Upgrading Espar D8LC air furnace

[mpstan]

Hi friends,

We purchased a 91 Ocean Alexander sedan in August knowing the Espar furnace was non-functional. All of the ducting appears intact. We are now thinking that just to keep the boat warm in the winter, and also do some Winter boating, we should upgrade.

Replacing it seems to make the most sense. I've found two separate $800 invoices for repairs for this unit on our boat and I have no desire to try fixing it. I could do this work in Anacortes or Seattle but what about service? There is literally no one in Bellingham that services Espars. So my other options would be to go to a Webasco air furnace, or rip out all of the ducting and go hydronic. I like the sounds of Wallas air furnaces but I'm not sure about the 4" ducting I already have since they prefer 3".

Thoughts from others that know more than I do?

Thank you

 

[Ken E.]

Tri County Diesel's electrician Paul has some Espar experience. I'm also in Bham and also have Espar, though mine is hydronic and runs well, at least it has for the last few years.

 

[koliver]

There is a guy on Granville Island in Vancouver at Roton Marine. tel:604-688-2325

 

[tpbrady]

I have the D8 and yes it’s kind of a pain. That said depending on where it is installed and which way it’s pointing, replacing most failed parts is not too difficult except for the flame sensor. Some a%%h$$$$ did not put an access panel to get to it. Remove the heater, remove the case and 30 secs later you are ready to reverse the process. The diagnostics with light flashes or the digital on off switch are pretty straight forward.

There are not any drop in replacements with the same output, 27500 BTU. Let me know if you find one. One thought I had was upgrading to hydronic and running the coolant through the heat ducts. It looked to be feasible with hard part was getting 12vdc to the outlet heat exchangers.

Tom