chinese diesel heater installation

jon and michie

jon and michie

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Hi - As there has and is still a debate going on the motor boat section on diesel heaters etc I wanted to start a thread here as this is a practical question and not for a debate on what is better i.e ebar webasto russian and chinese.

So here's the question - Has anyone fitted one of these heaters in a motor boat with pictures had any lessons learned etc.

I have a sea ray 280/315 sundancer and one of my main questions is if I mounted the heater in the engine bay the length of the output duct maybe quite long would this affect the performance of the heater and what sort of kw heater do i need to heat the main cabin?

I know there there is a load of threads on the diesel heater on the search button but it would take me an age to read through all of them.

jon
 
I'm currently mid-fitment into a 30 foot yacht... Have also retro-fitted previous 27 footer. Here are my observations:

Previous boat had a 1.8kw Eber D1LC and the heater was fitted abaft the starboard cockpit locker, with the air outlet ducting running all the way forward from there, with a vent in the wheelhouse area (motor sailer) and another in the saloon. I had a toasty warm cockpit locker, but by the time it reached the saloon, it wasn't really putting out enough heat to get more than about 10 degrees over the outside temperature. Ok in late spring and early autumn, but not ok in winter. I swapped it out for a 5kw Chinese unit, using the existing fuel line and exhaust pipe, but swapping the fuel pump and controller cabling. The ducting was also too small diameter, so this was increased. I still had toasty lockers, but the boat was now also warm. Insulation of the ducting would have probably been the solution, but with the length of run, this would have been about the same price as buying the new heater! So yes, length of ducting run will be of major significance.

In the new boat, I have the heater in the starboard cockpit locker, a few inches back from the bulkhead that separates it from the galley area. I have ducted the heater through this bulkhead with a very short run of duct. A very simple installation, as I didn't want or feel the need to run ducting right throughout the whole boat. I don't want heating in the vee berth for example, since I like a cool sleeping area. I tested it quickly last weekend (just using a jerry can) and it is pretty much instant heat into the saloon area, in much the same way as the electric fan heater I use when in the marina, which permeates through the boat fine.

Your choices seem to be 2kw (can be difficult to get hold of 'real' ones, a lot seem to be re-badged 5kw which are physically larger), the 5kw (a clone of the Eber D4) or the (ahem) 8kw, which appears to just be a re-badged 5...
If you are going to be using a long ducting run, I would plump for the 5kw.

The other thing I would say is to get one with the LCD controller rather than the rotary one, as you can put it into pump frequency mode rather than temperature mode. In temp mode, the heater will cycle up and down, running the fan fast, then slow... With a bit of practice, you will get an idea of what the pump speed needs to be for a given outside temperature, and it will just run at a set fan speed the whole time, which to me seems a much less intrusive background heat.

The other thing to think about is that as well as buying the heater 'kit', for boat use you will likely need a longer exhaust pipe, plus a marine skin fitting and proper exhaust clamps, probably some heat wrap too. For me, this lot added up to slightly more than the heater kit cost! And a CO alarm is advisable too.
 
As stevie69p says, the length of the exhaust hose usually determines the location of the heater. I have no experience of Chinese heaters but the other makes all have an upper limit of exhaust hose that is relatively short, e.g. 2 metres. My heater is an Eberspacher D3L that has main output ducting of 90 mm diameter and a secondary ducting diameter of 60 mm. The latter runs something like 8 metres but warms the forecabin quite nicely. Details of my installation are available at http://coxeng.co.uk/heating-and-refrigeration/installing-warm-air-heating/
 
jon and michie said:
Hi - As there has and is still a debate going on the motor boat section on diesel heaters etc I wanted to start a thread here as this is a practical question and not for a debate on what is better i.e ebar webasto russian and chinese.

So here's the question - Has anyone fitted one of these heaters in a motor boat with pictures had any lessons learned etc.

I have a sea ray 280/315 sundancer and one of my main questions is if I mounted the heater in the engine bay the length of the output duct maybe quite long would this affect the performance of the heater and what sort of kw heater do i need to heat the main cabin?

I know there there is a load of threads on the diesel heater on the search button but it would take me an age to read through all of them.

jon
Click to expand...

