Diesel heater

[Hunterlees]

Sorry, wasn't clear.

Is there actually any performance difference between branded 5 kw and 8 kw heaters or is just a way to say they operate in two steps (hi/lo like the )?

There really is no such thing thing as an 8kw chinaspacher. Based on the max fuel consumption at around 0.5ltr/hr, and the calorific value of diesel the max output of the larger heaters branded 5-8kw is actually about 4.5kw of usable heat. False advertising!

 

[Minchsailor]

go to these guys, planar...

I bought one of their 8 Kw heaters nearly 4 years ago, excellent bit of kit, and fully supported in the uk.

happy customer, no connection etc

+1 for Planar. Replaced an unreliable 4kW Eber. Almost a 'plug and play' job. Uses less leccy, is quieter and controls better. 2kW will be plenty for your boat.

 

[[70521]]

The instructions (why don't the Chinese employ English speakers for translation?)

To entertain retired Scottish engineers like me. ?

My instruction 'manual' has caused many an hour of the giggles.

 

[wingcommander]

Its also pot luck which you get when ordering a Chinese heater. I bought a 2kw heater circa 2years ago . Fitted in garage to test, then transferred to boat only one outlet 27 ft boat .Run it on high for 30 min then down to tickover , last 10min back to high to keep from coking up. . Really pleased with it , so decided ti order another identical for garage/ spare etc .. New one arrives, its a 5kw model. Bigger case and larger diameter warm air connection. Much more powerful fan and obviously greater heat output. So I will be keeping this for the man shed. I now have the dilemma of still wanting a spare 2kw heater as a boat backup just incase , but reluctant to order . The one fitted in the boat has run faultlessly.
Both cost less than 100.00 each . Yes I did sling the exhaust/silencer cheap jubilee clips.etc . Also had to purchase a skin fitting 32.00 dabs. Proper exhaust and a CO detector

 

[Tim Good]

Forget the Webastos and forget the cheapo chinese ones. Go Planar or now they're called Autoterm.

www.autoterm.store

It's run by Owen Cox... yes the son of the very well respected Vyv Cox on this forum and writer for PBO.

The Planars / Autoterms are not much more expensive than the Chinese ones but they solid, reliable and most importantly, the spares are reasonably prices.

I have a webasto but when we go to Svalbard I'll be swapping it out for an Autoterm.

 

[superheat6k]

I bought a heater in November for £92, its came fully CE marked and is a decent bit of kit. So far it has started first time very time.

It was also a perfect match fit for the Eber D4 it replaced.

Looking just now they have now seemingly increased to ~ £160 - 170 so they are obviously popular presently. Wish I had bought several.

 

[penfold]

The instructions (why don't the Chinese employ English speakers for translation?) declare their heaters are pretty indifferent to attitude. I have tried mine every which way without problems.
For me it fits better vertical.

Interesting - I'm sure mine said had to be horizontal with exhaust and air intake pointing downwards. Almost the only installation instructions. Several pages of barely intelligible instructions on the LCD display.

I suspect the orientation is for clearance of condensation; if mounted conventionally there's no risk of water getting where it ought not be, whereas they cannot state that for more exotic attitudes. Given the fuel is pumped at pressure from a remotely mounted pump and the combustion is forced draft mounting vertically may be fine in practice. At your own risk naturally.

 

[ylop]

I bought a heater in November for £92, its came fully CE marked and is a decent bit of kit. So far it has started first time very time.

It was also a perfect match fit for the Eber D4 it replaced.

Looking just now they have now seemingly increased to ~ £160 - 170 so they are obviously popular presently. Wish I had bought several.

There’s a supply/demand issue that pushed the price up because some import checks identified that (at least some of) the CE marks/paperwork /documentation was not up to scratch. It’s very easy to put a CE mark (or the new UKCA mark) on a product. That doesn’t mean it actually conforms to the requirements.

 

[ChromeDome]

The CE marking is the manufacturer's declaration that the product conforms to the requirements of the directives and standards. The CE marking is not a certification or approval, but a mark of compliance with certain safety, health and environmental requirements in the relevant product area.

It means that the manufacturer is saying, by heart, bible or otherwise, that the product conforms to the requirements or directives laid down by the EU.
There is no mandatory auditing or accreditation, so validation is random or suspicion-based.

 

[Spirit (of Glenans)]

The instructions (why don't the Chinese employ English speakers for translation?)

If, and when, I purchase a Chinaspacher, I will look up the Eberbasto instructions online, as an aid to interpretation of the Chinglish instructions.

 

[Mudisox]

Youtube has a number of videos of the remote control use, in english [or at least USA speak] Just fitted my replacement for a webasto [quoted repair was £575 !]
See my "for sale" for the old body/ bits.
Used the old exhaust and ducting with ease. Much warmer and so far so good.

