Hot water heater in v-berth?

[er9]

was wondering if a hot water heater could survive in a v-berth? Dont really know what the internals look like or how fragile they are. I know most are located somewhere under the cockpit or in the aft area but i assumed thats just because of space considerations. do you think pounding seas would kill it? considering a spot about 8ft back from the bow right behind the forward most bulkhead.

[Shrew]

Water Heater. There would be no need to heat hot water, right

There are no moving parts on a water heater. Put it anywhere you want. I owned a planing boat for many years that ran 23-25 knots and many hours running in rough seas, slamming on waves at that speed and never had an issue.

What is important is that is is securely fastened to the sole and the hoses are all secured to prevent movement, pressure/flexing on the barbs, or chaffing.

[er9]

Originally Posted by Shrew

Water Heater. There would be no need to heat hot water, right

There are no moving parts on a water heater. Put it anywhere you want. I owned a planing boat for many years that ran 23-25 knots and many hours running in rough seas, slamming on waves at that speed and never had an issue.

What is important is that is is securely fastened to the sole and the hoses are all secured to prevent movement, pressure/flexing on the barbs, or chaffing.

well sooner or later i'll have to return to civilization. I dont have a pretty face so i need all the help i can get...gotta keep the odor to a minimum

but thats good to know though. it sure would be extremely convenient to throw it up there. gonna have some free space.

[a64pilot]

Water heater is just a tank with an electric coil and a heat exchanger in it, a T&P valve no moving parts and ought to not be fragile. It is however heavy, so secure it as if it were a battery.

[a64pilot]

Down South we call them hot water heaters, and we call that thing in the garden a hose pipe.
Why not just hose I have no idea.

[er9]

Originally Posted by a64pilot

Down South we call them hot water heaters, and we call that thing in the garden a hose pipe.
Why not just hose I have no idea.

Lol. Ah! thats what Shrew was jesting about. i might also be a little slow.

[wsmurdoch]

You are right a64pilot. A hot water heater heats the hot water that eventually comes out of a hot water faucet.

More to the point... Filled hot water heaters are heavy. Motion in the pointed end of the boat would increase the need for securely fastening it in place. Putting extra unnecessary weight in the pointy end is usually avoided to lessen hobby horsing in seas. The distance from the hot water heater to the hot water faucets should be minimized to reduce the wastage of water before the hot water arrives. With a engine coolant heat exchanger in the hot water heater, the long hose runs to the bow may cause a circulation problem. But in the end, you do what you need to do.

I had a hot water heater fail last winter and took it apart before throwing it away. The internal tank looked a bit like a propane tank laying on its side with plates welded near each end. The plates extended outside the insulation and sheet metal cover and served to mount the hot water heater. A total of 8 #12 screws through those plates held the 8 gal heater in place. It was pretty robust. The exploded view will show you what I mean. https://www.marlow-hunter.com/wp-con...anual_S600.pdf

[jamhass]

Since most/many marine hot water heaters are heated with engine coolant (in addition to mains or 12v power) they are usually mounted relatively close to the engine.

[Reefmagnet]

My engine heated hot water tank is in the vee berth. Been there happily for many years and is fine. It's bolted to a vertical bulkhead. Re-hosed it recently with 5/8" heater hose that runs for a total return length of about 12m. Heats up super quick and delivers hot water for many hours after the engine is shutdown.

[Captain Puget]

Works n problem. A weight distribution issue, as others have noted.

I moved mine there after removing the waste holding tank when I switched to a composting head to balance the weight.

[scargo]

Originally Posted by er9

was wondering if a hot water heater could survive in a v-berth? Dont really know what the internals look like or how fragile they are. I know most are located somewhere under the cockpit or in the aft area but i assumed thats just because of space considerations. do you think pounding seas would kill it? considering a spot about 8ft back from the bow right behind the forward most bulkhead.

A water heater could go anywhere you want.
However, if you intent to heat water with the engine when it is running, than you must install it somewhere close to the mechanical space to keep the coolant conduits short.

[Dogscout]

Webasto Thermo too 90. Diesel hydronic heat

[er9]

Originally Posted by scargo

A water heater could go anywhere you want.
However, if you intent to heat water with the engine when it is running, than you must install it somewhere close to the mechanical space to keep the coolant conduits short.

thanks for replies. nope going to keep it off the engine loop so not an issue.

[er9]

Originally Posted by Captain Puget

Works n problem. A weight distribution issue, as others have noted.

I moved mine there after removing the waste holding tank when I switched to a composting head to balance the weight.

yeah i definately want to keep the weight distribution as original as possible. i figure the holding tank im removing is approx 40-50 lbs empty so the heater full would be similar weight.

i was also intending to put a 25 gal poly water tank in the v-berth as well next to the water heater. i am second guessing this location of the backup water tank though. that would add another 250ish lbs in the bow section. my boat is moderately heavy though at 20,000 lbs (currently) so not sure if it would be an issue.

the original holding tank is 44gals. full that would be approx 300 lbs which is approximately equal in weight to a full 25 gal water tank and the heater. i'm just not sure if boat engineers factor in that added weight of a full holding tank to the sailing characteristics of the boat while sailing, or if they assume it would always be empty on passages. my gut feeling for a good quality boat is that they do factor this in.

[er9]

Originally Posted by Dogscout

Webasto Thermo too 90. Diesel hydronic heat

thanks, interesting but if im going to spend 6k on that i want live aboard, all the time heat. in one of the links it says its not intended for live aboard use.

im considering the Whale 12 volt water heater. with a 400 AH battery bank i could afford to use it once in a while on the hook when energy is plentiful. at the dock it wouldnt matter because i would be plugged in.