A25 Auxiliary heater

[WillieC]

All that freshwater must be hard on your Albin. I'll bet you run five gallons of saltwater through it before laying it up for the season. Just so she remembers where she came from and what she is made of.

Glad to hear of progress on the beetle infestation front. It was truly stunning when we came through...gotta be about ten years ago. Lovely place you must have there. How much tidal swing on the lake there?

[Bob Noodat]

When and if I find my A25 (I seem to have an ability to be the proverbial day late or dollar short) I imagine that most likely it will have been well marinated. Its barnacles might not do well though.

Seriously, there IS a tidal range, of a few millimetres. But, the annual change in level between Spring thaw and Fall freeze-up would average about 6 feet and might be as great as 10 feet in a very dry year.

An auxiliary heater ... as a way to get back to this thread.... will be an essential for us. It seems to me that they are often fitted and seldom functional.

[WillieC]

" often fitted and seldom functional."

How descriptive of our 47 year old boat when we bought it.

We saw a lovely A25 up near Port Townsend yesterday, of course not for sale. I know of one total basket case in Bremerton formerly covered with tarp next to shed...now, not so well protected.

Another under shredding tarp in the water up near Seabeck.

Neither for sale and both needing trailers.

I came to boats too late in life. Clearly I should have quit my job 30 years ago and stole a project boat that would be spanking new by now. (But those 30 years gave me the ability and freedom now to do this.) David Wilcox has it right when he says we live life backwards: Die first! Get it out of the way.

So today I will deconstruct the Esparanto heater and come up with an accurate wiring diagram (thanks to specific training in those "lost" 30 years). I'll try to light it off first, since I was able to do just that in the boat earlier this week. See how much more smoke I can let out of it.

[DesertAlbin736]

Fort St. James is still here. The beetle-infested trees largely gone though. They provided a 10 year salvage boom but now there is a second mill recession as the salvage logs peter out. But it will turn around again. Still plenty of living trees. BC just approved large timber frame bldgs up to 12 stories, IIRC, and there are pipelines and giant LNG facilities in the .... pipeline.... I guess. A most beautiful area, not sad any more. There is a living history museum at the original Hudson's Bay fort, the best preserved of all the forts, and Stuart Lake is 50 miles long, with 180 miles of navigable lakes and river stretches running through almost uninhabited country up towards the Skeena range of mountains. Truly stunning. Property is still cheap though, and we bought a lakeside lot with a direct view of Mount Pope, across the lake, for a fraction of what land was fetching 10 years ago. And it's just a few miles off the Yellowhead Highway, running all the way from Winnipeg to the Pacific.

Bob,

The more we travel in Canada the more we like it. In the summer that is. Had enough of cold winters in Upstate New York before I moved to Arizona in the late 1970s. In researching our planned trip to Ontario this summer I ran across news reports of the First Nations protests & rail blockages over the pipeline issue & the brouhaha that's causing. No comment on that, just noting that we try to keep up with Canadian goings on. Also reports of the recent 200 car pileup in white out conditions on the south shore across from Montreal.

Derek,

We spent a day last July visiting Victoria. We had our boat docked in Sidney & rather that taking the boat around to Victoria we took the city bus. Rode a double decker on the way back, sitting up front on the top level. Walked around Chinatown, lunch at the seafood shack on the downtown docks, watched some of the buskers, walked around Beacon Hill Park. We didn't go in the Empress this time, although we had on previous visits.

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[Bob Noodat]

Willie... please keep your eyes peeled for one. I am interested in one at present, but it is long to go, in a galaxy far, far away..... and the seller is not 100% sure he can part with it. Plus, it lacks a trailer.
Even the three that I have seen with trailers required urgent major work to render the trailers safe. One had recent new springs and shackles, new tires, new bearings..... but they did not think the completely non-functioning brakes were "that important"!

DA: You are right about the protests, but it's necessary to understand that this is about price more than principle. The dickering is going on in the background. Some very sincere people are being used as negotiating tools. I am not on either side, but would like to see a sound basis returning to the local economy. However, I should also point out that the local area already has one of the highest household income levels in BC.

Maybe you can come up and visit one of these summers, once we get established there. In the short term we are setting our lot up as a camping area for family and friends

[WillieC]

Esperanto Update:

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I have a wiring diagram that came with the boat for this model Espar-o-mator that does not match what is installed, imagine that, so I had to reverse figure this thing out by making my own wiring diagram.

The unit was originally sold with a two pole, lighted pull-out knob switch. My supplied drawing shows an alternate installation with a timer, think old school bathroom fan switch you turn for whatever time you want the fan to run and it rattles away nearly drowning the fan noise.

Use of the timer, by the book, requires an added relay (so the timer can be moved wherever you want it...it controls only the relay coil, not full juice) and a flame safety switch. The safety switch, here,

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has a nifty little resistive heater that energizes at the same time as the fuel pump, fan,and glow plug. If the thermal switch, shown above, the microswitch controlled by an internal heat sensing tube, doesn't heat up and change contact state, the safety switch bi-metallic will heat up and shut the whole thing down. Basically, it prevents the unit from dumping a bunch of unlit fuel into the burner. In theory.

