Eberspachers - are they worth it?

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

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www.keepturningleft.co.uk
I know it is winter but we have had a lot of Eberspacher threads recently

they do seem to be prone to problems

are there better heaters available - apart from some insane arrangement using candles and flower pots

just thinking about heating the inside of a 26 footer in the North of Scotland

D
 
dylanwinter said:
I know it is winter but we have had a lot of Eberspacher threads recently

they do seem to be prone to problems

are there better heaters available - apart from some insane arrangement using candles and flower pots

just thinking about heating the inside of a 26 footer in the North of Scotland

D
Click to expand...
D
Ebers are worth every penny. They work, they need a service now and again, they are the biggest numerical wise so any probs are bigger numerical wise. Peeps run them without servicing or bodge the fitting of them. I am a smarty pants, i have had two, one fitted by me, one serviced by me. I turn them on, the boat gets hot. I turn them off, the boat gets cold.
I run the present D3LC on kerosene, its cheaper, 63p, and according to Espar US it decokes them
Stu
 
As I can see the other down side is the electrical usage, which with an outboard as your power you are going to need solar, hydro (optimistic on 26 foot bilge keeler) or wind to replace.

There are a rook of charcoal/ multi fuel burners/ diesel heaters, people will be along shortly to name brands.

My suggestion would be...
$_35.JPG

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GYPSY-VAN-CAMPING-CARAVAN-STOVE-BOAT-GREENHOUSE-WOOD-BURNER-STOVE-SHED-work-sho-/301050064543?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item4617fb6e9f

If your determined to burn tea lights they even make one for that :D
$_35.JPG

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GYPSY-VAN-CAMPING-CARAVAN-STOVE-BOAT-bush-craft-small-stove-/301050068720?pt=UK_Home_Garden_Hearing_Cooling_Air&hash=item4617fb7ef0

A couple of sacks of wood, a couple of coal, a couple of sacks of tea lights and your sorted...
 
a big plus for ebers never a problem in 11 years on either of our boats & we live on full time so have been used every winter, never had to service or decoke. still running perfect, advice given to me: when you want to turn off boost it up for a few minutes first to avoid carbon build up, works for us!
 
I've said it before, but I'll say it again: Ebers get a bad press because people buy old knackered second hand ones cheaply, install them poorly and then complain when they break down. The only time ours has stopped was when a printed circuit board failed. I can't be too harsh on Eber as electronics occasionally fail in many applications. Apart from that it only ever stops when it runs out of fuel!

As others have said, there are hundreds if thousands around and therefore the failures get reported more.
 
dylanwinter said:
I know it is winter but we have had a lot of Eberspacher threads recently

they do seem to be prone to problems

are there better heaters available - apart from some insane arrangement using candles and flower pots

just thinking about heating the inside of a 26 footer in the North of Scotland

D
Click to expand...

Ebers, webastos et al are fab.
But they are unreliable. More so on red. Fit them where you can get it out for servicing easily.

But on a small boat i would get a diesel hob with a heater lid. The lid allows you to use the hob as a space heater - it has a fan in it.
Then you can get rid of gas.
Oven wise i have a mains one and no generator so no pies at sea - may be more of a problem for a raggie with longer passage times. I do have a 12v microwave though.
 
I've had 2 Ebers and 1 Mikuni, all have performed well. Current D3LC is now about 14 years old and over that time has needed a heater plug and a new programmer. Other occasional faults have been down to voltage drop on corroded wiring loom connections when it wouldn't start without the engine running but that seems to apply to all makes. Boats are the worst environment for anything electrical, I doubt trucks and ambulances have half the problems we do.
 
Last night aboard at 10.00 it was 1deg outside, we had 19degs inside with the Eber running on tickover. Agree with all said about installation and not going for an e bay cheapo. We replaced our elderly D3l with a new D4 for ease of fitting but if I was starting from scratch I'd go for a Wallas which are much quieter but don't like running heeled. Depends if you want to use it while sailing or just at anchor / moored.
 
Ariam came with an Eberspacher, and it's been a godsend at times. Twice this year we've been on deck late in the evening as we arrived somewhere, and really started to feel cold. We'd get the heater fired on the way in, then as soon as we were safely moored it was lovely to go down into a toasty warm cabin rather than struggle to warm up in a space almost as cold as outside.

Of course, if you proceed in your ridiculous plan to cut holes in the bottom of the boat (as I hope you do :) ) then it's not such an obvious choice. You won't be carrying diesel for the engine and you won't have a 60-amp alternator. All blown-air heaters do use a fair bit of power.

