Wallas is our paraffin stove, which has been running more or less nonstop for nearly twenty years. Or… “paraffin stove” isn’t really the right term anymore. Paraffin disappeared from the market when the ban on heating oil for residential use took effect in 2020, so now it runs on diesel. It burns just as well on that, but as it turns out, there are still some annoying differences in practice.

The Wallas is incredibly nice to have when it's cold, since it just sits there and heats continuously without you having to think about anything (other than the price 🙈). Odorless and fairly quiet, it delivers 4,000 watts around the clock. Unfortunately, it stopped working completely in November—and I have no idea why.

I took it in for service, and there it worked like a charm. Strange… but to make a long story short, it’s back in the mountains, now upgraded with a 4G remote starter so you can call the cabin while it’s warm (or at least lukewarm… there’s a lot of wood).

Unfortunately, I didn’t have time to set up the remote starter before I left, because I spent far too many hours trying to figure out why it wouldn’t start. Yes, because it wouldn’t start. I knew there was diesel in the tank; I’d sucked diesel up through the hose (I recommend a different drink) and therefore knew the hose wasn’t clogged, and I could also see that the burner element was getting hot. Yet it wouldn’t ignite… WTF.

That’s when I realized something I had first experienced and come to terms with last year: diesel comes with problems I never intended to deal with before: the cost of diesel and water.

"Diesel animals" is a collective term for bacteria, fungi, and algae species (…) that feed on diesel fuel (…). A single cell can grow into a biomass weighing ten kilograms in just twelve hours. Diesel animals depend on water to survive. They feed on a type of hydrocarbon (…). Diesel animals thrive (…) in the layer between water and diesel.

Fromveratank.no.

The problems started when it got cold in a half-empty tank. That’s exactly when the most condensation forms, which in turn leads to a layer of water in the tank. After adding a liter of isopropanol (which binds water to the diesel and removes the water layer), I tried restarting it a few times, and on the fourth try, it finally started up!

Takeaways

  • Always remember to add 1% antifreeze when refueling—in both summer and winter.
  • Empty and clean the tank every summer (transfer the contents to a container).
  • Partially filled diesel containers should be filtered before refueling.