I have exactly the same problem. I had a D5 Eber before which lasted 20 years and never seemed to do anything other than full chat. The planar seems very sensitive to warming of the intake air for the burner and also any restriction to inflow or outflow of the heating air and it does as you say. Full power for about 5 to 10 minutes then down to tick over and then cycles back up to full power and repeats. it’s in a lazarette and opening the lid helps considerably which I take to be access to more air and colder air. It hasn’t done a winter yet. Will be interesting to see how it does in cold weather.
Yep, been there. I set it to 30. Seems to do best when set to work by power (last option on the menu). 18 degrees seems to be the max I can get the controller to read.
I too am suffering the same issues with my Planar. Will watch this thread with interest.
Have a look at what temperature the actual unit is reaching (I think down arrow while it is running brings up a schematic to show it). They are designed to throttle down when the unit reaches within a degree or so of the set max temperature. I just get the sense the whole thing is fussier than older eber. There’s three of us now seeing the same thing so doubt a dodgy controller unless it’s a bad batch. My unit was installed around spring this year by their recommended installer who I definitely trust.
Hi, it does indeed sound like overheating in these cases. Let me explain how it works.
I suspect ducting problem as stated below. Please read my reply to stuart wineberg. It wont be the controller at fault. Its unfortunately an installation issue I am sure.
Unfortunately the only way to see the heat exchanger temperature is with our diagnostics kit and a laptop. This shows you exactly. The reading you see on the display is a separate sensor mounted on the circuit board inside which more or less measures the inlet air temperature to the heater.
Thanks Owen. What I dont get is that this is a drop in replacement for a D5. Same ducting, same location and in fact better ventilation due to a new air duct and removing the boxing that was round the eber. So that was pumping more heat and never blinked for 20yrs.
What diameter is the ducting? I have seen Eners running 75mm ducting and then that being adapted to fit an autoterm and then they never work well. It has to be a smooth 90mm all tge way to the first grille. Then it will run for many many years. We only ever have problems in yachts witg this issue where old ducting has been used or the transition pieces, grilles, Ys etc. Restrict flow. Perhaps you can do a sketch of your dicting sizes and layout but also if you do as i say and disconnect the ducting from the heater you will see if the heater then runs consistently. [Deleted quoted content removed]
Hi Owen, I'll switch to PM now as its getting very specific to my boat. We can come back to the main forum with a conclusion but I dont want to damage the reputation of your excellent fitters until we know exactly the outcome
Nearly makes sense except all yachts buying from waterside distributors use certified FAME free red diesel. I reckon we have turned over the entire tank once this season (done 400 sea miles, not all motoring of course). Certainly worth trying the fresh fuel test.
Back to the original controversy in this thread, I would tend to leave the first section of ducting uninsulated to stop the heater getting to hot, but I may be shot down for that thought. Certainly worth a try. The first length on mine is uninsulated and I do have the problem as we know. Also notice your air intake is quite close to an uninsulated piece of exhaust - might be pulling in quite hot air
This may seem like a silly question but ive seen it twice recently. The Y pieces (if they are the ones we supply ) have had the 60 and 75 mm reducer sections cut off on the 90mm section have they? That bend is not ideal but I would be surprised if it was causing an issue. As i say easy way to find out is undo the jubilee clip and remove the duct and then run the heater. Drawing air from outside is not advisable as it brings salty air into the heater which is not ideal. I would recirculate it to the cabin. If you need ventilation for drying just open the hatch.
They say now that shelf life for diesel is about 6 weeks. Turning over the tank once in a season is not going to guarantee good quality diesel. Its more about vented tanks allowing the lighter elements to evaporate that is the issue on yachts. That’s what causes the flame temperature innthe heater to drop. Ive seen them do as you deacribe with temperatures at the heat exchanger of only around 140C at full power. I coukd tell immediately by putting my hand in front of the vent that it was not burning correctly. I ran the same heater on fresh clean diesel and it was back up to 200C as soon as the clean fuel reached the burner. Try ducting first (for the other posters) and then try the fresh diesel. In the case of an Eberspacher it would have just shut down instead of staying running.