Diesel heater service or ignore ?

[Allergy]

I have a Dl1C Eberpacher (ex BT van) which I fitted to my Westerly (29ft) & date stamped as 1978? & fitted in 2003. I run it flat out and use a separate tank with white(road going diesel) only. Also have a CO2 detector in the saloon for safety. Only replaced the gauze & heater plug once(which was a precautionary measure).
If crew complain it's too hot, I tell them to slide the hatch back to vent some heat.
Seems to work okay.

 

[KevB]

I wouldn't service it all the time it's working. If it struggles to start at some point then I'd consider giving a service which is very simple. What I would suggest is running a gallon of paraffin through it once a year. I've seen the pictures of before and after. Apparently paraffin burns hotter than diesel and burns the soot away from the combustion chamber. I've seen first hand hot ashes being ejected through the exhaust when using paraffin.

 

[No Regrets]

Agree 100%, decent alarm should have priority on just about everything that floats that has aboard anything that can produce carbon monoxide from whatever source,you would think that regular as clockwork fatalities would be enough to scare even the most foolhardy ?
At least you can smell Propane or Butane.
Alarms a bargain at around £20.00.

£15 at Tesco, I cannot imagine any of the learned gentlemen here do not have at least one!! :encouragement:

 

[David2452]

As has been said, “invasive” service is not usually required unless a change in behaviour of the heater is noted though I do have some live aboard customers who insist on a prophylactic burner replacement evert couple of years. However, the things are not fit and forget so an inspection service every year is a good idea and it is all simple stuff apart from checking the CO & CO2. Things like checking the electrics are all “bright & tight” and sealed against moisture checking condition of exhaust components, changing fuel filter, checking fuel line joint integrity, security and integrity of ducting. This simple annual check can prevent a lot of issues with corrosion and other faults down the line. Checking the CO & CO2 is a good idea as thought it is not realised, a correctly adjusted (diesel) heater puts out a CO% at a really low level.