Diesel Heating System - Help!

[AdamGriffin]

Hi all, my diesel heating unit recently went bellies up on me and now doesnt work, i'm hoping someone here can either point me in the right direction as to where i can either can it fixed, or purchase a new one?

 

any help would be greatly appreciated =)

 

many thanks,

 

Adam

[STUBAG]

Hi all, my diesel heating unit recently went bellies up on me and now doesnt work, i'm hoping someone here can either point me in the right direction as to where i can either can it fixed, or purchase a new one?

 

any help would be greatly appreciated =)

 

many thanks,

 

Adam

What system is it? Webasto? Eberspacher?Mikuni? Kabola?More specifics will generate more advice.

[AdamGriffin]

What system is it? Webasto? Eberspacher?Mikuni? Kabola?More specifics will generate more advice.

 

My apologies, it is currently an Eberspacher Hydronic D5W 12v Narrow Boat - Diesel 5.2KW

 

Hope this helps.

[Ray T]

We have a DW5 on our boat and they are not the most trouble free devices.

 

Two choices: DIY as in video.

 

 

Or take it to a motor manufacturers service depot e.g. Carwood.

 

http://www.carwood.co.uk/

 

There is a thread of similar ilk on the forum but I can't locate it at the moment.

 

Found it: http://www.canalworl...=1

 

BTW welcome to the forum.

 

ETA we have a multi fuel stove + the eardrumsmasher, I would not consider solely relying on the Ebby.

Edited September 27, 2012 by Ray T

[IanM]

Just looking at what you have posted i can see your in a bit of a pickle, at the point of either, repair or just purchase a new one, if your looking for either WWW.EBERSPACHERSALES.COM is great for that, they do repairs and also sell new diesel heating systems on the website for great prices

 

Reported.

[RLWP]

and you have reported myself because of what reason? helping a confused sailer? I used that website for buying mine and i recommended it because in my personal opinion it was the best i had found.

 

Ian has overreacted, however it would be best if you bunged some sort of disclaimer in when you recommend a website

 

I'm afraid that at a casual glance, your posting did look like spam (website address in CAPITALS, new member, etc, etc)

 

Richard

[Roger Gunkel]

I would seriously consider replacing the Eberspacher with a solid fuel stove if you are intending to live aboard,. The reliability and cost of keeping the Eber going is going to be very high and replacing it with SF would be a cheaper option.

 

For those with any doubts about diesel or solid fuel for long term heating, just look at the current threads with calls for help on diesel heating systems and the number of new threads on the same subject over the next few months.

 

Roger

[RLWP]

ahh apologies, i will keep that in mind for future posts, thank you

 

No problem James. We had quite a bit of trouble with spammers a while back, something that you wouldn't have known

 

Richard

[Roger Gunkel]

and you have reported myself because of what reason? helping a confused sailer? I used that website for buying mine and i recommended it because in my personal opinion it was the best i had found.

I would suggest that you are suspected pf being a spammer, as a quick look at your profile shows that all your posts on this forum so far are in response to heating enquiries and all promote the same company. There is also no other information in your profile to suggest that you are a boater rather than representing that company.

 

Apolpgies if incorrect, but it certainly appears somewhat suspicious from a new member.

 

Roger

[IanM]

I would suggest that you are suspected pf being a spammer, as a quick look at your profile shows that all your posts on this forum so far are in response to heating enquiries and all promote the same company. There is also no other information in your profile to suggest that you are a boater rather than representing that company.

 

Apolpgies if incorrect, but it certainly appears somewhat suspicious from a new member.

 

Roger

 

My apologies, that's exactly what I thought.

[AdamGriffin]

Thanks for the replies guys, especially to RayT, I think I might have a go at repairing it myself and give myself a well deserved pat on the back after i fix it (fingers crossed!)

