Wallas*30 Dt diesel boat heater

Hadenough

Hadenough

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We are researching diesel blown air heaters. The Wallas*30 Dt unit has a number of benefits over their competitors that suit our boats particular requirements. Does anyone out there have any experience of this unit or Wallas products generally?
 
I am a Wallas, Mikuni & Webasto factory approved agent so have a pretty deep & wide knowlege and not being tied to a single make can be a bit more objective, what benefits, noise reduction apart do you believe the Wallas has above others. It does have advantages in power consumption but that depends, it can in fact be more power hungry in certain usage patterns due to the initial time of the glow plug use, after that it is indeed quite frugal.
 
David2452 said:
I am a Wallas, Mikuni & Webasto factory approved agent so have a pretty deep & wide knowlege and not being tied to a single make can be a bit more objective, what benefits, noise reduction apart do you believe the Wallas has above others. It does have advantages in power consumption but that depends, it can in fact be more power hungry in certain usage patterns due to the initial time of the glow plug use, after that it is indeed quite frugal.
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Wow, thanks for the swift response. Reasons. - Wallas claim that the combustion and exhaust noise are less so that and their specified lower running power consumption are attractive. However the main reasons are the slightly higher output of 3 kw and the two outlets. We have a 30', centre cockpit, aft cabin ketch. We already have a Taylor's drip heater in the centrally positioned saloon which is great for that area once lit and we intend to retain because the heat and ventilation are great for the main living area. But we are looking to heat the aft cabin and (large) heads / forepeak and to provide instant (morning) heat to the saloon until the Taylor's is lit. The best position for the blown air unit is in a void under the chart table in the saloon, right in the centre of the boat. My thought is that the two outlets on the Wallas unit would allow us to have a dedicated outlet for the aft cabin and a shared outlet for the saloon and heads. The saloon outlet could then be closed when the Taylor's took over. The other units on the market, if I've got it right, will need a single outlet split into three. By the way we are prepping the boat for liveaboard in Britain and northern Europe / Scandinavia. (I know --- I know!!). So the usage will be very domestic, ie winter heat for long periods rather than short bursts of on and off. Many thanks, be very interested in your view.
 
From your description the Wallas sounds a good choice unless you wish to use it when heeled as they are not keen on working at an angle due to the horizontal drip feed evaperator. The two outlets are more because of the low air velocity than anything else (one of the reasons for quiet operation) Like all heaters the major faults are poor install and lack of service so carefully adhere to the install manual in every respect and if used as a liveaboard servce it anually. Reliability is no better or worse than the other major players.
 
I had a small Wallas heater in a previous boat and it was efficient and very reliable: low power and fuel consumption for the heat it gave out. The installation was easier than an Eberspacher or Webasto. HOWEVER: it certainly wasn't "instant heat". It took a good five minutes to start producing warm air, and nearer 15 before it was truly hot. This never bothered me as I tended to start it up when going for an early morning pee, so when I finally got around to climbing out of my sleeping bag an hour or so later, the boat would be toasty. I don't know if the modern bigger units are faster to heat up.
 
jubro said:
I had a small Wallas heater in a previous boat and it was efficient and very reliable: low power and fuel consumption for the heat it gave out. The installation was easier than an Eberspacher or Webasto. HOWEVER: it certainly wasn't "instant heat". It took a good five minutes to start producing warm air, and nearer 15 before it was truly hot. This never bothered me as I tended to start it up when going for an early morning pee, so when I finally got around to climbing out of my sleeping bag an hour or so later, the boat would be toasty. I don't know if the modern bigger units are faster to heat up.
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Sounds pretty much how we want it to work. We are more interested in power draw, noise and fuel consumption than "instant" heat. Just want something that will start with a switch rather than the rigmarole of the Taylor's. Thanks.
 
Much more sophistocated now and faster to initial warm up though they still do take a little longer than the others because of the way they work. There is even a really good option which allows you not only to turn the heater on / off and set the temperature from any computer of smart phone but also check the battey voltage and current temperature aboard.
 
We have a Wallas Nautic 30D fitted in our 33' motor cruiser.

It's been extremely reliable, although only lightly used. We've now had the boat 6 years and haven't serviced it yet other than the fuel filter earlier this year.:o
I always use it on max setting and for reasonable periods of time though, which helps.

As others have said, it's very quiet, (not something that Ebers can claim, noisy things) economical on both fuel and electricity and yes it does take a few minutes to warm up although this can be improved by lagging the ducts and with shorter duct lengths. It's never a problem though.

The only thing to add is that because of the lower air velocity I think the duct size is larger than Ebers etc at 100mm/ 4in I think. Make sure that's not going to be a problem in your installation along your planned duct route, as the ducting will take up more room.

Overall I would definitely recommend the Wallas though.
 
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Trundlebug said:
I think the duct size is larger than Ebers etc at 100mm/ 4in I think. Make sure that's not going to be a problem in your installation along your planned duct route, as the ducting will take up more room.
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No, the trunking is 75mm, actually smaller than most current 3 / 3.5 KW units, it does however have two of them, for the reasons you mention. This is useful if fitted centrally but a bit of a disadvantage if mounted in say a stern locker, mind you their reduced noise level (inside) makes central mounting a more viable option.
 
David2452 said:
No, the trunking is 75mm, actually smaller than most current 3 / 3.5 KW units, it does however have two of them, for the reasons you mention. This is useful if fitted centrally but a bit of a disadvantage if mounted in say a stern locker, mind you their reduced noise level (inside) makes central mounting a more viable option.
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Ah, I stand corrected. I just thought they looked quite big:)

Ours is mounted in the Lazarette, i.e. in the stern, which means one of the outlets is routed through 3/4 the length of the boat.

Luckily it's the warmer of the two. That's something to mention, is it normal that one outlet is much warmer than the other? It's certainly the case with ours. The lower one is much hotter, so we throttle back the upper one's outlet (the shorter length) to ensure most of the airflow comes out of the other one.
 
Trundlebug said:
Ah, I stand corrected. I just thought they looked quite big:)

.The lower one is much hotter, so we throttle back the upper one's outlet (the shorter length) to ensure most of the airflow comes out of the other one.
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I have a paraffin Wallas, and the installation instructions do say that most heat comes from the lower outlet, which should never be closed more than the upper one.
I'm very pleased with my unit BTW. Quiet, low on electrical use, easy to start and a safe exhaust temperature.
 
David2452 said:
I am a Wallas, Mikuni & Webasto factory approved agent so have a pretty deep & wide knowlege and not being tied to a single make can be a bit more objective, what benefits, noise reduction apart do you believe the Wallas has above others. It does have advantages in power consumption but that depends, it can in fact be more power hungry in certain usage patterns due to the initial time of the glow plug use, after that it is indeed quite frugal.
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Hello David,

Can you indicate the amperage during that "glow plug use" and do you have any feeback information about the PI regulation mode, please ?

Where is located your shop please ?
Thanks a lot in advance.

Patrick
 
I'm not a Wallas heater owner, but a cooker. The other point to add is that the UK importers are superbly helpful. Cookers are rarer than heaters, and a former service agent basically messed mine up. With the help of Kuranda, I've been able to rectify most of the cock-ups.
 
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