Considering a diesel-fired marine stove
I had written off the diesel stove option because we were assuming that “real cooks use gas ranges”.
But… if we could get it to work for us (electric instant tea pot, or camp stove for tea and coffee), and work at elevation (play with jets and fans), it would have several nice benefits:
I could go back down to the Espar D2 under the passenger seat, treating it as the thermostat-driven “basic freeze protection device”. This little guy will operate at a higher capacity and has a high-altitude kit that makes it burn leaner at high elevations. Being a bit “undersized” will help it last longer, because diesel wants to operate at higher operating levels to prevent sooting, etc, just like an engine. Further, Espar devices are known for being relatively easy to maintain and replace parts on. It’s $1300, not a huge number, but something that can either be maintained well *or* maintained by replacement. The same cannot really be said for the $3400 Dual Top Evo. By the time you’re on your 2nd or 3rd Dual Top, you’re looking at selling or gutting the van, I expect. Again, this device fits under the passenger seat and provides 7500 BTU of basic heating… which probably meets your demands 75% of the time.
Then, picture this daily flow… you go skiing on a relatively cold, dark, stationary day… you leave the D2 running while you’re gone, set at 42F, in order to keep the lithium batteries and water pipes from freezing, such that the solar can get some charging going… enough to keep up with the 1.2-amp D2 (at 3000 BTUs) motor that will run essentially throughout the whole day. Then, when you get back, you fire up the diesel stove, take your stuff off in the back garage, and then make some dinner. The van gets really toasty cause you’re now combining the D2’s output and the stove’s output. When the stove gets warmed by a nice dry diesel heat (diesel stove is vented outside), you fire up a circulation pump that heats up a 6-gallon (4-gallon? 11-gallon? I need to refine my calcs) IsoTemp (or similar). This is because the diesel stove has a 1-turn water coil built into it. You eat, then your water is warm, and you shower. I’m not sure if 2 people can squeeze out a shower out of a superheated (180F) 6-gallon water tank or not. That’s really 12-gallons by the time you mix it with cold water. I expect that’s the bare minimum necessary to get 2 showers. I expect 4-gallon / 8-gallon useable is not quite enough for 2 people to shower. But, you have to balance this desire for a larger capacity with the ability to heat it with electric in summer. I expects it’s highly possible to electrically heat 6-gallons in the summer and probably even 11-gallons… I need to rerun my numbers. I “love” how one is using the water as a poor man’s battery in the summer at least. There’s also the option of outdoor solar options and whatnot in the summer. This way, you’re not firing up your diesel stove in the summer for purposes of heating water and accidentally heating the van.
So… I think it would have many benefits if I can manage it’s CONS:
- Probably want a supplemental camp stove for hot water, but wouldn’t I probably want that anyway? For hiking, summer picnics, etc?
- Getting it to function well at high elevation (jets, fans, etc)
- “Managing the chimney”… windage, soot, etc.
