eberspacher heating

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neily

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I have bought a D2 eberspacher heater for my princess 32 but have been left confused by conflicting advice. I've got the basic kit and have already ordered the extra ducting, Y piece, copper fuel line, exhaust pipe & lagging, skin fitting, joiners and an elbow. I didn't order a T piece to join to the fuel line because i was told on a boat you should either come straight from the fuel tank or the fuel filter. I then phoned boat safety scheme to check if there were any do's or dont's prior to fitting. He then said i needed a marine kit which was not expensive and had all the parts I needed. I looked on the internet - i cannot actually gather what is in this marine kit so that i dont double up on what i've bought.

Can anyone help me - i'm a bit confused - i thought i already had everything i needed.
 
Normally you have a fuel pick up from the tank. a hole is drilled in the tank and you insert a stack pipe, but beware of getting swarf in the tank. There's a couple on ebay at the moment. There's a posh one here also !

Or some people use a separate tank and run the eber of white diesel. they seem to work better with white cleaner diesel.
 
The standard automotive kit comes with a plactic fuel translucent fuel pipe. This is not acceptable for BSS and will need to be copper piping of the same bore (around 3mm). Remember you cant use a plastic fuel filter either.

Mike
 
on an eber the fuel filter is incorporated in the fuel lift pump. A small gauze which can be cleaned ! so no need for a plastic fuel filter.
 
Thanks for info so far!
Are there any pipes i have to change - or anything else - to make the standard automotive kit suitable for marine - apart from the copper fuel line?
Also been told need diesel fuel isolator switch. BSS said needed to change metal pipe to a rubber one because of vibration - would this b e the combustion air intake hose because in the kit i've got it is metal. And does anything have to be of a certain BSS standard?

So many questions!
 
from my experience most marine ebers have plastic fuel line connected to the automotive rubber braded stuff. But expect i will get a slap on the wrist from ocean 42 being a boat safety examiner. I don't think i would worry unless it was for a charter boat /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif this is how my D5 is set up
 
Slap Slap

Most boats do have the plastic fuel pipe, I am only following the rules!!!!!!

Yes it should be copper pipe with small sections of iso7840 rubber hose for the joins. A fuel stop cock should also be fitted in line and a label indicating where the stop cock is.
Mike
 
Hi

Done quite a lot of research on this myself as I've just installed a D2 on my boat, which was an ex BT van unit off ebay. Don't let the thieves from Eberspacher fill you with nonsense about the marine versions of the heater being different ratings and more suitable to marine environment etc. It's to scare you into buying a brand spanker off them for £1000+ instead of an ex road vehicle bargain for £250ish
which they are only too aware (and rather miffed) that there are an abundance of on the second hand market. Just check on ebay.

The difference between a vehicle installation and a marine installation is, for most of us, the need to satisfy the BSS regulations. Put "Boat Safety Scheme" into Google and you will find all the info you need. You can down load the whole lot (BSS regs) from the net free of charge, so long as you have Adobe installed. There is a section in there on heating appliances.

What you will not get away with under a BSS examination, is plastic fuel lines, non insulated exhaust pipes, cheap run of the mill skin fittings for exhaust outlets (unless you have a metal hull) and dodgey wiring. You must use metal fuel pipe (mild steel ok for diesel, not for petrol) but 4mm copper is the recommended norm for Ebers, cheap as chips and a doddle to work with. You can get it from ASAP supplies or any motor factors. You must not use soldered connections - an absolute no no on boats. The BSS recommendation is to use compression fittings, but if you study the regs, they state that flexible fuel lines should be kept to a minimum (i.e - to allow for movement). The BSS suggestion for Eber installation is to use copper throughout, with compression fittings on joints and to allow for movement by introducing coils in the fuel pipe at points where movement may occur. But I know of several folks who have used rubber connections at unions between components of the system and passed BSS exam with no problem. You should use flexible, stainless exhaust pipe, to withstand vibration and over sleeve it with, non combustable lagging. If your hull is made from GRP or wood, you must use a proper air insulated exhaust skin fitting (about £60). Not so much an issue if on a steel hull. Combustion air MUST NOT be taken from accomodation areas of your boat. It must be from outside or alternatively from the engine compartment if your engine is diesel. Heating air MUST NOT be taken from engine compartment or bilges. It must be taken from outside, away from exhaust outlets/boiler flues etc. or recirculated from inside the cabin area you are heating. All air ducting must be of non combustible material (aluminium etc.) and not plastic, so it cannot burn/melt and allow contaminated air or gasses to enter system.

The BSS regs do not require you to fit a fuel isolator to an Eber, as fuel flow relies on the fuel pump being in operation to lift fuel to the heater, so flow will stop when power is turned off to the heater. I have fitted one to mine, but only because I had one handy. If you do fit a fuel isolator however, it must be in the same compartment as the heater and obvious as to what it is for.

You should mount the heater higher than the fuel tank, so fuel cannot syphon all over the place in the event of a leak in the fuel line to the heater. Exhaust outlet should be away from air vents or hatches to avoid fumes entering boat. Also, you must consider possibility of hot exhaust gases burning fenders, ropes, moorings, river banks, tenders etc. Run fuel lines at leat 4" away from any electrical wiring and away from sources of heat/ignition. They must be securely clipped and not allowed to vibrate.

The BSS do not necessarily require the fuel to be taken from a seperate dip tube in the tank. This is highly recommended however. The BSS regs are concerned with safety, not reliability. It is quite safe to tee into the engine fuel feed line, so long as it is done correctly. Hence the BSS will not be concerned. Your heater is unlikely to work correctly however, as your engine lift pump and heater fuel pump will fight each other and the engine will most likely win - causing fuel starvation to the heater and fault lock out.

As for the wiring, make sure it is sound, securely fastened and fused at the correct rating. You should be able to isolate the power supply to your heater easily for maintenance or in the event of a malfunction.

The D2 is a great unit if looked after. They do, as already mentioned, work better on white diesel. It burns cleaner and smells less. Remember, Ebers were primarily designed for use in vehicles. Red diesel will soot up your heater quicker, smoke more and smell more. Expect to be having your heater serviced annually if used on red - like it or not. /forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif

Hope this helps.

DB
 
Dannyboy

Thanks ever so much for passing on your huge amount of knowledge. You have helped me immensely.

Cheers
 
No problem. I am no expert, I just did some homework. Try this web site out (I've simply cut and pasted the http link, so I hope it works), it is a marine installation guide by Eberspacher themselves. It's 24 pages long, but lots of useful info.

www.eberspacher.com/support.php?section=support

Failing that, just type "Eberspcher installation" into Google UK and it should be about the 2nd result that's displayed. The title of the result is "Technical Support". There are links to various technical issues associated with Eberspachers including the one I mentioned regarding marine installation.

Don't know where you are getting your Eberspacher accessories from, but I got mine from a company who specialises in installation of Eberspachers and also sells accessories/fittings for them. They are all genuine parts. brand new and competitively priced. They advertise and sell on Ebay and are called "Eberbasto". Just type Eberspacher in Ebay search and you will soon find some accessories for sale by them. I have recently bought numerous fittings from them including air ducting. They were spot on to deal with. All items top notch, new, as described and delivered very quickly. I won't hesitste to go back to them if I need anything else. They actually supply a BSS compliant fuel line kit with copper pipe and all compression fittings required for approx £22. Doesn't include a tank dip tube though.

Good luck with your installation.

DB
 
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