Diesel heater recommendation

carrswood

carrswood

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Hi All

First of all, will a single outlet diesel heater (ie the smaller Kw versions from Eber, Webasto etc) be enough output for my Pioneer 10? (approx Contessa 32accom volume)

then, which manufacturer do I plug for?

1) Webasto Air top 2000ST
2) Mikuni MYH16
3) Eberspacher airtronic D2
4) Wallas 30DT
5) other ....

cheers guys:)
 
Should be sufficient. As for make, you'll find vehement fans of every make - just like with anchors! The reality is that any heater will be good and reliable if, and only if, it's properly installed. Follow the instructions to the letter, and it should be free of problems.
 
carrswood said:
Hi All

First of all, will a single outlet diesel heater (ie the smaller Kw versions from Eber, Webasto etc) be enough output for my Pioneer 10? (approx Contessa 32accom volume)

then, which manufacturer do I plug for?

1) Webasto Air top 2000ST
2) Mikuni MYH16
3) Eberspacher airtronic D2
4) Wallas 30DT
5) other ....

cheers guys:)
Click to expand...

Don't know about any of them but on my Pioneer 10 I have a Taylors drip fed diesel heater on the portside saloon bulkhead (with the tank situated on the other side in the heads).

It is fab. Great heat, uses no power, silent, just a few minutes to get going and looks lovely.

p.s You can see it in one of the photos in this link:

http://www.internautica.de/lysander/
 
Last edited:
Find out which comapny has the cheaper parts for repair. The webasto we have is simple and works most of the time but parts are draw dropping expensive. So maybe some research into the parts cost list might be worth while too.
 
As an approved, factory trained agent for three of those and encountering them on a day to day basis I can honestly say all have their merits and all will perform and be equally reliable if installed correctly and given decent fuel to burn. As has been said, install to the letter as per the manual. Two things you will however be unlikely to do is an important part of the install and that is checking the exhaust CO2 % and the actual temperature of the supplied warm air so get your local agent to check it for you. The reason is quite simple, like tuning an old carburettor equipped motor it confirms the burn rate is as it should be, too rich and you will experience premature coking, reduced glowplug life and reduced heat, too lean and the unit will overheat and or be difficult to start and also reduced glowplug life. If you are looking for something inexpensive with no loss of reliability and cheap parts, if a little agricultural then a Mikuni is probably for you, downside is scarcity of local agents. If you require more sophistication in control etc then a Webo is probably more appropriate, downside is cost if you buy the correct unit and not a vehicle designed model. Wallas are quiet and efficient if you require shorter duct runs, battery life is improved when used for long periods but can actually be more than the others if frequent starts are the norm, you are not comparing apples with apples however, the Wallas 22DT coastal kit is more in line with the others you quote, downside is again price and a dislike of running when heeled due to the horizontal evaporator tray.
 
We have an old Webasto, which is somewhere around 18 years old (been in our ownership for the last 5). I gave it a strip down and check recently which involved new seals and gaskets (pricey) and a new filter on the fuel pump. It runs brilliantly, pumping out 80C air. I got my local boiler engineer to test the CO2 content of the exhaust and even after all this time it is still within spec.

Anyone know what the expected air temp out of an Airtop HL24 should be?
 
carrswood said:
Hi All

First of all, will a single outlet diesel heater (ie the smaller Kw versions from Eber, Webasto etc) be enough output for my Pioneer 10? (approx Contessa 32accom volume)

then, which manufacturer do I plug for?

1) Webasto Air top 2000ST
2) Mikuni MYH16
3) Eberspacher airtronic D2
4) Wallas 30DT
5) other ....

cheers guys:)
Click to expand...


Mikuni MY30 ;)
it comes with a thermostat too.
i had a ebersplutter DL1 on my Co32, it was rubbish,cost a fortune when it went wrong, not enough heat on a cold day
 
Keith-i said:
Anyone know what the expected air temp out of an Airtop HL24 should be?
Click to expand...

Measure about 6” from the heater in the centre of the duct with a probe, about 110° is acceptable at full burn after about two minutes, anything over 125° is cause for concern, overheat shut downon these older models is 170° <> 9°, but that is inside the heat exchanger. I have the full workshop manual in PDF format if you PM me an email address. You are very lucky to find parts for them now outside a few gaskets and glowplugs.
 
I would strongly suggest that you put in more than one outlet. This allows a much better spread of heat and the air can get out of the trunking much more easily. I added two extra outlets in the saloon of my boat and it was like having a much bigger heater. You can often find outlets and trunking secondhand so get the one outlet kit and upgrade it yourself.
 
