Anyone got a eberspacher d5w

[Doodlebug]

Hi everyone,

 

I have been offered an eberspacher d5w, does anyone have any experience of these heaters. I am pretty sold on it but want to get an understanding of what its like to use. Are spares expensive (this will be third hand) and do they use up battery power much?

 

Thanks

 

Thomas

[Bobbybass]

I had one of these for years...(it had been running on the boat for 15 years )..ran it on red diesel..and had very little trouble.

I used it every day for hot water and bathroom rad or all rads.

Probably serviced it every few years when it stopped....HOWEVER..others have lots of trouble ?

 

Spares..?....

I bought mine whenever they came up cheap on Ebay..for 'stock'

Bought the whole heat exchanger for £30 and glow plugs for £10..but from chandlers they're expensive.

A new air fan on Ebay ( I think his name is 4x4Andy or something like ?)...£35...

 

Battery ?..about 20 amps for a few minutes while lighting up and about 5 amps when running (just air fan and water pump as the furnace is self sustaining once alight)

 

Marmite job these..you love 'em or hate 'em.

Edited June 28, 2013 by Bobbybass

[GoodGurl]

we have one, not much trouble if you keep them serviced, i wouldnt say they will keep the boat warm in winter (depending on size of boat) but they certainly take the chill off, we use ours in summer on chilly nights. they also make hot water when running so no need to run the engine for hot water.

[pquinn]

i have a eberspacher d5w sc hydronic and have had no trouble for 7 years and then i just gave it a service and it is working fine again.some good service videos on youtube.i would not use it as a primary heat source more for hot water and maybe the rads if i have been away for a couple of days and want some quick heat while the solid fuel stove revs up.try to follow the instructions in the manual for installation and it should work well.its not rocket science and all down loadable from the net.as the man said its like eco fans,some love some hate.i would recommend.

[Doodlebug]

When you say you wouldn't use it as the main heating, do you mean because of expense because it can't heat it up enough, or that your stove is just better in general.

 

i wouldn't use it as the main heating, it would be to level out the periods when the stoves cold and to generally make life more comfortable.

 

To be honest it sounds good to me, and as long as its relatively simple to fix if it goes wrong I will get one.

 

Can i clarify exactly how they work though. Ive researched and it seems unclear.

 

Thanks

[pquinn]

expense would be a good reason and hauling diesel down a towpath as they wont deliver in ireland. allso power if you do not have shorepower.dont get me wrong they are not power hungry.

"it would be to level out the periods when the stoves cold and to generally make life more comfortable."this would be the reason and allso hot water when not cruising and not on shorepower.a nice little backup.i am absolutely useless when it comes to anything mechanical but managed to service it myself by following the guy on youtube and it fired first time.

are you talking about an airtronic or hydronic?

expense would be a good reason and hauling diesel down a towpath as they wont deliver in ireland. allso power if you do not have shorepower.dont get me wrong they are not power hungry.

"it would be to level out the periods when the stoves cold and to generally make life more comfortable."this would be the reason and allso hot water when not cruising and not on shorepower.a nice little backup.i am absolutely useless when it comes to anything mechanical but managed to service it myself by following the guy on youtube and it fired first time.

are you talking about an airtronic or hydronic?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=14SUSxfPHPY

[Hawkmoth]

Just to put another side to the story, my experience has not been good with these things.

When I fitted out we decided not to have a solid fuel stove (I know I know, bad decision) however with only and Ebersplutter to heat the boat all went well for the first 18 months. I serviced it myself, no problem.

At 18 months it failed completely so I took it to a dealer. They diagnosed an air fan failure. It was still under guarantee, so no problem, fixed straight away.

One year later another complete failure. Back to a dealer, but this time it was out of guarantee and what they told me was that the air fan had failed, and that had taken out the electronics.

A new electronic pack and the fan came to just under the sale price of a complete new unit, with 2 year guarantee, so that was a no brainer.

2 yrs and 1 month later it again failed catastrophically. Same as before, fan and electronics.

I threw it away and bought a Hurricane.

Bob

[pquinn]

Just to put another side to the story, my experience has not been good with these things.

When I fitted out we decided not to have a solid fuel stove (I know I know, bad decision) however with only and Ebersplutter to heat the boat all went well for the first 18 months. I serviced it myself, no problem.

At 18 months it failed completely so I took it to a dealer. They diagnosed an air fan failure. It was still under guarantee, so no problem, fixed straight away.

One year later another complete failure. Back to a dealer, but this time it was out of guarantee and what they told me was that the air fan had failed, and that had taken out the electronics.

A new electronic pack and the fan came to just under the sale price of a complete new unit, with 2 year guarantee, so that was a no brainer.

2 yrs and 1 month later it again failed catastrophically. Same as before, fan and electronics.

I threw it away and bought a Hurricane.

Bob

fair enough,this is the reason why i would never rely on any of these units as a primary heat source no matter what the make or model.and allthough not very noisy i can easily do without any of the noise when in bed.

[Hawkmoth]

fair enough,this is the reason why i would never rely on any of these units as a primary heat source no matter what the make or model.and allthough not very noisy i can easily do without any of the noise when in bed.

The Eber is quiet compared to the Hurricane, but the noise is comforting, at least you know it's working!

[Bobbybass]

Just to put another side to the story, my experience has not been good with these things.

When I fitted out we decided not to have a solid fuel stove (I know I know, bad decision) however with only and Ebersplutter to heat the boat all went well for the first 18 months. I serviced it myself, no problem.

At 18 months it failed completely so I took it to a dealer. They diagnosed an air fan failure. It was still under guarantee, so no problem, fixed straight away.

One year later another complete failure. Back to a dealer, but this time it was out of guarantee and what they told me was that the air fan had failed, and that had taken out the electronics.

A new electronic pack and the fan came to just under the sale price of a complete new unit, with 2 year guarantee, so that was a no brainer.

2 yrs and 1 month later it again failed catastrophically. Same as before, fan and electronics.

I threw it away and bought a Hurricane.

Bob

 

Gosh..you have been unlucky.

I have been told that its important that the air 'intake' is not taking hot air from near the engine.

I replaced mine at one point...but didn't use an Eberspacher fan..and its been great.