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Any opinion on Diesel Heaters please


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2 minutes ago, WotEver said:

New link:

https://lookaside.fbsbx.com/file/Operational Instruction of Air Heaters 2.2kw-4kw(1).pdf

 

Hmmm... looks just like the old link..,

Yet this one works. Odd. 

 

Yep, works for me too. Thanks!

And yes looks the same as the old link to me too. Old link still doesn't work...

 

 

P.S. that pocket oscilloscope is in the post to you at last!

 

(Well it will be in half an hour...)

 

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On 29/08/2018 at 11:47, doratheexplorer said:

If you're living on your boat in winter, you really need a solid fuel stove.  

 

Yes I completely agree. I've met a number of new boaters who relied on diesel as their main form of beating through winter but most types just aren't reliable enough. The drip fed diesel heaters seem to be the most reliable but if you're living aboard through winter you need something that can't really go wrong and that I'm afraid means a solid fuel stove. 

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2 hours ago, blackrose said:

but if you're living aboard through winter you need something that can't really go wrong and that I'm afraid means a solid fuel stove. 

I would rephrase that and say "less likely to go wrong". The back blanking plate on my morso squirrel fell off a couple of weeks ago, metal holding lug had cracked and came away, fixed that problem and then a week later the top reducing ring cracked which meant that the high temp sealant came adrift. I was fortunate that these problems occurred before winter had set in. 

The back plate failed when I was burning a small amount of paper waste, heard a sound and then saw flames coming out of the back of the stove, lucky I didn't have a full fire going at the time also lucky that I was there when it happened. 

So solid fuel stoves can fail. 

Currently looking at a backup system, looks like a planar would be a good contender. 

Edited by reg
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14 hours ago, reg said:

I would rephrase that and say "less likely to go wrong". The back blanking plate on my morso squirrel fell off a couple of weeks ago, metal holding lug had cracked and came away, fixed that problem and then a week later the top reducing ring cracked which meant that the high temp sealant came adrift. I was fortunate that these problems occurred before winter had set in. 

The back plate failed when I was burning a small amount of paper waste, heard a sound and then saw flames coming out of the back of the stove, lucky I didn't have a full fire going at the time also lucky that I was there when it happened. 

So solid fuel stoves can fail. 

Currently looking at a backup system, looks like a planar would be a good contender. 

Planar seems to be my (after much deliberation) choice of hot air blower also. If anyone has a planar please please chuck up thoughts or opinions of it

 

Thanks ?

Edited by Matt&Jo
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16 hours ago, blackrose said:

 

Yes I completely agree. I've met a number of new boaters who relied on diesel as their main form of beating through winter but most types just aren't reliable enough. The drip fed diesel heaters seem to be the most reliable but if you're living aboard through winter you need something that can't really go wrong and that I'm afraid means a solid fuel stove. 

It means more than one method, solid fuel to me would be my last choice as it needs too much attention, good for when your onboard but really poor for general background heating when your not around.  Drip fed diesel does both and is a lot cleaner.

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On 30/09/2018 at 15:51, Robbo said:

It means more than one method, solid fuel to me would be my last choice as it needs too much attention, good for when your onboard but really poor for general background heating when your not around.  Drip fed diesel does both and is a lot cleaner.

But the smell and feeling of a log fire is sooooo comforting and warming and i actualy like setting the fire or cleaning it out. I like the whole work for my own gain ethos. Will say tho my boat needs back up heating for sure!!!!

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On 30/09/2018 at 15:41, Matt&Jo said:

Planar seems to be my (after much deliberation) choice of hot air blower also. If anyone has a planar please please chuck up thoughts or opinions of it

 

Thanks ?

Will be buying another Air Heater this Winter ,will look at the Chinese 'Planar' Heaters ,they have been around for a while and reliability or lack of should be proven.will bench test it for several days prior to Installing on the Boat.

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I jury-rigged mine up at the weekend to test-run it and its a GREAT little heater. Quiet(ish) and powerful. 

 

One big irritation is the £160 price tag did not include a skin fitting for the exhaust, and a skin fitting to suit the 24mm exhaust tube is £40, bringing the price of the unit and fitting kit from £160 to £200. 

