dave_gibsea
Well-Known Member
Has anyone fitted a Webasto Heater? Any good? was it easy/difficult? Did you use a separate fuel tank? Any special electrics?
Prices under £1000 on the internet.
Prices under £1000 on the internet.
Webasto Air Heaters
- Thread starter dave_gibsea
- Start date
sailorman
Well-Known Member
i have had webasto & ebersplutter, i now have a mikuni MY30 that is very good & less troublesome than all others.
David2452
Well-Known Member
Yes, dozens, sub 1k are not marine units and will not carry a warranty and will be 2kw units so I guess you have a <25 foot boat otherwise you will be disappointed. And yes they are good units if installed by the book and set up correctly, as are Mikuni and Wallas. Ebers I will not speak to in public. No special electrics as they provide a loom and it just connects direct to the domestic bank, but you have to accept the installation instructions are just that, instructions and not guidelines. The final adjustment needs to be done properly with an exhaust gas anayliser and it's well worth having done to extend the life.
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Georgio
Well-Known Member
Hi David,
I was thinking of fitting a Wallas because it seem to use less power and it also quieter but a friend told me at the weekend that he had a old Wallas heater (that ran paraffin rather than diesel) and had lots of problems as it did not like not being used. Fine all the time it was working and in regular use but leave if off over the summer and is would not work in the autum when needed.
Is there any truth in that or what that an older model.
I was looking as the Wallas 22dt model for a Contessa 32 (relatively small interior volume for a 32ft sail boat).
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pvb
Well-Known Member
David2452 has raised a good point about warranty. Cheaper units offered on the internet are usually vehicle units, and warranty claims are likely to be declined if you fit them in a boat.
Otherwise, all the blown air heater makes are fine and reliable as long as they're installed exactly in line with the manufacturer's instructions. You don't need a separate fuel tank or special electrics.
Vara
Well-Known Member
I had dreadful problems with my Wallas, when I finally got it working to spec it was very slow to warm the boat, but once up to heat it was fine, benefits very low power consumption and very quiet.
Replaced with Mikuni MY30, heats very quickly, at half power is enough to heat a 34 boat at ambient -2°. Noisier and uses more power but does the job. Cheaper than the Wallas which is a bonus.
On the plus side, customer support from Mikuni and Wallas is very good.
David2452
Well-Known Member
Operator error, all these heaters should be run for an hour once a month even in summer to ensure fuel stays in the line and doesn't become stale or drain back. It's one of those things that you may or may not get away with not doing but it's so easy to do that there is no real excuse not to. A Wallas 2.2kw may just do what you need but personally I would be looking at a 30 DT, for another £100 it's not worth the risk. As for the power consumption it depends on usage pattern, if you spark it up and leave it on then it will use overall less amp hours, however if used for short periods it will use more than an equivalent Webasto, the glow plug burn time is far longer and that is where the real power is used. Do not under estimate the extra effort required to run the double duct (the reason for Wallas quietness)
David2452
Well-Known Member
Not likely, certainly, I have had to do just that this week, and it was a failed ECU at 26 months and 380 hours, a marine unit properly installed and registered would have had a three year on board warranty including travel to the boat.
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Storyline
Well-Known Member
David, I take your point about running them monthly but this is not practical for us during the winter as the boat is so far away. Is any of the three in your sig better than the others in this regard for us ?
David2452
Well-Known Member
Depends on how they are fitted, tank in relation to burner, pipe length, pipe bore, etc, the best advice I can give under those circumstances is if you do experience problems is to fit a fuel shut off at the standpipe to prevent drain back. Wallas are probably the most troublesome to the extent that they offer a heater controlled solenoid fuel shut off to counter situations where the tank is below the heater. You could always fit am SMS control, then it will text you if the boat is getting close to freezing and you can call on the way and the boat will be warm when you get there too. But surely plant pots and candles are better!
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Storyline
Well-Known Member
Thanks for your reply - we are leaning towards webasto as there is an installer who regularly works in Ardfern - cannot remember his name off hand but maybe you know him. Figure that backup is more important than anything.
Georgio
Well-Known Member
David, many thanks, final question...
As we would wish to use the heater underway are there any issues with this given that we may be sailing with 25 degree of heel, maybe more at times, is one manufacturer more tolerant than any other?
I was tempted to self-install but from what you have suggested there is a bit of tuning that you do once a heater is installed to get the best performance.
ghostlymoron
Well-Known Member
If you have the Eber with the 24/7 programmer, you can programme it to run for an hour once a week.
Kwik Decision
Well-Known Member
I bought a cheap brand new Webasto just under 4 yrs ago, and fitted it myself. I needed to get the exhaust fitting, a 1 m length of exhaust pipe, ducting, insulation and fuel dip pipe separately, and the final cost was around £800. It was reasonable easy to fit, (I didn't tweak it at all), and has been absolutely reliable since fitting. It has been fed on red diesel from the main tank, and gets a half hour run at full chat every few weeks, even in the summer. It is the 2 kW model, and makes a huge difference to comfort, and dryness in the saloon, but, with only one outlet, doesn't do much for the forepeak. Higher management thinks it is the best thing on the boat at this time of year, and without it we would do a lot less sailing in the shoulder seasons.
As I was fitting it I removed and steam cleaned the fuel tank, and also replaced and upgraded the house batteries, which may have helped with reliable operation of the heater......
As I was fitting it I removed and steam cleaned the fuel tank, and also replaced and upgraded the house batteries, which may have helped with reliable operation of the heater......
David2452
Well-Known Member
Not a lot of tuning, just adjustment of the burn, it may be fine and not require it, one of the reasons some work well for ages and some don't, simple installs like one outlet and little ducting and under 1.5m exhaust you can safely assume should be OK but more complex ducted systems are more likely to need adjusting. If you intend to use it at heavy heel angles then Wallas could be an issue as the burner is a horizontal laminar affair and could flood over, the others all use a different burner principle and will tolerate heel much better but still better to install fore and aft rather than athwart. A self install is well within the capabilities of a good DIY boater provided that they accept the instructions are not for guidance but adherence. If you want I can email you a copy of the marine install manual which will give you a good idea if the job is in line with what you expect, just PM me an email address.
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Georgio
Well-Known Member
Thanks David, sent a pm.
Final thought, accepting that it will take longer to heat a boat up, is it better to get a slightly smaller heater (the 2000 model) that will be run at full chat for longer so potentially less soot deposits compared to the more powerful heater that will spend longer at a lower power setting.
Perhaps it makes no difference?
Just deciding if I would want one outlet on the main saloon or a second outlet in the forward cabin.
Final thought, accepting that it will take longer to heat a boat up, is it better to get a slightly smaller heater (the 2000 model) that will be run at full chat for longer so potentially less soot deposits compared to the more powerful heater that will spend longer at a lower power setting.
Perhaps it makes no difference?
Just deciding if I would want one outlet on the main saloon or a second outlet in the forward cabin.
NUTMEG
Well-Known Member
PM sent
Storyline
Well-Known Member
Thanks for that, it would be feasible for us to do the same as the batteries are left connected during the winter. Does anyone know if the webasto programmer can do the same ?
Georgio
Well-Known Member
Looks like webasto offer a similar programmable timer.