Not sure why they included the safety switch only for timer (or in my case wall-mounted thermostat) installations. Seems like you would want that switch even with the original pull knob. More on modernity later.

It took me a while to do the wiring diagram. It reminded me too much of work, and I really dragged my feet. I spent too many years poring over engineered wiring diagrams that didn't work in the field. I can make a really long story, but it is very boring even for me. My unit has two relays plus the safety switch, the second of which appears to do nothing more than providing another way to open the main control circuit by energizing its coil. I could easily eliminate it, making my installation match the official esparinator drawing.

All that aside, after cleaning the glow plug, pulling and cleaning the thermal (micro) switch and its operator, test operating the safety switch....I got all the electrics working and adjusted per spec-ish.

Before all that, I needed to verify the correct fuel dosing, something like 1.23 cubic inches in five minutes. To do my bench testing, I pulled one of the batteries out of the boat and keep it charged up. (The glow plug is quite the amp draw.)

It appears the dosing pump, a small electromagnetic impulse pump, is not original. This is a pretty cleverly operated system. The spinning fan has a set of points that open and close sending juice to the pump. The volume is set by running the outlet tube in or out, it is on a threaded sleeve. The distance determines stroke length of impulse pump. Longer stroke equals more fuel. The book measurement is beyond what my pump will provide, it runs out of threads, and mine is missing its little locking nut to boot. Should be no problem finding a mini-micro metric pipe thread thin nut....

To add insult to injury, the unit is protected from overheating by two, count-em, TWO, normally open bimetallic heat overload sensors. In overheat, one or the other closes, and shorts the fuel pump fuse to ground! One of those ancient VW ceramic 6A fuses that you might want to have a couple spares on hand! Fortunately for all concerned parties, one of whom must be you since you are still reading this drivel, the sensors automagically reset when they cool down. Not so with the fuse.

I need to dial in the dosing pump. I tried measuring it, which is not impossible, but the volume is dependent on the speed of the fan, thus battery voltage (my test wire is smaller than the boat wiring), length and routing of tube from dosing pump to glow plug/nozzle, and the spread of covid-19. Any fuel leaks, which I try to keep to a minimum on my sub-standard test bench, are critical. Fortunately, this is diesel, not gasoline.

A replacement pump is upwards of $100 USD, if you are lucky enough to get the correct one. Best to order two or three from different, non-returnable suppliers to complete the experience.

Then, I read on the webs, that overuse of glowplug shortens its half-life. I may have just subtracted a decade or two just in my testing. and they can be had for another c-note or so. Again, order in bulk.

All that for an on-off heating device. This sucker, when operating properly, really belts it out, so I foresee having to cycle it for somewhat acceptable use. AND, relighting this thing is sketchy at best. Suffice it to say, you would not want to be my neighbor in a marina when I am trying to relight The Belchfire 2000. Keep a fire extinguisher handy. And a covid-19 gasmask.

But, so far, it is free. I may repurpose the second unnecessary, though probably redundant for a good reason, relay to delay fuel flow upon start up. My thinking is that if I let the glowplug get red before introducing fuel, it may light easier. As noted earlier, as built, the unit starts dumping fuel on the cold glowplug. Seems wrong.

Now as to modernity. This device is what MICROPROCESSORS were made for. A few salient inputs that could regulate a handful of desired regulated outputs could make this baby purr like the kitten we all hoped she could be. But isn't. Never was, never will be. She's breaking my heart as I write this. This is my case for new is good. But that's as far as I will go. More bench testing is in order.

All in all, despite some surface rust, funky wiring, missing electrical cover piece, etc., it appears this thing was lightly used in its first 47 years. If I can get the lighting issue vastly improved, I will tear it all apart and clean it up and lightly use it for the next 47 years!

[Bob Noodat]

Very interesting! I have faith you will get it running stalwartly.

I do, however, detect just the hint of a sour attitude towards your heater. Don't forget that this mechanism comes from a country that has produced many mechanical marvels, like........ the V1 rocket zum Beispiel.

[WillieC]

Well, the real problem is....New pump, a hunnert...new plug, 'nother hunnert...new Chinese parking heater...$125. And how long before it runs like the free one I already have?

Derekja, how is the project coming? (I think he is fooling with the parking heater.)

zum Beispiel? Ah! Por ejemplo! Although the Belchfire 2000 does sound a bit like a rocket, especially after accumulating a tetch of unburnt fuel, once you get 'er lit. Good for a knot or two.

[WillieC]

Closer.

Too much voltage drop put the plug voltage at a little over 9V. So I fixed that.

