Eberspacher - lots of white smoke!

Grumpybear said:
WD40 will loosen the sot. when you start the thing up again, you will get a very gratifying machine gun noise and even more smoke, then it will settle down fine
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That sounds a lot of fun. How much WD40? Presumably just sprayed into the combustion air inlet as if using EasyStart. Be warned, I may well be doing this on Saturday to tinker with my elderly D3.
 
skipper_stu said:
Paraffin is a lighter oil than red diesel so it doesnt burn "hotter" The heavier the oil, the more carbon there is in it, therefore more bang for your buck!
Stu
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That's is the Eberspacher recommendation though, and it works a treat.
They recommend kerosene rather than paraffin:

http://www.espar.com/tech_manuals/Troubleshooting and Tips/Airtronic Flame Tube Carbon Removal.pdf

So what property of kero would remove the carbon build-up then, if in fact it burns less hot than diesel?
 
I had similar white smoke-failed starts on my 4 yr old D2, tried the gauze and pin and a decoke but still refused to start. I stripped it down again and had a more thorough poke around in the fiddly bits of the combustion chamber which appear to be designed to help swirl the fuel mixture. More smaller bits of carbon were removed but I suspected that there was plenty more which I couldn't get at so put the combustion chamber on the cooker gas ring and let it get very hot; plenty of smoke and popping was produced but after a couple of minutes it cleared. It has fired up first time for the last year now; I think coke build up around the inlet area to the combustion chamber is a major problem to these heaters but when they're working they're great for comfort.
 
Andrew_Fanner said:
That sounds a lot of fun. How much WD40? Presumably just sprayed into the combustion air inlet as if using EasyStart. Be warned, I may well be doing this on Saturday to tinker with my elderly D3.
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I used the WD40 with the unit stripped. imdidn' waste too much time cleaning it all out, figuring the combustion would get rid of any remnant. And so it did......
 
I had this problem on our Eber. Kruger fixed it, but it took two separate and expensive procedures. Replaced the controller, then replaced the heat exchanger. Reading some of the previous posts I wonder if I wasn't taken for a ride.

The Eber has worked a treat for a full year since. I like this system because it creates domesstic hot water as well as warming and drying out the interior of the boat, and it's quiet and uses little electrical power.
 
Moodyman said:
I've had a look at previous posts to see if there was anything related to my problem but drew a blank.

My Eberspacher DL5 struggles to fire up when first swithced on - a very definite rumbling noise as it attempts to do so. Sometimes it does on the secong or third attempt - tries 3 times before shutting down automatically if no success. During this time a lot of white smoke comes from the exhaust - and I mean a lot!. If it does fire up then the smoke disappears as it warms up and it works OK. It has not been serviced for some time, mainly because I can't find a reliable engineer. Any advice appreciated and/or name of a recommended (and reliable) engineer who could help. Boat is berthed in Chichester Harbour.
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Moody man did you solve your problem? I had the same thing last week, with several failed starts. Lot's of white smoke and smell of diesel. Yesterday tried again, and yes lots of white smoke, but it started. Kept it running for a while, smoke died down a bit but not completely, but exhaust kept emitting what I can only describe as burping, not the steady output one usually gets. I shall try again tomorrow and leave it running for a while longer, but am just interested to know about your outcome. It was cleaned and decoked etc about two years ago by the local dealer, all electrical connection remade etc. Hasn't been used a great deal, which I suspect might be some of the problem.
 
My Eberspacher that was giving continual white smoke has behaved better this weekend. I replaced the glow plug (there was no sign of soot or carbon). It doesn't even attempt to start the first time but starts up the second time. Bit of white smoke, then settles down and is 'smoke free'.
 
snadgey said:
My Eberspacher that was giving continual white smoke has behaved better this weekend. I replaced the glow plug (there was no sign of soot or carbon). It doesn't even attempt to start the first time but starts up the second time. Bit of white smoke, then settles down and is 'smoke free'.
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In my experience these symptoms are predominantly caused by simple lack of voltage ACTUALLY AT THE HEATER. The problem can be that the high current on start-up drops the voltage to such an extent that the heater shuts down before ever properly firing.

This is why so many ebers start OK only when the engine is running. Measure the voltage (DURING START-UP) as close to the heater as possible (or even at the glow-plug itself). Remember that there could be excess resistance in either the positive or negative feed.

I have overcome the problem on my ancient DIL by providing a separate heavy duty feed for the glow-plug via a relay driven by the original control unit. Relatively easy with the old units which had a separate control unit, but more difficult with the modern 'integrated' units.

