Carebbian old Webasto boat heater HL3003 41 looking for help

[Doco]

Hi All,

I am seeking help and information re:my Carebbian cruiser 39ft,  looking for help with an old Webasto boat heater HL3003 41. Please find phot's below.

I bought this heater for my boat, the seller stated it was in working order.

This is the type of heater that was in my boat when new, all the fittings are present in  my boat, but I never had the heater itself.

Anyway we have tried to run it on a bench but got no joy, wondering if any members know how to set it up on a bench to test it, we have tryed but a relay was a bit ifi,.....so we fitted on from a car. Also how to service it. All help is most welcome.

Regards

David

[BuffaloBill]

Hi David. On your bench test, did you hear the fuel pump clicking away?

If yes, did fuel get through to the heater? Disconnect the pipe from the

'heater' side of the pump and see if it pumps fuel out of it.

If there's any air in the fuel system, it generally will not start and

will need to be bled before it will. Even then, it may need to be started

several times before it bleeds the system inside the heater.

Is the battery you are using up to the job? It needs a huge amount of

power to get those things started! When I did mine at home, I had to

connect the charger to the battery to deliver enough charge to start it.

Any further info you can supply would help with the diognosis.

[C.Ricko]

Wow, it looks like something someone pulled out of my bin 20 years ago!

Check there is power to the glow plug and that the glow plug works.

Unless you have plenty of power going to the glow plug it probably wont start,

 

the subsequent 2 models to this are now obsolete so I guess most spares will be unavailable.

[Happy]

Clive.  I bet thats going to cheer him up!   Alan

[Doco]

Thanks so much and : BuffaloBill,, Alan, and Clive!

 

BuffaloBill re: "did you hear the fuel pump clicking away?" from memory yes, we will try a bench test again, we will see, you have made some good points, will update you when I get a chance to test it....Big THANKS!!!

Clive re:"power to the glow plug" from memory we had power, I remember it hot and smooking.......THANKS!!!!

Kind regards

David

[MBA Marine]

fill it with sand and use it as a mud weight, or give it to a boat museum! she's an oldie have you worked out where to shovel the coal in yet?

[diesel falcon]

 

test it like this!!  god help your ears defo needs silencers

[LondonRascal]

Wow takes me back!

 

I remember one of these that worked well on a Bermuda - if I remember correctly its control was in the rear cabin on starboard side under the dresser.  I was told, though not sure if true they were designed originally for German Tanks.

 

Then there was the one in a Caribbean Major it worked as far as hot air, but not only were the vents in cabins 'sooty' but there was actual fine smoke(not thick more like when you burn some oil in a pan) a sort of haze inside the boat when running.  In order to prevent this we would open the engine cover up and take the step tread off of the first step just outside of the aft door.  

Something clearly was not right, my dad having found opening the above stopped the this haze thought it was a good enough 'fix' and never called the boatyard but reported it on our return. 

 

I also remember it might take a couple of winds and the wait for the ticking mechanism to get to full heat and hope the green light stayed on and it carried on. 

 

The Caribbean Major also had a very large gas heater in the saloon, filled with wire wool which would glow a lovely orange evenly.  It melted one of my mums slippers which was left too close. 

 

Those were the days.

 

By the way the Germans seem to enjoy playing with these.  Here is one urm in a box.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MxBiKkwLkw

[Oddfellow]

That one is in military green too, Robin!

 

I guess there's something to say for trying to keep things original, but I think the long term prognosis for your heater isn't good.

 

As has been said already, they need a huge amount of power to get going and spares will be thin on the ground. Servicing the item will almost certainly break seals/gaskets that may be unbotainable. 

 

I am certainly no expert on these old heaters (the last time I saw one was in Clive's bin!), but even HL32 units from the 90's are rarely cost effective for repairs.

 

Power, power and more power is the key to starting it and make sure you fully document all those cables as moving them around too much will break connections and where will you be it two break?

[Doco]

Thanks for all that information and help. and kind regards David