Espar/Webasto/Wallas heaters

[sailorboy1]

Looking at the 3 forced air diesel heaters the Espar pricing seems to be a lot lower. maybe because there appears to be more places to buy them so it drives the price down.

But anyone else have any input on why the pricing on the Espar is lower than the Webasto and Wallas units (doesn't appear to be reliability)?

[sailorboy1]

No one has any input into Espar/Webasto/Wallas forced air diesel heaters?

What if I propose it has something to do with gun rights?

[HappyMdRSailor]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

No one has any input into Espar/Webasto/Wallas forced air diesel heaters?

What if I propose it has something to do with gun rights?

SB...

I prefer the Esparforth for regular day hooking and a secondary... WabastoPlow for a primary and muddy bottoms... Know nothing of the WallasFisherman other than the design is outdated...

[Tellus]

Espar is brandname of Eberspaecher in US, here in Europe well known product like Webasto, Truma or Alde. They all are top in trucks, marine, camper etc..
Wallas are most used in marine sector, but seems to be not very reliable (electronic), people told in German forums.

[SailFastTri]

I had an Espar hot air heater in a prior boat. To be fair it was an old unit from '94 but it would frequently foul the glow plug and need service. I was told by the regional repair shop that this was typical. I would hope the newest units have overcome this design issue, but would shy away from Espar based on this experience unless I could confirm that.

There are also Japanese and Russian made brands in this type of product. Just search the web for "diesel forced air heater".

[Sandero]

I have an Espar Airtronic 4 w/ 3 outlets. It's great! Install is simple. Of course you have to run the 3" flex ducts and the exhaust thru the hull. But this is not difficult for a cruising sailor. You have to connect the heater to your diesel tank using a small metering pump. The rest is just plug made up cables from the t stat to the heater and fuel pump.

The heat is dry, the heater is quiet and comes up quickly. No complaints whatsoever. You can install it yourself.

[sailorboy1]

I'm starting to think it would be better to have the hydronic unit and be able to use it to heat the potable water at the same time. You also don't have to run the air ducts all over the place and instead use regular water hose.

[SailFastTri]

Originally Posted by sailorboy1

I'm starting to think it would be better to have the hydronic unit and be able to use it to heat the potable water at the same time. You also don't have to run the air ducts all over the place and instead use regular water hose.

Yes that's an option. The penalty is electrical consumption for running the water pump vs. running a fan. They use a lot more power.

[sailorboy1]

Originally Posted by SailFastTri

Yes that's an option. The penalty is electrical consumption for running the water pump vs. running a fan. They use a lot more power.

I have solar so not worried about the electrical power for the water pump all that much.

Looks that the hydronic unit is about the same price once you add a radiator to the cost.