Which Eberspacher

[chibb]

Am thinking of buying the one or two outlet model, but can't decide which.
has anyone had any practical experience of whether having a second outlet yeilds worthwhile benefits ?

Many thanks,

Chris Hibbert

 

[chibb]

Our boat is a 24 Foot steel yacht btw

 

[andyorr]

If you can get one go for the D3L (diesel 3 outlet) then you can have 1 outlet in the main saloon, the cabin and the heads (or whereever!) Saw one on Ebay recently that went for £300 ish. A bargain. Just needed some ducting and outlet vents.

 

[peteandthira]

I have found an outlet in the bogs to be invaluable for drying wet gear. Also keeps Swmbo happy at shower time.

 

[cliff]

[ QUOTE ]
If you can get one go for the D3L (diesel 3 outlet) then you can have 1 outlet in the main saloon, the cabin and the heads (or whereever!) Saw one on Ebay recently that went for £300 ish. A bargain. Just needed some ducting and outlet vents.

[/ QUOTE ]Be very wary of the "Ebay Bargains" most are not bargains at all once you buy a through hull fitting, flexible exhaust ducting, hot air duction, outlets, heater mounting kit etc. Also most "ebay" ebers are ripped off Post Office vans and the like and have no warranty. Anyway who really wants to fit a Eberspacher - over priced and continually breaking down if this forum is anything to go by. How come we don't have a load of postings "Mikuni Problem" or "Wabasto Problem" ?
Everytime it is a flaming (or not flaming) Eberspacher.
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[Sans Bateau]

Cliff, its like Hoover, Eberspacher is a generic term.

Anyway, my next big buy for our boat will be cabin heating. Eberspacher - no, Mikuni - no, Webasto - no.

I will fit Gas heating. WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!! I hear you all cry, its TO dangerous!!!!!!!!

Fact 1. nearly every boat already has a potentialy dangerous appliance in their boat, a gas cooker.

Fact 2. Installed badly, you are right. I will get the installation checked by a Corgi guy. I am also fitting the heater in a self draining locker, so the ONLY gas connection in the cabin will be to the cooker, so no change there.

Benifits of a gas heater:

Cheaper to buy
Use less battery power
Less maintenance, no soot build up.
Silent running, no fuel pump clicking away all night.

Boat heating, think lateraly!

 

[sailorman]

we have a Webasto 3Kw with 2 heat settings + 4 outlets.
its very good & not at all noisy.
had to replace the fuel pump 2 yrs ago £180 , serviced 4 to 5 yrs ago £400
( as they bust the heat exchanger & the punter can pay ).
heater must be 15 + yrs old.
it uses the same fuel as engine so thats easy , gas is very expensive to buy & who wants to change gas bottles late @ night ??.
i have owned Eberspachers & prefer Webasto far less trouble

 

[pvb]

Then there are the downsides to consider...

Gas heating for boats might look appealing, but you need to consider the downsides very carefully.

Firstly, they have to be room-sealed, which means a balanced flue arrangement usually. This could make it impossible to use the heater when sailing, depending on conditions. This isn't a factor with diesel systems.

The gas consumption is pretty high - a 3kW gas heater is going to burn a kilogram of gas every 4 hours. You don't get many days' use out of a cylinder. In contrast, most boats have ample spare supplies of diesel.

The battery power considerations are not that different (apart, of course, from the starting current for diesel heaters). For your ETAP 35, you'll need around a 4kW heater. Once running, a Trumatic 4000 gas heater (3.7kW) on half-heat draws 1.0A at 12V. An Eberspacher Airtronic D4 (4.0kW) on half-heat uses 1.1A.

And in terms of noise, a properly installed diesel heater can be virtually silent in operation. There's no reason why either the pump or the fan need be intrusive.

 

[Sans Bateau]

Re: Then there are the downsides to consider...

Interesting. I could be infuenced to a deisel heater, however, I have based my choice on a number of things. The problems associated with Eberspacher heaters we read about here backs up my experiance with them fitted to commercial vehicles.

I have no experiance of Webasto heaters, however what I hear, the same problems seem to apply to both makes. I have not yet met anyone who has said they have a near silent installation.

I have however had a Traumatic gas heater fitted to a boat, a number of years ago. It was great, yes it used a fair amount of gas but not huge amounts, you just neaded to check the cylinder before shutting up for the night, it is a temptation though, a massive supply of fuel, just sitting there.

I am interested, though were you speak of the need for them to be 'room sealed', I now nothing of you but you seem to speak with knowledge! One other point, the service costs sailorman speaks of £400 for a heat exchanger! Hell!!!

 

[pvb]

Good installation is the secret...

I firmly believe that good installation is the secret to long-term satisfaction with any diesel heater. Most of the Eberspacher complaints you read about here probably trace back to poor original installation, or to people buying used units on eBay and trying to fit them on the cheap, usually without any instructions.

I've fitted Eberspachers in 2 previous boats, and I have a "factory fitted" Eberspacher D3L in my current boat. The first installation I did was OK-ish, but in hindsight I'd have done it differently. The second one I did was better, but could still have been greatly improved. The current factory-fit installation is superb, and is virtually silent in operation.

There are 2 noise sources on Eberspachers which people grumble about, the fuel pump and the fan. There are Eberspacher accessories to minimise these noises. If you download the Eberspacher Accessories brochure and look at page 17, there's a special noise reducing holder for the pump. Then on page 28, there's a thing called a Process Air Silencer, which mounts in the hot air ducting immediately after the heater, and dramatically reduces the fan noise audible through the vents. My boat has one of these, and it works!

The Eberspacher in my boat is 15 years old. I've owned the boat for 9 years, in which time I've only taken the Eberspacher out once for DIY servicing (which was easy enough until I dropped the whole lot on the floor and ended up buying a new plastic end fitting). I keep the boat in the water all year round, so the Eberspacher gets a fair bit of use, and I think this helps to keep them working without problems.

In terms of gas heaters, I think that they all now have to be room-sealed, and this usually involves a balanced flue arrangement. To get anywhere near the output you'd need, I think you'd have to look at a Truma E4000 which certainly has a balanced flue.

As for sailorman's £400 heat exchanger, I'd interpreted his post as saying the £400 was for a service, including a new heat exchanger. Incidentally, a heat exchanger for a Truma E4000 is about £230 excluding fitting!