Yesterday we made a quick trip up to the boat for a specific purpose - to see our new Webasto. (Actually we never looked into the engine bay but were keener to see how the controller is operated.
So, what's all this about? Well, on our last short visit we found that the radiators were not doing very well and also that, once again, a full tank of diesel had been used up. This was further underlined when a liveaboard neighbour reported hearing the Webasto firing up rather frequently. We thought that we had left it switched off. We also tried to bleed the radiators and at least one had a lot of air in it.
A few days after our return we had a call from the marina that the heater had been running almost continuously. We asked for a recommendation about a suitable local engineer that knows about Webastos and we were put in touch with Simon from oxmarineservices. We contacted him and explained the situation and he agreed to take a look asap - he does quite a bit of work on boats in the marina.
The report back indicated that several parts of the heater were no longer working properly and that a simple replacement of parts might end up expensive - confirmed by our experience last year. He gave us two estimates - one for a like-for-like replacement of a reconditioned main unit, re-using the existing controller. The other was for an entirely new, current version, of the Webasto heater and their newer controller design. Whilst this was much the more expensive option, after some deliberation we went that way as we did not want a repeat performance of just replacing the presenting problem. We also wanted to have a means of positively switching the heater off.
The work should have been finished Wednesday but Simon had problems with his supplier and there was a day's delay in receiving the controller part of the order! We re-booked our visit to Tuesday next week as he was not confident of finishing even on Thursday. (We had already said that we were free to come up Friday but Monday we have visitors for lunch)
But then, late on Thursday we had a further message that the installation was complete and he would be at the marina the next day on another job.
So we set the alarm early (ish!) for Friday and were on the road just after 8.30, giving us a good margin to be at Cropredy by 11 as agreed. Just as well as we were soon informed by satnav of a delay on the M40 - turned out to be a lorry that had broken down in the slow lane, causing at least a 20 - 30 minute delay. The alternative route through Brackley is normally a bit slower but today would get us to the marina still ahead of schedule. In the end, by the time we reached Junction 10 we were routed back on the normal track and reached the marina around 10:40.
Simon came quickly across the marina from the other boat where he was now working and spent some time going through the new installation with us. The original installation, back in 2017, used the standard Webasto controller but it was very limited in its capability, only having one on-off each day. The builder quickly replaced this with a standard Heat Miser heating controller which had a wide range of functionality including thermostat control - but not easily a means of just turning it fully off!
Simon then explained to us that Webasto (at least now) strongly advise against using a thermostat - their combustion unit is designed for long running at a set level (individual thermostatic valves on the radiators can still be used) This is so that when the heater is turned off it can go through a lengthy cycle to burn out any residue and then cool down slowly. The thermostat controller had been calling for the heat at repeated short bursts, especially if left on frost setting.
After going through the features of the new controller it does seem to be able to do what we want, although taking a bit of trial and error as the user manual largely says to follow the menus!
Simon also had taken a look at the heating in the front cabin which from the outset had been an issue. A floor level radiator underneath the bunks had been planned but at the last minute our builder discovered that the item he had planned to use was no longer available and he could not find a substitute that would fit. There is a heating coil but that does not really heat the cabin. He has suggested a new fan blown radiator and we have agreed for him to fit that before we plan to be away on our usual 'shakedown' cruise in a few weeks time (a little later than most years)
The visit also gave Mike a chance to take a further look at the hob - the thermocouples had been playing up most of last year. However, the Thetford Argent model is no longer produced and the replacements (easier to fit in some ways) are probably incompatible with the hole in the worktop. In theory, the latest might fit but it needed a close check.
A few days ago we found a video of someone replacing the thermocouples - it is not an entirely obvious process - and so we wanted to check that we were confident of being able to follow the instructions. This meant first doing a bit more work to access the underneath than had been needed just to find the serial number last time. The thermocouples are not cheap so we were double checking everything first!
We left mid afternoon and had to call in Banbury to top up the car battery - not quite enough capacity for the full round trip. At least the charging point did not play up this time and took our payment first time! The journey back was straightforward - no obstructing trucks this time, but some slower sections which were rather busy.