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10 hours ago, Matt&Jo said:

But the smell and feeling of a log fire is sooooo comforting and warming and i actualy like setting the fire or cleaning it out. I like the whole work for my own gain ethos. Will say tho my boat needs back up heating for sure!!!!

If you can smell it, theirs somethig wrong with it as it should all go up the flue.

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On ‎30‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 15:41, Matt&Jo said:

Planar seems to be my (after much deliberation) choice of hot air blower also. If anyone has a planar please please chuck up thoughts or opinions of it

 

Thanks ?

Just remember that the blown-air heaters use a LOT of lectrickery to power not only the 'spark' but the blower as well.

 

I have a 8Kw hot-air heater and its 'continuous' rating is 115 Watts (10 amps, ie 100Ah over 10 hours)

Start up is 330 watts (almost 30 amps).

You need 2x 110Ah batteries dedicated to it, and then of course a suitable method of replacing the lectrickery used.

Fuel consumption is 1.05 litres per hour on 'high' and 0.4 litres per hour on 'low'

 

Read the specification carefully for 'electrical consumption'.

 

 

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48 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

No. That's the smoke going up the chimney and back in through the windows.

Not that particular health then and if it happens often you should look to getting a taller flue.

Edited by Robbo
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40 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

Just remember that the blown-air heaters use a LOT of lectrickery to power not only the 'spark' but the blower as well.

 

I have a 8Kw hot-air heater and its 'continuous' rating is 115 Watts (10 amps, ie 100Ah over 10 hours)

Start up is 330 watts (almost 30 amps).

You need 2x 110Ah batteries dedicated to it, and then of course a suitable method of replacing the lectrickery used.

Fuel consumption is 1.05 litres per hour on 'high' and 0.4 litres per hour on 'low'

 

Read the specification carefully for 'electrical consumption'.

 

 

And that low is quite high for a boat like a narrowboat.   When choosing a heater like these it’s not really the max output you should be looking at but the minimal one.   

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Hi guys,

 

So, after much deliberation I've finally decided to fork out for a Refleks Diesel Heater. At the cost £940  it is steep I agree. Though the advantages far outweigh those of the Chinese planar heater. I think that Chinese heater would be good to initially warm the boat up but if you want something running all through Winter pretty much constantly, I think the Refleks stove is worth the money. 

Saying that, I've now bought the Chinese heater,  so if anyone wishes to buy mine unboxed and set it up then please let me know. I bought it for £170, but I'll sell it for £150. I'll advertise on the Chinese FB page too. Thanks for all your advice though. Let me know if you think I'm making the right choice. 

Cheers 

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7 minutes ago, Bread said:

Hi guys,

 

So, after much deliberation I've finally decided to fork out for a Refleks Diesel Heater. At the cost £940  it is steep I agree. Though the advantages far outweigh those of the Chinese planar heater. I think that Chinese heater would be good to initially warm the boat up but if you want something running all through Winter pretty much constantly, I think the Refleks stove is worth the money. 

Saying that, I've now bought the Chinese heater,  so if anyone wishes to buy mine unboxed and set it up then please let me know. I bought it for £170, but I'll sell it for £150. I'll advertise on the Chinese FB page too. Thanks for all your advice though. Let me know if you think I'm making the right choice. 

Cheers 

will be ordering one shortly at £139! prices are drifting down..

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1 hour ago, Bread said:

Hi guys,

 

So, after much deliberation I've finally decided to fork out for a Refleks Diesel Heater. At the cost £940  it is steep I agree. Though the advantages far outweigh those of the Chinese planar heater. I think that Chinese heater would be good to initially warm the boat up but if you want something running all through Winter pretty much constantly, I think the Refleks stove is worth the money. 

Can't remember if I mentioned this in this thread but it's worth a mention just incase you've not thought about it and that's on the storage of diesel.    With solid fuel you storage is anywhere and once you've used it's basically just a plastic bag not taking up any room.  With diesel unless your close to a supplier you need a large tank to last throughout winter,  on just heating alone I can go though around 50-60litres a week on average, although I'm a widebeam that's part way through refitting so there is no insulation under the floor yet.

