JerryDu33

Hi, We have a Webasto Thermo Top C we use for heating and hot water. It always worked well but since some times two odd things happen I can't explain: - after a while (generally > 1.5h) it shuts itself off. It does not crash but shuts off properly after the cut out routine. It only happen sometimes. - it used to ramp up in revs from standby mode to the full operation smoothly, but now it makes sudden jumps. And when it is in full operation, it does not sustain the speed but tends to "oscillate" around it, making waves and giving the impression it tries to reach a speed but can't. Oddly, this is worse when we're on shore power and the battery charger is on (and consequently the voltage is high). I checked similar issues I could find on the forum. Here for example, they say that "They will shut down if there is air in the system they cut out if there is no water going through the system", and that Webasto heaters are sensitive to voltage. I regularly check there is no air in the heating system and that the header tank is full. All radiators are getting sufficiently hot, what confirms there isn't massively air in the system. As far as I could verify, the shut off was not due to low voltage. Each time the heater turned itself off, the voltage was >12.2. The heater is not particularly noisy and does not produce fumes. The water and the radiators are hot as desired and the fuel pump ticks regularly as normal. There is no suspicious odour getting out of the heater or dripping of any sort. Just this funny behaviour... A similar issue has been posted here but so far nobody replied. I suspect the following possible root causes: - we've been using the Webasto quite intensively those last times without servicing it. I called some mechanics to service it but so far never got somebody to come and do the job. I guess these machines can get dirty inside and may require a bit of cleaning. I'd thought I'll get a servicing kit (like this gasket set here) and open it by myself (as described here for example) but I'm not sure what exactly I would need to do to clean it once I opened it. - faulty voltage or temperature sensors? Any idea where the issues come from and what I should do? Thanks for your advice! @NMEA I heard you're the Webasto expert of the community ?

Thanks for the answers! I think you are right and it simply came from a too low battery voltage. I did not think about that possible cause because the compressor did kick in "successfully" and ran for a little while each time. Also because I have a new Victron battery monitor and mostly monitored the battery by looking at the charge percentage which was ok (around 80%). But indeed the voltage was quite low (around 11.8). I charged my battery by running the motor a while and now it works perfectly. I did not have this issue last winter because I did not used the fridge at all but stored food outside... So I guess this story is the confirmation my solar panels are not enough to run the fridge in winter... J

Hi, I have a Vitrifrigo C 90 I (12v,) which is probably 7-8 years old and worked perfectly until now. A few days ago, it began to start and stop all the time. I hear the compressor kicking in and running for about 30 seconds, then it stops and kicks in again 10 seconds after. I don't hear the refrigerant flowing through the cooling system as I usually do. The fridge get trapped in this endless loop and won't eventually stop. It does not really refrigerate and I don't want to let it eat all my battery. The last few days, when catch it in this endless loop, I just turn it off and after a few minutes I turn it on again. It works well for some times and then eventually it falls again in this endless loop. Its normal behaviour is to run a few minutes and then stop for a few minutes (depending on the wished inner temperature and the outer temperature). I tried to set it to different temperature settings but it does not affect the issue. Any idea where this problem may come from? Otherwise, do you know somebody around Bath / Bristol who could have a look at it? Thanks in advance! Jerry

pretty clever! This is a pretty new build, from 2011. By looking at the steel in the bilges, I cannot really say whether it is in good condition of not because I don't really have an eye for that. Most of the surface is grey (the color of the anticorrosion paint I guess) with some rust points. A few square feet are pretty red and of irregular surface. Yes but that's the thing: my bilge pump will only kick in after the water level raised above 2.5 cm or so, which does not happen in my case.

Hi again, and thanks for the impressive number and rapidity of responses! @Mike the Boilerman: sorry I did not mention that. It is welded steel! @roland elsdon: what do you mean by that? By saying "keep it painted", you mean blackened, don't you? And with "electrolysis" you mean being plugged to shore power without galvanic protection? Or did I get it totally wrong? @Dave_P: I guess you hit the essence of my question. What do "wet" and "dry" mean? If dry is what a bilge pump is supposed to produce, then my boat is very dry! The bilge pump would only kick in after the water level reaches 2.5cm, which neither occur in my motor bilge nor in my cabin bilge. What I am basically reporting is: - just a bit of water gathering in some corners of the motor bilge compartments. The water is max 2cm deep I would say and does not cover the whole surface of the compartments - the cabin bilge being damp, that is, just some kind of humidity. If I touch the hull with my hand in the bilge, the most I can get is a bit of humidity at my fingertips. I can't see any new water coming back since three weeks. Would you then call these "wet" or "dry" bilges? But I guess I got the message from all answers to my post: better trying to solve the problem with patience than doing nothing. BUT, there is this one thing: I guess I can combat the condensation in the accommodation room by putting vents and fans and holes, as several people suggested. But I cannot combat condensation in the motor room, do I?

Notice: I wanted to post this in the topic "I am sinking" in the FAQ but it is locked so I put it here. Hi there, Like many other people before, I have some water problems in by accommodation and motor bilge. I read quite a lot of threads in this forum and elsewhere to know how to solve the problem, but there is one question I could not find any precise answer for: how detrimental is it to have a bit of water or dampness in the bilges? Here is the background of my question. Chapter 1 - Accommodation bilge A few weeks ago I opened the hatch to look into the accommodation bilge (which is at the deepest point of the cabin) and discovered with surprise it was full of water. I mopped up the approx. 30 litres of more or less clean but reddish water and went through forums to find possible explanations. I checked all pipes I could find, looked for signs of dampness, checked the wall insulation where I could access it and looked at the windows to find possible sources of leaks. Of course I could not find any leak so far. I expected the water to come back in the bilge (I continued to use domestic water normally and there has been quite a lot of rain falling), but surprisingly after 3 weeks I couldn't mop up more than 1.5 litres. I even suspect this water was not new, rather some water I missed out the first time I mopped up. There may be a small leak somewhere, though, because the water pump would kick in a few times during the day, like 5 times per 24h for less than a half second each time. Also my heating system tends to "consume" water. I guess it will take time to find the leak, which I now expect to be very small. The 30 litres I mopped out the first time may have been accumulated over months, if not years. Chapter 2 - motor bilge There is always a bit of water there. I moped approx. 7 litres a few days ago and after two days the water was back again. At the deepest the water is about 1 to 2 cm, so the bilge pump wouldn't even activate. The water is in the motor tray and in the compartments on each side of the motor tray. The axle/shaft to the propeller/screw is well greased and tight. No water coming from here and the compartment below is the only one which is dry. I suspect the water to come from rainwater (once again, it rained a lot), condensation (the ceiling of the motor room is full of hanging droplets longing for freedom) or some default of the calorifier. Long story short: in both cases, it is not a massive amount of water and I guess it will take time before I can get the bilges systematically dry. Should I worry about having a bit of water or dampness in the bilges? Will the hull rust, with risk of structural weaknesses? Should I worry my boat will sink one day or can I just lean back and relax because it is just normal to have a bit of water? I am thankful for any hint! PS: additional question: does it make sense to put computer fans to create a continuous airflow and keep the accommodation bilge dry? I read this somewhere and thought it makes sense, but I also read it is better to keep the hatches closed to prevent condensation... So I don't really know what to think.