Vic
 
For what it's worth in my experience the problem sounds as though either the fuel is not atomising properly or the plug is not hot enough. This could be from either carbon build up or low voltage. The gauze is a good place to start and then the plug and so on. I have always run my heaters on a 50:50 mix of red diesel and parrafin or neat parrafin as it does run hotter therefore de-coking the heater. As has been said Eberspacher recommend this action, as far as i'm aware Kerosene is American for Parrafin.

As I said for what it's worth,

Dean
 
have you checked the exhaust pipe for condensation/water build up ? i know the eberspacher silencers have drains in them but sometimes the pipe itself has a bend which allows a buildup of water.

Steve
 
WD40 stopped the smoky start, now to deal with the issue that it just does not get terribly hot. If I turn up the thermostat I dont seem to get more heat. I'm assuming that this is therefore a sign of needing a more serious decoke, should I hear the "tonk tonk tonk" of the fule pump run faster? If so that sounds more serious (or indeed expensive).
 
steve28 said:
have you checked the exhaust pipe for condensation/water build up ? i know the eberspacher silencers have drains in them but sometimes the pipe itself has a bend which allows a buildup of water.

Steve
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I use my Eber very infrequently (we live on the warm side of Scotland) and because the angle of the exhaust outlet fitting is not steep enough for the angle of the transom the tube points down slightly, though the flexible tube rises as soon as it can thereafter. The exhaust does get water lodged in it and when the heater starts, it bubbles, farts and steams until it clears itself. I think I should really have fitted the exhaust a couple of inches lower to increase the drain angle of the tube, though this would not have overcome the initial fall. Over time it also produces an annoying rust stain from the internal weld between the two concentric tubes in the 'stainless' fitting. I have taken to putting a bit of duck tape over the hole, but you need to remember to remove it before starting the thing. A little cowl to keep the rain out would be a useful modification if I could do it neatly , or an angled packer to turn the tube upwards might be easier .
 
Andrew_Fanner said:
WD40 stopped the smoky start, now to deal with the issue that it just does not get terribly hot. If I turn up the thermostat I dont seem to get more heat. I'm assuming that this is therefore a sign of needing a more serious decoke, should I hear the "tonk tonk tonk" of the fule pump run faster? If so that sounds more serious (or indeed expensive).
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Did you just squirt the WD 40 into the air intake hose? On a previous occasion when mine smoked and refused to start, kept cutting out, I used the Pela oil pump to feed the nozzle into the exhaust...there was a huge whoosh and it sucked a tiny amount of water out. It then started immediately. This time I tried the same and there was just a tiny bit of slurry. It has started but smoked, but this diminished after a while. I reckon it just needs to be run for a good couple of hours to let it get really hot.
 
LeonF said:
Did you just squirt the WD 40 into the air intake hose? On a previous occasion when mine smoked and refused to start, kept cutting out, I used the Pela oil pump to feed the nozzle into the exhaust...there was a huge whoosh and it sucked a tiny amount of water out. It then started immediately. This time I tried the same and there was just a tiny bit of slurry. It has started but smoked, but this diminished after a while. I reckon it just needs to be run for a good couple of hours to let it get really hot.
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Just stuck the spray into the air intake when the thing was running, just after it had fired up. Sprayed as though using EasyStart, so 10s or so and was rewarded with some coughs and a sooty cloud from the exhaust Starting again the following day the start was quick and the exhaust clean. If I turn up the thermostat I dont notice a change in the pump speed (should I? Make a donk noise about twice a second or a bit slower than that) but the fan runs faster, at least the air velocity at the outlet increases.
 
I am not sure if the pump does increase it's speed when the thermostat is turned up, but yes the fan speed does vary. I shall try the WD40 tomorrow and see how that affects it. Mine seems to be very similar to Quandary's. At the moment it's running with burps etc etc. With low topsides when pushing the boat I can have more than the gunwales under, which means the exhaust can scoop up some water. Just keep running it and see if it clears.
 
Started the heater today and put a couple of gentle puffs of WD40 in the air intake.. it was the last of a can. It ignited first time, but was smoking from the exhaust, with some dribbles of moisture, but much smoother. Left it running for an hour or so to get it nice and hot, but it had soon cleared and was back to normal. In future when sailing in windy conditions, or even when unattended, I shall pop a small rubber bung in the exhaust outlet. If I forget it will cut out or smoke and I'll soon remember to remove it.
 
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