Wallas Woes

dogon dory · Posted: Sun May 29, 2005 11:49 pm Post subject: Wallas Woes

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

CAVU · Posted: Sun May 29, 2005 11:59 pm Post subject:

Dan,
Never had any problem with mine, but a lot of other posts have indicated that even a little low on the battery would cause starting problems. Maybe fire up the engine and try starting the heater with the main engine running?

TyBoo · Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 12:02 am Post subject:

The first thing to do is to disconnect the power for 15 minutes or so by pulling the main fuse at the battery or wherever the originating power source is. Then give it a try. The pump should click at first, and continue to do so unless the stove goes into shutdown mode.

While you're waiting to reconnect the power, you can remove and reinsert the wiring plugs on the circuit board. There are four or five of them, and a less-than-perfect connection at one of the terminals can make the circuitry do screwy things. You might even find one of them loose.

Also, make sure you have a minimum of 12.3 volts power supply. It will run on as low as 11 v, but it takes more than 12 v to start

If the pump loses prime, it can take two or three startup/unintended shutdown processes to get the fuel line full. Or, if you like the taste of diesel, you can remove the fitting from the pump and apply negative pressure (that sounds so much better than "suck on it") to fill it back up.

Beyond that, I have no idea.

dogon dory · Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 3:22 am Post subject:

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

Almas Only · Posted: Mon May 30, 2005 7:15 am Post subject:

I know you already did everything Tyboo Mike suggested, but from my experience, I suggest you do one of them again, just to be sure, in a slightly different way: pull the fuse from the fuse holder at the battery, pull the power connectors under the unit, and pinch each SLIGHTLY with a pair of pliers, thru the plastic housing, so that they fit more tightly onto the spades. This is a factory recommended fix. but be sure to do it in a way that doesn't crack the plastic housing.

End with the main red and black (or red and yellow) power supply and ground, which attaches with a single boot, and pinch both connectors slightly. Before reconnecting these two, reinsert the fuse in the fuse holder, and put a gauge on the contacts inside the connector, to be sure you have 12 volts to the unit. If so, reconnect and see if your problem has been fixed. If not, replace the fuse, and measure the voltage again. If you have power now, reconnect and see if the unit works. If not, find out where you have an open circuit in the power supply.

Good luck!

dogon dory · Posted: Wed Jun 08, 2005 9:33 pm Post subject:

Sorry, Folks - Post Deleted By Author

Doug Hanson · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:20 pm Post subject: wallas 85DU heater solinoid

My heater seems to work except for the loud noise being made from the solenoid loud click heard all through the cabin . How loud is it suppose to be anyway. I saw a guy with a Toyo marine Kerosine cabin heater down at Seward over the weekend and he said it was quiet and heated the area very comfortable and he only paid about $1000.00 for it thermostat and all. Im sorry that I paid $2400.00 for this piece of crap. What a joke. A screaming exhaust fan and heat fan. The berth of my 22 C-Dory sounds like Im in a furnace duct with someone snapping their fingers every 1 1/2 seconds Not only that your feet are cold ,The person sitting at the table is cooking. The berth is freezing. Do these people who engineer this stuff ever use it. It takes forever to perk a pot of coffee. In looking at the wires hanging from under the stove itself I am amazed that the stove doesn't short out and catch fire. They put this aluminum heat shield with slots in it to somewhat dissipate the heat . All it seems to do is create a surface for the hanging wires to rub against. Take a good look at it.Not only that you have to take the heat shield off to check the fuses . I cant believe I really fell for this kind of snake oil. The guy at Scan Marine commences to tell me how bad all the others are. I told him that I didn't care about the others that I bought this one and wanted some answers. It appears that I have to reverse engineer and Finnish the job myself no pun intended. What is your perception of this overpriced unfinished toy.
Doug Sea Mink Eagle River

dotnmarty · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 4:59 pm Post subject:

Doug- If it is any consolation, you are not alone. Please see

http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?p=75768&highlight=#75768
and
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=5860&highlight=

flagold · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:33 pm Post subject:

If you don't want to spend money on the fix, Wally World has a Presto grill for less than a $20 bill.

The more I use the Wallas, the more I love my generator.

thataway · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 5:45 pm Post subject:

The cold feet/person cooking at the table are not the problem of the Wallas--Unless you have circulating heat, this will always be a problem. Insullate the hull--almost essential for Alaska--and you have a cheap way. Use "Fish Blanket". Put several in several fans (over the stove--heat rises)--so point the fan down. Put a fan to push air into the v Berth area.

We have owned 3 Wallas, with no major problems.--We find that the burner is plenty hot for any cooking use--but you do have to do a pot shuffle.

One has to do his own research--not depend on a dealer etc--and make his own decisions. For a pure heater, there are problably better choices than the Wallas, but for a combination--it is a good choice in moderate climates....

hardee · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 8:00 pm Post subject: Woa on the Wallas

Dan,
I am not an expert on the Wallas by any means, and you are much farther into the system there than I have been, but there is one thing I have not seen mentioned here on this thread yet, and it is important. The bottom of your cooking utensil, be it pan, pot, or perker, MUST BE FLAT. This seems to work, and the Wallas has made my wife a happy camper on our CD22 so I just pray it keeps working. We are fairly new to it, but have gone through a fuel refill, adding the ETOH as specified and it is still cooking. Smile

Wish you the best,
Harvey
Sleepy-C Moon

mikeporterinmd · Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2007 10:08 pm Post subject: Re: Woa on the Wallas

C-Time · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 12:42 am Post subject:

adding the ETOH as specified

What is ETOH? Rolling Eyes

hardee · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:30 am Post subject: Wallas ETOH

ETOH = ethel alcohol (99% pure alcohol). I did a Wallas fuel search on this site and found that adding the ETOH absorbs the moisture condensation in the K-1 (Kerosene) fuel. You would probably need to purchase the alcohol from a pharmacy, somewhere between $7-9.00/pint. It's non prescription and NOT rubbing or denatured alcohol, both of which are diluted with water! You use 4-5 oz. per gallon of K-1.
Harvey
Sleepy-C Moon

TyBoo · Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2007 1:47 am Post subject:

I got my Wallas back from Scan Marine a couple days ago. It has a new circuit board, new combustion fan, new mat, a cleaning and tuneup. All for just $550.50. After installing it back in the boat and priming it with fresh diesel (the guy said diesel is the best and knew that I had been burnig kero by the looks of the inside), it went into shutdown before igniting. Second time, same thing. Third time, it ignited but went into shutdown a couple minutes later. I pulled it back out and found a wire that had come out of a screw clamp connector. I reconnected it and tightened everything I could find to tighten. After that, and for the last four or five tries, it has worked like it is supposed to for the first time since I got the boat. It works amazingly well, in fact. No smoke, no noises, and no smell. I almost even forgive the guy at Scan for leaving the screw loose.