eberspacher/webasto/mikuni/wallac heaters

[magnetman]

Very nice !

Might be worth asking on the norfolk broads forum and ybw as these people probably.use air heaters more than people on canal boats

That wallas would make a lovely wheelhouse heater

[NMEA]

Please, please, please. do not fit an evaporator, even a laminar evaporator one like the Wallas if you intend to run it for extended periods and rely on it for such a critical purpose unless you factor in a proper prophylactic invasive service every couple of years in the summer, otherwise it could easily end in tears. They are very convenient when used as intended but like all systems have their limitations. BTW your £1600 sounds a bit expensive, I could do you a Wallas 30DT for about £1350 but do not under estimate the cost of ducting, vents, duct lagging and other fitting accessories. Actually a Wallas is possibly the best option for the restricted siting options presented by a narrowboat as fitting in an internal locker is permitted due to the flue design, this is a definite and absolute no no with any of the others, certainly for a DIY fit. As to your query regarding the air heaters being quieter KW for KW, As the heat exchanger, evaporator and burner tube are much larger due to the fact that it air heat exchange is less efficient than liquid coolant the chamber acts as a silencer in itself, this parodoxically is why the Webasto 3.5KW is quieter than the 2kw, the thing is just so much bigger. The reason for the Wallas low noise (we never fit silencers) is due to the laminar burn which has a greater area of burner and combustion air passage, the internal air flow noise is reduced by having two outlets from the heater itself which reduces the air speed and attendant noise, but that means that duct lagging becomes more important. One last point, The Wallas exhaust terminal temperature is considerably lower than the others, before anybody asks how that can be possible it is due to the exhaust tube being inside the combustion air tube so it has a constant cooling effect from the cool air being drawn over it.

Edited November 2, 2014 by NMEA

[magnetman]

What pet is it doodlebug?

[Alan de Enfield]

Wallas is possibly the best option for the restricted siting options presented by a narrowboat as fitting in an internal locker is permitted due to the flue design, this is a definite and absolute no no with any of the others, certainly for a DIY fit.

 

From memory Doodles boat is a Tupperware cruiser.

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

 

From memory Doodles boat is a Tupperware cruiser.

Not sure !, but iI thithink it's about a 40ft or so Steel NB.

Have a look at the 'My wind Generator Works' thread just posted earlier today in General Boating.There is a picture

[smileypete]

With a bit of advanced plumbing how about using the calorifer as a thermal store/buffer tank?

 

Bit of a rainy day today so might do a diagram later

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

[Paul's Nulife4-2]

With a bit of advanced plumbing how about using the calorifer as a thermal store/buffer tank?

 

Bit of a rainy day today so might do a diagram later

 

cheers, Pete.

~smpt~

That's 'Sort' of what I did in my last boat.

I fitted a dedicated (Isolated closed system)

Calorifire of approximately 50 lts, that worked in the conventional way off the eng, my Eberspatcher WD5 & also had a 1kw Electric Element fitted (Connected to a 3hr timer when in use via my invertor) The sole purpose of This tank was to feed via a circulation pump

Connected to same timer as the Element the under floor heating I fitted in my smallish aft cabin for a few hours at night.

So, while going about my cruising day, & After I was happy that my main 'Domestic' Hot water

Calorifire was Toasty, I Diverted the Flow

to the 2nd 'Heating' Calorifire.

So long as the whole system was warmed up

and circulating before the eng was turned off

after a days cruise, then it gave a good 3 hrs of

noticeable heat afterwards, much longer if I kept my WD5 going !.

Edited November 2, 2014 by Paul's Nulife4-2

[stagedamager]

A question. There might be an obvious answer but I can't see it or have missed it. Is there a way of increasing the temperature set point of a D5W? The hot water comes out warm but no where near as hot as I would like.....am I being dumb?

Dan

[Alan de Enfield]

A question. There might be an obvious answer but I can't see it or have missed it. Is there a way of increasing the temperature set point of a D5W? The hot water comes out warm but no where near as hot as I would like.....am I being dumb?

Dan

 

There must be something as ours comes out at 85^o, is scalding hot and you need to run the cold tap (mixer) before turning on the hot one.

Mind you, it has its advantages - leave the boat for two days and the water in the calorifier is still hot enough for a shower.

[NMEA]

A question. There might be an obvious answer but I can't see it or have missed it. Is there a way of increasing the temperature set point of a D5W? The hot water comes out warm but no where near as hot as I would like.....am I being dumb?

Dan

Any one or more likely a combination of: calcification on the inside of the heat exchanger, a rich burn rate, a faulty set point sensor, ECU misreading the set point sensor, too high antifreeze concentration, cycling down too soon due to a small coolant quantity............

[stagedamager]

The choices are endless!! Is there a way of monitoring the output temperature with a controller or is it purely available to service engineers? At present it is controlled by a mini clock but we are looking to upgrade to a more sophisticated programmable one, is there which combines both programming and monitoring?

Regards

Dan

[NMEA]

You really need to hook up to EDITH to confirm the electronic stuff and also need an exhaust gas anayliser to check the burn, as part of the strip service I run heaters on the test bed with Rdlyme in the circulated water to scour out the calcium and my tank is usually coated with flakes after a few, its just one of the things often neglected on so called services.

Edited November 6, 2014 by NMEA

[stagedamager]

I thought as much!! Having just bought the boats I feel a service may indeed be in order!