Motters79

Hi guys sorry for the delay in replying. Been a busy few weeks! To clarify, my existing system is a Webasto in the engine bay feeding a calorifier, 3 double rads down the length if the boat and a towel rad. What I hoped to do was to replace my stove for a boiler stove and integrate it into the system. My stove is at the front on the opposite side to the radiator circuit, hence the need for a pump. All my pipe runs for existing rads are at floor level, plus being on the other side to the rad, gravity isn't going to work any way as my bow doors are in the way, and the pipe work has to do 180 degrees on the flat. However I understand the need for a heat leak rad that is gravity fed so I was planning on having a rad on same said as fire about 8 feet away with feed pipe rising gently from stove to just under gunwhale where it would enter the radiator top port. This radiator is at 90 deg to the pipe run however as radiator will have to hang on the back of my kitchen bulkhead (is this ok and is it on to have a lockshield on both ends of rad?) I was thinking of getting a stove with 4 tappings so that the heat leak rad could gravity feed from one set and the other existing run could be pumped from the other. My webasto set up is currenlty a sealed system but I would change this to vented. Does it matter where I put the header tank? Do I need any kind of over vent into the header tank from the hot feed pipe? Does my system feasible? Im sure the pumped side will.work fine I'm mainly concearned about getting the gravity part working adequatly.

Hello all, I would like to plumb a backboiler into my existing radiator circuit. It will need to be pumped and I'm trying to find the best pump for the job. Can anyone recommend a good one that is quiet and efficient without costing a fortune? Thanks

What blacking did you use and what did it cost?

Thanks everyone for your feedback. It was entertaining aswell as informative ? Personally I would say that everyone one made valid points points r.e. the definition of a curmudgeon, but safe to say that from now on I shall not be expecting anyone to change my gas bottle for me.... not that I would anyway ? On the subject of blacking.... it sounds like they probably do a decent job.... its certainly decent value... they quoted in the region of £450 all in. Still not decided though.... Clifton Cruisers quoted £350 to haul out so I could do it myself... which is my preference but depends if im gonna have time. Costwise, I've noticed that Intertuff is expensive stuff... a quick Google seach indicates thst 20L is around £140 ? Anyone know how much I'd need to do 2 coats on a 55 footer? Where's the best place to buy it? At that price it'll cost more to do it myself.

Hi There, Had a decent quote from these guys to have my boat out and 2 coats of Intertuf applied. Has anyone used them for blacking before and able to confirm that they do it properly? Much appreciated Matt

Ah that's interesting. So you reckon it's behaving this way because of the cold. When I first ran it 2 weeks ago the weather was milder but I think (wouldn't stake my life on it) it was doing the same. ?‍♂️ It was all new to me then so maybe not. Certainly runs exactly as you describe Johnny at the moment so I feel reassured that all is ok. Once it's hot it certainly kicks some heat out! As I write my feet are on a rad but I have to keep taking them off as they're burning! I feel proper civilised now ? P.s. managed to fix my leaky ball valve compression joint without removing heater Though I did manage to get the electrical connections off (with a struggle). Only one weeper left now and its a bloody towel rad tail where it screws into the rad with ptfe. I hate those type of rad tail. I put about 23 wraps on it and it still flipping leaks! There's sooo much slop in the threads! All the tails on my main rads have a rubber seal which is how they should all be in this day and age!

Hi guys. I've recently finished my (recon)Thermotop C install and have been running the unit occasionally over the last 2 weeks. Mine takes about an hour up to temp and after about 70 mins it stops roaring. The fan and I assume circulation pump continue. After about 5 mins it falls silent then it starts up again and runs again at full load ( fast ticking fuel pump). So far I've only let the second phase continue for about 30 mins before switching off. It has Never, as far as I can tell gone into half load. It's all or nothing or so it seems. Sounds similar to Johnnys issue though he states that his did go into half power mode. I know we both bought from the same eBay seller. I will message the seller who I assume is the refurbished and ask if he can shed any light.

Yes that's certainly already fixed a few of them. I did a drain down on the spine and ptfed one joint which was weeping a bit too much. I did it all in copper with compression, so there's a lot of joints, but it looks nice! I do need to get at the one by the heater n the ball vslve though so will have to remove it. Fortunately it's the olive on the heater side, so won't have to drain whole spine! One question though. I had a fiddle yesterday and couldn't get the electrical connections off the heater. Once cliped on they're hard to see. Any tips? Cheers

Yes I often thought of your struggles as consolation when in the middle of doing mine. It was a very awkward install due to the design of my boat. It's all(most)good now. Had a couple of weepy compression joints which I've now fixed ( a few fixed themselves) Just got one still werping on the return 22mm ball valve. The pain is I can't get to it to fiddle without taking the heater out. I'm so wishing I'd put ptfe on all the olives now. ?‍♂️ Thanks for all your advice last year. It was invaluable ???

Actually I went for an aftermarket 'gastight' silencer. It is fairly quiet tbh. Like a Saturn 5 rocket from 30 miles away ? The tick of the pump is the most notable thing really. It seems to reverberate throughout the boat. It's kind of soothing though like a clock.

