Eber/Chinese heater Ah usage

[NickRobinson]

Another how long is a piece of string question.
Those of you with heaters and Ah meters, what do they eat in a chilly winter 24hrs?

 

[LittleSister]

I do know that different Ebers have different running ah consumption: obviously bigger heaters more, also earlier ones hungrier. The running ah figures are published in the manuals, IIRC.

Also depends on whether it is continuous running or restarting - consumption is v. high when glow plug is on. Although this would not be a long period in the context of 24 hours, if it's going off/on every hour or two it will add up.

I very much doubt you will get figures, or at least reliable figures for the Chinese knock-offs, but the Russian built 'Autoterm Planar' brand ones have the relevant figures in the manuals available online from the UK retailers.

 

[pvb]

Depends on the make/model. Older heaters didn't have sophisticated control over fan speed, and it's the fan which consumes most of the electrical power. A higher-output heater running in "tickover" mode can use a lot less electrical power than a smaller-output heater which is struggling to keep the temperature up. Glow plug consumption is miniscule; the plug isn't on for long. Russian Planar heaters, according to their specs, use more electrical power than similar output Eberspachers. Chinese heaters - who knows!

 

[superheat6k]

Depends on the make/model. Older heaters didn't have sophisticated control over fan speed, and it's the fan which consumes most of the electrical power. A higher-output heater running in "tickover" mode can use a lot less electrical power than a smaller-output heater which is struggling to keep the temperature up. Glow plug consumption is miniscule; the plug isn't on for long. Russian Planar heaters, according to their specs, use more electrical power than similar output Eberspachers. Chinese heaters - who knows!

Outside the ECU the actual best hat use the power are pretty much the same things, so it is reasonable to assume also the AH consumption. The ECUs will draw milliamps so an insignificant usage. I do know my Chinaspacher drops down to idea with the flame still burning hence no glow plug needed. Possibly an advantage of the slightly lower output and cleaner burning kerosene is that it will require the heater to burn more steadily at low output.

If I get time next weekend happy to do some measurements of my "Chinese knock off", although pulling the shafts is my clear priority, and this is going to be a pig of a job !!!

(so its Chinese as opposed to Russian (well I'm no fan of Mr Corbyn) or German (I'm no fan of price fixing either !) - what is it about a device that has proven itself successful and offers decent value for money that causes so much offence on here ?).

 

[vyv_cox]

Last year Autoterm Planar ran a 2 kW diesel heater constantly from a 70 amp/hr battery with a 7 litre fuel tank. It ran for 56 hours. Video on the Autoterm FB page.

Update - it failed on the battery with a very small amount of fuel remaining. The battery was off the shelf at Halfords, assumed to be fully charged but not checked.

 

[Poey50]

It also depends on where the air intake is positioned. Our 2kw Planar recirculates air drawn from the foot of the quarter-berth (Sadler 32) so, with the assistance of thermostat control, it is less demanding of power and fuel than one constantly drawing in cold air. In theory this should increase condensation (as it does in a car) but in practice the constantly open vents in the boat stop this from being a problem. For our size of boat I have found the 2kw unit to be surprisingly quiet, economical and - above all - toasty.

 

[NormanS]

It also depends on where the air intake is positioned. Our 2kw Planar recirculates air drawn from the foot of the quarter-berth (Sadler 32) so, with the assistance of thermostat control, it is less demanding of power and fuel than one constantly drawing in cold air. In theory this should increase condensation (as it does in a car) but in practice the constantly open vents in the boat stop this from being a problem. For our size of boat I have found the 2kw unit to be surprisingly quiet, economical and - above all - toasty.

My Eberspacher is similarly installed. It's only the heated air which is recirculated. The air for combustion finds its way in through normal ventilators and goes out as exhaust, so there is always fresh air being drawn in. It was on all last week, with the temperature on or about 0°C, and once it got the boat up to 20°C or so, it was on tickover most of the time. There was no condensation. In cold conditions, it seems crazy to take the heated air from outside. It's a circulating system, similar to any domestic central heating system.

 

[Rappey]

I have a chinese 5 kw that has ran around 350 hrs now. Brilliant bit of kit. On startup it uses 9.2a (extra amps for glowplug) . Running full power is 4.2a and when boat is toasty and it goes on low its a whole 0.2a.