Another Webasto Topic - Black Smoke

[lewisericeric]

Hi All

 

Been having an issue with my Websasto Thermotop unit since yesterday. All was working fine in the morning. Then noticed later in the afternoon when I had it on that there was a changing in intonation in the motor and the unit would cut out/switch off after anywhere from 15 minutes to just over 40 minutes at best.

 

Today I have cleaned the filter and refitted and also topped up my header tank.

 

Unit is still doing the same thing, booting up, I can hear the 'tick tick tick' of the diesel but it doesn't sound like it's going into full throttle. To add to that, there is faint black smoke coming from the exhaust and all other posts I see on here seem to relate to black smoke.

 

Also, cannot seem to find anyone who would service in the Manchester area. The few I've tried don't offer mobile servicing, merely, servicing where you drop the unit to them - not ideal!!!

 

Any ideas why I might be getting grey/black smoke?

[Alistair1357]

I recently had my Chinese diesel air heater also run badly - unlike yours, mine was white smoke and not starting at all. I disassembled the burn chamber and found it to be clogged with carbon. After a good scrape out, it is back to normal - I have adjusted the pump and fan speeds to try to lean out the burn to prevent this from happening again - this was after a year of running. You may have a fuelling issue too, but you may have caught it earlier than I did. I suspect mine would have gone through a smoking phase before it failed on ignition.

[MtB]

On 20/12/2021 at 15:35, lewisericeric said:

Also, cannot seem to find anyone who would service in the Manchester area. The few I've tried don't offer mobile servicing, merely, servicing where you drop the unit to them - not ideal!!!

 

I suspect the first step in servicing one is to remove it and take it to the bench in one's workshop to commence dismantling. So I'd suggest what you are really wanting is for someone to visit your boat and uninstall it, then deliver it to the service workshop. 

 

Or once removed, you might find you can service it yourself. Or remove it yourself, even. 

[Ex Brummie]

Oil burners, particularly fanned ones need regular servicing and cleaning. A layer of soot/carbon restricts the amount of air that is able to be mixed with a constant metered supply of fuel, so the mixture gradually richens and compounds the situation. If you clean out the combustion chamber and flue, you probably find you are back to square one. Do not be tempted to adjust the fuel supply.  Similar happens with Bubble and Refleks Stoves.

[blackrose]

I don't know if he's still active on the forum but a member called NMEA supplies, installs and services Webastos..

 

It might be worth dropping him a PM to see if he can help or if he knows someone that can. I suspect whoever fixes it will need to find the fault code first. 

 

None of these types of diesel heater should be relied upon in winter, especially by liveaboards as they're notoriously temperamental. Hope you have a solid fuel stove as your main form of heating.

 

I've just installed a Webasto myself after my eberspacher died in 2009. It was one of those jobs that took me a while to get around to...