Webasto heaters

[dutch123]

Can anyone tell me the difference between the truck and marine model of the webasto at2000st heaters, I was doing some searching online and there is a $2000 price difference between one sold at a trucking outfit and one sold at a marine supplier. I'm assuming the marine model has more stainless or something to deal with the corrosive environment but a $2000 difference seems a little much.

[sjboysen]

Dutch,

Oddly enough I just did a retro install on a Sea Sport utilizing a truck furnace supplied by the customer. When I talked with the manufacturer they told me that they would not warranty the furnace if installed on a boat, however the customer talked directly with the manufacturer and got permission. The only real difference that I noticed was the lack of mounting brackets, and that the hot air into cabin plumbing had to be enlarged from approximately 2" to 3". Other than that I think that everything else was the same.

Don't know if this helps but there you go.

Scott

[Sea Wolf]

The price difference is probably most all just marketing with the "Marine" label costing more, a lot more!

Would be interesting to look at an exploded parts list of both models and see if the parts are the same (or just have different numbers!).

A metallurgical / welding engineer friend of mine once explained it to me like this:

Same stainless steel bolt delivered to different customers with the appropriate testing and documentation:

1/4" x 20TPI 3" stainless bolt-

Hardware store price: $0.65

Marine Store price: $1.15

Aviation Specs price: $4.84

Military Specification Supply price: $7.65

NASA Specification Price $21.73

*These names and prices are estimates based on United States Government Current Thievery Practices and Fair Trade Code (2010).

Joe.

[dutch123]

Thats kinda what I thought as well, Seawolf. After working in aviation for a number of years I was amazed what customers would pay for an "aircraft part" that differed very little or not at all from the same part purchased from an automotive supplier!

[Pete in NY]

You forgot medical @ $44.95, and guess who has to pay for it?

[Will-C]

Hi,
I'm not sure about Westasto heaters but I bought a Airtronic D-2 and the truck version does not come with a fuel tank. I guess they just figure on tapping into the trucks diesel fuel tanks. The exhaust is not double wall stainless steel, no thru hulls are supplied for intake and exhaust. All told about another 500 dollars to convert to a marine version. That's not to say you can't just buy some plastic fuel tank and make the truck model work. Which is what the truck guy recommended I do. I opted to use a factory tank and the items recommended for a marine installation. If you look at the Pacific Wonder album and you see the difference with double wall stainless exhaust looped with a drain and a protected vent thru hull for the exhaust. I'm pulling out my refrigerator this winter and installing mine in an aluminum box under the helm seat so it can be removed and no diesel fuel can escape should any leak. I'll still be way below the price of a Wallace. All the marine versions are probably better equipped to deal with the rigors of a salt water environment. Everyone has their own way of doing things. For me I decided to take the advice of the marine heater installer over the truck heater salesman.
D.D.

[starcrafttom]

I installed the espar truck heater in my 27 this spring. it was $600? on ebay plus a few hunderd in parts to mount it in the boat, total was under a $1000. same unit from the local MARINE outfit was $2700. For the same unit. Its not different in any way. just the mounting and thru hulls that come with it.

on edit: the best and cheaper thru hull was from Sure marine in seattle. great guys, better stock, honest , half the price of the crook at boat electric. Do not ask that guy for any advice at all. I had to wash when I left his store. tried to charge me $24 buck for a $5 can of cleaner.

[thataway]

Certainly one of the keys is the thru hull exahust and air intake (there are some which are concentric, which allows for only one hole in the hull, plus keeps the exhaust cooler. A lot also depends on what type of heater (circulating hot water vs blowing hot air). If using a truck type of heater, you have to be sure that the exhaust is easily adaptable to boat type of fittings.

We put a truck "Proheat" (now owned by Teleflex) circulating hot water unit in a larger boat, and used off the shelf hardware for the exhaust, radiators etc. The cost was about half of a compariable "marine" heater, and it worked very well.

[lloyds]

I purchased the Wallas 1300 heater yesterday from Scan Marine. Had a long talk with them before I did it, to try to boost my confidence. This is the forced air model, not the cooktop. I am going to pick it up next week and try to get it installed next weekend. It comes with a pretty comprehensive kit for installation. Really curious how much air comes out of it. Almost went for a propane cozy cabin heater like Joe's, but for a few hundred more I could go this way and not take up any space in the cabin. So far I am into it $1200. Hopefully less than $100 will finish it.

[Matt Gurnsey]

We've installed the 1300 in a number of 220 Defiances we sold. Worked great, small size and easy to install. Simple to use as well, although I might opt for the thermostat option.

As it is, it's simple- if you're cold, turn it on, when you get warm, turn it off.

[lloyds]

Matt: did you take any pictures of your installs? Scan tried to dissuade me from any cold air ducting but I was impressed by the way Joe did his with the computer fan so still not convinced it isn't the way to go. Can you route the hot air through a duct or does it just dump directly out into the cabin. Right now I think I will take out the worthless cooler and put it in the cabinet under the helm seat. Sounds like you have had a positive experience with them, very encouraging.

[Not For Hire]

Lloyds, I put a 1300 in my 22. I learned a lot from looking at Steve's install on his 25. I mounted mine on the cabinet wall under the sink and put the switch on the dash. Has worked fine for 3? years but not a lot of use. I don't turn it on unless I plan to run it for at least 20 minutes so it gets thoroughly warmed up. Then when you turn it off it has a cool down cycle. If it is too hot I open a window. I haven't run it all night but you could. I have fans that blow on the dash and windows, thereby circulating the warm, dry air of the Wallas 1300. Someone in Tenn? also did a cabinet wall install. I haven't updated my photos in way too long but there are some low quality pics in my album.

Mark

[Matt Gurnsey]

Hot air comes out the duct on the unit. We did not try any additional ducting, and my guess is that the fan doesn't move enough air volume to make ducting work, which might allow the unit to get too hot.

The beauty of the unit for us was it's simplicity. If you want to duct through the boat, I would go up in size of unit to one designed for that.

[lloyds]

I finished the install of the 1300 on saturday. Not easy, but if I can do it most anyone can. Mounted it as high as I could on the wall between the sink cabinet and the cooler but the fuel bottle still ended up being about an inch too tall. So had to buy the larger, but shorter bottle. Fired it up and it took right off. Not as noisy as an espar but you can hear the pump thump. I did put on about 14 inches of duct with a slight bend to exit under the sink. The overheat sensor clicked off a couple times but after I shut it down. It won't fire again unless you reset the sensor. Hasn't done it since but I think the problem is probably not enough free combustion air going through the openings in the galley cabinet. Going to experiment a little. Might have to prop the door open an inch or so. But the thing heats well. Can't wait to get up to Kingston friday and try it out on the water. The exhaust is right at the top of the trailer guide rail but I am surprised the exhaust fitting doesn't really get all that hot.

[digger]

I've had 2 Wallas 1300 installations, the first on Snoopy-C, and the second on C-Miner (my current C-Dory 22). I installed both in the same place and in the same manner. Only difference is that on Snoopy, I ran the exhaust through the roof, and on C-Miner through the cabin side behind the rear window. Both have performed flawlessly.