From Chilly Nights to All-Season Comfort!
From Chilly Nights to All-Season Comfort!
How Neill Castles Turned a Frustrating Heater Experience into Comfortable Cruising.
Neill Castles is a passionate boatie who enjoys cruising and fishing in the Bay of Islands and central North Island lakes.
After 18 months with his Merry Fisher boat, Neil wanted to extend his time on the water beyond the warm summer months. The solution? Install a diesel heater to make those crisp mornings and cool evenings more comfortable.
“Budget-Friendly” Becomes a Painful Detour
Keen to get set up quickly, and cost effectively, Neill purchased a diesel heater online from a Christchurch-based dealer. It looked like good value, a Chinese-made unit with solid reviews and a NZ dealership, and it worked fine… for a few weeks.
Then, things started to go wrong.
After removing the faulty unit and sending it back, the dealer offered a replacement. Unfortunately, history repeated itself and the second heater also failed.
At this point, Neill had sunk time and effort into two failed installs and was no closer to staying warm. The dealer provided a refund, but not before frustration had well and truly set in.
“It felt like one step forward, two steps back, nothing was working as promised.”
Step in, HMB Marine Electrical
Trusted Advice, Toasty Results: Why Neil Switched to an Eberspächer Diesel Heater
As a long-time customer of HMB Marine Electrical, Neill turned to a team he trusted when his existing diesel heater became more hassle than help. Our Workshop Manager (also Neil - yes, it gets confusing!) recommended switching to an Eberspächer diesel heater, a premium German-engineered option, well-supported here in NZ. One of the brands we recommend, supply and support.
While not the cheapest on the shelf, the quality was obvious from the get-go. Neill chose to install the unit himself, (he did a really nice job) and it worked straight away, no dramas, no frustration. Just warm air and peace of mind.
Service That Goes Beyond the Sale
After fitting the heater, Neill got in touch again, this time to ask if we could check over his installation. One of our HMB techs was really happy to pop down and do a complimentary review to make sure everything was safe, up to code, and running as it should. Neill had done a great job with the installation, but of course we can do the install for you if you don’t have the time or technical know how, there is a bit to it and Neill did mention drilling a hole in the side of his boat for the exhaust was a little scary!
The Result: Confidence, Comfort, and Cruising Longer
With his Eberspächer heater up and running, Neill now heads out for overnight stays through winter, even hoping to get out this Matariki weekend … the winter solstice … How’s that for winter cruising! The smart controls are easy to use, the cabin heats quickly, and the old days cutting trips short because of cold nights and chilly mornings are long gone. Neill is out making the most of those premium winter weekends with no crowds.
Need a hand choosing the right diesel heater?
At HMB, we’ve tested them, installed them, we supply them and we back them with real after-sales support.
So …. Talk to the team at HMB Marine Electrical, we’ll help you get it right the first time.