Boat Heating

[hlb]

I struggled on for years with the Eberspatcher. It mostly worked three times before it failed and needed a new brain or other expencive thing. It had so many expencive parts I though it must be a new one, but still failed again. So after thousands of pounds, I got fitted a Webasto. It worked well for 18 months then failed. It cost hundreds for a decoke, then discoverered it had burned all it's wires out as well. So another few hundred. The bloke said we were using it all wrong, it had to be on full power all the time. Well thats ok if you want to go and sit half way down the pontoon. It seems that the normall thermostat thingy is disalowed.

So I desided to only use boat heating for special events. Like when away from shore power, or to cold for fan heater and wanted to heat the whole boat. Yep we have generator back up. It's not a power problem.

They also tell me they work in trucks, day after day with no probs. Why does mine only work about three times before needing a £600 rebuild.

[Major Catastrophe]

Has Kwaka been anywhere near it?

[Kawasaki]

Originally Posted by Major Catastrophe

Has Kwaka been anywhere near it?

Yes.
I took the heater assy off.
Inspected it as per various instructions from the Forum experts.
Plus the 'Main Agents'.

The burner was seriously coked up.
Some experts said it would clean up.
But it was obvious from inspection that this was not the case.
The unit was proffered to the Local Agents at Conwy marina.
'Can you put a new burner in Please says I on hlb's behalf.
' No (f of %%% etc) you pulled it off you fix it' !

OK , order the bit then, I will stick it on, says I.

More confusion reigned.
'Bit is late, bit is out of stock, etc etc.
I went away and had to do other things.

'OK , the bit has arrived, we will fit it to the unit'.
Said the Local Agents.

So they did.
So I installed the unit again.

This time the unit made all the right noises but would not fire up.
'Fault code no. etc etc etc.
The Local Agents then declared that they would sort it.

So more money changed hands between the Local Agents and hlb I reckon.

So hlb, perhaps a word with the Local Agents again.
Do they not warranty/garauntee the work they have been paid for der reckon?

Did they sort out the leak by the fuel pump?
Or do away with the CAT in that area?
Thats what they reccomended if I remember.

My Ardic(Swedish equivalent), OK tiss 25 years old, plays up.
In fact, it has fired up recently without being asked!!

I removed, stripped and fixed an Erbaspacher on a Yacht recently.
But that had been running OK for 9 years faultelessly.
Maybe a word with Webasto themselves again.
Though I must admit.
When I spoke to them, on your behalf
The 'type of use' suggestion came up too.
That, I don't understand either.

Apart from the temp/thermo control what else are you supposed to do?

Yes -- I suggest a 'Heated'argument to the peeps you gave all the money too is in order, imho

[A_8]

I've got a Webasto AirTop 5000 that has run completely without problems for 6 yrs, it has been on for two winters.
This year it started to smoke and smell when it shut off so I called the local repairman who said I needed a new burner, they typically don't last more then 5 yrs he said. He put one in and now its as new again. It was a bit expensive particularly considering how simple the burner unit was.
I asked a general question if there were many issues with these heaters but he said no, as long as they get used and a new burner every now and then he said they will run for 20 yrs.
He said they fail when they don't get used enough and sit in a corrosive environment, the fan may play up and I imagine you'll may get corrosion on the electrical connections.
/Michael

[Philiz]

The problem is Haydn, you're using your boat too much. Sensible folk leave their boats unattended for months at a time and then just use em for a tootle up the river and back. Using boats for extended trips wears em out really quickly.

[pks1702]

The advice I was given by a main agent some years ago is run every month for 15 mins and when in use run on high and open the windows/hatches if you get hot!!

Running often on a low thermostat setting has a tendency to coke up the burner unit.

The Burner Unit is the most common fault I can thoroughly recommend the following outfit for spare parts:

http://www.mellorautoelectrical.co.u...e%20parts&sp=1

[Major Catastrophe]

Originally Posted by Major Catastrophe

Has Kwaka been anywhere near it?

Originally Posted by Kawasaki

Yes.

Haydn, I may have identified the problem.

[mainshiptom]

I only use electricity now eithe rfan heater or radiator or the boat ac it works very well and cost nothing when in marina, on anchor we run the gennie and use the radiators where they stay warm overinght !

we also use the oven which warms the boat up !

no gas on our boat and diesel is no longer cheap so what is the point of using an diesel powered kit which might go wrong?

[polyanna]

Don't think its down to how little or often you use it.
I've used mine for 18 months, never been serviced, sometimes run for days on end, some times not used for weeks. Run on both low and high settings, never had a problem.
The only time it would not start was when the battery voltage was too low.

Maybe I should get Kwaka to have a look at it :-) .