 

[oldgit]

Price sounds like repair of the old, not a new heater installed?

Sorry ...yes that was a repair only !
........and the repaired Eberspacher did stop working the following day but some "fiddling" by the owner did got it restarted again.

Regards the chinaspacher ,once you have primed the heater with fuel and bled the feed pipe ( takes ages) and set the operating temp on the wall mounted control, the heater can simply be turned on and off using the simple ON/OFF button on the supplied remote control.
If you have the money the Planar is the way to go, have fitted both.
Whichever you go for, a heater will help you and and crew to use the boat more.

 

[steveeasy]

Ive known people fit them without a silencer. Not sure if the noise is too much different. just about to fit mine without such so ill find out. The exhaust pipe that comes with chinese heaters needs binning as do the hose clips.

Steveeasy

 

[PaulRainbow]

The instructions (why don't the Chinese employ English speakers for translation?) declare their heaters are pretty indifferent to attitude. I have tried mine every which way without problems.
For me it fits better vertical.

Pretty sure everyone else says not to fit vertically.

Ive known people fit them without a silencer. Not sure if the noise is too much different. just about to fit mine without such so ill find out. The exhaust pipe that comes with chinese heaters needs binning as do the hose clips.

Steveeasy

I have two Webastos fitted to my boat, no silencers, very quiet.

Replaced an old Webasto with a new Planar for a customer last week, the exhaust was in a really awkward space, no room for a silencer, so i fitted it without. Also very quiet. The fuel pumps on the Planars are also very, very quiet.

 

[oldgit]

Fitted a 2K Planar with the supplied silencer to my old P35 in place of my old Eber D2 .Eber always worked perfectly when the weather was warm and only ever played up when you needed it.
The exhaust on the P35 came out at the transom and boy you could you hear the roar.

The replacement Planar with its silencer was whisper quiet, needed to get real close to the hull fitting to confirm it was actually going.
The new boat has Eber D4 with the exhaust exiting half way along the portside.
Lets just say anybody unfortunate enough to be on that side if rafting will not be getting much sleep.
If the D4 goes phut will have the dilemma of either buying another Eber D4 or 14 Chinaspachers with all the kit for the same amount of money ?

 

[dukeofted]

I always wondered if you could slip on the silencer externally (plug it in the through hull) just when you are in a marina to quiet it down. Wouldn't matter if it leaked as it is external anyway. They aren't massively loud without the silencer but the silencer does make a big difference.

 

[wingcommander]

Sorry ...yes that was a repair only !
........and the repaired Eberspacher did stop working the following day but some "fiddling" by the owner did got it restarted again.

Regards the chinaspacher ,once you have primed the heater with fuel and bled the feed pipe ( takes ages) and set the operating temp on the wall mounted control, the heater can simply be turned on and off using the simple ON/OFF button on the supplied remote control.
If you have the money the Planar is the way to go, have fitted both.
Whichever you go for, a heater will help you and and crew to use the boat more.

Always try to fill as much of the fuel pipe and filter with a small syringe prior to initial switch on . These tiny little fuel pumps are lubricated with the fuel , so excessive dry running will result in premature expiration......then its all over.

 

[Hot Property]

Very much so. An exhaust is about £120, I made my own bracket. As I don’t use diesel other than this, I swapped the tank that came with it for one I could fit into the space available, the supplied tank was about 40cm square, and flat. I checked the dimensions of the heater, didn’t think about the tank?

Actually a UK manufactured quality exhaust is available. I bought one to replace the supplied pressed steel one which is for external use only.

£38.50 plus p&p.

Worked a treat!

24MM MARINE EXHAUST SILENCER MUFFLER STAINLESS EBERSPACHER DIESEL HEATER

 

[DinghyMan]

The CE marking is the manufacturer's declaration that the product conforms to the requirements of the directives and standards. The CE marking is not a certification or approval, but a mark of compliance with certain safety, health and environmental requirements in the relevant product area.

It means that the manufacturer is saying, by heart, bible or otherwise, that the product conforms to the requirements or directives laid down by the EU.
There is no mandatory auditing or accreditation, so validation is random or suspicion-based.

Unfortunately there are two "CE" markings: The EU CE one and "China Export" - they are not the same

CE marking and the Chinese Export logo | CE Marking Association

How to distinguish CE Marking symbol vs China Export symbol? — ADA

 

[LittleSister]

They aren't massively loud without the silencer but the silencer does make a big difference.

We had the misfortune once to be berthed for the winter with a boat on the opposite marina pontoon behind us with an unsilenced diesel heater, outlet facing us. We never saw the occupants aboard the whole time we were there, but the heater appeared to be on a timer and made a not especially loud but very penetrating, irritating and intrusive constant roar/whine whenever it was on. Especially noticeable in the evenings/nights. Decidedly antisocial.