David2452 said:
As an approved, factory trained agent for three of those and encountering them on a day to day basis I can honestly say all have their merits and all will perform and be equally reliable if installed correctly and given decent fuel to burn. As has been said, install to the letter as per the manual. Two things you will however be unlikely to do is an important part of the install and that is checking the exhaust CO2 % and the actual temperature of the supplied warm air so get your local agent to check it for you. The reason is quite simple, like tuning an old carburettor equipped motor it confirms the burn rate is as it should be, too rich and you will experience premature coking, reduced glowplug life and reduced heat, too lean and the unit will overheat and or be difficult to start and also reduced glowplug life. If you are looking for something inexpensive with no loss of reliability and cheap parts, if a little agricultural then a Mikuni is probably for you, downside is scarcity of local agents. If you require more sophistication in control etc then a Webo is probably more appropriate, downside is cost if you buy the correct unit and not a vehicle designed model. Wallas are quiet and efficient if you require shorter duct runs, battery life is improved when used for long periods but can actually be more than the others if frequent starts are the norm, you are not comparing apples with apples however, the Wallas 22DT coastal kit is more in line with the others you quote, downside is again price and a dislike of running when heeled due to the horizontal evaporator tray.
Click to expand...

David,

I have a D3LC which became faulty at the end of the winter and I haven't bothered to attempt a fix yet as I'm thinking of replacing it. The unit is fifteen years old and I see that the manual says that the heat exchanger MUST be changed after ten years. That being the case maybe a swap out is best. Or do you think a repair worthwhile and ignore the ten year rule? (The fault is a refusal to ignite and a constant flashing of the LED on the thermostat).

I currently plan to see what deals are available as the forthcoming show.

Any thoughts?

Rob
 
All manufacturers state that the heat exchanger is renewed every ten years due to possible porosity suffocating sleeping occupants and though it’s a belt and braces thing I would not publicly go against that statement for the same reason. Cue loads of people with ten year plus heaters that have never changed the exchanger and all is still OK, a bit like changing a VP shaft seal at five years, plenty don’t but I doubt any pro would advise otherwise publicly.
 
David2452 said:
I have the full workshop manual in PDF format if you PM me an email address. You are very lucky to find parts for them now outside a few gaskets and glowplugs.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the offer. Webasto kindly sent me PDF copies of the installation and workshop manuals a little while ago. They weren't the best scans, but certainly helped. I did have to draw my own wiring schematic as none of the standard layouts matched the manual stat and operating switch that we have. Our switch allows fan only as well as heat which doesn't get a mention anywhere in the documentation.
 
After lots of reading on here I fitted a Webasto AT2000 last year with two outlets, it's a vehicle model and came from e bay. Turns out to be a perfect size for our Moody 31. Took 2.5 days mainly because I needed to laminate a piece of plywood to the hull to mount it on. Also fitted some of the insulation to the hot air pipe (but not the first metre). This made a huge difference to the temperature, before it was warm, now with the insulation hot.

You will need a selection of good tank cutters and I used one plus a dremel to cut the exhaust outlet hole in the hull.

Pete
 
If your anywhere near portsmouth and want me to have a listen and advise you, i've become a bit of an expert on the D3l model of heater and the d3lc is very similar, they just seem to have integrated the electronics into it and made it slightly smaller and more efficient, as a liveaboard, i need my heating working perfectly so know every single moving part on mine now and how it all works and how to fix it, i even have 2 complete spare heaters just in case mine fails mid winter !
 
Lots of good advice here already especially from David2452 so not much to add, but I have a Pioneer 10 so thought my input may be of interest.
I replaced the very old Webasto (couldn't get parts) with an Airtronic D2 and find it's output to be quite sufficient. I was able to use the original bracket and ducting.
The inlet is led to a vent in the cockpit which I think is important - I've worked on a few boats which re-circulate the cabin air, which makes me uncomfortable.
One big advantage of the Eberspacher is they're highly available, so much easier to get if you're on a budget. Mine had been someone's spare that they never used; it had originally come from a BT van! Obviously you take your chance buying SH from ebay and I wouldn't recommmend it for everyone, but mine looked like new and has been very reliable.
I agree with the comment that extra outlets can significantly improve the performance of these systems but I find the single outlet to be OK on the Pioneer 10.
Good to see other Pioneer 10 owners on here BTW - I love mine, we must get a register or something going one of these days.
R
 
My extremely old eberspacher that came out of an old BT van lasted me for 10 years and never serviced! It finally died last year when the fan bearings went and i replaced it with a hot water system which is much better if you can do that. So Eber is as reliable as you like.
A friend had a Mukini and had problems straight away. He was told by the agent that is not designed to be used that much!!!
Good luck
 
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