Hope you get it fixed

Bob

[Firefly625]

my parents have a webasto unit in their boat which was built in 1994 and they have had it from new. They asked when they got the boat how often does the heating unit require servicing (having had a troublesome ebersbacher unit in their previous boat), & the reply was it doesn't, all it needs is to be used.....so that is what they have done for the last 15 years & its never missed a beat.... probably not what you want to hear!

[alt]

I have a D2 on a 2002 boat that has never missed a beat. That said, I use it a LOT (nearly everytime i'm on the boat) and always on full blast

[laup]

I was looking to fit a diesel heater but this thread has made me think again

Why cant I use a heater matrix from a car to use hot coolant from the engine to take the chill off the cabin on a cold day?

Anyone done this?

[mainshiptom]

I would do that, same as the calorifeir takes water from the engine, I saw a few boat in the last show (sibs) that did just that and yes you can easily buy all the bits now ,

Tom

[PCUK]

Yes, Laup a very common method.
My 13 year old Eber has never failed and only been serviced occasionally (by me!)

[enterprise]

I was once told by a heating engineer (eberspacher) the reason for the coke buildup is down to poor quality red diesel and the adatives etc, instead of using it they recomend fitting a separate tank and use white diesel.
An advantage of fitting a seperate tank is you can mix fuel with cleaner to really give it a good clean, something like lamp oil or paraffin can do wonders for a decoke.

Been running ours for ages like this, 3 tanks of white (75L) to half a tank of paraffin, never missed a startup and runs clean with no soot at the exhaust etc, might be the reason road vehicle mounted units have fewer problems.

[exfinnsailor]

Ours is working great .. It starts automatically on high and then switches itself down .. Enterprise sums it up .. We run our boat on clean diesel from the supermarket .. Mind you we do use the sails as well .. But perhaps a seperate tank would cure the problem .. Or a change of fuel supplier ..

[rafiki_]

My heater matrix (car type) runs off the calorifier, so keeps hot longer than directly off the engine. Has a small in line pump, and a fan that blows through the matrix sited under one of the seats in the saloon..

[Nautorius]

Ok,

I know that Ebers and Webbers have pros and cons but why do people not look at Wallas Diesel Heaters? They seem a lot better and are far more relaiable. I am looking at changing the gas cooker on my boat to a Wallas cooker and hob and putting the convection heater on top. There are however seperate walls heater kits that are available. They also recomend a seperate tank for white diesel but I ran my last Wallas hob on red diesel with no problems.

Mind you for heating Iat the moment I just light the gas cooker but that creates condensation and the walls does not.

Paul

[Firefly625]

Originally Posted by laup

I was looking to fit a diesel heater but this thread has made me think again

Why cant I use a heater matrix from a car to use hot coolant from the engine to take the chill off the cabin on a cold day?

Anyone done this?

I have an Ardic heater in my boat, only heats with the engine at operating temperature through a matrix and three stage blower with 2 outlets, one in wheelhouse, the other in the cabin. Works a treat, maintenance free....and warms the boat a treat...so long as engine on...

[Trundlebug]

We have both..

Boat was fitted with Wallas diesel fired heater when we bought it, very good, no problems, quiet and low current drain. But I was amazed that we had to burn even MORE fuel to heat the boat when going along, so I fitted a Webasto 8kw water matrix connected to the stbd engine, (as the port engine heated the calorifier) so we could heat the boat using free waste heat when going along.

The matrix, and blower outlets are underneath the galley plinth so fitted into redundant space, and with the 3 speed blower controlled by the switch from an early Mini Metro (yes, really!) it heats the whole boat quite effectively.

Now have the best of both worlds and it's increased the cruising season for us because we can be comfortable in all conditions.

As well as Webasto's 8kw matrix, Kuranda do a 10kw version that looks very similar.

I did try looking round at car heater matrices but these days they're all integrated within huge plastic mouldings and ducting to suit the car. Unfortunately the days of the separate heater matrix are gone, so it made it uneconomic to convert one for marine use.

[Sultans_Kapitein]

Originally Posted by Trundlebug

I did try looking round at car heater matrices but these days they're all integrated within huge plastic mouldings and ducting to suit the car. Unfortunately the days of the separate heater matrix are gone, so it made it uneconomic to convert one for marine use.

I would have thought that a trip to the wreckers yard to have a look for Transit Van sized matrix would be a good start, always less enclosed on the commercial vehicles, especially the older ones.

Mal

Just re-read this and of course meant to say the same size as one in a Transit Van, not a matrix the size of a Transit Van

[Searush]

Wouldn't an oil cooler matrix be about the correct size? Or are they silly money from breakers?