Low price diesel heater

I’d go with the Webasto John. It works extremely well and has a proven track record. If you decide to go that route let me know and I can email you my invoices showing the retailers and part numbers for the accessories like exhaust thru-hull, fuel tank, mount and exhaust tube insulation. You can look around to get the best price on the main Webasto air top unit, but stay away from the Russian company selling them on Amizon! Or you can just pay a little more and order it all right from scan marine (or the company that sells the Wallis). Colby
 
Here's a comparison between the two for what it's worth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpdcRwgHCtQ
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Good Video.

Winter came early here in Alberta, so I have not finished installation on my Wabatso yet. But after watching this video, I feel that I made the right decision. I could have bought the cheap Chinese heater, but then I could also have bought a Bayliner for half the price of a C-Dory as well. I plan to keep the C-Dory for many years and since I live in Canada and plan to boat primarily in colder northern regions like the northern BC coast and Alaska, I think it will be money well spent in the long term. I find cheap tools tend to break when you need them most. Being German, I also like tools and products with the "Made in Germany' sticker on them as it usually equals a quality product. I equate 'Made in China' with disposable products, not always, but often enough. This is fine for something you are going to only use once or twice. So my vote goes to the Germans and not the Chinese.
 
ssobol is completely right. price does not equal quality. lot of price is advertizing or the original engineering. China is good at ripping off others ideas and producing them cheaply. I owned a 71 dastun 510. When they were new they were half the price of any ford or chevy. BEST built and engineered car I ever owned. At the time datsun did not spend a lot on advertising it and it was built were labor was cheaper. but still best built car I have owned.

I do not know if these heaters are good or not or just good enough but for people on a budget the price is worth looking in to. I have always thought the espars and wallas are overpriced, over complicated ( wallas stove is a fing night mare to repair) in design . I bought my espar heater ( which I love) for far less then the local boat shops wanted at the time by getting it off of craigslist as a unit for autos. Was told by many of the same Karen's here that it must be junk or not made for marine use etc etc. WEll eight years later I have not had to touch it other then replace the stainless steel exhaust this year. ( my fault for a bad install now fitted) .

So posted this to share ideas and info not condemn products I have not seen yet.
 
The video makes some points about safety issues, and the possibility of combustion products (including C0) getting into the boat thru the mounting plate or muffler (if used), but the exhaust hose looks very weak also.

My impression is that when the production is supervised by a good company that Chinese products can be of good quality. For example Nordhavn Yachts were made there for some time. (Taiwan, Thialand and Turkey now I believe--maybe some still in China). I have had some optical products and electronics from reliable firms which were good quality.

On the other hand, to compare Harbor Freight with a quality tool from Milwaukee there is a real difference. Most of the Harbor Freight tools, I have purchased and used were either mechanical, like a clamp, or for a one time use--such as a small diameter cutt off wheel. I picked up a Dremel knock Off--and it was crap--same with their bits etc.

If I were buying the heater, I would go with the genuine product. It's like boat anchors--there are some knock off of CQR, but they never held as well as the CQR. Would I trust my boat to Chinese chain? No.

About a year ago, I bought a copy of a German electrical switch off Amazon. The first time it had a 200 amp load (rated for 300 amps,( the "real deal" had often been loaded over 300 amps.). there was a spectacular failure with arcing, melting of the plastic and sparks....not a warm and fuzzy feeling on a boat!
 
singlecross":3jr18aog said:
I'll be installing one of the Amazon Chinese diesel heaters in my 22 Cruiser next week. I'll let you know how it goes.
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Can you help me with the name of the brand of this diesel heater you just quoted. Do post your experience on it too.
 
Was told by many of the same Karen's here
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Cool! We have indigenous people of Burma and Thailand here?

Ka·ren
/kəˈren/
plural noun: Karens
1.
a member of an indigenous people of eastern Burma (Myanmar) and western Thailand.
2.
the language of the Karen, probably Sino-Tibetan.
 
thataway":3o8jmcuy said:
... My impression is that when the production is supervised by a good company that Chinese products can be of good quality. ....
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All your iPhones come from China. Not a lot of complaints about their quality.

