Cooking with Wallace

[Ron on Meander]

Anybody out there that is happy with the Wallace DU95 for cooking? While out for a cruise last weekend I tried cooking breakfast on mine and it took almost an hour to boil a pot of water! It starts and runs just fine and I think I had it on the highest setting, wth the knob turned all the way clockwise. Is there some special trick with these things or do most people just use them for heat?
Thanks for your help.

Ron

[Aiviq]

I actually don't have any experience cooking on the Wallace, so I can't comment on it's performance specifically, but I do have some experience with flat "ceramic" cooktops that I can comment on. Ceramic cooking elements are designed to work with fairly high end cookware that has a perfectly flat bottom for proper heat transfer. If you are using pans that are warped, dented, or otherwise not perfectly flat (the inexpensive stuff that most people have on a boat), you will get poor heat transfer and unsatisfactory cooking performance. Jim

[Alyssa Jean]

Hi Ron, Thought you were talking about a cooking show at first. "Cooking with Wallace". I don't know what model the DU
95 is. I have a two burner Wallas that I use for both heating and cooking with no problems. Jim is right about the bottom of the pans. Flat and good quality for a ceramic surface. The two burner when on gives twice the heat on the left burner as is one the right. This is just how they work. I can get a tea pot boiling in ten minutes or so if the unit is already on. If this unit is the original and is now 14 years old you may have a problem. There is a company in Seattle that sells and services them. Can't remember the name right now but someone will chime in with it shortly. They may be able to troubleshoot it over the phone. What do you use for fuel? I am still using regular diesel fuel. There also is a filter on the tip of the fuel pick-up. Check it for blockage.
Leaving in a couple of hours for S. Pender with several other C-Dorys. Be cruising the Gulf Islands for three days.

[Ron on Meander]

I did sound like a cooking show didn't it! I realized after I sent it I had misspelled Wallas. Anyway Ken & Jim thanks for the tips. The stove is a two burner and is in my 99 cruiser. The fuel is probably getting quite old as it was in the boat when I bought it in May. I'll try new fuel and try using a good flat bottom pot and see what happens.
Does the ceramic actually change to a red color in the centre when the stove get hot? I though I could see about half a ring of red when I was checking the stove the other night.
Ron

[Adeline]

Hi Ron, Half red on the left side only is what I get. If you ever have questions or problems contact Scan Marine in Seattle. They can be found online at http://www.scanmarineusa.com/ Pete

[KenMcC]

Hi, Ron,

If you're seeing red, or half-red on the left side, then you should be able to boil water in ten minutes at the most. If not, your pot is probably not making good contact, as suggested by the others above.

The only other suggestion I can make is to make sure that your fuel is fresh. Fresh diesel is very important. But a switch to K-1 kerosene would be a good move, and an even better move would be to a new kerosene substitute called Klean Heat. Starts well, burns very clean, and won't soot your burner. You and I have the same model Wallas, and it works great.

Ken

[Ron on Meander]

Ken,
Thanks for the reply. I was trying the stove again last night. (I guess I really don't have a life if I sit in my boat in my driveway waiting for a pot of water to boil!) I finally gave up waiting for the pot to boil. I was one of our better heavy bottomed jobs from the kitchen. Tomorrow I'll get some new fuel and try that. If that still doesn't work I guess I'll know the Wallas needs to visit Scan Marine.
Ron