Thought you would want to know. Just got off the phone with Force 10 factory this morning, for what its worth.
I was chasing down a problem regarding our Force 10 kerosene/diesel heater and the repair kit we received. Our burner assembly has a knob which is marked Optimus, the shank on the knob is about 6 inches long, same as sold on current units.
I had assumed the heater was set up for kerosene and wanted to convert it to run diesel, at least this is how the story begins. In June this year we called Force 10 and ordered the conversion kit, last weekend we attempted to install the kit with some minor problems.
We searched the boat and found an older kerosene to diesel fuel conversion kit we didn't know we had, it has the nozzle removal tool, 2 prickers, nozzles and gaskets. Without the nozzle removal tool, you will not be able to remove the nozzle. The instructions (Sugg. 100) state "Suggestions on fixing problems with kerosene or diesel burners made by Optimus or Patria burners." The factory Representative claims they never sold parts for Optimus burners, according to the literature in the kit, this may not be entirely the case.
Our Optimus burner jet is stamped with the letter "M", Force 10 said their parts have always come from Patria and are not marked, both old and new kits are not marked I suspect these to be Patria kits. The note in the older conversion kit, states this "conversion is a relatively new product," I translate this into meaning this kit is one of the original kits developed for conversion to diesel.
I checked the Optimus backpacking stove website, the Hiker and Hunter cook stoves use part number 2457 cleaning needle, Force 10 calls this part a "pricker" and the 2509 which is the jet, there are 3 jets, A=alcohol, G=white gas, M=multi-fuel, the "M" jet will work for kerosene, diesel and white gas, not automotive gasoline.
The instructions state 135 degree rotation from full open to close of the handle is required for the heater to operate properly. Here is how it works, the 6" long handle is attached to the burner spindle square shank by a hairpin clip, the spindle is threaded into the burner housing, when the spindle screws in all the way (clockwise) the end of the tapered spindle is part of the valve which shuts off the fuel; the spindle has gear teeth which mesh with gear teeth in one side of the pricker, which raises and lowers the square sectioned pricker up and down to clean out the jet with a needle.
Note both the old conversion kit and new kit parts are identical. This is were we had a problem; the pricker in our old burner has 5 gear teeth and the prickers in the new kits have 6 teeth, yes they are longer, which means we only get 90 degrees of rotation on the handle.
How to fix this problem: place the pricker in a vise and carefully file off the end opposite the needle, making the pricker equal to the length of the original pricker.
Force 10 still has plenty of rebuild kits on hand. However, Steve said Patria has closed its doors on three occasions and says this is the last time; there are no more burner bodies (housing) available on the market. Therefore, the kerosene/diesel version of the Force 10 Cosy Cabin Heater are no longer available. They are still producing the propane version and the propane conversion kit is still available to convert your kerosene/diesel heater, cost is $200 US, half the cost of a new Cozy Cabin propane heater.
If you intend to keep your old kerosene heater, you might try to scrounge the flea markets for used parts, at least the burners.
Other news, Steve said Force 10 has acquired Sigmar heaters and cook stoves two years ago and have signed an agreement to sell these products through West Marine. I suspect they will show up in next years catalog; as mentioned earlier, Sigmar makes a little heater, Sigmar 100, which may be a possible candidate to replace the Force 10 kerosene/diesel heater, http://www.go2marine.com/ also sells the Sigmar heaters often the prices are a little lower.
Another maker of small heater from England is the Blake/Lavac guys, the Taylors 079D, not cheap by any stretch of the imagination, at $1,400 US, includes heater, exhaust pipe, deck iron, deck cap, fuel line, auto shut off and SS fuel tank. http://www.blakes-lavac-taylors.co.uk/prod01.htm If you include all the parts required to install the Sigmar unit, you might find the prices to be comparable, not considering shipping of course.
I think, when you consider the total cost in locating the correct parts to complete your heater installation, including your time, gas, etc, it might turn out to be a fair price.
I hope you find this information useful.
Best wishes,
Marty Chin, BCC Shamrock
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