Eberspacher D3LC vs Chinese brand vs Planar Russian ( Latvian)

[UK-WOOZY]

so i can use kerosene with the Planar 4D i ordered? Can i Use diesel first before i receive any kerosene and then change from diesel to kerosene

 

[PaulRainbow]

so i can use kerosene with the Planar 4D i ordered? Can i Use diesel first before i receive any kerosene and then change from diesel to kerosene

Not according to post #74

I would not fit a separate tank, i'd run it from the main tank, unless you have a good reason for not doing so. It'll get tedious pretty quickly fetching fuel for the heater.

 

[vyv_cox]

so i can use kerosene with the Planar 4D i ordered? Can i Use diesel first before i receive any kerosene and then change from diesel to kerosene

No. Only diesel. Kerosene will lead to overheating and irreparable damage

 

[snowbird30ds]

No. Only diesel. Kerosene will lead to overheating and irreparable damage

Do they not have an overheat sensor that cuts the unit then?

 

[vyv_cox]

Do they not have an overheat sensor that cuts the unit then?

I would think so but I am not an expert, only repeating what I was told a long time ago.

Edit: yes, all in the installation manual on the website. The heater shuts down on overheat. It also states that only diesel fuel can be used, not bio.

 

[ChromeDome]

It has been reported on here, by a marine electrician that i know, that (as a test in the workshop) covered up the air intake and the heater got so hot the casing melted. There should be a safety cut out to stop that happening, obviously.

The Chinese heaters I've had in hand all had a thermo sensor and all reported it ON by an icon and the °C value to the display.

About so:


If is was defective, not fitted right or tampered with, it of course would't work

 

[NormanS]

I would think so but I am not an expert, only repeating what I was told a long time ago.

Edit: yes, all in the installation manual on the website. The heater shuts down on overheat. It also states that only diesel fuel can be used, not bio.

So far, all my personal experience of this type of heater has been with Eberspachers. My present one runs exclusively on kerosene, approximately 100 litres per annum, and has done for several years now. I have a 20 litre separate tank for it, but with a two-way cock, so that if I wanted, I could revert to diesel from one of my main tanks.
Kerosene is about half the price of red diesel.

 

[NormanS]

Not according to post #74

I would not fit a separate tank, i'd run it from the main tank, unless you have a good reason for not doing so. It'll get tedious pretty quickly fetching fuel for the heater.

My heater is an Eberspacher. It uses exclusively kerosene from a separate tank. I haven't found it tedious.

 

[bergie]

The Chinese heaters I've had in hand all had a thermo sensor and all reported it ON by an icon and the °C value to the display.

About so:
View attachment 168088

View attachment 168090 If is was defective, not fitted right or tampered with, it of course would't work

Isn’t the C value the temperature measured by the sensor in the control unit (so, your “room temperature”)? That’s the one used for the thermostat. The heater temperature is generally reported by the bars (in your picture, two blue, one green) in the heater icon. Not sure if there was a place to also see it in numbers.

 

[ChromeDome]

My heater is an Eberspacher. It uses exclusively kerosene from a separate tank. I haven't found it tedious.

In

you'll see


So when Planar states Diesel only, you've found one difference between the two.

Note however, that EL is not kerosene.

 

[ChromeDome]

Isn’t the C value the temperature measured by the sensor in the control unit (so, your “room temperature”)? That’s the one used for the thermostat. The heater temperature is generally reported by the bars (in your picture, two blue, one green) in the heater icon. Not sure if there was a place to also see it in numbers.

No. The Display shows the room temperature (measured at the display itself), the heat exchanger temperature as measured by the sensor and the user set (desired) temperature.

The bars show which of the heating steps (1 to 5 or 6) it is running at. Manually (showing a P or H value, automatically by showing °C.)
Manual/automatic modes can be selected by a button on the display.

 

[PaulRainbow]

The Chinese heaters I've had in hand all had a thermo sensor and all reported it ON by an icon and the °C value to the display.