Pete
 
Ebers, etc. are nice but not cheap, and need a silencer in the exhaust if you're to avoid driving your neighbours insane. In any case, as someone has said, they need more 12 volt power than you're likely to have available with an outboard.

Wallas heaters look very good and have been highly praised on here, but are even more expensive than then ebers, etc. On the other hand, IIRC they have smaller ones that don't need the electric power demanded by ebers.

A coal or charcoal stove is a wonderful thing if you've space to put both the stove and the chimney run (very challenging in a small boat).

We have a small 'mini' catalytic gas heater (about 10" wide, 15" high, 3" deep, I guess) which is not ideal - it generates moisture, and you have to be sensible and ensure enough ventilation (which loses some heat) - but only cost about £100 (+ about £20 for additional gas pipes, taps and fittings), is more efficient and safer than using the cooker for heat, doesn't take up anything like the space of a solid fuel stove, and is a practical compromise on our little boat. I spent the long evening and night aboard the other night at near zero temperatures, and have previously voyaged Lymington to Ipswich over about 5 days in the depths of winter (ice on deck in the mornings), which would have been really grim if I hadn't been able to be warm in the evenings. It generates about 3/4 kw (there are two larger, more powerful, versions available) which makes a world of difference in our small but 'open plan' boat.
 
skipper_stu said:
D
Ebers are worth every penny. They work, they need a service now and again, they are the biggest numerical wise so any probs are bigger numerical wise. Peeps run them without servicing or bodge the fitting of them. I am a smarty pants, i have had two, one fitted by me, one serviced by me. I turn them on, the boat gets hot. I turn them off, the boat gets cold.
I run the present D3LC on kerosene, its cheaper, 63p, and according to Espar US it decokes them
Stu
Click to expand...

Kerosene or Paraffin (are they the same?).

What do you use as a fuel tank for it?
 
Too complicated by far-might consider a gas fired propex or similar but much prefer parafin;drip fed diesel or a simple charcoal heater.
Usually very little in the way of piping;non electric ;and "natural" in their operation.
A good Thermotop system will give you little change from £2000 and simple cab heaters are going to cost you £1000 complete.
Not worth the money for the instant heat convenience you get unless you have plenty of money to spend.
 
prv said:
Of course, if you proceed in your ridiculous plan to cut holes in the bottom of the boat (as I hope you do :) ) then it's not such an obvious choice. You won't be carrying diesel for the engine and you won't have a 60-amp alternator. All blown-air heaters do use a fair bit of power.
Click to expand...

I have an Eberspacher on an outboard powered boat. If I run the engine on tickover it generates enough Amps to keep pace with the heater once the heater has settled down. I can barely hear the engine running from inside. Being a 4-stroke petrol it doesn't seem to mind this treatment. I expect someone will be along in a moment with dire warnings about glazed bores on Yamahaiosis the engine will suffer or something.
 
ffiill said:
Too complicated by far-might consider a gas fired propex or similar but much prefer parafin;drip fed diesel or a simple charcoal heater.
Usually very little in the way of piping;non electric ;and "natural" in their operation.
A good Thermotop system will give you little change from £2000 and simple cab heaters are going to cost you £1000 complete.
Not worth the money for the instant heat convenience you get unless you have plenty of money to spend.
Click to expand...
The rover 75 used a simple webasto water heater (the emgine was that efficient it didnt produce enough heat to warm the heater sufficiently, go figure!)
They have logic board that lends itself to a simple on off switch or thermostat. i bought one for £40 from the local scrappy. If I was starting again i would put one in the boat, hot water with out running the engine and a nice set of rads to warm the boat! This is PBO forum after all!!
Stu
 
Just fitted a brand new D2 and was surprised to see (On its own dedicated ammeter) the difference between the 1Dl and D2 running load about 1.5 amps, for both start-up 1dl about 15/20 amps and the D2 start up amps 10, neither of which I can call a heavy current usage, set D2 for the temp that's required (No timer) and adjust the temp setting 2 degrees higher when it`s slowed down and that stops it from shutting down and automatically starting again. I run the fridge all the time that I am on-board (about 4.5 starting and 2.5 running) plus cabin lights 1.5 amps when required.

so I think Little Sister made a rather sweeping statement about the loadings of the Eber units IMHO
 
I have had 3 Erber's in my life and got fed up with them locking up when they had a fault and than having to get an engineer to reset it.
I went for a Webasto on price and the fact that the user can reset them easily.

John
 
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