Heating

[ZimbiIV]

I need to replace the heating on the boat, the eber does not work anymore, (it went bang) was quoted £1850 for a Webasto system.

Does anyone have a recommendation that could be cheaper?

Is the Planar any good or should I look at a gas system?

I do not want to pay a fortune but Jill doesn't like the cold, so in a heatwave I thought it might be a sensible question.

paul

 

[finny]

a couple of pals with camper vans are raving about blown heater units from china less than £200 ,sorry i dont have any more info but a search on the net could be worthwhile 

 

finny

 

[Guest]

The propex gas heaters are more expensive to run and a hassle if you happen to run out of gas at the wrong time.

On the plus side they are cheaper to buy, install and maintain, and do not have the large start up current draw of a diesel unit.

 

[dnks34]

Is there no chance it can be repaired

Repair will work out cheaper if its possible. 

 

[scraggs]

37 minutes ago, finny said:

a couple of pals with camper vans are raving about blown heater units from china less than £200 ,sorry i dont have any more info but a search on the net could be worthwhile 

 

finny

 

There is a facebbook group for the chinese heaters, they have a lot of error codes come up and heater plug failure is really common, also consider that they are not CE market, if anything went wrong the insurance company may be a bit funny about it.

[scraggs]

The genuine Plannar heaters get quite good reviews but compare the wattage used on the 4kw which is way over webby's and eber's and it's air output on both the 2kw and 4kw units is way under both webby's and eber's on full power.
That said they are cheaper so a bit of a trade off, also the 4kw uses pretty large bore ducting 100mm iirc.

[finny]

i had a new ebber system fitted - personally i wish i would have gone down the gas route considering all costs overall plus i had a double bottle gas locker - missed the boat on that one 

finny

[scraggs]

I had a propex in a camper I built and doubt I would fit another, it made an annoying gurgling noise when the burner was on, it was sent back to Propex to be checked and it was how it should be apparently.
Although the quality of service from Propex was very good.

[Starbrite]

I bought a kit from butlertecknic online and fitted it my self you can download manuals from here too found it easy to fit

Sent from the Norfolk Broads Network mobile app

[Cal]

If you already have a heater installed why not just replace the heater unit. Presumably the ducting and wiring is still all in useable condition?

[Guest]

Have you tried Mikuni they are basically copies of the other two brands but considerably less expensive.

The eastern agent for them used to be a member on here, Antares I think was his user name. If you would like

more information let me know and I can get more details for you.

[Vaughan]

Could I just make a general comment?

I have a camper van with Trumatic blown air gas heating and I have used the same on hire boats. It is very efficient and very quiet.

The important thing on a boat is that it must be a room sealed unit. In other words, it takes its combustion air from outside the boat. This is not always the case on a camper van as they often have air grills in the floor in cupboards so that air can come up through the chassis. You can't do that in a boat, or you would sink it! So make sure it is installed so that the intake of combustion air does not come from within the living space.

[ZimbiIV]

Thanks for the replies.

The unit is tucked away in a corner of the engine bay and as I have back problems so I won't be trying to get in there.

The whole lot is 27 years old so I thought of changing it all.

I did think of gas but have realised the piping would have to go near the engine so I have dropped that idea.

I know it could be done safely but not having gas pipes near the engine is safer!

paul

[ranworthbreeze]

On 28/07/2018 at 20:35, ZimbiIV said:

I need to replace the heating on the boat, the eber does not work anymore, (it went bang) was quoted £1850 for a Webasto system.

Does anyone have a recommendation that could be cheaper?

Is the Planar any good or should I look at a gas system?

I do not want to pay a fortune but Jill doesn't like the cold, so in a heatwave I thought it might be a sensible question.

paul

 

Hello Paul, 

I have seen these units available for around £350 as an exchange unit and they come with a 12 months warranty. Just do a google search. We have used service kits with all the seals in the past for around £50.00 but that is only any good for a relatively working unit.

Regards

Alan 

 

[annv]

Hi Paul First of all do you need heating and cooling? If so the best unit(often the dearest) works out to be the cheapest, and most reliable in the long run for max enjoyment and no hassle,That's providing! off cause you are keeping the boat and not bogging for a quick sale.John

Edited August 7, 2018 by annv
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