 

James80 also thank you for the website to purchase a new diesel heating system, if i was going to puchase one i would consider going there as the prices were to my liking. So i will keep that in mind for the future (even though it has generated some quiestioning)

 

Again, thank you guys for all the help, all the best guys and happy sailing,

 

Adam

[Roger Gunkel]

sorry guys, i will try and update my profile as time allows, apologies if it seemed like that

It's probably not helped by the fact that the company domain name was only registered a few months ago, they have been trading a very short time, and they show no address on the website. Coincidentally, you state that you bought your Eberspacher from them and you give your location as Stoke, which is where the domain name registrant Tim Green also lives!!

 

Welcome to the forum by the way,

 

Roger

[bizzard]

Thanks for the replies guys, especially to RayT, I think I might have a go at repairing it myself and give myself a well deserved pat on the back after i fix it (fingers crossed!)

 

James80 also thank you for the website to purchase a new diesel heating system, if i was going to puchase one i would consider going there as the prices were to my liking. So i will keep that in mind for the future (even though it has generated some quiestioning)

 

Again, thank you guys for all the help, all the best guys and happy sailing,

 

Adam

I fixed one of these a few weeks ago that did nothing at all when switched on. There was a fuse box near the boiler and the fuses and holder were all corroded and knackered, i just fitted two new inline fuse holders and fuses in their and that was the trouble, and away it went. Also try starting your engine first before firing it up to ensure there's enough 12v juice for the electric pump and glow plug.

[Lady Muck]

I would suggest that you are suspected pf being a spammer, as a quick look at your profile shows that all your posts on this forum so far are in response to heating enquiries and all promote the same company. There is also no other information in your profile to suggest that you are a boater rather than representing that company.

 

Apolpgies if incorrect, but it certainly appears somewhat suspicious from a new member.

 

Roger

 

It does yes.

[kingslock]

My apologies, it is currently an Eberspacher Hydronic D5W 12v Narrow Boat - Diesel 5.2KW

 

Hope this helps.

You may be better having a smaller heater fitted that works hard as most Narrowboats cannot accommodate 5kw worth of rads to make any heater work hard all hater with not enought thermal load will cause issues. No mater what make webasto unit tend to be more tolerant

You need to work out you're thermal load simply measure your rads and look up there out put prior to fixing or replaceing your heater you need to match the load to the heater to get reliable system

For more info call Steve at Kingslock Chandlery

[blackrose]

I would seriously consider replacing the Eberspacher with a solid fuel stove if you are intending to live aboard,. The reliability and cost of keeping the Eber going is going to be very high and replacing it with SF would be a cheaper option.

 

 

Having owned one I agree. Eberspachers, Webastos, Mikunis, etc - they are all toys, but they're ok if you don't live aboard.

 

The only decent diesel heaters are the drip-fed type such as Bubble, Refleks, etc, but even then they will never be as reliable as a good solid fuel stove.

[Roger Gunkel]

I will also urge caution to those with, or considering Mikumis, Eberspachers, Webastos and any similar diesel heaters that you may intend to use for permanent central heating on a liveaboard. If you run them on red diesel that is high in sulphur content, as is much of the diesel sold on inland waterways, you will regularly suffer from failures due to coking up and deposits from the sulphur content. Only low sulphur diesel such as road diesel or diesel to EN590, will fulfill the manufacturers requirements. They are also voltage sensetive and need to be run at optimum levels, whatever they may be

 

Many longer term members will remember mine and others long battles with manufacturers and suppliers of these units. One member, Paul Sylvan was so disgusted with the reliability of his new Webasto ThermoTopC, that he took Webasto to court and won his case on the grounds that it was unfit for purpose with the diesel that was then available at the waterside outlets. So if you can't run on EN590 or the lastest equivalent ( or perhaps kerosene), you can expect expensive trouble.at some point.

 

Roger

[GUMPY]

It has been illegal to sell high sulpher diesel on inland waterways for nearly two years now!

So the old bad fuel thing should have gone by the way......