About so:
View attachment 168088

View attachment 168090 If is was defective, not fitted right or tampered with, it of course would't work

Or, if it was the same quality of the fittings and general construction, it might not work either

 

[PaulRainbow]

My heater is an Eberspacher. It uses exclusively kerosene from a separate tank. I haven't found it tedious.

I would find it very tedious having to source and carry an additional fuel onboard, whether it was in a separate tank or not, especially when we uses hundreds of litres of heating diesel over Winter and our main tanks hold 1500 litres

I take your point in another post, where you say you only use 100 litres a year, so much less hassle.

But, if the OP is going to run his Planar on diesel, there's not much reason to fit an extra tank ?

 

[PaulRainbow]

So far, all my personal experience of this type of heater has been with Eberspachers. My present one runs exclusively on kerosene, approximately 100 litres per annum, and has done for several years now. I have a 20 litre separate tank for it, but with a two-way cock, so that if I wanted, I could revert to diesel from one of my main tanks.
Kerosene is about half the price of red diesel.

Red diesel at the "non propulsion" rate is about 99p a litre. How much is kerosene ? 70p ?

 

[NormanS]

I would find it very tedious having to source and carry an additional fuel onboard, whether it was in a separate tank or not, especially when we uses hundreds of litres of heating diesel over Winter and our main tanks hold 1500 litres

I take your point in another post, where you say you only use 100 litres a year, so much less hassle.

But, if the OP is going to run his Planar on diesel, there's not much reason to fit an extra tank ?

I'm not suggesting that anyone fits a separate tank. Everyone is free to do whatever suits them. As an amateur boater (now), I don't find anything to be done on my boat to be tedious. I sail for pleasure.
I take your point about the relative prices of diesel/kerosene, but it's still cheaper. The reason that I started to use kero, was that the previous high sulphur diesel caused all sorts of problems with a buildup of "something" on the burner tube. Using kero solved that problem.

 

[ChromeDome]

I'm certain you noted that I plead for people to make informed decisions.
I personally do not care if they go for A or B and haven't purchased any myself since late 90's. Two Webasto 2kW in my boat and they work fine, despite not being the latest version.

But when fellow boaters, friends or family ask for a helping hand I'll help. A dozen so far, mainly to remedy the lousy instructions (if any) and clear up misunderstandings. Correcting installations, checking and sometimes running their heaters on a bench while explaining what is going on.

Some of the people being helped speak Danish only, so just understanding information on the interweb etc. can be a challenge.

 

[Nauti Fox]

There is now a book recommended by David McLuckie.

Amazon.co.uk

 

[vyv_cox]

There is now a book recommended by David McLuckie.

Amazon.co.uk

How bizarre. There cannot be many items of kit for boats that requires us to purchase a third party book in order to operate it safely. The manuals that come with Eberspacher, Autoterm, Webasto, etc. are perfectly adequate.

I cannot blame the author for fulfilling a clear need but these things are clearly not 'plug and play'.

 

[Elessar]

Autoterm have not been convicted of price fixing either and I you get what you pay for In heaters as well. The cost of warranties, customer support, training dealerships, attending shows, running websites with technical info and the high cost of all the certifications required to make a decent well supported and proven safe product is expensive to maintain. Which is why most chinese heater sellers don't bother with it. You get what you pay for.

Agree with all of that. The Chinese ones are so cheap though you can buy entire heaters as spares so I can live without the backup. They are dangerous if poorly installed and without instructions etc or backup that is a real risk. I’m happy with them though and have run them for years.

 

[Sandy]

How bizarre. There cannot be many items of kit for boats that requires us to purchase a third party book in order to operate it safely. The manuals that come with Eberspacher, Autoterm, Webasto, etc. are perfectly adequate.

I cannot blame the author for fulfilling a clear need but these things are clearly not 'plug and play'.

I've spent my working life reading academic papers that have usually been subjected to translation via Google through at least two languages. The booklet that comes with a Chinese Heater appears to have undergone the same fate.

Think of the book as 'Chinese Heaters For Dummies'. You can install the heaters from the instructions provided, but it takes a few goes to work out what they are saying. If my copy is about I'll send over some pictures.