erberspacher heaters

[Brigid-Mary]

dear all,

I am new to the wonders of the warm air diesel heater systems and I have one fitted to our new boat of which the serveyor commented on as work in progress.

I have asked, continuously, at a local dealer to service and survey our heating system and I have now given up on the "service" offered.

As the onset of winter is upon us, I am concerned to have the unit serviced and given the once over. Any suggestions would be very much apprieciated.

Paul

[Boaters]

Hi Paul We had ours serviced at Panks in Norwich,not cheap but do a good job.

[Boaters]

Hi Paul.We had ours serviced at Panks in Norwich,not cheap but do a good job.

[mbird]

Hi Paul

They are not difficult units to work on, so it depends on how handy you are with a screw driver as to whether you pay someone else to do it, or carry it out yourself. These two links may give you some information:

http://www.boat-uk.com/2009/11/eberspacher-heater-airtronic-d4-not-working-smokey-exhaust/

http://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/Eberspacher_Intro_1.html

[MBA Marine]

The basics you can do yourself but without diagnostic you will not know if you have a problem with 'the black box' (control unit)!

[ranworthbreeze]

Our old management company used to use Pank's who charged us around £600 per year for servicing on our heating.

Last year we just bought a servicing kit for £68.00 (it comprises of all the seals required after stripping down the unit) we found a company on the internet for the kit, there was even a company that would refurbish any heater sent to them and return it with a 12 months waranty for a little over £300.

Paul if you want the details of the company that we bought the kit from please PM me.

Regards

Alan

[pks1702]

PM sent.

I found these to be very good

http://www.mellorautoelectrical.co.uk/s ... parts&sp=1

Full Kits, Parts, Repairs.

David is an authorised Dealer for Webasto, Mikuni, Wallas & Victron

[puddlejumper]

If its a new heater and working leave it just run at max heat for about 20mins a month these heaters coke up if run at low heat then need cleaning out aka

decoke easy job you can get all the info including all diagnostic codes off the net type up eberspacher and go through the various pages

[Oddfellow]

Like has been said, simple servicing of these is relatively easy. I say relatively - it depends on what tools you have and what the condition is.

Here's some pitfalls

The body is ali. It's soft and easily broken. I've seen units that have been butchered by people trying to take them apart, often because a screw has seized in the body and then too much force is applied and the thread breaks or the casing fractures.

Many have a mesh inside around the fuel jet. These are commonly replaced in a service, but often they can simply be cleaned. We've used plenty of simple chemicals on these from boiling them in vinegar and or coke to things slightly more caustic. That was before we invested in a shot blast cabinet!

Don't pull on wires. Pull the connectors only. If you need a better grip, use light force with some pliers on the connector; BUT make sure you appreciate how it comes apart before using force. Many are held in with latches or locking lugs.

If the unit turns on and runs, then there's probably little wrong. If it runs and then stop after a short time, it's probably overheating or out of power/fuel. It's not uncommon to see air inlet gauses full of fluff. This caues the air flow to reduce and the unit to overheat. If it's power related, charge the batteries or swicth off heater, run engine (make sure charging circuit is working) and then start the heater again.

[Brigid-Mary]

Thanks for all the replies I have had to this post, I suppose what I am after is somone to come down to the boat and check the installation and unit out.

at the moment there is a pall ofblue smoke emitting from the exhaust an an intermittant heat output. Someone said that the supply cables are not big enough and so indicating a low voltage problem. There is certainly enough voltage in the batteries so I just dont know.

Paul

[MBA Marine]

Thanks for all the replies I have had to this post, I suppose what I am after is somone to come down to the boat and check the installation and unit out.

at the moment there is a pall ofblue smoke emitting from the exhaust an an intermittant heat output. Someone said that the supply cables are not big enough and so indicating a low voltage problem. There is certainly enough voltage in the batteries so I just dont know.

Paul

Your too far away for me, low voltage maybe an issue but that would be on start up, once its running it shouldn't be much of a factor, unless you have tiny cables then having your engine running or a battery charger switched on should increase the voltage enough to negate voltage drop down the cables.

Most likely is that its full of soot, but it could also be the control unit (PCB or brain box) has failed and the unit is a tad confused (hope that its not this as it is very expensive).

Things you could check before you pay people, is the fuel turned on? there might be another tap you have missed, if the fuel is off then the unit will try to start then run the blower for a minute before shutting down, also as one forum member here has experienced is the fuel pump clicking? slow clicks then fast as it fires up.

[Antares_9]

Hi Paul, I haven't posted much, if at all on the forum for the last few months, largely due to the negotiations finalising, and opening of my new depot in South Dock Marina London alongside normal operations, it has taken up all of my available time. I make the following observations and ask questions, what model of Ebo do you have, different models have individual foibles, blue smoke is most unusual, white or grey yes but not blue. The issue with evaporate heaters is everybody thinks they are simple, and indeed the simple things are simple and a monkey could deal with them but often the untrained tinkering monkey introduces more problems than they solve. As the surveyor describes the thing as a work in progress It might be helpful to check a couple of things, firstly the fuel supply, is it a proper 2mm bore standpipe from the tank leading to 2mm bore supply all the way to the pump and from there to the heater? What is the distance from the standpipe to the pump? what is the elevation of the pump above the tank level? Is this a real marine heater or something taken out of a BT van? The questions and answers are so numerous that the best I can advise is to get somebody trained, qualified, with manufacturer backup and equally importantly somebody who takes a pride in what they do .Sadly from past experience such a combination is rare in Broadland. Just a pity it's not a Webasto as you have one of the most respected (by other technicians who know) people in the country on your doorstep. Voltage is not related to your symptoms, though voltage is not the issue anyway it is power loss that matters, voltage can be 13.5vDC measured with a meter but as soon as you try to use power the resistance prevents it, this not about small conductors per. se. but rather resistance which can be undersized cables, resistance at terminals, resistance due to corrosion even in larger conductors where ordinary copper instead of tinned has been used, anyway that is academic for this purpose as it is unlikely to be the issue. Fistly try a decoke service and move from there.