Diesel Heating

exfinnsailor

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Any Ideas . New Beneteau . 10m . Which is best . Lots to choose from . Would like to be warm and not just tepid . Could do with one outlet in the cabin and one in the heads . Be nice to have DRY kit to put on . Budget limited due to Mortgage on new boat .. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Where are you and whats your sailing season? Makes a big difference to the size heater you need 1.5 - 2kw for a 'chilly evening 5Kw+ for full winter heater. How do you feel about complex systems that need good battery volts to start but run on a thermostat like house central heating compared to simple nateral draft thats ?more reliable and needs no amps but less controlable. Do you also want it to heat the water?
Natural draft stoves are cheap, simple and reliable. Add coil & pump for radiator and hot water if reqired. Dont come in small sizes
Forced air (eber etc) systems are much more expensive per Kw, more complex and take large start currents which can couse start problems if batteries are a bit down. More expensive to maintan. But come in all sizes and work on a house type thermastat and start automatically. Also can be tucked away so eisier to find space. If you want water as well again only available in larger sizes
 
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Webasto not Eber and for a 10m 3500 not 2000. Put vents in evry space!

[/ QUOTE ]We have a new Eber and its never let us down. Does what it says on the box - but it was installed EXACTLY as per the instructions.

As I have said before - a lot of unreliable reports about ebers are from the huge numbers that are sold second hand out of scrap vehicles. No wonder they get a bad name.

The new prices are all within a gnats whisker of each other when you start bargaining.
 
First thing to do...

First thing to do is download this Marine Heater Installation Guide from Eberspacher. It's an excellent publication, and tells you everything you need to know about fitting a heater. Eberspachers are very reliable if properly installed - but lots of second-hand ones aren't properly installed. Mine is 17 years old, and works fine.
 
If you can fit radiators, much better than hot air and you get hot water.Radiators available in smaller high output types and connecting pipes are much smaller and if use plastic are easy to install.
 
I have bought and sold about 10 2.2kw heaters rescued from vans. They have all started first time and on examination most have had very little use. Dealers often buy vans from BT and others at just a few years old and strip out the heaters before selling the vans on.
These heaters can be bought quite cheaply, the eber installation requirements are easy to follow and most competant DIYers should be able to produce a good working installation.
I still like the idea of using the water heating ebers ( The D5 would be suitable for this yacht. An installation using engine heated water when available and incorporating a hot water califorier would be great. You could use 'ordinary' radiators in the heads but possibly use a matrix and fan at low level in the saloon to get that loverly warm air round the tootsies.
I think that the eber vs webasto debate is going to go on... and on.....more and more hot air??
 
Don't forget it's not just about the heat output, it's about the noise, the reliability, the electrical consumption, the spares availability and so on. Lots of factors to consider.

Remember that diesel heaters need to work hard to be reliable, otherwise they'll coke up.
 
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