Bought a Chinese diesel heater, now tested...

[Mei Mac]

I had a lot of white smoke to begin with because I believe my voltage was too low. The plug wasn;t getting hot enough, I think. Having charged the battery fully I still experienced a lot of white smoke but it was because I was burning the unburnt fuel that had collected on the inside of the exhaust pipe. After a few minutes it stopped and the heater now works a treat.

The 'ouch' bit came when I saw how much the through hull fitting costs - nearly half the price of the heater! ButI'll have to get one.

 

[PetiteFleur]

Hi. I'm interested in one of these (the air heater not the air/water). Where did you exhaust and how noisy are they? That is, will there be frowns in the marina in the morning? Thanks!

The exhaust is at the transom, about 35cm from the waterline and about 25 cm from the centreline to starboard. I fitted the supplied exhaust, wrapped in insulation tape with an proper marine exhaust fitting. I've not noticed it is noisy but I'm on a mooring not in a marina.

 

[Mei Mac]

Thanks. It doesn't sound all that noisy in the shed so I assume it'll be ok.

 

[owen-cox]

Just to clarify, I cannot remember who it was who said they had a heater catch fire originally but I definitely saw plenty at the time of the original posts where the overheat sensor did not work and potentially could cause a fire. This is now different as the chinese heaters now use electronic sensors which they didn't originally. There are some really nice heaters coming out of china now but they end up just as expensive as a branded heater. We have seen some shocking installs by “professionals” and I am surprised we have not seen any fires from these fitters who fitted one chinese heater and then decided to become a professional fitter of them. I also worry that they are insured properly as our own insurers and those of other professionals will not entertain fitting non certified or type approved heaters. One of the said fitters said a fuse was not necessary on a split charge system for the cable from the main battery to the leisure battery even though it ran through a hole in the body without a cable gland! Anyway. I digress. As you can see from the quotes I have never said I saw personally any heaters catch fire but I did have a discussion with a yacht installer close to paul rainbow who had one catch fire on his workbench. That post seems to have gone now but I have PM messages I think. I always try to be neutral on this page and only comment when I see something totally incorrect regarding autoterm heaters. Thanks for your time. Owen.

As you asked for referrals, I went back and looked for them.

I may have been wrong that the quote came direct from Owen. Looking back, it appears that it came via his dad:


from here:
Banggood Diesel Heater

In the process of looking for the thread, I did come across a couple of quotes from another Forumite with reports of fires, which may remove the 'dealer of alternative heaters' point:


from here:
Chinese (5kw )air heater


from here:
Chinese (5kw )air heater


Anyway, I have a Chinaspacher, as well as an Eber, and I am happy with both. So far I haven't experienced any fires!

 

[PaulRainbow]

Just to clarify, I cannot remember who it was who said they had a heater catch fire originally but I definitely saw plenty at the time of the original posts where the overheat sensor did not work and potentially could cause a fire. This is now different as the chinese heaters now use electronic sensors which they didn't originally. There are some really nice heaters coming out of china now but they end up just as expensive as a branded heater. We have seen some shocking installs by “professionals” and I am surprised we have not seen any fires from these fitters who fitted one chinese heater and then decided to become a professional fitter of them. I also worry that they are insured properly as our own insurers and those of other professionals will not entertain fitting non certified or type approved heaters. One of the said fitters said a fuse was not necessary on a split charge system for the cable from the main battery to the leisure battery even though it ran through a hole in the body without a cable gland! Anyway. I digress. As you can see from the quotes I have never said I saw personally any heaters catch fire but I did have a discussion with a yacht installer close to paul rainbow who had one catch fire on his workbench. That post seems to have gone now but I have PM messages I think. I always try to be neutral on this page and only comment when I see something totally incorrect regarding autoterm heaters. Thanks for your time. Owen.

That was Matthew Riches. I did have a conversation with him at the time and he told me about the heater catching fire as the overheat sensor failed to shut the heater down. He also mentioned it in a thread on here and aid he'd post pictures, but i guess he was too busy.

I would certainly not fit one for a customer, for reasons above and i would not want to feel responsible for the loss of someones boat, or life.

Had to smile at post #64. The improvements to make the installation safer ended up with the heater costing over £400, enough to buy a genuine Planar heater

 

[Rappey]

I've seen a moody 33 go up in flames on our club pontoon due to a faulty eberspacher.
Considering how many people have now fitted chinese heaters in boats, camper vans and who knows what else due to their amazingly cheap price I would say they don't appear to be that much of a fire risk or we would be hearing a lot more story's about it?
Even more incredible seeing some people's appalling instalations.

 

[Kelpie]

Had to smile at post #64. The improvements to make the installation safer ended up with the heater costing over £400, enough to buy a genuine Planar heater

I don't think that's a fair conclusion to draw.
The poster said the total installation cost was over £400, but that included extra ducting, diverters, insulation, etc. He would have had to add those things to any heater he bought.

 

[superheat6k]

That was Matthew Riches. I did have a conversation with him at the time and he told me about the heater catching fire as the overheat sensor failed to shut the heater down. He also mentioned it in a thread on here and aid he'd post pictures, but i guess he was too busy.

I would certainly not fit one for a customer, for reasons above and i would not want to feel responsible for the loss of someones boat, or life.

Had to smile at post #64. The improvements to make the installation safer ended up with the heater costing over £400, enough to buy a genuine Planar heater

A bit dramatic perhaps, as thus far nil, zip, zero of these heaters have caught fire. Rappey comment is the only first hand report so far of a heater catching fire - oh yes it was an Eberspacher !

Time to give it up now.

 

[LittleSister]

he told me about the heater catching fire as the overheat sensor failed to shut the heater down.

thus far nil, zip, zero of these heaters have caught fire.

????

 

[PaulRainbow]

A bit dramatic perhaps, as thus far nil, zip, zero of these heaters have caught fire. Rappey comment is the only first hand report so far of a heater catching fire - oh yes it was an Eberspacher !

Apart from the one that Matthew Riches reported as catching fire. I simply answered Owens post, identifying who it was that had one catch fire, how is that "dramatic" ?

Time to give it up now.

?????

 

[Nauti Fox]

Update on my heaters after a few years now, I have three, two in use over the winter and one as a spare.
The only issue I've had is replacing a couple of glow plugs, I keep a small amount of spares, glow plug, fuel pump and recently a burner as the prices are very affordable, this guy seems pretty reliable for spares....... 5KW Burner+1Q1 D4/D4S Chamber Gaskets Set Parts For Air Diesel Parking Heater | eBay
I clean them over the summer, dipping the burner and housing in a sonic cleaner for an hour, but they do only have a light coating of carbon.
No settings have been changed since they were unpacked and they always start, unlike the Webasto which was a fingers crossed item, although to be fair when it did work it was superior to the Chinese heaters, but after it went to a local specialist and came back the same I've left it in a box in the workshop.