[neiljoust]

Has anyone got a streamline heatwave 5kw is it any good please

[Spruce]

Has anyone got a streamline heatwave 5kw is it any good please

Many years ago I set up a rig to test a 5kw Webasto Thermo Top C boiler unit. While it would warm the water going through the hoses to make them more flexible, I wasn't able to heat the water much above 35 degrees at the brush head with virtual all the hose still on the reel. The water I was heating was at 9 degrees C so I was raising the waters temperature by 26 degrees C.

If I reduced my flow I could have got a slightly better heat result, but my experiement was good enough to convince me to go the 9kw route.  The 9kw was good enough to operate a 2 man system.

We have set up our system so I get 50 degrees C leaving the heater on my reel and my lad gets 45 degrees leaving the heater on his reel.

Diesel heater manufacturers hoodwink us into thinking a 5kw heater will heat the water using 5kw of heat. They don't tell us that at least half of that heat will go out of the exhaust. If I remember the figures correctly, I needed 2.6kw of heat to keep heating my water to 35 degrees C  at a  flow rate of 1.5lpm. The rest got lost mainly out of the exhaust.

I purchased a 9kw Heatwave heater off eBay for spares or repair. I fixed it up as it wasn't working and modified it. It had a temperature gauge in the middle of the front removable panel that continuously read the temperature of the water leaving one outlet. That soon broke. They also fitted the operating on off switch and led light on this panel as well. Another bad design as the cables were pinched between the panel and the metal 'boxes' securing the heat exchangers.

[neiljoust]

Thank you for the advice, I can’t find any 9kw for sale and they are far to expensive new

[Spruce]

Thank you for the advice, I can’t find any 9kw for sale and they are far to expensive new

I appreciate that. But I do feel you could be disappointed with a 5kw heat output if your expectations are too high.

On paper, a 5kw should have been enough to run a 2-man system with enough heat to keep the hoses supple. This was my first thought. But I soon realized that a 5kw heater was only about 50% efficient.

There is a YouTube video out done by Andover Gutter cleaning. He used his heater to heat the water in his tank rather than heat on demand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWJob7anCgg

I'm not sure about long his fan will last blowing or sucking heat off his exhaust silencer will last. The other point is that I believe these exhaust joins should be done outside the van.

Another point is that the heater needs to be kept above freezing, as the pure water circulating through it hasn't any antifreeze in it.

[Spruce]

I see that Streamline's new heaters have gone up considerably in price and aren't using a stainless steel cabinet any longer.

If you buy second hand, you have no idea what the actual condition of the heater is, so you need to factor in a purchase price that takes into account a worst case scenario. A replacement heat exchanger isn't cheap, and neither is a thermostat mixing valve. Parts are also expensive for the boiler, but if you can do the repairs yourself, there is plenty of info on the web to help you.

[NBwcs]

Talk about disappointed, I thought this thread was about the weather forecast. I was gonna  dig my shorts out.

[DJW]

Anyone know what the difference is between the webastos fitted to cars and the type you need for cleaning windows?

[Spruce]

Anyone know what the difference is between the webastos fitted to cars and the type you need for cleaning windows?

They are one and the same boilers. However the problem occurs when the pc board is vehicle specific.
In the old days most heaters used in cars were Thermo Top C or Z I think it was. The Z had a water pump mounted elsewhere on the car where the C was integrated with the boiler.

Rover 75's used a universal pc board meaning it wasn't vehicle specific. The Citroen C8 also used a universal board but am not sure if other PSA models were the same. Then of course any heater that came out of a boat also had a universal pc board.

My first thermo top c was from a BMW. It didn't work as it needed instruction from BMW's canbus system to talk to it.

The thermo top range has been replaced, and as far as I know the same vehicle specific applies, although one with a universal pc board will work.

If someone is advertising a heater from a VW or a Mercedes Benz or a Range Rover etc that should flash up a red flag even if the person says it can be used in other applications.

Here is a remanufactured one:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/252144112661?hash=item3ab4f5d415:g:Pw4AAOSwDIJdr3zb&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAAoDUD9mNuI8deR5wElewoFyxdp5PyGVDUlkPdwBzCHhb%2F9UoUGCI03chOvyOPKt1t46OYm7UYH%2BiyzW8V2DZckNJymrihFCkeXU9xELlStM1K13NEq45RTGZfp40pIIOXPbLsOw8mLmXCG0AYtMKEubBSl%2FEGS1ZiH4D5XscAhmhFpNNQ88xpA%2FRhsOW84wALBWJDdXJbLl%2F7bLDCjBZVX6I%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-a47IekYQ

This is what to consider going for. As far as I know Webasto are no longer supplying Thermo Top C models, having replaced them with their Evo range. However, there are still suppliers selling new Thermo Top C's, so personally, I would be very cautious.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong. Many years ago, the latest model Bosch power tools were being made in the Scintilla factory in Switzerland. The previous model's tooling was sent out to Mexico where they were still producing tools under the Bosch label. They weren't green in colour, but rather black.

[DJW]

Thanks Spruce, I knew there was something. Huge scrapyard down the road from me. No doubt they know the value of these heaters though.

[windowswashed]

Some of the fishing/naval ports repair marine water heaters. always got plenty of stock in for repair and bits surplus, they mostly work on webasto water heaters. Have a word with one local to you if you google the nearest one.

[Spruce]

Thanks Spruce, I knew there was something. Huge scrapyard down the road from me. No doubt they know the value of these heaters though.

And they always tell you that every part is full tested.