mikesyam
Well-Known Member
Seen loads of boats for sale with these fitted and been trying to find a website for these with no luck at all, does anyone have them fitted and are they any good.
Thanks Mike
Thanks Mike
Ardic Screen Demisters
- Thread starter mikesyam
- Start date
sarabande
Well-Known Member
taken over by Epersbachertishoo. Gesundheit.
http://www.eberspacher.com/support-and-downloads/technical-documents.html
http://www.eberspacher.com/support-and-downloads/technical-documents.html
Divemaster1
Well-Known Member
mikesyam
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the replies but i am still none the wiser, have even googled them for a image and there is no info what so ever, weird when google throws up loads of boats for sale with them fitted so they must be popular, does anyone know how they work or how the warm air is generated, how big are they, easy to fit ect.
Thanks
Thanks
jimg
Well-Known Member
They are normally fitted at the factory as a warm air system for the whole boat and screen heating is just part of it.
Speak to these chaps:- http://www.espar.co.uk
Speak to these chaps:- http://www.espar.co.uk
spannerman
Well-Known Member
Relatively easy to fit, I've done about 20 of them. They are about 18" x 12" x 8" and is screwed to a bulkhead or the floor with 4 screws, it has 4 hot air outlets of which some can be blanked off if need be, you then run air ducting up to the screens which is usually the hard part, i.e. getting the air to the right places.
You run a couple of hoses from your engine which usually has dedicated out and return tappings on the cooling system, remember stop cocks at the engine in case of a leak.
It has a 3 speed fan so just requires the switch mounting on the dash and connecting to the fuse panel and job done.
Don't mount the unit in the engine room as Princess have done on the new V42 as by the time the air gets to the screens its lukewarm, its best up front and as low as poss to prevent airlocks in the system.
They are very effective when installed correctly and work on the same principle as a car heater.
You run a couple of hoses from your engine which usually has dedicated out and return tappings on the cooling system, remember stop cocks at the engine in case of a leak.
It has a 3 speed fan so just requires the switch mounting on the dash and connecting to the fuse panel and job done.
Don't mount the unit in the engine room as Princess have done on the new V42 as by the time the air gets to the screens its lukewarm, its best up front and as low as poss to prevent airlocks in the system.
They are very effective when installed correctly and work on the same principle as a car heater.
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Trundlebug
Well-Known Member
I fitted a Webasto version of the same sort of thing, i.e. an 8kw heater matrix with 4 blower outlet, 3 speeds, under the kick plinth in the galley. I couldn't duct hoses invisibly up to the windscreen to use as demisters, so I just fitted it in situ with the outlets coming straight out from the matrix and it heats the whole boat.
I must admit I was a bit amazed that despite being nominally 8kw, the air coming out is only warm, not really hot. I see in the details of the websites above that they're rated at 100degC, which of course engines don't normally run at; 85deg C being around the norm. So that would reduce the rated capacity quite a bit. Buyer beware!
Kuranda also make a 10.5kw version, www.kuranda.co.uk not sure how their prices compare to those above. It was a bit more than the Webasto unit though.
I must admit I was a bit amazed that despite being nominally 8kw, the air coming out is only warm, not really hot. I see in the details of the websites above that they're rated at 100degC, which of course engines don't normally run at; 85deg C being around the norm. So that would reduce the rated capacity quite a bit. Buyer beware!
Kuranda also make a 10.5kw version, www.kuranda.co.uk not sure how their prices compare to those above. It was a bit more than the Webasto unit though.
stuartwineberg
Well-Known Member
I have this on the Hardy and frankly not much good. Just a simple heat exchanger taking a feed from one engine, trunking up to the screens and a three speed fan as described elsewhere. Interestingly it also feeds the heads compartments on the boat and as long as you remember to open the vents it works well there although it is impractical as relatively few people take a shower while the engine is running. In demist mode you have to close the same vents otherwise the amount of air going to the screen is even less. It speaks volumes that on the newer boats Hardy have switched to electric window demisting. I wouldnt want a boat where this was the only heating source (as is the case I think on a lot of Botnia Targas)
jimg
Well-Known Member
I think that they actually have a diesel burner and heat the water that then goes through a heat exchanger to generate warm air.
The one I had fitted to a boat was actually plumbed to the fresh water system on the port engine, so if you had just used the engine then it had a head start.
However I have to agree that it was never really that effective.
The one I had fitted to a boat was actually plumbed to the fresh water system on the port engine, so if you had just used the engine then it had a head start.
However I have to agree that it was never really that effective.
PCUK
Well-Known Member
Get a car heater from a breakers, connect it to the water feed from the engine to your calorifier and run trunking to the windscreen. Total cost about £50 max! Most people only need a demister when under way the same as in a car!!!
Trundlebug
Well-Known Member
That was certainly my original intention, and it's where I started out.
However, have you looked at a car heater matrix these days? Gone are the days where the matrix was a box with a fan and a couple of outlets, these days the matrix is integral within a huge bulk of plastic moulded ducting. Certainly not compact, or easily modified to fit within the limited confines of a boat. I was amazed at how bulky they were!
With the amount of time, effort and additional parts required to adapt it and make it suitable, the initial £50 for the heater from the scrappy soon becomes £100, and then the economics don't start to look so good.. No guarantees, a bodged and hacked about system...
That's why I gave up and bought the Webasto matrix...
