Kleen Heat available in Home Depot in Olympia WA

J

jstates

New member
I finally found the Kleen Heat many had mentioned as a fuel for the Wallace. I have never used it before - Home depot indicated it is a seasonal item - ($9+/gal] - just thought I'd pass it on in case someone else needs the information.

I met a C-Dory owner in Pickering strait a few months ago who said he spent a whole day trying to find clean Wallace fuel.

Jim
 
I am currently using Klean Heat as fuel for my new Wallas and went with it because of many favorable posts on C-Brats. Seems to work just fine. Got my supply from Home Depot. According to the manufacturer, Klean Heat was shipped to Home Depot stores about a month ago. Don't know anything about mineral spirits except for cleaning my paintbrushes!

Some links:
Klean Heat:
http://www.msiwix.com/Klean-Heat.htm

Mineral spirits:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mineral_spirits

Wallas distributor (very helpful if there are questions)
http://www.scanmarineusa.com/

Wallas service document in the C-brats library under "Documents":
http://www.c-brats.com/viewtopic.php?t=4384
 
I questioned Carl, the distributor for Wallas, and probably the most knowlegeable person in the US on repairing the Wallas, and he said to use diesel. Of course, when the temps are deep cold (below 20 degrees) #2 diesel would be desireable.

What experience was it that others have had that have argued for Kleen Heat?

Dave
 
Wallas fuels appear to ignite the same debate as the one motor/two motor discussions. I think at one point there was even a poll. It seems various users favour either Kleen Heat (unavailable in Canada), diesel or kerosene likely K1, and swear by them.
I use K1 kerosene and notice a slight odour when the boat is closed up - I suspect diesel would be stronger (the fuel tank vent must be the cause). Digital examination of my exhaust through hull has never found any residue. I have wondered if anyone has ever tried Jet A-1. Further I would be a bit leery about using mineral spirits (paint thinner) as a fuel.

Cheers - Dave (under the snow in southern Vancouver Island)
 
Karl has always reccommended 100% mineral spirits for my older(1993) Wallas. Over the years I've tried Clear-Lite, Klean Heat, Pearl Oil, K-1, and of course, mineral spirits. I personally prefer Odorless Mineral Spirits. It is highly refined and to me emits less odor than the other alternatives. I've also observed far less evidence of sooting in the burner can and wick. Here is the operative sentence from the Wickipedia site.
odorless mineral spirits are mineral spirits that have been further refined to remove the more toxic aromatic compounds, and are recommended for applications such as oil painting, where humans have close contact with the solvent.
Click to expand...
With that said, any fuel should be as fresh as possible to prevent problems. Poor starting and/or popping and flaring suggest that the fuel is bad and should be dumped. Walmart has Klean-Strip and Ace Hardware has their own brand and are available in one-gallon plastic jugs for about $8.50. Both have worked well for me.
 
I too questioned Karl about the use of Klean-Heat late last year. He was unfamiliar with it, but was mainly concerned about the lubricity content of it compared to diesel. I've used Klean-Heat from the start on my new (2005) Wallas 1300 heater, no problems so far.
 
I spoke to someone from Scan-marine and they told me not use to
kerosene because paraffin can precipitate out and clog internal
components. I mentioned algae in diesel, and he said it would not
clog the filters - the algae would simply be burned.

So, what exactly is Klean-heat? A kerosene without paraffin?
Something else?

Mike
 
For what it is worth the MSDS show a flash point of mineral sprits (Kleen Strip) of 107 degrees. For K1 Kerosense a flash point of 125 degrees.
 
Since many of us seem to be using or considering Klean Heat, here is the MSDS:

http://zenstoves.net/MSDS/KLEANHEAT.pdf

I have no expertise in deciphering this type of data (other than the fact that the flashpoint is 142 degrees).

If any of you can glean more useful information out of the document, feedback would be greatly appreciated...
 
Following up on the web site that Alok found the MSD for KleenHeat, I found this comparison of the fuels for back packking stoves:

"K-1 (low sulfur kerosene) (may have red dye)

This is a low-sulfur kerosene approved for use in nonflue-connected (ventless) kerosene burner appliances and for use in wick-fed illuminating lamps, space heaters, etc. This is the best kerosene choice for stoves. K1 is often referred to as Kero, but Jet A (with toxic additives) is also sometimes sold as Kero.



Odorless Kerosene (Klean-Heat, Deobase, odorless mineral spirits)

This is kerosene that has been "sweetened" with most of its mercaptans (sulfur compound) and aromatics removed. It supposedly burns cleaner, odorless, with less smoke and soot. It may also have a narrower molecule range (C9-C12), higher flashpoint than K-1 (125°F or greater vs. ~100°F) and a much higher price.



K-2 (regular kerosene)

Has a higher sulfur content than K1.



#1 Fuel/Heating/Gas/Burner Oil. (may have red dye) (Not Recommended)

This fuel has high sulfur levels. This fuel is designed for use in conventional pressure and air atomizing domestic oil burner systems such as in domestic and small industrial space heaters and burners. Number 1 Fuel Oil is particularly adapted to vaporizing type burners or where storage conditions require low pour point fuel."

I have mostly used "liquid candle" which is highly refined k1 type of product--but also have K1, mineral spirits and Kleen heat. During this winter I will experiment with the various fuels. The Kleen Heat was about $9 a gallon at Home Depot Pensacola. K1 in a 5 gallon can was $36.00 at Lows. I got some odorless lamp oil from Wal Mart for $1.50 a quart during hurricane season and the Mineral sprits was about $5.50 at Wal mart.
 
Parafin of course isn't so good below about 40 degrees, solidifies, so colder climes are a problem with it. If you watch your Home Depot sales, towards end of season (about mid-winter!), Klean Heat usually sells for about $5-6 per gal. I stocked up last season, just checked one of them and saw no coagulation on the bottom occurring. I thought I read somewhere that Klean Heat is synthetic or man-made, true?
 
Good idea about watching for sales - perhaps if someone sees Kleen heat on sale later in the winter - they could post it here -

thanks

[I have no connection with Home depot]
Jim
 
Back
Top