help needed for eberspacher d4 service,Ledgard boat

[graycat]

eberspacher service help needed for Ledgard boat

 

I am going to service my pals eberspacher d5 but need some help with the water side of things, his boat is a Ledgard narrow about four years old with a 50HP shire and a horizontal caloriefier in the engine bay, the pipes going to the eberspacher do not have taps on them to make it easier to take the ebersp off, my question is if I take the pipes off the heater unit will I cause an air lock in the system, there is a plastic header tank just above the heater with a filler cap.

[Pretty Funked Up]

When ever Ive done mine it does leave an air gap in the coil but the eber easily has enough grunt to push it round to a place it can be bled out.

[Ark Right]

Hi , use speed clamps on the rubber hoses near to the heater to minimise coolant loss.

When refitted be sure to open the bleed valve on the top of the heater to expel any air. Top any losses with 50% solution of antifreeze.

Cheers

A

[graycat]

Hi , use speed clamps on the rubber hoses near to the heater to minimise coolant loss.

When refitted be sure to open the bleed valve on the top of the heater to expel any air. Top any losses with 50% solution of antifreeze.

Cheers

A

Thanks folks, will pick up a couple of clamps

[NMEA]

If you are having to do a strip out service why on earth would you want to keep the fluid, do the job right and change it, the inhibitor in the Antifreeze is spent if it’s more than eighteen months to two years old.

[international_boatbuilder]

If you are having to do a strip out service why on earth would you want to keep the fluid, do the job right and change it, the inhibitor in the Antifreeze is spent if it’s more than eighteen months to two years old.

 

Noting the logo on your profile :-

 

IS THIS THE OFFICIAL POSITION OF THE NATIONAL MARINE ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION ON THE SUBJECT?

[NMEA]

No,why would my controling body for electronics and electrics care? but it is my position as a factory trained and appointed Webasto and Mikuni dealer and service tech.

Edited February 15, 2012 by NMEA

[smileypete]

No,why would my controling body for electronics and electrics care? but it is my position as a factory trained and appointed Webasto and Mikuni dealer and service tech.

Here's a bit of an open question if you don't mind, when these heaters coke up, is it mainly due to slow warmup time from cold, long running time at idle once hot, poor installation or contaminated fuel?

 

cheers,

Pete.

[NMEA]

It is usually a combination of poor install and poor fuel, few DIY installers even think about setting them up right let alone have an exhaust gas analyzer to set the burn rate correctly after they have installed or they have been fiddling. Poor fuel, high sulphur content meant that the lack of correct burn rate was compounded. That should be less of an issue now as apart from coastal marinas all red should now be ULSD. The ones that we have least trouble with are pro installed and regularly serviced so it speaks for itself. All that said, running at low burn rate makes things even worse if the above applies. I just wish they were all pressure jet instead of evaperator burners, we rarely have issues with the larger pressure jet models

Edited February 16, 2012 by NMEA

[STUBAG]

It is usually a combination of poor install and poor fuel, few DIY installers even think about setting them up right let alone have an exhaust gas analyzer to set the burn rate correctly after they have installed or they have been fiddling. Poor fuel, high sulphur content meant that the lack of correct burn rate was compounded. That should be less of an issue now as apart from coastal marinas all red should now be ULSD. The ones that we have least trouble with are pro installed and regularly serviced so it speaks for itself. All that said, running at low burn rate makes things even worse if the above applies. I just wish they were all pressure jet instead of evaperator burners, we rarely have issues with the larger pressure jet models

While we are on the subject of these "spawn of the devil"/life-givers, is there any fact to back up the suggestion that running them on paraffin or kerosene for a very short time can benefit by "decoking" them? Just wondering 'cos ,although I did a Chris M style strip last year, could Iget away with a brief paraffin-burn this year?

[NMEA]

There was an Eberspacher dealer service bulletin out a few years ago, because of the poor fuel on some canals there were a number of rejected warranty claims and we were advised at that time that a good run flat out on quality paraffin for a while would help, it did in some cases but not others. My personal view (not factory) is that a lot of water heaters are a bit over specced too which means they run low for too long. Cokong should not be the issue it is though, trucks and motor homes go for ages without coking up, so we come back to fuel quality in many cases. The addition of FAME to a lot of the ULSD red now sold may or may not cause problems in the future, I guess it depends on how long it sits in peoples tanks. I did think of conducting a long term experiment using a seperate tank and diverter valve to run on paraffin every couple of months or so but as I don't have issues with coking up it would not be a real test.