Ha ha yes there's seems to be a lost of contrary opinions on that but as you said you have to suck it and see for yourself. I only really want it for first thing in the morning when its really cold and if I'm planning on being out late, otherwise my wood stove will be on. I must say though that the even heat distribution of the webasto is very nice Indeed! First time the bathrooms been warm in winter! I've set the timer for tomorrow morning , so hopfully will awake to the sound of a rocket taking off and then fall out of bed 45 mins later to a fairly warm boat. What luxury ?

Yes it is but it has it's own coil. I did however forget to put a valve on the return from the Calorifier so it's free flowing round that which is probably pinching too much heat. Easy put right. That said my concern was the rate at which the webasto itself heats up in relation to the heat of the water coming out. The system has heated up though, just much slower than I'd hoped. It took a good hour before the rads were all hot. Is it wise to then shut it down before it goes into half power? Yep it did. Rads were all hot after an hour. How long can you safely run it past that point?

? It's my bloody predictive txt. I have corrected the sentence now. ??

Thanks Sam Ok I've fired it up again and let it run for 20 mins now. The system is warming up but just very slowly compared with a domestic system. The unit is getting very hot but the output isn't as hot as I'd have expected. Is this normal? I assume the unit will shut itself down it overheats? Was I expecting too much from this thing?

Finally finished install of Webasto Thermotop C. Only tool me 4 months on and off ? Well I've connected it and it fired up on the 4th attempt. Great! Only trouble is, despite the unit getting hot, no heat leaves the flow port and I can't hear the water pump trying to push water, so I'm concerned the water pump is duff. It was a recon unit from mp&h who have a good rep. I've messaged him but will have to wait for a reply. EBay says seller is away. Highly frustrating! The pump seems to kick in momentarily as the unit is shutting down weirdly so that indicates that the pump might be ok and there is some other issue.  I'm certain there is water in the unit and both isolaters are turned on.  Any ideas/suggestions?

Thanks. Well I've connected it and it fired up on the 4th attempt. Great! Only trouble is, despite the unit getting hot, no heat left the the flow port and I can't hear the water pump trying to push water, so I'm concerned the water pump is duff. It was a recon unit from mp&h who have a good rep. I've messaged him but will have to wait for a reply. EBay says seller is away. Highly frustrating! The pump seems to kick in momentarily as the unit is shutting down weirdly so that indicates that the pump might be ok and there is some other issue. Any ideas/suggestions?

Well, it's taken me since my last post in September, but I've finally got the Webasto fully installed on Sunday ?? System is full of water (no antifreeze yet) wanna make sure it all works with no leaks before I add it. So, tomorrow is the big day I connect it to the power and attempt to fire it up. Any advise? I've been told it can take quite a few attempts to start and may lock out and need the fuse taking out to reset it. Also to pre fill the filter with diesel. Is it ok to just wire it direct to the batteries?

Another thing is the bracket supplied looks different to the other I've seen in pics. It has unequal standoffs so thatit won t be sitting at 90 degs to the wall. Here's a pic:

Ha ha yeah except mine might stick out a tad more. So you didn't consider using in then? I'd have no problem drilling the hole but I don't have the correct tap, so would be another thing to buy, though my dad may have one. I'm gonna text him now.

Cheers Johnny! Looks good. I discovered today that I have a spare 1/4 inch bsp outlet at the top of the tank, that has an Allen key plug in it. It should suffice if I can thread the pipe through it. It is a welded on noggin sticking out about an inch from the tank wall. Just hoping I can get the 90 deg bend through it. Further to my previous post about the straddling the cable run, here is a pic of the proposed positioning :

Me again! I've almost got all the bits to do the install! Just need to order the fuel pipe. I was looking at how I'm gonna mount the unit itself today and the best location would require me to straddle the battery to consumer unit cable run (fat cables zip tied to angle iron) with the bracket. It won't be touching the cable as the bracket plus anti vibration noggins will stand it clear by a good 5mm. Would this violate any regs? I'm not worried that heat would affect the cables. They're kind of shielded by the angle iron they're clipped to. I'll try and post a picture later.

I knew someone would try to be humourous (if thats how you spell it) ? Thanks though. For some reason I didn't Google it.

Hi Johnny, was filter the metal body type with a shut off tap? Can't seem to find anything called an FAG filter.

I think Johnny means that it will be more inclined to go round and round the spine and rather through each rad. Obviously not, or we're misunderstanding something, because you say it heats the boat effectively!

I'm now trying to decide what radiators to fit, bearing in mind I've gone for the Thermo Top C 5.2KW (against advice admittedly but there were no recon Es available and couldn't afford new). Id prefer singles as they are slimmer. Was considering 3 600 x1000 singles but there kW rating is only 1.1 so that'd be 3.3 kW plus my 50ish litre calorifier. Would that be enough to keep the Wee Bastard (webasto) happy? If I go for doubles I'm worried I'll bake in my 55 foot trad. What size rads do others run off their Thermo Top Cs?