Wallas kerosene products
Wallas heating and cooking products can effectively be separated into two groups - those that burn kerosene and those that burn diesel.
Wallas kerosene devices: 1000 cooker, 800 Mini Cooker, 1300, 1800 and 2400 furnaces.
Kerosene, used here as a generic name, is also known as 1-K (graded kerosene) or paraffin in Europe. Wallas kerosene products can also burn other fuels specifically made for use as a kerosene replacement in burner devices, including Klean-Heat. Good, clean, fresh kerosene is excellent fuel for Wallas® products. Unfortunately, some of the properties of kerosene make its handling and storage very important when using it for heating and cooking fuel.
If you are located near to an airport or seaplane float, you may be able to find turboprop or jet fuel in the form of Jet A, JP4, JP6 or JP8. If the facility is willing to sell it to you, these are excellent fuels for any of the Wallas kerosene products, since they amount to high quality, well documented and handled kerosene.
From the moment kerosene is distilled, it is chemically changing, with paraffin precipitating out of the solution into suspension and VOCs (Volatile Organic Compounds) evaporating into the atmosphere and formation of paraffin in the container. As this happens, the fuel becomes less and less suitable for use in forced air heating and cooking systems like Wallas® products. The following conditions can accelerate the rate at which kerosene breaks down:
-The presence of water (typically condensate) in the fuel
-Light, particularly sunlight passing through the fuel
-A large surface area (fuel air boundary)
-Large changes in storage temperature, extreme temperature
Some tips on handling kerosene:
-Buy small quantities from volume suppliers in opaque containers that are full to the cap, preferably with a date of manufacture.
-Store in a cool, dry place in an opaque container, filled to the cap.
-Replace kerosene fuel when it is more than 12 months old.
-If fuel is in question, empty and flush the tank, and replace with new fuel.
-If in doubt about its age, get new fuel. At the cost of repairing a unit clogged with bad fuel, it is worth buying new fuel.
-Klean-Heat has a longer expected storage life than 1-K kerosene. Please consult the manufacturer for their specifications on storage and life expectancy.
-If fuel is subjected to conditions that might bring about condensation, or if some condensation has occurred, you may add 3% to 5% isopropyl alcohol by volume to the fuel and mix it fully before using. This will help convert the water into a burnable substance and reduce the water's effect of accelerating paraffin dropout. Adding isopropyl alcohol will not "fix" fuel that already has paraffin dropout problems.
-Be aware that if you choose to burn bad kerosene, it may indeed burn, but it will contaminate your combustion chamber very quickly, potentially within hours.
Using bad kerosene can bring about several problems in forced air heating and cooking products:
-High rate of soot deposition in the combustion chamber
-Low heat output
-Fouling internal components (fuel pump, fuel injector)
Any of these issues will precipitate the need for servicing by our service department.
Since diesel or kerosene can develop gum deposits if left for a long time, the best maintenance you can provide for your Wallas products is to run them at least once every month or two. This will purge the old fuel from the system.