So when I was looking at my boat the broker was quick to point out the Wallas diesel heater and said it was worth several k. A selling point on the boat. Well, it wasn’t hooked up along with the radar and was told it was because of theft reasons. Surveyor mentioned that the radar wasn’t hooked up couldn’t verify and didn’t even mention the heater (though the control was out in plain site).
Fast forward a few weeks and I find out that neither the radar or heater work and are in need of replacement. The heater was just old enough to not have all the serviceable parts regularly made but they had some parts that they could use to fix it for $1,000 but there would be no warranty on how long it would last or buy a new one for $2,300. Being in the Pacific Northwest I bit the bullet and just bought new one hoping to never have issues with heat again.
It’s been about 18 months since I bought the heater and its locking up on me and letting me know it needs to be serviced. I bring it in and find out that the unit has 2450 hours on it and they usually expect them to have 250 hours a year. I pay $300 for a new glow plug, gasket and labor. Apparently the heat exchanger was blown too ($800) but since it was under 2 years the warranty paid for it.
I've been really happy with the unit otherwise but to this point its cost me more than a dollar an hour to run this thing (not including the diesel). This is not a good liveaboard heater.
Fast forward a few weeks and I find out that neither the radar or heater work and are in need of replacement. The heater was just old enough to not have all the serviceable parts regularly made but they had some parts that they could use to fix it for $1,000 but there would be no warranty on how long it would last or buy a new one for $2,300. Being in the Pacific Northwest I bit the bullet and just bought new one hoping to never have issues with heat again.
It’s been about 18 months since I bought the heater and its locking up on me and letting me know it needs to be serviced. I bring it in and find out that the unit has 2450 hours on it and they usually expect them to have 250 hours a year. I pay $300 for a new glow plug, gasket and labor. Apparently the heat exchanger was blown too ($800) but since it was under 2 years the warranty paid for it.
I've been really happy with the unit otherwise but to this point its cost me more than a dollar an hour to run this thing (not including the diesel). This is not a good liveaboard heater.
