Really sorry but no one else to ask. Eber problem

[TonyBuckley]

You should be able to hear the fuel pump "ticking" if it is working - it is quite loud.

Or if too much noise to hear then hold it and you will feel it "kicking".

 

[NUTMEG]

Thanks for all the info so far. Hopefully I may get down to boat tomorrow or Thursday. I feel much better equipped to have a fiddle with it now. The boat has not been used for eight years, sat in her berth on shore power., it has taken two weeks,of almost daily visits getting all the 12v systems running again. So far so good, it has just been a matter of cleaning and fiddling, no expensive parts yet!

Steve.

 

[David2452]

If you are close enough to Shotley (I see you are in Essex) I could take my test pump for you to try if you like, you could collect on Saturday and return by mail, if it's been stood that long the pump could easily be stuck, it will also take quite a bit of purging to get clean fuel through.

 

[NUTMEG]

That's a very kind offer. Thank you. However, I am registered blind (although I have some useful vision) and can no longer drive. The boat is in Maldon. Following your advise I will have another fiddle and maybe order a new pump. Will try direct connection to the pump and giving it a few taps, you never know, but probably needs one.

I notice this is your speciality! Can you supply parts if I can identify the model? Would love to pay to get it sorted but skint at the moment, financially stretched after buying the boat!

Steve

 

[David2452]

That's a very kind offer. Thank you. However, I am registered blind (although I have some useful vision) and can no longer drive. The boat is in Maldon. Following your advise I will have another fiddle and maybe order a new pump. Will try direct connection to the pump and giving it a few taps, you never know, but probably needs one.

I notice this is your speciality! Can you supply parts if I can identify the model? Would love to pay to get it sorted but skint at the moment, financially stretched after buying the boat!

Steve

Don't go buying new parts until you have absolute confirmation, bits are not cheap! I will be passing Maldon early Saturday a.m. on my way to Shotley so can drop it off if that helps, Do not leave the pump connected but give it a few sharp raps and the try flashing it again to see if it ticks. I do not stock Eber parts though, only Webo, Mikuni & Wallas so any you do need can be sourced from Colchester Fuel Injection, they are very good. Or I do have a few good used parts depending on the model.

 

[Cantata]

If the boat has been unused and sat on shore power for 8 years, it strikes me that while the batteries may appear fully charged, they may be nackered and not actually holding much charge.
My Eber D3L pulls 17.5A for nearly a minute when it is starting up, this is why others have suggested you try starting it again with the engine running, to ensure the voltage stays up. Lack of volts is a very common cause of startup failure.

 

[Big John]

If it has sat there for 8 years there will be a lot of water in the diesel tank from condensation and the one thing Eber's and all the other heaters do not like is any moisture in the fuel.

 

[NUTMEG]

If it has sat there for 8 years there will be a lot of water in the diesel tank from condensation and the one thing Eber's and all the other heaters do not like is any moisture in the fuel.

Good point. Both fuel tanks totally full and good twin filtration system with water traps. All filters replaced and engine has ran happily for four hours under load. The tap that supplies fuel to the Eber lift pump is 'upstream' of the filters, so effectively unfiltered. Will crack the tap and draw off some fuel to see if water contaminated. Cheers.

I think the previous owner, although he never moved the boat after his wife became ill, did run up the engine regularly. He told me he run it in gear up to operating temp at about 1500rpm. So the fuel, although old, may not be as old as I thought.

 

[Pasarell]

I have an Eber D3L on my boat bought 4 years ago. Controller is the same switch you describe plus a rotary thermostat with markings 1-7. When I first tried it would run in the same way you describe for about a minute then cut out without firing up. Advice from here was to try with the engine running to keep voltage up and when I did so it started perfectly. Batteries were fine so this seemed strange. I then started checking the power cable to find it was all heavy duty until about 1m from the battery connection where the heavy duty wire had been coiled up and connected to a very thin piece to go to the battery. Removed the thin wire and connected direct with the heavy duty piece and problem solved. It started easily without running the engine.
Last year, suddenly, I wouldn't start again. Went through the process of checking connections and no problems anywhere. Eventually realised my fuel tank was down to 50% which is lower than it normally gets. After I added some fuel the Eber ran perfectly so the fuel uptake must stop quite high in the tank. Since then no more problems.
Good luck with sorting yours - why are they always installed in inaccessible places?

 

[NUTMEG]

Don't go buying new parts until you have absolute confirmation, bits are not cheap! I will be passing Maldon early Saturday a.m. on my way to Shotley so can drop it off if that helps, Do not leave the pump connected but give it a few sharp raps and the try flashing it again to see if it ticks. I do not stock Eber parts though, only Webo, Mikuni & Wallas so any you do need can be sourced from Colchester Fuel Injection, they are very good. Or I do have a few good used parts depending on the model.

L

PM sent.

 

[NUTMEG]

Well that was fun. Thanks to advice from here I now have a working Eber. That's the good news.

I wired the pump up to a 12v supply and the pump clicked. I then refitted it and attached the two wires, it clicked continuously. I then cracked the outlet pipe until fuel came out in little spurts.

After a few minutes white smoke stated to appear, then a whoomph and away it went!

Warm, not hot, air from the saloon outlet. Rather noisy fan noise but it worked.

The bad news is that the exhaust started to emit black smoke and continued to do so. The outlet air temp never really got that hot. It would take the chill off but not really heat the cabin.

It is a D1L as I discovered by pointing my phone at it and clicking away.

Any further thoughts or advice most welcome.

PS I took have photos but they exceed some file size limit or something so couldn't post them.

 

[David2452]

Good so far, as I suspected the pump was stuck and direct application of power freed it, didn't even need a rap. Black smoke is indicative of a rich burn. So, check the combustion air intake for obstructions, remove it at the heater intake to confirm. Other possibility is a slow air motor due to inactivity so run it flat out for a decent period (with the air intake tube disconnected) before further action. Sorry, as a confirmation a rich burn and slow air motor will result in reduced heat output. It's also worth a mention that the D1L is very low output anyway at 1.8kw and I wouldn't fit one to anything over about 27 feet depending on build material and insulation/volume etc. if I wanted my customer to be warm.

 

[NUTMEG]

David2452, thank you for all your help. The motor sounds on the noisy side, a dry bearing sort of noise, so I think you are,right. Slow fan = rich mixture = smoky exhaust = low heat output. Makes sense to me.

The boat is a Colvic Watson 28, a fairly voluminous motor sailor, so I guess it would never have,warmed the boat properly even when new.

Anyone got a good fan motor to fit a D1L?

 

[David2452]

Colvic Watson eh! what you need is a new air motor surrounded by a 3 to 3.5kw heater with all that glass, assuming you want to heat the wheelhouse too.!

 

[NUTMEG]

All my wife's fault. I was happy with the gaffer with a charcoal burner!!!