[BargeeSpud]

I see you are in Stoke, found this outfit who are Eberspacher dealers so could be worth making an enquiry:

 

H Bowers

Normacot Road, Longton,

Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST3 1PU

 

Tel: 01782 599990

www.bowersmidland.co.uk

isimpson@bowersmidland.co.uk

 

A word of caution though & speaking from experience, repairing eberspachers can be chuffin expensive. A new blower motor for mine cost £280 just for the part!

 

My biggest bugbear is the fuse box. It holds those awful ceramic fuses that corrode for a laugh & when they do, the voltage drop can be enough for the unit not to fire up if the rest of the wiring isn't in good nick. I've recently had a problem of the damn thing only firing with the engine running because my voltage drop was 3V despite having cleaned the fuse contacts! Rather than try to locate the cause within the boats wirng, I've wired the unit directly to the batteries with 10mm2 cable & an inline fuse. Seems to have solved it, although someone on here will probably tell me that wasn't the right thing to have done. I stand by for enlightenment.

Edited September 28, 2012 by Spuds

[Roger Gunkel]

It has been illegal to sell high sulpher diesel on inland waterways for nearly two years now!

So the old bad fuel thing should have gone by the way......

Thanks for that information. Was that made as an official announcement and does it mean that all waterways diesel suppliers are now selling diesel to EN590 or the equivalent spec? If so, that should remove much of the coking up problem, although the other idiosyncracies and general sensitivity of those types of heaters, together with the running costs would still put them bottom of the list for 24/7 heating in my opinion.

 

Roger

[blackrose]

These type of heaters are so problematic that they're not worth bothering with.

[GUMPY]

It was jan 1st 2011 from memory all suppliers had to change to low sulpher, now the catch is that one way of doing it is by adding bio diesel as is done in road fuel up to 7% it has been said that this causes other problems. The other way is without bio not sure how they do this but its sold as fame free. There have been many discussions about it most notably on YBW where they were all getting hot under the collar about fame

 

 

 

FAME fatty acid methyl ester or bio diesel to you and me

 

These type of heaters are so problematic that they're not worth bothering with.

Not really depends on how you use them Ive been using both blown and drip feed for the best part of 20 years with very few problems

[Roger Gunkel]

It was jan 1st 2011 from memory all suppliers had to change to low sulpher, now the catch is that one way of doing it is by adding bio diesel as is done in road fuel up to 7% it has been said that this causes other problems. The other way is without bio not sure how they do this but its sold as fame free. There have been many discussions about it most notably on YBW where they were all getting hot under the collar about fame

 

 

 

FAME fatty acid methyl ester or bio diesel to you and me

 

 

Not really depends on how you use them Ive been using both blown and drip feed for the best part of 20 years with very few problems

Just found an interesting article confirming your comments on diesel quality Julian LINK

 

The problems with the Webastspacher type heaters seems to be mainly with the water circulating types, such as hydronics and thermotops. . I have had an old Eberspacher air blown unit in my little seagoing boat for years with no problems at all, although it does only get used for a few hours each season.

 

Roger

[mrsmelly]

These type of heaters are so problematic that they're not worth bothering with.

 

I have to agree. My last boat had a mikuni mx 60 was brilliant and heated water and rads very quickly BUT it cost me a small fortune to keep it in good nick. My present boat has a webasto which as yet hasnt cost me a penny BUT my heating proper will be my solid fuel stove soon to be lit and kept alight all winter non stop, they realy are the ONLY option for full time use.

 

Tim

[BargeeSpud]

 

 

The problems with the Webastspacher type heaters seems to be mainly with the water circulating types, such as hydronics and thermotops. . I have had an old Eberspacher air blown unit in my little seagoing boat for years with no problems at all, although it does only get used for a few hours each season.

 

Roger

That's a good point Roger, mine fits into that category & I don't trust the beggar with all the problems its given me in return for the very little (relatively) use I've had out of it. If I go down the diesel heating route again, especially if I end up living aboard, it'll probably be a drip feed system like the Kabola I should think.