Wallas cooktop/heater

rick krahn · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 3:50 pm Post subject: Wallas cooktop/heater

I'm specing out a new 22' Cruiser for delivery in May 2022, hopefully. I'm a little stuck on the cooktop/heater decision since the factory is currently only offering the Wallas which seems to me is overpriced at $4,800 installed. On the other hand given the price of the boat and knowing that someday I'll be selling it I don't want to cheap out on such an important piece of equipment. So far any other options seem like quite a downgrade from the Wallas. What do you guys think?

PaulNBriannaLynn · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 4:15 pm Post subject:

Id rather use butane for cooking and have a forced air diesel furnace for heat. $4,800 seems way too much for something that doesn't do either task very well. I'd probably just pass on a factory install, and install an Espar or Chinese copy once I got the boat. Some people like the Wallas, Im not one of them.

thataway · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 7:20 pm Post subject:

We have been using induction burners for several years on boats. Of course no heating of the cabin is a plus in Florida!

hardee · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:14 pm Post subject:

You are in Camas, so PNW. I am not a cook so won't get into the Wallas cooking capability. But I do use my Wallas for heating the boat. It will do that, and IF you follow the instructions from Scan Marine, the Wallas is an effective heater.
It is also a diesel or Kerosene heater, so no propane worries. If you can do the install yourself, A Wallas Forced Air, Wabasto or Espar or similar heater is probably more efficient for heating, but then you have to have a cooking option along too. I like that the Wallas can do both. Also I believe the newer ones are far less problematic than the older versions. Yes, It is a pricey option, but it is nearly a C-Dory standard and most folks like to be able to eat and stay warm on the boat. I's vote for including the Wallas cooktop unless you are going to put in some other heat source.

Harvey
SleepyC Moon

T.R. Bauer · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 8:47 pm Post subject:

I think 4800 bucks is an insane price. You can buy all the parts and the stove for the install from Scan for about 3 grand. They are not hard to install in my opinion, and don't really require any special knowledge, tools, or expertise. It certainly is not worth $1,800 bucks from my viewpoint.

Pat Anderson · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:16 pm Post subject:

colbysmith · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:35 pm Post subject:

I agree with Pat's answer. I have a Webasto that does a great job at heating the cabin. And unlike the Wallas, which is either on or off, you can control the temperature with the Webasto and it will cycle off and on as needed. BTW, if I were buying a boat with a Chinese knock off rather than the real Webasto, I would knock down the price accordingly. (I have nothing against some Chinese products, most the time, but the heater is not one of them!) A small portable butane stove does a great job for cooking and you can use it anywhere you like. Colby

DayBreak · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:39 pm Post subject:

We had the factory install our Wallas four years ago when our boat was built. We love our Wallas and if we had to do it over again we would get another. Make sure you always turn the unit on in the high setting and shut the unit down in the high setting. Once a month run the unit for about 15 minutes and by doing this it should give you trouble free service for many years. We run the stove at a low setting at night and circulate the air from the forward berth to the main cabin while we sleep with a small 4 inch electric fan. The stove does help keep condensation down in the boat by doing this.

clayhubler · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 9:54 pm Post subject:

It really depends if you want to cook onboard often or not. The wallas heats the boat ok around here, but for cooking it is slow. The newer models are probably better than my old 95D, but I have upgraded to a diesel forced air furnace and a propane cooktop. I might add the cost to add propane, cooktop, and diesel furnace is far less than the $4800 if you do the install yourself.

T.R. Bauer · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:07 pm Post subject:

The guy that services wallas cooktops (and about everything else hot) in Anchorage at Polar Marine says the newer ones rarely give trouble. He has much different words for the older models - like the one that is now sitting on a shelf in my shed that I can't get a circuit board for because they don't feel like making it any longer. I actually like the wallas for what it is. I think it is ok to cook with and heats your boat pretty well if it isn't very cold out. Mine provided around 12-13 or so years of trouble free service and would be working right now if it weren't for the board issue. 4800 bucks though, is highway robbery in my book.

T.R. Bauer · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:22 pm Post subject:

The webasto is a cheap knock off of the Eberspacher. The Chinese heaters are nearly identical to webasto heaters - at least fundamentally. The Eberspacher heaters are superior....maybe. If I had it to do all over again I would probably lean towards Warmda heaters, since they copied the Eberspacher and actually improved upon it here and there. Then again, lots of Planar heaters out there too - the Russian copy of the Eberspacher. Lots of cloning going on with these heaters and I'm not totally convinced at this point that in operation they are really any different from one another.

Peter & Judy · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:23 pm Post subject:

My boat came with a Wallas and I have also installed a Wabatso and the combination is excellent for heating and some cooking. Especially if you attract bad weather like I do off Vancouver Island and other places. I also use a cheap $20 Korean butane stove and a Jet Boil. I like the Wallas in the morning, it has slow heat, I warm the cabin and I heat my coffee, make a thermos of hot water for later in the day and sometimes if we don't need an early start, we put the dutch oven on it and make biscuits or muffins. We do most of our cooking on the butane stove and often in the cockpit on top of the cooler. The steam from the cooking stays outside and doesn't soak the cabin, the fish and bacon smell stays outside. If I want a fast cup of coffee the jet boil is the fastest stove for this. The Wabatso which we just installed last year is a far superior heater with the forced air and is amazingly fuel efficient. For me the Wallas did not supply enough heat to dry out the cabin, but the Wabatso does. This is the combo that I use, because the boat came with the Wallas and I have had zero problems with it.

If I was in your shoes and buying a new boat, I would not spend $4,800 on a Wallas. i would take a quarter of the money and install a Wabatso or Espar (I'm German, so no Chinese heater for me). Then I would go down to your local Asian Super Market and spend $20 on a butane stove and a $20 more on a bunch of butane canisters (cheaper at the Asian SuperMarket than at the camping store) Take the rest of the money and spend it on cruising, fuel, moorage, dinners out etc. If you decide to do something more permanent in the future you still have that option and no holes in your counter top.

T.R. Bauer · Posted: Tue Oct 19, 2021 10:42 pm Post subject:

The second paragraph is gold.....I'm German so no Chinese heater for me, but you really should buy everything from the Asian Super Market.....Dear Lord Smile

kaelc · Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2021 1:14 am Post subject:

$4,800 plus tax is high. Installing it myself would be too big a job. I love our wallas and would be concerned about other cooking methods when underway, I actually do need a set of those Wallas pot retainers since I have been cooking when a pilot boat got too close. I have two kids on board so safety is the most important and feeding them warm food goes a long way, as well as my wife. For heat there are better options as it doesn’t keep a 25 warm when it’s freezing out but for 2 in 1 it’s pretty good.

If you skip it and are boat poor a mr buddy could do you until you get a diesel heater.

Has any installed a fan heater that also does hot water?

What’s a new 22 coming in at price wise?

ssobol · Posted: Wed Oct 20, 2021 10:26 am Post subject:

I had a Kenyon butane stove until the seals failed. I got a used Wallas, but then decided that trying to fit it, get it to work, and maintaining it would be more trouble than it was worth.

Ended up with two butane stoves for cooking, a big one and a small one. The advantages to the butane stoves is that I can use one or the other or both as the cooking situation demands. They can be used in the cockpit or even taken ashore for a cookout.

I have a Little Buddy heater and an electric heater (when shore power or the generator is available) for heating. My demands for heating are probably less than those in the PNW.