Not sure where you are located but if on the nontidal Thames regs do not allow a warm heaters to be mounted in the engine bay, especially if it is a petrol engine boat.
 
jon and michie said:
Hi - As there has and is still a debate going on the motor boat section on diesel heaters etc I wanted to start a thread here as this is a practical question and not for a debate on what is better i.e ebar webasto russian and chinese.

So here's the question - Has anyone fitted one of these heaters in a motor boat with pictures had any lessons learned etc.

I have a sea ray 280/315 sundancer and one of my main questions is if I mounted the heater in the engine bay the length of the output duct maybe quite long would this affect the performance of the heater and what sort of kw heater do i need to heat the main cabin?

I know there there is a load of threads on the diesel heater on the search button but it would take me an age to read through all of them.

jon
Click to expand...

I've had a chinese heater in my engine bay for 6 years.

The duct length has a big impact on performance unless you insulate it. The webasto coverings for the ducts are good and easy to fit but eye wateringly expensive I used a rockwool based pipe insulation but it's rigid and difficult to fit. The rubber insulation you can get can't cope the the 140C you need to allow for.

Also if I've been on passage my engines and engine bay takes hours to cool. The heater doesn't like being in a hot place, it trips out.

I have a 5kW in a boat that is volumous for a 40 fter. If you want to heat the cockpit under the canopy a 5kW will serve you well. Just below and 3kw will be fine. All my guesses.

When it dies, which it refuses to do, I will fit 2, 3kw heaters outside the engine bay. They do carbon up and when you are cleaning them if I have 2 I don't go to no heating. The spares I've needed (glow plug x 2, flame sensor x 1, the gauze burner thing) have all been off the shelf webasto parts and they are an exact fit.
 
Last edited:
Many Many thanks for your replies so far - This has given me a wealth of very helpful information.
I am now thinking of just having the fuel tank in the engine bay and there is a cockpit locker mid to rear - which has a air vent near by.
The output pipe may be around 8 metres long ish but I may put a y piece on and branch it off for 2 vents
but this is just off the top of my head.
5kw seems to be the choice of a few boaters on here which in a cabin of about 16 in length should be more than ample and thinking that the heater would not be working at full belt as the temperature should rise fairly quickly therefore the heater settling down.

Thanks again
jon
 
jon and michie said:
Many Many thanks for your replies so far - This has given me a wealth of very helpful information.
I am now thinking of just having the fuel tank in the engine bay and there is a cockpit locker mid to rear - which has a air vent near by.
The output pipe may be around 8 metres long ish but I may put a y piece on and branch it off for 2 vents
but this is just off the top of my head.
5kw seems to be the choice of a few boaters on here which in a cabin of about 16 in length should be more than ample and thinking that the heater would not be working at full belt as the temperature should rise fairly quickly therefore the heater settling down.

Thanks again
jon
Click to expand...

Why a fuel tank? It’s normal to use the main tank with a slightly shorter pick up tube.
 
Whatever you finally decide, always insulate the ducting or you will just be wasting heat. It is an easy job using loft insulation wrapped with plastic sheet and cable tied in place. In case anyone is wondering, the plastic will not melt as it is insulated by the insulation! If that makes any sense.
 
PCUK said:
Whatever you finally decide, always insulate the ducting or you will just be wasting heat. It is an easy job using loft insulation wrapped with plastic sheet and cable tied in place. In case anyone is wondering, the plastic will not melt as it is insulated by the insulation! If that makes any sense.
Click to expand...

I insulted my ducting with exhaust wrap a 15 metre roll was required to wrap 2 metre of pipe but jt was only £6.40 on ebay.
 
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colhel said:
Thinking aloud, instead of lengths of ducting which i gather is expensive, the heaters are cheap so would 2 heaters be more efficient and a cheaper install?
Click to expand...
Lots of benefits to 2 heaters including smaller duct runs. 12v usage the only downside but that’s not something I worry about. And if you were sailing off grid I don’t think blown air is your solution anyway.
 
Elessar said:
Why a fuel tank? It’s normal to use the main tank with a slightly shorter pick up tube.
Click to expand...

I have a separate tank, and normally run my (Eberspacher) heater on kerosene, although I do have a two way cock, so that can also be fed from the main tank.
 
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