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Then I turned on the battery charger too. Still doesn't want to light off as crisply as it should. I shortened up the fuel supply line from the dosing pump to the heater and made sure it was mostly sloping upwards, per the installation instructions. Then I fiddled with the dosing pump output, turning the outlet tube less than a quarter turn per attempt. After a short while I got it burning as clean as one would ever hope to get. No visible smoke from the exhaust. This is after running it long enough to burn out the excess in the combustion chamber.

The cooldown cycle is close enough for now, but it still doesn't want to relight for squat. The book says a little gray smoke at the start (and during the cooldown) is normal. It takes over a minute to relight and it lays out a fog that would get me kicked out of any marina in no time. I suspect too rich a mixture, I can get it to light by pinching the hose to the nozzle and just letting a little fuel in, pinching, releasing...then it lights! Then it takes several minutes to stabilize the V1 rocket before it starts burning real clean.

I tried preheating the plug (by unplugging the dosing pump wire) for ten seconds, thinking that might help, but at start up, it is just too rich. Maybe the plug/nozzle is shot, but it glows nice bright red. The fuel volume is determined by the dosing pump, and a quarter turn either way from where I am results in a smokey burn.

Tomorrow, I will re-measure the dosing volume to see that I am not a mile off. I do know that if I turn it way down, I can hear the individual shots from the pump trying to ignite. Too lean. The whump, whump after a slow ignition is too rich. It sure is good we run at sea level. I can't imagine compensating for mountain passes.

[WillieC]

Before I hit the sauce today, I thought I would re-peruse the webs to see what I can learn.

Pump is supposed to angle up. It is laying flat on my test bench. Maybe that is how the solenoid retracts, with the help of gravity. Doubtful, as I've seen videos with the thing laying horizontally. (All the videos show very little smoke, EZ start, with no reference to pre-noon alcoholic consumption.)

I also need to clean the minuscule filter on the inlet side of the pump. Allegedly, that sucker makes it hard to light and guarantees smoke. We shall see. If I can get it out without destroying it.

The D4L unit is the closest, more modern unit to my prehistoric Dead Sea scrolls X2 Eberspacher. Its output (Heizleistung for you purists) is 1000 kcal/hr. The X2, built before insulation was invented, outputs 2000 kcal/hr. Multiply by 4 to get btu/h. The reason I mention this is that the glowplug for the D4L LOOKS nearly identical to mine. Ignition is ignition and I don't think it has any factor in total heater output...unless it flows twice as much fuel in mine as the D4L...that might make it hard to light, DOH!

The glowplug I have is made in Ireland, like microsoft, and is a GERU 163GS. Try googling that. I found one listed on a website as New Old Stock...NEVER USED!! When I called them to verify the amazing price of $17, my new best friend at the sales desk, Buddy Mike, said that item is no longer available. Buddy. Otherwise, I can't find a cross reference for the 163GS. I can find all kinds of plugs for the D4L. And I don't really know that the 163GS plug is even the correct one. (For further clarity, note that there are 12 and 24 V models out there.)

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Interesting side note...on the original parchment notes and wiring hieroglyphics there is a phone number and name inscribed. Looks like they used some sort of carbon scribing instrument often found in archaeological digs of pre-historic elementary schools. The number and establishment are still operating near SeaMar close to the Ballard Locks. I may have to break down and call them, but I am fairly certain there is a brand new unit sitting on the shelf there that will bolt right in.

This thing should light much easier. Anyone out there with anything close to this onboard, let me know how your's lights.

I could stop anytime, I have bigger fish to fry, and it keeps getting warmer out, but I am SO CLOSE! Our recent winter test run on the Canal would have been so much more enjoyable with toasty feet.

[Bob Noodat]

I am sure you found these:
https://sprinter-source.com/forum/showt ... hp?t=30384
https://www.letonkinoisvarnish.co.uk/fuel_problem1.html

[DesertAlbin736]

Dateline Hood Canal, Belfair, WA February 26, 2020:

A well known eccentric local Belfair resident was last seen entering his workshop on North Shore Rd this morning shortly before an explosion occurred that leveled the building. Investigators sifting through the wreckage recovered the charred remnants of an mysterious antique device which resembled a Hoover canister vacuum cleaner. The only clues found to identify the device were some writing in German on a nameplate. Some witnesses compared the device to the rocket pack from the 1991 Disney movie "Rocketeer"

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[WillieC]

The fire marshal is still sifting. They've brought in cadaver dogs. North Shore Road is closed until further notice.

This has been an extremely difficult time, you'll never know the whole of it. You try being married to that fool and THEN tell me all about your woes! I'll let you know when we know more.

The Starfleet Commander

[WillieC]

So far, all they've found is what looks like the remains of some kind of pre-filter he was focussed on The fire marshal indicated that if this thing ever blocked it would cause the rocket to launch into the next dimension.

Such a pity. He was so close.

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[Bob Noodat]

So far, all they've found is what looks like the remains of some kind of pre-filter he was focussed on The fire marshal indicated that if this thing ever blocked it would cause the rocket to launch into the next dimension.

Such a pity. He was so close.

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Oh, that's what it is. I was really worried when I first saw it.