The German company Webasto is one of the most famous manufacturers of air conditioning and heating systems for cars today. Among other things, this company also supplies starting heaters to the market. Such devices are intended for pre-start warming up the engine in cold weather. Reviews of consumers of this brand of heaters deserve good. But many are still interested in whether Webasto has an analogue that is cheaper or better.
Device benefits
Analogues for Webasto heaters are, of course, available on the market. However, we will immediately make a reservation that higher-quality pre-heater in specialized stores today, unfortunately, do not exist. At the moment, these are the most advanced, reliable and durable devices of this type. The advantages of Webasto include, among other things, the following:
- long term of operation;
- low fuel consumption;
- high degree of security.
In addition, during the operation of the device of this manufacturer, the battery is also practically not planted.
To purchase "Webasto" today, if desired, absolutely any car enthusiast can easily. The dealer network of the company is organized in fact a vast. The only drawback of the heaters of this brand is the rather high cost. For the device of this brand, suppliers, depending on technical specifications, ask from 20 to 50 thousand rubles.
Autostart or Webasto?
In addition to autonomous heaters, there are devices on the market today that are also designed to warm the engine in winter, but with a different operating principle. They are called autostart and allow you to start the motor remotely. In fact, we can assume that this is quite a good analogue for Webasto. The distribution of such equipment was quite widespread. However, in comparison with Webasto, unfortunately, it has a number of certain disadvantages. The most important of them is considered that the use of autostart significantly reduces the effectiveness of the anti-theft equipment of the machine. The fact is that such devices are usually included in the same circuit with the alarm system (to exclude its operation at startup).
Also, the disadvantages of such equipment, in comparison with Webasto, are:
- Cold start. When using autostart, the engine of the machine wears out much faster.
- High fuel consumption . Programmable autostart systems are such a disadvantage. When using such equipment, the engine, for example, in an unheated parking lot, can start several times (when the temperature drops to certain values).
- Unlike Webasto, its analogue - autostart - does not guarantee a perfect start in severe frost.
In comparison with autostart systems, Webasto has one more unconditional advantage. Thanks to the device of this brand, connected to a standard car heating system, you can wait for help, for example, if a car breaks down on a winter track in a warm, rather than in a frozen cabin.
Hydronic heater or Webasto?
The equipment "Hydronic" enjoys among motorists almost the same popularity as Webasto. Hydronic is today almost the only brand of heaters that can compete with Webasto. The Hydronic analogue is also produced using technologies developed by German engineers and employees of Eberspacher. The build quality of the Hydronic heaters is thus very good. However, at the same time, they discharge the battery somewhat more actively and, according to many consumers, have less reliable glow plugs. In addition, during operation, these devices are quite noisy. Hydronic heaters are also slightly more expensive than Webasto - 30-70 thousand rubles.
The Russian analogue of Webasto: Binar
Of course, on the market today there are also heaters for engines of domestic production. The most popular Russian brand among motorists at the same time is Binar. Such heaters are manufactured by two domestic companies - Teplostar and Advers. Binar devices are cheaper than Webasto - only about 15-20 thousand rubles. But at the same time, in comparison with the latter, according to many motorists, they:
- Work slower. Ignition, purge, etc. by these devices are not performed as clearly as Webasto equipment. Sometimes launching with the help of “Binar” occurs not even the first, but the second time.
- Not so reliable . Although Binar manufacturers are constantly improving the design of their devices, they break, unfortunately, quite often.
At the same time, the analogue of Webasto - Binar - also has a number of unconditional advantages. Firstly, the heaters of this brand are fully repairable. In the event of a breakdown, Webasto will have to be returned to an official representative indefinitely. Spare parts for Binar are quite accessible, and you can even repair such a device yourself if you wish.
Heaters "Planar"
This is another popular brand of prestarting heaters of domestic production. Customer reviews of these devices have earned very good. Of course, the Planar heaters of Webasto are significantly inferior in assembly quality. This is especially true for equipment manufactured by Teplostar. Samara, on the other hand, is an inexpensive analogue of Webasto Planar (production by Advers) in this regard is considered more or less reliable. Devices of this manufacturer motorists in their reviews are usually praised. Their main advantages machine owners include:
- high degree of maintainability;
- immunity to various impurities in the fuel.
In general, the Webasto analogue is distinguished by rather good characteristics. But it is cheaper at the same time for a rather significant amount. Heaters “Planar” cost about 15-19 thousand rubles.
Chinese counterparts
Of course, they did not stand aside in terms of the production of such purchased devices as engine heaters, and entrepreneurs of the Celestial Empire. The most popular Chinese analogue of Webasto on the Russian market is Beliff.
As you know, the engineers of the Middle Kingdom very often simply copy the design of equipment of well-known brands. The result is pretty high quality, but still inferior in reliability to the original device. In any case, assembly control at Chinese enterprises is, of course, much lower than at European ones. In addition, materials in the production of various kinds of equipment in the Middle Kingdom are often used not particularly high quality. Belif heaters created in China were about the same. In fact, this is the same "Webasto", but somewhat less quality. Belif heaters stand in the region of 30 thousand rubles.
Many Russian motorists are also interested in what kind of Webasto analogue for diesel exists on the market. Very often in this case, Belif brand devices are used. Not bad for diesels, for example, a Belief Water D5 12V heater is suitable. This model is worth about 31 thousand rubles on the market.
Network heaters
Devices of this type by the principle of operation are somewhat different from both autorun and Webasto. The power source for them is a household network. And therefore, they do not consume fuel and do not plant a battery. By the effectiveness of liquid autonomous heaters, they are practically not inferior. Of course, they can also be attributed to the worthy analogues of Webasto.
Such devices are much cheaper than stand-alone. This is due, first of all, of course, to their simpler design. But network heaters are also much less convenient to use. Nevertheless, fans of such equipment, like Webasto, have a lot. Many car owners buy such devices today.
Heaters "Def"
The most popular brand of network household equipment of this type today is Defa. Good consumer reviews, the low-cost analogue of Webasto for gasoline Def has earned, for example, because it does not smoke at startup. During his work next to the machine, only a quiet hiss is heard. Also, many consider the advantage of this model that it eliminates the cold start of the engine, thus increasing its service life. The disadvantages of "Defa", as, of course, of any other network heater, include the fact that using it, unlike the stand-alone "Webasto", is possible only in the garage. In an unheated parking lot, due to the lack of outlets, as well as under the window, unfortunately, it will not work to start the engine with its help.
Electric heaters are, as already mentioned, much cheaper than autonomous ones. You can buy the Def model on the market for just 1,500-2,000 p.
Domestic heaters Severs
The advantages of this network device, most consumers include, first of all, the fact that it quickly warms up the engine. It takes about this with the Severs heater, operating at a voltage of 220 V, for about half an hour. About the same amount of time for warming up in severe frosts goes to Webasto. The main drawback of Severs heaters is that consumers consider a not too well-thought-out tie-in scheme.
Heaters for VAZ "Start M-1"
This small-kilowatt device is intended for heating the internal combustion engine of passenger cars, mainly of the VAZ brand. “Start M-1” devices belong to the network class and operate at a voltage of 220 V. Consumer reviews, these devices have earned relatively good. Engines warm up in the winter quickly, without problems and guaranteed. Heaters "Start M-1" are supplied to the market in a molded case, and the dimensions are not too large. All this, of course, increases their service life and makes them as convenient as possible to use.
Most consumers consider the Start M-1 heaters equipment to be practical and of high quality. The engine of the machine with their use at an ambient temperature of -25 C can warm up in just an hour. Such heaters are only about 3-5 thousand rubles.