Up to a point you get what you pay for. However, some things cost a lot for other reasons besides the design, materials, and actual manufacturing costs (e.g. cache).

FWIW, according to people I know in China, the Chinese see the price tag as an indicator of quality. You can sell crap stuff at high prices and the Chinese will think it's a great product because of "Look at how much it cost!"
 
I don’t believe everything from China is bad. But in this situation we are talking about diesel heaters for/on our boats. We may be paying more for the name recognition or just due to supply and demand. If you’re happy with a throwaway heater or with one that is comparably inexpensive, go for it. I stuck with the high priced Webasto due to my experience with it and the recommendation of a mechanic that has experience with them. And for my peace of mind! Colby
 
I didn't quite throw away my Webasto. Somebody gave me $75 for the parts because they are so ridiculously expensive.

I thought some of the criticism in the video was clearly biased with the seller/installer making stuff up to justify the extra $500-$1K difference in price. For instance, the Chinese one had more and thinner cast aluminum fins. Yes, they would break easier if you hit them with a hammer. On the other hand, the casting would require more expertise and the heat transfer would be more efficient. Is your plan to hit it with a hammer or use it as a heater?

Criticism like the video often reveals the end of an era. Remember when the little Honda came out? Why buy a car from a Japanese motorcycle company when for $500 more you could buy an American Motors Gremlin? Now we know. Regardless of the claims at the time, the market sorted it out.
 
There are probably tens of millions of installed units of the knockoff heater model in China alone. If they were crap there'd be a lot of dead truck drivers and they wouldn't be making so many of them.

While some countries may not value people's lives as much as some others, if there was a problem with these heaters, they'd find a solution if for nothing else then keeping the economy running.
 
ssobol":hm8tp47z said:
There are probably tens of millions of installed units of the knockoff heater model in China alone. If they were crap there'd be a lot of dead truck drivers and they wouldn't be making so many of them.

While some countries may not value people's lives as much as some others, if there was a problem with these heaters, they'd find a solution if for nothing else then keeping the economy running.
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True, but many of the heaters were originally designed to be used on trucks, tractor cabs and the like. In these applications there is less potential for CO issues than on an enclosed boat. In any case, several good CO detectors are important. (Diesel will produce CO and I have seen --and experienced--the results.). The risk of clean burning diesel or kerosene is less than many other fuels, but still a potential--and the real risk comes at night when all are asleep...
 
So I put one in.....8k and warmer than you would ever want. I kind of doubt it's really 8k though since it appears to have exactly the same case as the 5k. I don't really know or even care since it can make the boat 90 degrees (or more) inside when it's 20 outside. Also, unlike the wallas cooktop, the flame seems to be very stable. It shut itself off one time this year, but it was because a fishing towel found it's way over the air intake in the gunnel and even provided the correct fault code. Wow! It also seems to burn much cleaner than my wallas with nearly no smoke at all. I really like the controller - It has a timer, displays voltage, shows temp, trouble codes, and a few other things. The manual is even better than I expected - totally usable. I didn't see a real measurable difference in the exhaust hose compared to the wallas - except it is a smaller diameter by a couple mils. Some said it might be cheap....maybe so, but I can't tell. My CO detector has never shown anything more then 0.0 inside the cabin with it running. In a nutshell - totally surprised by how good it is and quite happy.
 
Colby, we removed our Wallas many years ago, and replaced it with a Webasto for heating and a little one burner butane stove for cooking. We ended up selling the Wallas for enough to cover most of the cost of the Webasto and its installation. I bought the Webasto mail order from a company that sells them for truck sleepers. Scott Boysen, who was the factory manager under the ownership prior to the Wrights, installed our Webasto (that should give you a clue how long ago it has been). The Webasto has run flawlessly for us for all those years.

The Wallas was neither a good heater, because the heat came out at waist height instead of at floor level and was not ducted, nor a good cooktop, as it took too long to start up and shut down, and did not offer fine temperature control. Plus it was just plain cranky, especially if it ran out of fuel and had to be reprimed.

I always said there were two kinds of Wallas owners:a those who have had trouble with their Wallas, and those who are going to!
 
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