Adding an inline 230v ducted heater to Eberspacher

The spec says the airflow can't be less than 1.5m/s. I don't think you'll get anywhere near that airflow from a typical Eberspacher. The Eberspacher specs usually quote airflow volume, so if you know the duct diameter you'll be able to calculate the airflow rate.

Many of us just use cheap fan heaters...
 
Eberspacher used to offer that as an option, but I think it has disappeared from the catalogue these days.
 
pvb said:
The spec says the airflow can't be less than 1.5m/s. I don't think you'll get anywhere near that airflow from a typical Eberspacher. The Eberspacher specs usually quote airflow volume, so if you know the duct diameter you'll be able to calculate the airflow rate.

Many of us just use cheap fan heaters...
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It has overheat protection...and the specs show the 900w one can run much lower....think I may give one a whirl!
 
Looks like a good idea if the airflow issues can be got around. If you have ducting runs for use with an eber then this seems a good way to use them. Would one use a 'dedicated' section of duct which joined the 'eber ducting run' with a (switchable?) Y junction?
 
I have to say that, having tried heating our boat with fan heaters, it is far cheaper with diesel. I guess the question is how much your marina charges for electricity - Premier put a big markup on it and electric heating is very expensive with them.
 
A couple of points first one is Marinas are restricted as to how much they can charge, I believe they are not allowed to make a profit above what they are charged. The other point I had a similar idea I bought a small heater matrix with a 12 v D.C. Fan, I connected it into the engine circulating cooling water and put it into the Eberspacher air ducting, too near the unit the first time I used the eberspacher it melted the fan and the body of the matrix so that went into the bin.
I now use a mains fan heater in home port and Ebers at sea.Electric is free, included in berthing fees I suppose but no metering.
 
matthewriches said:
Be advised these things get VERY hot inside and as mentioned, need a good airflow though otherwise they'll o/h trip out very quickly.
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Ok, I think ive done the calcs....Eber D4 is 160m3 per hour, the 900w heater at 100m3 shows a 25deg temp change....all seems reasonable, I will give one a go and report back here...

With regards to elect cost vs diesel, i'm not that bothered, fan heaters wind me up, plugged in and trailing about, then storing them, plus the heat doesn't come out every vent, and the diesel heater is noisy. ducted mains heating has to be the way to go :-)
 
pcatterall said:
Looks like a good idea if the airflow issues can be got around. If you have ducting runs for use with an eber then this seems a good way to use them. Would one use a 'dedicated' section of duct which joined the 'eber ducting run' with a (switchable?) Y junction?
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I was just going to put it inline, after the diesel heater, before it branches off.
 
mattnj said:
I was just going to put it inline, after the diesel heater, before it branches off.
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That may not be too successful - if the diesel heater is not running, you will be trying to draw air through a static fan which will introduce drag and may cut the airflow below that which is required by the electrical heater element.
 
maby said:
That may not be too successful - if the diesel heater is not running, you will be trying to draw air through a static fan which will introduce drag and may cut the airflow below that which is required by the electrical heater element.
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No, he was planning to use the heater fan to blow air through, see post 1.
 
The drag on the airflow through both units in series will be considerable, and for at least the Eber it must be able to reach its full output airflow through at least one fully rated non closable outlet. Placing the electric heater would likely compromise this requirement.

If this were my install I would put them in parallel through a Y piece with a simple changeover flap. Not sure if such a thing exists, but should be quite easy for a sheet metal fabricator to make. You could even add a a simple solenoid actuator controlled from one or the other to move the flap.
 
pvb said:
That's a further restriction and, as I posted previously, I don't think most Eberspachers can meet the minimum airflow requirement of the electric heater.
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I don't think you have understood what I was suggesting. I mean the two devices would feed the into top arms of the 'Y', with the single outlet to the ducting system at the bottom. Two separate paths into a well designed Y with a change over flap would not cause any undue extra restriction. Twin headed water pumps use a very similar device.
 
superheat6k said:
I don't think you have understood what I was suggesting. I mean the two devices would feed the into top arms of the 'Y', with the single outlet to the ducting system at the bottom. Two separate paths into a well designed Y with a change over flap would not cause any undue extra restriction. Twin headed water pumps use a very similar device.
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I don't think you have understood what the OP is proposing. He's thinking of installing an electric air heater into his Eberspacher ducting. The electric heater has no fan, so he's relying on the Eberspacher in vent mode to push enough air through the electric heater.
 
prv said:
He has understood, and is suggesting an alternative.

One that seems quite sensible to me provided the space is available.
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OK, so his suggestion was for a Y-fitting in the ducting, with one inlet connected to the Eberspacher, the second inlet connected to the electric duct heater, and the single outlet connected to the ducting system going into the boat. The only problem is that the electric duct heater has no fan - it needs airflow to work.
 
pvb said:
OK, so his suggestion was for a Y-fitting in the ducting, with one inlet connected to the Eberspacher, the second inlet connected to the electric duct heater, and the single outlet connected to the ducting system going into the boat. The only problem is that the electric duct heater has no fan - it needs airflow to work.
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All sounds very complicated :-)
I will add it inline....the only possibility is that the flow isn't high enough and the heater trips....in which case I will reduce the output of the heater.....till it does work.

I did a similar thing on my water heater when run on generator...and most people here said "NO! It won't work!" And it turned out to work perfectly....?

I shall report back....seems simple enough to me...the d4 is what 4kw? So I'm proposing running it with 0.9kw on the same fan but that won't have enough flow? Mmmm....let's find out.

I was just asking if anyone has tried it...seems like I will be the trailblazer....?
 
mattnj said:
All sounds very complicated :-)
I will add it inline....the only possibility is that the flow isn't high enough and the heater trips....in which case I will reduce the output of the heater.....till it does work.

I did a similar thing on my water heater when run on generator...and most people here said "NO! It won't work!" And it turned out to work perfectly....��

I shall report back....seems simple enough to me...the d4 is what 4kw? So I'm proposing running it with 0.9kw on the same fan but that won't have enough flow? Mmmm....let's find out.

I was just asking if anyone has tried it...seems like I will be the trailblazer....��
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Well, as I said above, Eberspacher used to offer exactly this solution as an option, so you are not really trailblazing. There is no good reason why it should not work - I'm just a bit sceptical about its value given the relative costs of diesel and electricity for heating.
 
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