Edited by Robbo
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2 minutes ago, Robbo said:

Can't remember if I mentioned this in this thread but it's worth a mention just incase you've not thought about it and that's on the storage of diesel.    With solid fuel you storage is anywhere and once you've used it's basically just a plastic bag not taking up any room.  With diesel unless your close to a supplier you need a large tank to last throughout winter,  on just heating alone I can go though around 50-60litres a week on average, although I'm a widebeam that's part way through refitting so there is no insulation under the floor yet.

I find with the multi fuel stove that as it is running all the time, the boat is always hot and more often than not you are opening doors or cratch covers to let cold air in during cold spells. WIth a diesel heater, (we had an air blown one on our lumpy water boat), the boat was usually colder as you tended to only run it when needed to reduce potential high cost. Having done both, I prefer the keeping it hot and cooling via windows. Couldnt be without the stove now despite getting gassed when there is no wind and an inversion (maybe we need a bigger chimney for when parked up!!!).

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5 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

I find with the multi fuel stove that as it is running all the time, the boat is always hot and more often than not you are opening doors or cratch covers to let cold air in during cold spells. WIth a diesel heater, (we had an air blown one on our lumpy water boat), the boat was usually colder as you tended to only run it when needed to reduce potential high cost. Having done both, I prefer the keeping it hot and cooling via windows. Couldnt be without the stove now despite getting gassed when there is no wind and an inversion (maybe we need a bigger chimney for when parked up!!!).

 

Have you found many inversions at canal level ?

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9 minutes ago, Dr Bob said:

I find with the multi fuel stove that as it is running all the time, the boat is always hot and more often than not you are opening doors or cratch covers to let cold air in during cold spells. WIth a diesel heater, (we had an air blown one on our lumpy water boat), the boat was usually colder as you tended to only run it when needed to reduce potential high cost. Having done both, I prefer the keeping it hot and cooling via windows. Couldnt be without the stove now despite getting gassed when there is no wind and an inversion (maybe we need a bigger chimney for when parked up!!!).

I have a drip fed heater, once it gets cold out you run it all the time, it’s not automatic on its output like other diesel heaters so you need to manually adjust for what ever temperature it is outside.  It’s also best to make small dec/increments so not to upset the fuel/air balance.

Edited by Robbo
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1 minute ago, Robbo said:

I have a drip fed heater, once it gets cold out you run it all the time, it’s not automatic on its output like other diesel heaters so you need to manually adjust for what ever temperature it is outside.

 

Would it not be more beneficial to adjust it to a temperature 'higher' than outside (particularly in colder weather)

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3 minutes ago, Alan de Enfield said:

 

Would it not be more beneficial to adjust it to a temperature 'higher' than outside (particularly in colder weather)

I said manually adjust for the temperature outside not to the temperature.

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1 hour ago, Robbo said:

Can't remember if I mentioned this in this thread but it's worth a mention just incase you've not thought about it and that's on the storage of diesel.    With solid fuel you storage is anywhere and once you've used it's basically just a plastic bag not taking up any room.  With diesel unless your close to a supplier you need a large tank to last throughout winter,  on just heating alone I can go though around 50-60litres a week on average, although I'm a widebeam that's part way through refitting so there is no insulation under the floor yet.

 

I have a Kabola Old Dutch diesel drip stove on my 60 foot narrowboat, fed from a dedicated 60 litre tank in one of the bow lockers. It can however be filled from the engines tank via a transfer pump as well as directly from its fill point.

 

Left on its lowest setting, 24/7, it keeps the boat lovely and warm and the 60 litre tank lasts about 10 days.

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41 minutes ago, cuthound said:

 

I have a Kabola Old Dutch diesel drip stove on my 60 foot narrowboat, fed from a dedicated 60 litre tank in one of the bow lockers. It can however be filled from the engines tank via a transfer pump as well as directly from its fill point.

 

Left on its lowest setting, 24/7, it keeps the boat lovely and warm and the 60 litre tank lasts about 10 days.

Forgot mine shares with the generator, so looks like our figures probably be about the same.

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