Webasto vs. Espar

[labatt]

I'm having a diesel heater installed on our boat. The Webasto is about $1,500 less, installed, than the Espar. From a quality perspective, am I pretty much comparing apples to apples here?

If they could only come up with diesel a/c

Chris

[TrueBlue]

I've posted here several times re: my overall satisfaction with our Espar D4 heating system. Sorry, but I know very little of Webasto's efficiency and quality.

But, if there's a $1,500 difference between similarly specified models, that can't be all company profit. The old adage, you get what you pay for, is usually spot on.

[svsirius]

I have a Webasto Airtop 5000 and it's great too. They are both good units and I think comparable. The guy that installed mine recommended the Webasto cause he has had fewer issues with them than Espars. The one thing he did mention is that the espar control unit will freeze if it sees too many [4 I think] faults and attempts to restart in a row and it then requires a factory reset. The Webasto does not have this feature. Mine has just the basic rheostat control and it has been keeping us warm all winter in Baltimore. So far so good.

[Valiente]

Is there a reason for choosing these "heat the whole boat" systems instead of a bulkhead or sole mounted heater like a Dickinson or similar?

I already have a Mermaid Air heat pump that I could conceivably run in water temperatures down to 40F, but the electrical draw is high, so A/C and heat are essentially shore power activities. My thought is to get a diesel bulkhead heater and simply to sleep in the saloon, thus heating only one area and using less heat/less cost. Another thought, of course, is to use 12 volt fans mounted in the existing venting to push warm air from the greenhouse-like pilothouse (sealed on a cold sunny day, it can stay remarkably warm in there, even without the engine on), or to use a block heater and fan from a car to plumb into the heat exchanger to send warm, non-engine-smelly air into the aft or forward cabins. Lastly, I do have the inverter and will have the amps to run ceramic or oil/electric rads for a limited amount of time. You could even do very simple things like put black tarps over the hatches on sunny, cold days. They'll heat up readily.

I'm not trying to dissuade you, but rather to find out your thought processes. I find it interesting that many of us run engines that send sometimes scalding hot water out the stern and then build entirely other ways to heat our cabins.

[TrueBlue]

Originally Posted by Valiente

Is there a reason for choosing these "heat the whole boat" systems instead of a bulkhead or sole mounted heater like a Dickinson or similar? . . . I'm not trying to dissuade you, but rather to find out your thought processes. I find it interesting that many of us run engines that send sometimes scalding hot water out the stern and then build entirely other ways to heat our cabins.

We essentially live aboard most days from May to October, away from the marina whenever possible. On those cool Spring and Fall days & nights I have very little concern over power drain.

The maximum electrical drain for the Espar D4 is 3 amps - at peak load. The average is about 2 amps. We've slept at anchor with outside low temps in the low 40's & interior temperature at 68 degrees (Farenheit). Upon waking, our battery banks remained at 12 + volts. Therefore the system is well-suited for cruising sailors.

Our four separate cabin spaces and 7 ducted outlets (aft cabin, pilothouse, galley/dinette/salon, forward cabin), plus two eclosed heads, each with a damper controlled air register, are all well served by the D4 furnace.

The beauty of diesel fired, central forced warm air, is that ALL cabins are toasty warm, not just in the vicinity of a bulkhead heater. We do not need to run the engine for heat - it's quiet, energy efficient and very effective. Of course when on shore power there is no battery drain.

[svsirius]

Depends if you talking about living aboard in colder climes or not. We did whole heat as we are full time cruisers unfortunately stuck in Baltimore this winter. We were very happy we invested the extra dollars for heating the whole boat. Especially when outside it was 10 degree F.

[labatt]

We're not living aboard, but there are 4 of us - 2 adults, 2 kids, in 2 cabins. My wife is especially sensitive to cold weather (even though we do snowmobile) and we're hoping to extend our season by a month on either side by putting the heater in. Having it heat the whole boat vs. just an area will make it more homey, vs. having to find that specific spot in the boat that is actually warm. Just our thoughts... we're pretty sold on going with a whole boat heating system up here on Lake Champlain (and Maine next year).

[labatt]

Jon - I've also spoken to some people who have Espar's and have found it's about 50/50. Some people have had no problem with them, and others have them break frequently. I just can't find anyone out there (other than the couple here) who have Webasto's and can attest to their quality (or lack thereof).

[Sequitur]

FWIW, my investigation found Espar to be the most commonly installed diesel heating system here on the west coast, where most boaters view boating as a year-round thing. I heard of no significant problems with them, and have chosen the Espar hydronic system for installation in my new boat.