What is the best diesel heater for battery usage

kevsbox

kevsbox

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After a very cold winter on the Centaur we have decided to fit a diesel heater ready for next winter.
I know that all draw voltage on startup and shutdown and a little while running so I am wondering what people consider to the most efficient models out there in terms of power drain on as long cold evening.
Any thoughts please

Kev
 
Lowest power use, maybe this one, https://wallas.fi/product/1300/

They also do a 2kw more practical model, also low power compared to some.

However, certainly not the cheapest. But you did ask about low power.

BTW, I did own one of these similar models (the old 2400 version) many years ago (at least 15) on a previous yacht and it was very good. A couple of years ago I saw the yacht in a marina and found out the heater was still in it and in regular use. No faults.
 
kevsbox said:
After a very cold winter on the Centaur we have decided to fit a diesel heater ready for next winter.
I know that all draw voltage on startup and shutdown and a little while running so I am wondering what people consider to the most efficient models out there in terms of power drain on as long cold evening.
Any thoughts please

Kev
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Easy: Taylors 079d drip fed heater. On startup they use 0.0v but that figure quickly drops to 0.0v once heater warms up. They’re amazing and lend a lovely ‘cheery’ feeling to things. They’re mind-blowingly expensive new but can be had for a few hundred quid on eBay.
 
fredrussell said:
Easy: Taylors 079d drip fed heater. On startup they use 0.0v but that figure quickly drops to 0.0v once heater warms up. They’re amazing and lend a lovely ‘cheery’ feeling to things. They’re mind-blowingly expensive new but can be had for a few hundred quid on eBay.
Click to expand...
This is what I have and it’s glorious during the long cold winter evenings. Mine is fed from the main tank with an SU pump as I did not want to loose wardrobe space for the header tank.

That said I don’t leave mine on when sleeping. I’d leave the eberspacher / electric fan heater going when sleeping to limit condensation. Obviously multiple CO alarms and fire extinguisher in every section of the boat etc.

I got mine from eBay at a sensible price a few years ago. Kept a saved watch list out for one as some folk were trying to sell for eye watering price.

Being realistic about it though, when a chinaspacher is so cheap and you can operate the control from under your duvet before you get up in the morning… If I were to only have to one source of heating - it would be that!
 
Autoterm tested this a few years ago. A new battery, 85 Ah from memory, was purchased from Halfords and fully charged. A 2 kW heater was attached, fuelled by one of their diesel tanks, run at full output outdoors. It ran for 58 hours non-stop before the battery ran out.
 
vyv_cox said:
Autoterm tested this a few years ago. A new battery, 85 Ah from memory, was purchased from Halfords and fully charged. A 2 kW heater was attached, fuelled by one of their diesel tanks, run at full output outdoors. It ran for 58 hours non-stop before the battery ran out.
Click to expand...
Interesting test, but because these heaters use a lot of power off startup and then relatively little while running, it would also be useful to know how many cycles you can get out of a battery, e.g. startup and then 2hrs running and shutdown. That would be more representative of actual use.
 
Minerva said:
…Being realistic about it though, when a chinaspacher is so cheap and you can operate the control from under your duvet before you get up in the morning… If I were to only have to one source of heating - it would be that!
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Yep, totally agree. I’ve had a Chinaspacher on my boat for 5 years now and it’s never missed a beat. I do miss my Taylors though that was on last boat. There was something ritualistic to me about lighting it, faff though it was.
 
Sea Change said:
Interesting test, but because these heaters use a lot of power off startup and then relatively little while running, it would also be useful to know how many cycles you can get out of a battery, e.g. startup and then 2hrs running and shutdown. That would be more representative of actual use.
Click to expand...
Yes I agree but it was a fun test.
 
Our Wallas 30DT diesel heater draws a current of 1.5A when putting out 1kW of heat, and 2.5A at 3kW (on a 12V system). It's virtually silent both inside and out and uses 0.1 litres of diesel per hr at 1kW. The start up current is around 10A.
 
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