Dangerous diesel heaters impounded

[henryf]

Suffolk Trading Standards Imports Surveillance Team have detained 973 diesel heaters at the Port of Felixstowe over the last two months

Suffolk trading standards have impounded nearly 1,000 dangerous diesel heaters from Felixstowe docks.

I seem to remember a thread on here extolling the virtues of said heaters, it seems powers far greater than ours disagree.

Be warned……

 

[penfold]

The TS bods make no judgement about the heaters, the failure is in the documentation; by that measure an Eberspacher would also be deemed unsafe if accompanied by chinese-english instructions. Calling them dangerous is hysterical, they are just not legal to sell.

 

[Boat2016]

The TS bods make no judgement about the heaters, the failure is in the documentation; by that measure an Eberspacher would also be deemed unsafe if accompanied by chinese-english instructions. Calling them dangerous is hysterical, they are just not legal to sell.

The fact they couldn’t copy the instructions doesn’t give me much confidence they copied the rest very well either. some people just don’t understand what they’re dealing with when buying cheap Chinese c***

 

[simonfraser]

The fact they couldn’t copy the instructions doesn’t give me much confidence they copied the rest very well either. some people just don’t understand what they’re dealing with when buying cheap Chinese c***

indeed, i would not want one in my boat, possibly in a van ...
would not buy a boat with one in either, what other corners have been cut ?

 

[oldgit]

A company which imported electronic kit was highly delighted when whatever Gov Dept that checked electronic stuff imported from foreign parts was safe and met certain standards, was scrapped during the 1980s,.
The free market would do the job far more efficiently.
The company no longer had to send stuff off (and pay) to get type approval, now all done on the importer self certifying.
An example of a particular piece of equipment failed a compliance test , bit of a problem, the rest of the batch had been built , put into fancy boxes and was on its way from China in a container.
All had to be paid for in advance.
The items concerned , complete with the virtually unreadable very badly photocopied certificate of type approval , still went on the shelves.
Some of it no doubt still in use and still causing interference.

 

[henryf]

I think there’s a difference between causing wavy lines on your TV and killing you / setting your boat alight.

 

[oldgit]

Interesting to find out when the first of the Chinaspachers were imported.
Found a post on the interweb dated as 2016, a good guess would be these knock offs have been in production for at least around 10 years.
Another guess would be that tens of thousands of the heaters would now be in use in GB , but difficult to discover any reports of any boat fires.
Multiply the numbers of these things worldwide and reports of problems with these heaters resulting in fire damage should be all over the interweb but appear to be very rare indeed.
As these heaters are extremely cheap suspect many "installations" leave a lot to be desired in the safety dept. ?
The only reports of fatalities have been with regard to carbon monoxide and even those are vague regards the type of heater involved.
Which from memory was an ex GPO van D2 or similar.

 

[westernman]

The fact they couldn’t copy the instructions doesn’t give me much confidence they copied the rest very well either. some people just don’t understand what they’re dealing with when buying cheap Chinese c***

Don't tell Bouba his Tesla was made in China.

 

[Bigplumbs]

The fact they couldn’t copy the instructions doesn’t give me much confidence they copied the rest very well either. some people just don’t understand what they’re dealing with when buying cheap Chinese c***

And some people Bang on and on and Dont understand what they are talking about.

 

[Bigplumbs]

indeed, i would not want one in my boat, possibly in a van ...
would not buy a boat with one in either, what other corners have been cut ?

Thousand and Thousands of People have then in their boats and elsewhere very successfully. Some people simply cant buy unless the item is reassuringly Expensive. Still as they say a fool and their money is easily parted

 

[Elessar]

Suffolk Trading Standards Imports Surveillance Team have detained 973 diesel heaters at the Port of Felixstowe over the last two months

Suffolk trading standards have impounded nearly 1,000 dangerous diesel heaters from Felixstowe docks.

I seem to remember a thread on here extolling the virtues of said heaters, it seems powers far greater than ours disagree.

Be warned……

I’ve got two. Had one in the last boat for years.
Many people do. They’ve been on sale for ten years or so.
How many instances have been reported?
Quaking in my boots I’m not.

 

[BobnLesley]

...guess would be that tens of thousands of the heaters would now be in use in GB , but difficult to discover any reports of any boat fires.
Multiply the numbers of these things worldwide and reports of problems with these heaters resulting in fire damage should be all over the interweb but appear to be very rare indeed...

A potential explanation: Reading that link it nowhere states that the units themselves are intrinsically 'unsafe' only that they are lacking in their formal certification of such and in the quality of their installation instructions. I for one can survive without a piece of paper specifically advising me that hot things can burn and shouldn't be placed immediately adjacent to flammable materials; I would hope/expect that anyone intending to install one would have a similar level of good sense.

 

[oldgit]

I’ve got two. Had one in the last boat for years.
Many people do. They’ve been on sale for ten years or so.
How many instances have been reported?
Quaking in my boots I’m not.

Can only think of one instance on our moorings of a boat owner who needed a replacement heater going for a pukker Eberspacher and this was because he simply was not interested in getting involved with any DIY installation and the local dealer wanted obviously to supply from his stock.
Over the years perhaps a dozen or so boats have fitted replacement heaters when their old eber required repairs usually exceeding the cost of two or even three chinaspachers.
A couple of the boats even have two chinaspachers fitted.
None of the skippers at an age where safety is not paramount or finding the money for a Eber would present any problem at all.

 

[Fire99]

I use them and dare I say the dreaded term 'common sense' springs to mind. Yes the fuel hoses on some are cr*p and the silencer needs to go in the bin but I have Marine grade exhaust pipework / outlets and the fuel pipework is the same. I also have a CO meter which I would have for any branded heater and hey presto so far the Chinese ones have done what the Eberspacher was unable to do. Work!
The biggest issue for some is because the Chinese ones are very cheap, they open up the market to many many people who couldn't afford anything like a Webasto or Eberspacher which means much greater chance for badly fitted ones etc. But that isn't a reason to demonise them. They're fine if you use your brain..

 

[Boat2016]

And some people Bang on and on and Dont understand what they are talking about.

And some carry on regardless who think they know best and are above the law, whats happened here is what I’ve said all the way along and glad it’s happened as it protects the innocent from the chancers.

 

[Andibs]

Installed one on my boat 2 years ago and it's been brilliant. Common sense said bin the exhaust, some of the ducting and fittings and get marine grade.

If you can't work that out for yourself you really shouldn't be out on your own.

 

[Daydream believer]

Installed one on my boat 2 years ago and it's been brilliant. Common sense said bin the exhaust, some of the ducting and fittings and get marine grade.
If you can't work that out for yourself you really shouldn't be out on your own.

Trouble is that many cannot & still go ahead
You only have to look on some boats & see for yourself.
A typical. "Yes, I will be fixing it. But I have not got round to it yet" is not uncommon

 

[limecc]

Still don't understand why it takes a Gas Safe or HETAS trained person to install heating in a habitable building yet it's deemed ok to DIY when it comes to boats with confined spaces.

 

[Boat2016]

Installed one on my boat 2 years ago and it's been brilliant. Common sense said bin the exhaust, some of the ducting and fittings and get marine grade.

If you can't work that out for yourself you really shouldn't be out on your own.

If you Don understand the difference between something that’s compliant and something that’s not the you shouldn’t be out on your own…it’s the uneducable that make it necessary for compliance standards.

 

[penfold]

Having a brand name does not prevent a heater being installed unsafely.