webasto , mikuni or eber??

Can only speak from experience, needed to replace a crap Ardic 6 years ago, Mikuni were cheaper than eber wotsit and quieter so bort one and it has worked perfectly ever since.
 
I thought (probably wrongly) that the mikuni regulated their heat by switching on and off, where as the others have automatic veriable heat settings? The problem with switching on and off is that it doesn't keep a constant temp and draws a lot of current on startup. Oh, and kills the glow plug?
 
Have had a Webasto for 3 years now and used it all through the winter when on the boat - would not be without it.

The infinately variable thermostat is a godsend. If you add a timer to the power circuit of the heater and leave it switched on before you go to bed the boat will wake you up nice and warm in the morning!!

They say to run it at least once a month even in Summer just for a few minutes to keep the glowplug clean - this I have done and the unit has never missed a beat.

Also there is a switch on the roomstat so you can turn off the heat and push fresh air through the boat in Summer.
 
I had eberspacher on my last boat for 5-6 years and it was good and 90% reliable but very loud.

I have had Webasto for the last two years and it is 100% reliable(so far touch wood) and incredibly silent.

BUT I have webasto heating in the car that only wants to work in the summer /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif
 
I wouldn't have another eber, found that you are tied into 3 non start ups, & then you have to call in someone to repair it. great when it happens friday night when you arrive at your boat, and shivering all weekend till you can call someone out.

hlb's eber is now ok, but he has spent thousands on it, and still now the "end" drops off sometimes & it throws out freezing air.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I wouldn't have another eber, found that you are tied into 3 non start ups, & then you have to call in someone to repair it. great when it happens friday night when you arrive at your boat, and shivering all weekend till you can call someone out.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the '3 strikes' thing was only one one particular model. Dogswatch got to the bottom of it I think. Not that it helps if you had that model.

My Eber was superbly reliable. The Kabola (supposedly superbly reliable) is having fuel pump issues it seems - trying to get that addressed under warranty at the moment. It does at least always start after the reset button is pressed /forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif

Rick
 
Sounds like a very bad installation, and an older system.

AFAIK the 3 strikes and your out is not the newer systems.

I installed a D4 Airtronic a few years ago and apart from a crap fuse box, I have had no problems with it at all.
 
[ QUOTE ]
found that you are tied into 3 non start ups, & then you have to call in someone to repair it.

[/ QUOTE ] not now - guess they listened to the customers as much as the repair men on that one!

anyhow you don't need a diesel heater...........you've got an hlb!
 
Mikuni for us - works well every time (he says touching wood having seen the predicted night time lows for later this week) - and once up to temp just ticks over with a lower heat setting. Mikuni staff very helpful and much nicer to us than eber salesman at LIBS who looked down his nose when we failed to answer his "boat make" question with the answers Sealine, Princess or Fairline.
 
felt the same ay at LIBS - probably the same guy?

great stand, well laid out but appeared to make an instant judgement over whether you were a purchaser there and then or not............. /forums/images/graemlins/frown.gif

however I sourced a new D2 Airtronic unit and installed it and it's everything I hoped for.
 
Yep, when the ebers good, it's very good, lasts about 6 month from mega service bill with umpteen new parts, it's twice had bills of over £600, there so much been replaced, that the whole lot of it must be nearly brand new.
 
Our boat was fitted with an Eber D3L (back in 89) which i nursed along for the past 5 years until it finally gave up this spring after 17 years. Biggest gripe was the power consumption as we tend to use it when at rest/anchor rather than underway

Replaced it with an Eber D4 Airtronic this year which is fabulous. Now consumes half the power and much better control system. And it cleans itself whilst switching off so we no longer emit the sootball on startup

IanGrant fitted a Webasto at about the same time so interested to see which gives the best results over time

Issues like the 3 start lock-up are history
 
I've had a Mikuni MY30 for 17yrs and its worked well (almost) all the time. Earlier this year it started playing up (white smoke & non ignition and overheating) and was advised by Mikuni it was obsolete and couldn't be repaired, but I could trade it in against a current model for about £700. I gave it a thorough cleaning, fitted new glow plug, new flame sensor and o/h trip, bought a new overtemp fuse from Maplin and its working perfectly again, hopefully for many more years. Cost about £70. /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif
 
Eberspacher, i have two, one on the boat and one in my shed. I would never buy another. Noise drives you mad after 5 minutes.

Might try a Webasto next.
 
My eber D4 is excellent. Not noisy at all. Once it reaches its desired temp the fan slows down and is whisper quite. All you can hear is the distant tap, tap of the fuel pump.
 
well my ebber was brand new 4 years ago, and boy did the local machanic make some money from the 3 strikes and you are out.

hlb's also has the same problems mine did, it does not like it when the batteries are slightly down, in fact if low batteries are an issue we think more than twice about switching it on.

buying a 2nd hand boat with an ebber should be thought about, oh dear that's hlb's boat sale price down now !
 
Ebers are indeed quite sensitive to low voltage. We installed D4 Airtronic back in 2001. Very efficient and smooth heat supply through the night. We had it serviced once, at 1700 hours. There was one entry in the error log for low voltage failure (which was quite surprising as it happened frequently).

This was easily fixed through shorepower or starting an engine for a while. Once it up and running, it stayed on even with lower voltage.

However, we had similar problems with our brand new Wallas diesel-cooker. This was solved by running dedicated, thicker cables straight from the batteries. Apparently even new diesel operated heaters, stowes, etc. are sensitive about voltage and the best solution is to fit new cables.

I'm sure it would have helped with the eber as well. But, the boat is sold, problem solved (yes, we did inform the new buyer /forums/images/graemlins/wink.gif)
 
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