Force 10 Heater Conversion

[Sean]

Has anyone converted their Force 10 from kerosene to propane? How hard is it to do and what results can be expected? The odor of the kerosene is starting to get to me along with the soot. Thanks, Sean S/V Carnaby Street

 

[Bob]

I'd E-mail Force 10

E-mail Force 10 at Pwindover@force10.com they will help you.

 

[Todd Osborne]

To do it yourself...

all you need is to buy a cheap ( $20 coleman/white stag) propane burner. dismantle the force 10 kerosene burner fitting, and attach the propane burner through the same hole.You will need to drill a small hole for the control knob in the front of the unit. My kerosene was too smelly & sooty, plus the pressure fuel tank began to leak from corrosion. Mind you, you will not have the safety features that come standard with the off the shelf Force 10 propane unit. I believe it has a temp controlled shutoff valve and a low oxygen shutoff valve. So be aware of the potential dangers involved in doing your own refit! With that said, my converted unit works great with one exception that I believe to what led me to conversion in the first place. The exhaust flue is too small for the job & you will get exhaust gasses in the cabin. But at least they aren't smelly & sooty!The unit sems to put out more heat as well. I purchased a battery powered fan to circulate the air around the unit & am going to try it out this weekend. Good Luck!

 

[Justin - O'day Owners' Web]

Self reliance is good -

but if it were my boat I'd want the safety features.Justin - O'day Owners' Web

 

[Bob]

How much is your life worth?

That's the question you need to ask yourself if you intend on converting. There are a lot of people in cemetaries around the world that would rethink bypassing safety features...given the chance. And anyone who would advocate such a thing is a fool. Having been an accident investigator for over twenty years I can tell you that there are no limits as to what actions humans will take (with the best of intentions) just to wind up dead. Any time that I am considering a modification of some sort I look at the safety factors. In the case of the heater, I would just bite the bullet and buy a new one with all the right stuff and sell the old one. Some things are just not worth messing around with. Good luck with your decision.Just my two-cents (US)Cheers,Bob