Wallas, Overheating - Red light flashing

J

Jeff and Julie

New member
I read through the Wallas topics and couldn't really find this one covered.
We have run our Wallas twice now. The first time it seemed to run fine, we only ran it maybe 40min.
Today, the stove would run for about 30 min and then the red light would start to blink. SHut the stove down, waited 10 min to restart and experienced same, about 30 min running. The manual (not much info) advises that this is an overheating signal but doesn't tell you what to check?? Has anyone else experienced this?

Also, is the countertop in front of the Wallas supposed to get hot to touch?

Thanks!!
Jeff and Julie
 
First thing I would suggest is to check the power to it and make sure you are not giving it less voltage than it needs. I seem to remember that if it gets low power it shuts down.
 
You can hook your volt meter to the battery connection where it enters the stove... I don't own a stove like yers so I don't know if it has exposed terminals.... if not, you can stick a straight pin through the hot wire going into the unit and that will work just fine....it will punture the insulation and contact the feed wire... your meter will measure voltage from a hot wire and a good ground...you probably can just use the stove as the ground...anything metal..the current will run through the meter and it will not allow enough current to flow to spark...so don't worry.. you can not even feel 12 volts..

What you should see is just over 12 volts...if the motors are running it may be as much as 13 to 14.5 volts.... no need to have the motors running though.. now turn on the stove..and look at the voltage... it may drop to 11 but not much below.... I would suspect that if it were 9 or 10 the stove would overheat and shut off...

Hope this helps

Joel
SEA3PO
 
Julie,

Unfortunately I have no active experience with a Wallas YET(!). I'm installing a Wallas heater unit right now. But from what I understand, the cooktops have a temperature sensor that will indicate an overheat condition and shut down like you describe. I don't believe you said whether or not you were cooking or had the lid down in the heater mode (fan blowing over the cook surface). If your not cooking, then you should have the lid down to circulate air and cool the cook surface. If you're doing all that right, is the fan working?

Others more knowledgable will have other ideas I'm sure.
 
Steve, Good questions!! We were using the stove in "heater mode". The lid was down and the fan was running just great. I could hear the stove clicking at regular intervals so I guess that means fuel was sending. The counter in front of the stove shure gets warm when the lid is down and the heater is on.
We are going down to the boat today, after Easter breakfast, and will check out the voltage.

Julie
 
Julie,
On my 2002 model, the counter in front of the stove has a high 3/4" teak lip right in front of the stove blower. I couldn't find the post with a search, but I seem to remember someone elevating the wallas with a thick shim in order to get better air flow? This would probably keep the counter from getting so warm. Have you tried turning the stove down a little to prevent the overheating, although with the fan running I don't think it should overheat even at max temp setting.
 
Joel,
If I used my wallas as a heater very often, I think I would agree with you.
However I find the lip handy to keep little items from rolling off the counter.
 
I raised my stove up a little less than an inch to get the fan to blow over the top of the counter edge for better air distribution.

I think the overheat shutdown is more because of the underside of the stove getting too warm rather than the top getting too hot. That is usually caused by not enough air getting under the counter. C-Dory cuts a slot in the front of the galley cupboard to allow air in. The next time you run the stove, try it with the cupboard door open (if you have one) or some other means of allowing more air to the stove underside.
 
Mike, how about a couple of pics and some details about what you used to raise the Wallas. I have always thought that the 3/4" lip inhibited the airflow out of the Wallas with the lid down.
 
David, I took a page out of your book for the project. Well, I used oak instead of teak. I just cut four strips of oak to 3/4" x 7/8" and made a frame to go around the stove under the mounting flange. The back strip has a couple notches in it to clear the back end of the side stove rails, it's srewed together, and I used longer screws for the stove hold down so they go through the wood. There was some reason I used 7/8" high instead of some other dimension, but I can't remember what it was.

I think you're right about the air flow being restricted some. The slot is pretty narrow in the lid, and the teak edge did get a little warm. My biggest complaint was the hot air was deflecting upward (where the heat wants to go anyway) and not warming the folks sitting at the dinette. I really think the whole cabin warms up quicker with the air blowing straight out into it instead of bouncing off the wood and the ceiling.

I really doubt it is contributing to the overheat problem these folks are having. Under the galley beneath my stove I made wood drawer box that is just a couple inches beneath the stove. I insulated it with some exotic stuff, and installed a large-area vent in the cabinet front. But I have found that I need to keep the lid blower running even with the lid open to draw in enough air to prevent shutdown (I just bent the tang that hits the fan switch so it doesn't shut off). Next time I am in the project mode I am junking the tall cabinet under there and doing something else for the drawers.

I will get some pics next trip down to the boat. You'll be proud of me for the looks of the galley front.
 
OK - here's the Wallas elevator:

PDR_0003.sized.jpg

You can also the large vent with SS screen right beneath the stove, the recessed control panel to the right of that, and the hot/cold water valves for the sink to the left with the switches for the respective pumps (and an inverter) between them.
 
the flashing red light does not always mean over heating. It just means the stove did not fire up and Its in the shut down mode. the two most often problems when you get a red light are 1) no fuel. 2) low voltage. i always start my stove with the lid up and have far fewer problems with it then with lid down. having the lid down draws a lot of voltage. also always have the engine running when starting the wallas. after start up you can shut off the engine and the wallas will run all night. as for the fuel, any time I pull the fuel line out of the bottle to re fuel I have to re-prime the pump. to re-prime I do two things. one give the fuel bottle a little squeeze to get fuel up to the pump. now start the wallas and wait for the light to start blinking. now turn it off and unplug the main power cord to the wallas. ( right side of the circut board near the fuse. count to ten,re plug and re start. you have to turn the switch to off before you unplug and bck to on after you replug. you can feel the pump, pump, if you have your hand on it. if it fires it will keep pumping if not it will shut down and enter cool off mode, which takes 5 mins or more. I just repeat the unpluging, count to ten and re plug until it lights. you have to have a slot cut in the front of your cabinet in order for the wallas to get enough air flow to fire up. if not it will shut down. I cut a hole and found a grill at the r.v. shop that matched. Well I should say i found a grill and then cut a hole . Lot easier that way.
 
Thanks everyone for all of the great information!
We went down yesterday to check the voltage and our meter was out of batteries! :cry
Well, we started the stove and right away there was a loud whine/squealing noise. We raised the hood and the noise is actually coming from the stove itself. We turned it off right away.
I think I will be calling ScanMarine today.

Julie
 
the noise is the combutions camber fan. it runs for a little while at the start up. if it sound funny make sure nothing has been sucked up into it. The best thing you can do about your wallas is take it out. really take it out and see how it works. i took mine apart three times right after i got it. I ended up taking it to scan marine and was not happy with the answers I was getting. so I took the whole thing out and apart to see how it worked. I learned alot. I ended up adjusting the pump flow to get the heat that I wanted. I was also getting a lot of soot in the combustion chamber due to low air flow for the amount of fuel. I had to clean the heat sensor that was sooted up and not reading the heat from the heat element and stopping the start up cycle. I wish they would print up a real manual for these things.
 
Well, we checked the voltage today and it is 12.84 so that seems right in line with where it should be. Our next step will be to try the thermostat thing that Dan suggested and the priming steps that Tom detailed. I guess after that we will have to take it apart.
We appreciate all of the suggestions!!

Jeff and Julie
 
Back
Top