Dangerous diesel heaters impounded

I agree the ancilliary equipment provided is poor quality and not suitable for marine use.

The heaters themselves are good - I have 2 of them. I bought a UK made good quality stainless exhaust and hull fitting and changed other bits I thought were safety critical.

The acutal units are pretty well made as they are copies of the German makes.

As has been repeatedly mentioned, Eberspacher and Webasto were running a price cartel (and Webasto dobbed in Eberspacher to avoid, from memory, a 68 million euro fine).

So on this occasion, I am happy to ignore the blatent copyright issues (having said that they must surely be out of patent now?).

A poor quality installation with ANY make of combustion heater carries risk.

Some forum members are quite capable of doing that, whilst others of a less technical nature will naturally employ a professional to do the work.

But the core fact is that the heaters themselves are rather good.....
 
@Bigplumbs They are good heaters its all down to how you install them and there is a big difference to putting them in a workshop over in a cabined boat hence as I said Plan Plan and Plan
The jubilee clips that are supplied with these Chinese heaters will not withstand salt air - and are flimsy - the exhaust and pipe which you have pointed out are definitely junk for a boat install.

My Install cost me aprox £550 because I used a higher spec heating duct that could withstand Approx 260C as these heaters kick out approx 130c easily which I wrapped in insulation which could withstand 2500c.
The main positive and negative electric cable was changed out for a higher spec amperage which had a circuit breaker on the fuse board and a fuse link at the heater.
the fuel tank supplied you could use providing it is well out of the way however I fabricated my own out of stainless steel with swagelock pipe and fittings and then from a steel filter I used marine spec fuel hose.
The exhaust I used webasto exhaust pipe with miklor exhaust clamps stainless steel which I the used a decent exhaust skin thru hull fitting along with high temp gaskets and the pipe had a condensate pipe fitted also a decent marine silencer as the supplied one again is junk for a boat install - all wrapped up in exhaust wrap.
The fresh Air intake that goes over the heater to the outlets had a duct pipe fitted and was ran to an air intake on the starboard side - (exhaust portside) to avoid carbon monoxide getting blown into the cabin

In other words - a lot of planning and research before fitting these things whether Chinese or eber's or webasto's
The heater unit itself I got in a aluminium case and not the standard plastic

When the unit was delivered I removed the heater from the casing and found one of the hex bolts loose that held the fan area near the burn chamber (cant remember the name atm) - so all the bolts got torquered down.

As @volvopaul has said it was what he saw - and if the boat owner used the supplied gear with the CDH then yes I would be in total agreement with him.

You might think my £550 was a waste of money but I went over and beyond to protect my boat the best way possible without risk/chance.

btw it works brilliantly faultless for over 3 winters
 
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petem said:
I think Bigplumbs suffers from Dunning–Kruger effect .
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@petem - I think its more of a cost issue and getting ripped off which I totally get.
The Ebers and webastos are over priced vs the Chinese version but with the Chinese version you really have to be more vigilant where the parts are supplied and check the construction.
and I think where Boating is concerned more care and considerations are really needed as most boats are made from grp which don't take long to disappear under a flame.
I spent most of the covid lockdown going over videos and the what if's and the best way to install before buying one than just getting it and slapping it in hoping all will be well.
 
Choices, choices.
Eber / Wab, were rightly done for a price fixing cartel, and are still ridiculously expensive.
Another model has/had strong Russian connections, and is mid priced.
The various Chinese models, while very cheap, are primarily not equipped with fittings suitable for boat installation.
They probably all have component parts made cheaply in China.
 
So I don’t think BP has a boat with china heaters he sleeps on which gets covered with salt water and gets battered in a F6. It’s another world putting one in a shed. We need to put things into perspective . So please if on a boat be safe. The first thing to fit is a co2 alarm. Even n a shed.
 
Seastoke said:
So I don’t think BP has a boat with china heaters he sleeps on which gets covered with salt water and gets battered in a F6. It’s another world putting one in a shed. We need to put things into perspective . So please if on a boat be safe. The first thing to fit is a co2 alarm. Even n a shed.
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Or even a CO alarm.
 
Seastoke said:
I am starting to believe that all boats need inspection like the ones on inland waters , as who knows what boat you are moored next to , it could be plumbs .
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I think he only has them in sheds so that is unlikely to be moored next to you.
You are not permitted to install a heating system in your home, But no legislation to prevent you fitting to your coastal boat or motorhome etc.
 
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Many years ago, we were on the hard at an inland marina. To cut a long story short, the boat afloat behind us suffered a gas explosion, the owner was killed, a few of us suffered substantial damage, the liveaboard deceased had no insurance, we got f"*ked over......
 
stelican said:
I think he only has them in sheds so that is unlikely to be moored next to you.
You are not permitted to install a heating system in your home, But no legislation to prevent you fitting to your coastal boat or motorhome etc.
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You can install a full gas system except to the mains gas which then has to be done by gas safe and registered.
 
stelican said:
I think he only has them in sheds so that is unlikely to be moored next to you.
You are not permitted to install a heating system in your home, But no legislation to prevent you fitting to your coastal boat or motorhome etc.
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It doesn't matter where or what make/brand it is - it needs to meet some sort of standards from conforming parts to installation and as you say to the inland boat safety standard
 
Having watched the "Final Destination" series of films, you can't cheat death.

But you can put it off a bit.

Hence cars with 5 star safety ratings, airlines with a good safety record, no trip hazards at the top of the staircase, no hairdryers in the bath, no holidays to visit active volcanos, and a diesel heater made by Eberspacher.

Of course, this is all entirely optional and people can make their own choices - I would not criticise anyone that went on holiday to visit an active volcano.
 
colhel said:
Jeez. A new level of nastiness . I do hope that those who come here to share they're extensive knowledge and experience aren't put off from posting.
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I wouldn't say nastiness - it's one person putting his opinion to another.
Yes it's good to be passionate about something as long as it's a 2 way street with replies / opinions of others.
 
Whatever the rights and wrongs in this debate, the price of the Weberspatchers on the UK market, for whatever reason, most certainly prevented a large section of the boating world from retro installing warm air heating.
The sheer number of ex Post office D1 heaters that ended up in boats proved the demand was there.
Exactly the same risk of poor installation was present then as now but with the additional risk of an old worn out heater being poorly installed.
The "rot" really started when a company in Turkey started flogging genuine Eber stuff at a fraction of the UK selling price, even after the P&P was added
and usually got it only a few days later as well.
My first freeze n lump it boat was treated to and heated by a weedy ex PO D1 and some Turkish delight accessories from Ebay.
The next boat had an old Ardic which worked fine ......unless it was cold, this was promptly replaced with a Planar.
Present boat has a big Eber which is working fine, if and when it konks out, Eber will be nowhere to the seen on the replacement list.
Any warm air heater will most certainly extend the use of any boat throughout year.
Neglect due non use is big contributor to marine stuff expiring to soon , more use might mean less failures This is a good thing.
 
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