Carbon in diesel heater - caused by dirty fuel?

[Momac]

I heard several people have had issues with diesel heaters recently with the common theme being they all bought diesel from the same source. The fault being heavy carbon build up in the heater - not diesel bug.
Can dirty fuel cause this ?

 

[maby]

I think it would have to be very dirty to have a noticeable effect on the cleanliness of the burn. Carbon buildup is usually due to long periods running at low power - possibly blame warm winter?

 

[Piers]

I heard several people have had issues with diesel heaters recently with the common theme being they all bought diesel from the same source. The fault being heavy carbon build up in the heater - not diesel bug.
Can dirty fuel cause this ?

Carbon build-up is perfectly normal in these heaters, whether Ebbersplutter or Webasto. I have to change Play d'eau's approx every 18 months although it obviously depends how many hours it's been in use. A simple enough task. Bear in mind we live on Play d'eau so the heater is probably used far more than for non-live aboards.

 

[Momac]

Perhaps the people involved have used their heaters more often this winter .
The same boats haven't had any engine issues , as far as I know.

I understand one of the heaters is only a year from a full rebuild and not a live abroad. It does seem a little soon to have a carbon issue and there have been several boats similarly affected at the same time.

I have been in the habit of rarely allowing the heater to run on a low setting and always give it 15 minutes or so at full power before switching it off. It seems to be successful. I think many people follow this procedure.

 

[maby]

Perhaps the people involved have used their heaters more often this winter .
The same boats haven't had any engine issues , as far as I know.

I understand one of the heaters is only a year from a full rebuild and not a live abroad. It does seem a little soon to have a carbon issue and there have been several boats similarly affected at the same time.

I have been in the habit of rarely allowing the heater to run on a low setting and always give it 15 minutes or so at full power before switching it off. It seems to be successful. I think many people follow this procedure.

They will foul up pretty quickly if allowed to run at low power continuously. My experience is that Webasto copes better than Eberspacher on its low power setting, but both really need to be allowed to burn themselves clean quite frequently.

 

[NBs]

Hi,

An easy way to get rid of carbon is to burn Kerosene to your webasto / Eber for about an hour at great power. The kerosene will burn slightly hotter and more purely. Disconnect the fuel pipe from the pump suction and connect a new tube to the pump and the Kerosene bottle / container or just a pump in a container with a little fuel (do not immerse the entire pump just in the rubber part.)

Kerosene = parafin or Several market names https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kerosene
NBs