Eberspacher luke warm when engine running

[Tasemu]

This is mostly just a curiosity and was wondering if there was a good reason why this happens. We were running our engine (not connected to the calorifier) to charge our batteries. I figured I might as well run the eberspacher water heater at the same to get some hot water. After running the eberspacher for an hour i noticed the water was warm at best. I've run it in the past without the engine going and it has got scalding hot, so i'm wonder why it would not be working properly when the engine was going. It appeared to complete the hour run too.

 

Cheers for any thoughts and/or advice!

[Alan de Enfield]

The engine cannot have any impact on the Eber.

There is no commonality as the only 'contact' point would be the cauliflower and you say that is not connected.

[Tasemu]

Righto, i'm going to run it again today without the engine running and see how hot it gets ?

 

Maybe the eberspacher has died

[Boater Sam]

Simple really, the Eberspacher is heating the calorifier via one coil, probably the lower one. the engine is circulating water through the other coil and through the skin cooling tank. you are burning diesel to warm up the canal. Bit daft that mate!

Your engine must not be getting up to proper temperature either, check it has a thermostat.

 

Run one or the other, never both together.

[Tasemu]

Just now, Boater Sam said:

Simple really, the Eberspacher is heating the calorifier via one coil, probably the lower one. the engine is circulating water through the other coil and through the skin cooling tank. you are burning diesel to warm up the canal. Bit daft that mate!

Your engine must not be getting up to proper temperature either, check it has a thermostat.

 

Run one or the other, never both together.

Our engine is not connected to the calorifier though

[Alan de Enfield]

3 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Our engine is not connected to the calorifier though

I don't think @Boater Sam read that bit !!!

[Boater Sam]

3 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Our engine is not connected to the calorifier though

Sorry missed that fact, Why not connected?

 

In which case its the gremlins in your basement.

[Alan de Enfield]

1 minute ago, Boater Sam said:

Why not connected?

A very good question, with (no doubt) a very good answer to follow ………………………………...

[Tasemu]

I heard from the owner that the engine is raw water cooled, somehow that has to do with it. It's a 1973 SABB 2HG.

[Boater Sam]

Nice engine 

, no, excellent engine.

 

Unusual for full raw water cooling these days. No chance of connecting it then. Is the Eberspacher duff? Cold burning diesel?

[Tasemu]

1 minute ago, Boater Sam said:

Nice engine 

, no, excellent engine.

 

Unusual for full raw water cooling these days. No chance of connecting it then. Is the Eberspacher duff? Cold burning diesel?

Going to double check the eberspacher after work today and see how it heats up (duff meaning broken?). Not sure what cold burning diesel is. Also not sure if you're being sarcastic about the nice engine or not haha... Is it really?

Edited April 8, 2019 by Tasemu

[Boater Sam]

4 minutes ago, Tasemu said:

Going to double check the eberspacher after work today and see how it heats up (duff meaning broken?). Not sure what cold burning diesel is. Also not sure if you're being sarcastic about the nice engine or not haha... Is it really?

Never sarcastic.

 

Its a beautiful engine for a narrow boat, designed for lifeboats to run even when capsized. Love it.

Change the oil regularly and it will see you out.

[PeterF]

Are the engine and eber on separate fuel take offs from the diesel tank or do they share a common offtake. If the offtake is common and there is a partial blockage in the fuel line could the fuel suction from the engine limit diesel flow to the eber. I might be talking nonsense, but I would expect the engine fuel pump to be more effective than the one in the eber.

[Tasemu]

6 minutes ago, PeterF said:

Are the engine and eber on separate fuel take offs from the diesel tank or do they share a common offtake. If the offtake is common and there is a partial blockage in the fuel line could the fuel suction from the engine limit diesel flow to the eber. I might be talking nonsense, but I would expect the engine fuel pump to be more effective than the one in the eber.

I'll have a look when I get home and report back with all detail I can find for all questions

[Tony Brooks]

17 minutes ago, Boater Sam said:

Nice engine 

, no, excellent engine.

 

Unusual for full raw water cooling these days. No chance of connecting it then. Is the Eberspacher duff? Cold burning diesel?

 

More like the raw water has to bypass the thermostat when the engine is cold to keep  a wet exhaust cool so they often blend the cold bypass water with the hot water from the engine in the thermostat housing so it is only ever tepid as it leaves the engine. There may be ways around it if you have access to a machine shop or if it has been conveyed to dry exhaust tank cooling.

Heater fuel takeoffs should be several inches higher than the engine take off so you can still run the engine when the heater has run out of fuel. Are you low on fuel?

[Bee]

Just a daft thought, if the engine is hot, the diesel return to the tank could be sending quite warm fuel back to the tank..... where it is sucked up by the eber and warms it up a bit. Meanwhile the Eber has thrown a strop and refused to fire up but warm fuel is still going round the stupid thing - hence lukewarm water. Is this a) possible b) really stupid or c) a brilliant diagnosis. (I'm reckoning (b))

[Boater Sam]

11 minutes ago, Bee said:

Just a daft thought, if the engine is hot, the diesel return to the tank could be sending quite warm fuel back to the tank..... where it is sucked up by the eber and warms it up a bit. Meanwhile the Eber has thrown a strop and refused to fire up but warm fuel is still going round the stupid thing - hence lukewarm water. Is this a) possible b) really stupid or c) a brilliant diagnosis. (I'm reckoning (b))

Excellent constructive deduction but I think b) as well.

[Tasemu]

Ran the Eberspacher for an hour last night, water was nice and hot. Not scalding hot though, maybe because i let it sit for ~45 mins while I had dinner before trying the temperature. So i'm honestly clueless as to why it didn't heat while the engine was running, but it seems alright now.