

Fred and Pat-Red Lion, Pa.

[El and Bill]

We have been using our Wallas for the past almost six years, often twice a day for months at a time. It worked well until about a year ago -- wouldn't start without 110 v power or totally charged battery. Probably the igniter -- there were some noisy fan things and noisy functioning, so we decided it was time for a new stove. Ordered one from ScanMarine in January at the boat show -- discovered the new ones have slanting lids (not a good idea in a galley with so little counter space. Was told they were going to rebuild new ones with flat lids, and told they should arrive by March. March came and went and phone calls to ScanMarine assured us they were en route. April came and went.

We left for Alaska, up the BC coast, May. Needed a stove so picked up a camping propane cooker -- not the best choice aboard a boat, we think, but that's how we cooked all summer unless hooked to a dock with 110 v and then the Wallas worked.

Still no Wallas -- well, its been almost nine months waiting for a stove with less than perfect track record with other users -- seems like throwing dice in Vegas whether the new stoves will be a lemon or fail soon after installation. So, we quit on Wallas. Finicky, over-engineered, prone to failure, expensive fix 'em up for too many folks and we have run out of patience waiting for a replacement.

Now to check out the alternatives. So, we're at the same point that many others are now in and reading this thread with great interest. We assume the factory must have the same difficulty.

[flagold]

Bill/El:

There are a couple of fuses/fuse-holders (probably coming direct off the battery) that someone has noted tend to corrode and when they do give the symptom you're describing (only starts with full charge or shorepower). You're probably like most of us and have tried just about everything at this point but if you haven't done that one it might be the one right thing.

Now I'm going to go down and sprinkle some tea leaves over mine and see if it will run at half flame again . . . (if it does I'll keep it).

[dogon dory]

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

[Pat Anderson]

Agree - it seems to me there are only two types of Wallas owners - those who have had problems with it, and those who are going to. Yesterday we noticed a huge amount of smoke coming out of the exhaust - billowing white smoke, and the sucker shut itself down. Fortunately we were almost finished cooking breakfast, did the eggs on the butane single burner (Sunday breakfast you know!). It did start up at lunch time, and it is running right now (It is a BEAUTIFUL morning in Matia Cove!). But I don't think we ought to live in constant fear of it failing all the time.

[flagold]

[El and Bill]

Fred and Pat --
What kind of gas stove did you have put in by Cutter? The Webasto looks like a good choice, according to Barry, and we're wondering if that's what you put in.

We also don't like propane/butane on a boat, but it looks like that might be the most reliable choice.

FLGold -- Yep, our master electrician did do all the wiring and fuse scrubbing/replacing on the lines to and from Wallas -- we had high hopes, but to no avail. Thanks for the suggestion. It could easily have been overlooked and been the problem.

[flagold]

Bill/El: The next thing would be the igniter plug needs a cleaning (that is easy -- but in pulling out the Wallas you'll invariably get some fuel sloshed and there will be smoke in the cabin from that for some time until it cooks off). After that, if there's a big ball of white smoke that comes out the exhaust on start, then it shuts down with another big ball of white smoke and a POOF or POW like .22 going off, that was the symptom of my fuel pump being bad.

Probably easiest to do what you're doing . . . replace (good luck).

[Not For Hire]

I personally like my alcohol stove. Am used to it from other boats, prefer the smell of alcohol to other chemical smells. Figure it is as simple and safe as it gets. I carried a one burner propane camp stove for awhile to use in cockpit on hot days, or for a really fast cup of coffee, but quit doing so, not worth the space. The alcohol stove also gives you more storage underneath but if you go with some other diesel heater then you will give the space back.

The Wallas stove was something I thought I wanted while looking for my boat, in good part because of the good experiences El and Bill had with theirs. I have several propane ice shanty heaters and do carry a small one on board. I use it only in daytime. It warms cabin, defrosts windows, and puts out water vapor. I have windows open or fan running or both when using the little heater. Nonetheless, I look forward to running that little heater when I return to the boat after a cold, rainy dog walk. So not having the Wallas what I give up is - dry heat when anchored out (I use electric at dock). The rest of the time I don't need it. I am still mulling installing a Webasto or Espar or Wallas heater with ducts. One that could duct to the windshield would be nice.

