Electric cabin heater and Wallas heater questions

[petedg]

Anyone got recommendations for a good portable electric cabin heater suitable for use in a marina, maybe with an integral timer?
The boat we are proposing to purchase has a Wallas heater which is broken and apparently will be expensive to repair, electronic board replacement etc. approx. cost 400 Euros. My thoughts are that it would be worth considering to save the money and put it towards a new unit, any thoughts from anyone with experience of Wallas heaters?

 

[pvb]

I keep a cheap 2kW fan heater on the boat. It has a thermostat, so comes on automatically as needed to maintain a set temperature. It's very effective. If you need a timer, a simple plug-in timer would be the easiest solution.

 

[Poignard]

I have been wary of leaving fan heaters unattended ever since I had one catch fire. It was not very old and had been left on a low setting in the kitchen of an old cottage when we were away to prevent the pipes freezing. Fortunately it was standing on a stone floor and didn't set fire to anything else.

How about one or more oil-filled radiators to be left on where you are away and a fan heater for a quick boost when you are on board?

 

[pvb]

I have been wary of leaving fan heaters unattended ever since I had one catch fire. It was not very old and had been left on a low setting in the kitchen of an old cottage when we were away to prevent the pipes freezing. Fortunately it was standing on a stone floor and didn't set fire to anything else.

How about one or more oil-filled radiators to be left on where you are away and a fan heater for a quick boost when you are on board?

If there's an electrical fault, any sort of electrical heater can potentially cause a fire, including oil-filled radiators.

 

[macd]

I had a Wallas (paraffin version) for ten years on my last boat. Didn't use it all that often (invariably on shore-power during winter), but it was very effective. It broke down once due to a small and cheap-to-fix fault. You perhaps know this already but the UK importer is in Whaley Bridge next to the canal, which seems to me the main focus of his business. Regrettably I can't remember their name.

 

[V1701]

Living aboard FT in a marina for 3 years now & much prefer oil filled rads, they are quieter than a fan heater, cheaper to run & don't go cold when they cycle off with thermostat. Does take longer for the cabin to heat up though...

 

[Sybarite]

In the marina I use a ceramic cube heater which cost 20 euros and heats the boat in about 5 minutes. No thermostat but I turn it on and off as required.

 

[Ex-SolentBoy]

Anyone got recommendations for a good portable electric cabin heater suitable for use in a marina, maybe with an integral timer?
The boat we are proposing to purchase has a Wallas heater which is broken and apparently will be expensive to repair, electronic board replacement etc. approx. cost 400 Euros. My thoughts are that it would be worth considering to save the money and put it towards a new unit, any thoughts from anyone with experience of Wallas heaters?

We, and several other boats I know use these. http://www.dimplex.co.uk/products/domestic_heating/miscellaneous_heating/mph/index.htm

I have two of the 500 models on a 14m boat. They have built in thermostats and can be run to just keep the chill off, or cranked up to really heat the place. I leave both running on a low setting and even when below zero outside the boat stays warm and dry. In a marina we use them instead of the Webasto.

Nice design as the hot bits are protected from touching anything and they can be used upright or lying on their backs so safe in swelly conditions.

 

[Kelpie]

Sorry to hear about the problems with your Wallas. We have one on the boat and it's a neat piece of kit- efficient, compact, and (touch wood) just seems to run without any issues.
I think the name of the current importer is Kuranda.

 

[[3889]]

Anyone got recommendations for a good portable electric cabin heater suitable for use in a marina, maybe with an integral timer?
The boat we are proposing to purchase has a Wallas heater which is broken and apparently will be expensive to repair, electronic board replacement etc. approx. cost 400 Euros. My thoughts are that it would be worth considering to save the money and put it towards a new unit, any thoughts from anyone with experience of Wallas heaters?

I had my Wallas PCB repaired by this chap. It was a few years ago but he did a good job - only £45.

 

[petedg]

Thanks for all the answers so far. The quote just to re-program was 100 Euros which seems expensive to me. I'm leaning towards using an electric heater in the Marina and maybe see if we would really see the benefit of having the Wallas system repaired or renewed as this will be our first sailing season with our own boat.