...and repair (Eberspaecher again ! )

South Pacific Familyadventure 2008
Claes Brodin
Wed 24 Nov 2021 14:28
Anchored in Nåttaro with the generator running for waterproduction, I noticed the Eberspaecher spontaneously started to shift it`s rpm`s. Soon enough came error faultcode 31.
Going to the manual this means the fanmotor is not working anymore. Fortunately we have the sparesystem of the Cruisair Aircon reversed heating meaning though we have to run the generator or be connected to shorepower.
After contact with a well renowned repairman in Stockholm (specialised in Eberspaecher) I learned to know that the fanmotor of the Eberspaecher D5 unit is only built to last around 5.000hrs. After connecting the laptop to the D5 unit of Dora Mac (installed April 2019) it had more than 7.000hrs on it !?!
I was told these unit have an oldfashioned fanmotor (with coals) on the contrary to Webasto but also on the contrary to Eberspaecher`s smaller units for smaller boats. I was also told that basically these D5 units are not built for long time heavy running but rather for short sailboat seasons running some hundred hours/season !!?
Also I learned to know that well renowned German Eberspaecher was partly out of function due to it`s homepage highjacked by hackers since a month ! Having their webpage down ordering spareparts has been almost impossible all over the planet during this time.
Nevertheless I was advised to dismount the whole unit for fanmotor replacement while my Eberspaecher contact started research the "good old analog way" ( by telephone) trying to find a spare fanmotor somewhere in Sweden.
He came back after a day with good news and the whole unit was taken out for repair and service (the 5th time since installation 2,5 years ago).
This D5 Airtronic unit is very easy to use,heates Dora Mac well also in freezing temperatures and delivers dry air giving a dry boat  without mould. The problem has been the quality of this unit with far to many failures since installation. A heater designed for larger boats cannot possibly be built for running only a couple of weeks/year ?
It`s also interesting (and scary) to learn that now also big multinational companies struggle with hackkers whose actions can be ruining the company for months.

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