But the stove is something I use every day. The heater not every day, not even every month, although some months you use it every day.

Not trying to hijack this thread - but under the same general idea of comparison systems -

Some things I discussed with another 22 owner this weekend were the personal choices we made in outfitting our boats.

I said some things I thought I really wanted turned out to be not so and other things turned out to be important to me.

So things that were once on my must have list:

Twin engines - (got those and like em but single would be fine also)

Hydraulic steering - my boat doesn't have this but my Sportpilot Plus works pretty good helping displace the advantage of the superior autopilot systems available with hydraulic steering.

Tall top - At 6' 1" thought I needed this but turns out the standard top is fine (and looks better) I am shrinking and the compressed cartilage makes me a good fit in the regular top. Not sure I would choose the tall top now.

Factory floorboards - Glad I missed out on these I almost had them shipped with another load of boats. As Bill wrote - the factory floorboards are a solution in search of a problem. I have drydeck down with cheap carpet when fishing, and with several floor mats down in place of the carpet when crusing. I can put the floormats up if it is raining so my pup always has a dry resting spot. I like the depth of the cockpit, the simplicyt of no system, and hardly notice the "curved" deck.

Radar arch - Got that and use it a lot. I don't often assemble my dinghy but it fits in front of my low style radar arch.

Electric wipers - Nope I like the manual ones. I insist on a large center mounted compass so if I ever put electric wipers on they will go above the windows. As a guy walking around with dirty glasses I am used to focusing beyond the lakedrops on the windows.

Battery charger system - Yeah insist on that, whether you go with factory shorepower or the extension cord type. Built-in chargers are deluxe. I installed this twice in my boat, once for two batteries and then redid it this spring when I went to three battery system.

Trailer with bunks - Got rollers instead . It turns out I love the ease of launching. I think bunks would be better for camping in the boat and long term support but I am not so worried about the strength of the hull anymore and the rollers sure make single handing easier.

Still mulling bimini or camper canvas, I thnk the Webasto is more likely to happen first.

Regards,

[Sea Wolf]

Not For Hire

Hey Mark-

Thanks for the update and being so honest!

Amazing what happens when sweet theoretical advantages run smack dab into the real world of practical everyday boating!

The old KISS Principle comes through in so many simple and subtle ways inside a small boat. Finally, less is really more!

Seems like all this personifies the engineer's challenge, to make something that works, yet keep it simple enough to be reliable.

Agree with all you've noted, except to caution that the Webasto may be a little too big for the 22. A heater with too large an output has to cycle on and off too much, wearing out the components. It's also a bit complex, but not nearly as much so as the Wallas, and a lot more reliable, as far as I can understand.

For those who don't know, Webasto and Espar diesel heaters (same basic design) keep a lot of kids warm in our school buses.

Keep us posted on further ideas!

Joe.

[SeaSpray]

Hi El and Bill,

I would second the alcohol stove as being very simple, easy, safe, and reliable. Our friends have the Origo stove and it works very well.
I have had old alcohol stoves that you had to pump and pre-heat - worked okay.

With the Origo stoves there is no pumping or pre-heating, no warm-up, and no shutdown time. Also no noise. The only moving parts are the little doors over the fuel canisters.

The down side is it is not a heater and adds to the condensation.

Sure hope my Wallas keeps working for many years.

Steve

[rogerbum]

I'm proably going to jinx myself with this post but 4 years running and never a problem with my Wallace. I always have run plain diesel. I have this theory that those who use Kleen Heat are more likely to have problems with their wallace than those who run diesel. I think diesel has better lubricating properties and from all I've seen in previous posts, it's my impression that the problems correlate more frequently with the use of Kleen Heat as fuel. I'd really like to have a survey set up that asks CD Wallace users if they've had problems and what fuel they use to see if their is a real correlation or it it's just my imagination.

[flapbreaker]

[Adeline]

For all Wallas owners, my advice. Take it out, flip it over, and dis-assemble it. You'll learn exactly how it works and know how to repair it. Then carry the spare parts you'll need so you can fix it while on the water. In less than one hour you can remove it, disassemble it, repair it, reassemble it, and reinstall it. If you take lots of digital pictures of the process, you can't go wrong.