Cruisers Forum
 


Reply
  This discussion is proudly sponsored by:
Please support our sponsors and let them know you heard about their products on Cruisers Forums. Advertise Here
 
Thread Tools Search this Thread Rate Thread Display Modes
Old 12-04-2012, 00:36   #1
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Durban South Africa
Boat: L 34
Posts: 284
Boat Heaters

Planning a trip thru Magellan and would appreciate comments on the necessity for a cabin heater and opinions on makes. Thanks.
holmek is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2012, 00:40   #2
Moderator
 
Dockhead's Avatar

Cruisers Forum Supporter

Join Date: Mar 2009
Location: Denmark (Winter), Helsinki (Summer); Cruising the Baltic Sea this year!
Boat: Cutter-Rigged Moody 54
Posts: 33,764
Re: Boat Heaters

Espar or Webasto hydronic is the high-class option, but expensive and consumes elec, and needs service from time to time. Espar or Webasto air heater cheaper. Passive bulkhead mounted diesel heater needs no service you can't do with a bit of seizing wire, needs no elec, and some put off a cheerful glow. But will only heat that one space. Take your pick.
Dockhead is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2012, 03:36   #3
Registered User
 
Ziggy's Avatar

Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: U.S., Northeast
Boat: Currently boatless
Posts: 1,643
Images: 2
Re: Boat Heaters

Evans Starzinger swears by Refleks heaters (available here). Evans and Beth have a lot of high latitude sailing experience, so I would consider their recommendation carefully.
__________________
... He knows the chart is not the sea.
-- Philip Booth, Chart 1203
Ziggy is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2012, 03:55   #4
Registered User
 
SimonV's Avatar

Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: Brisbane, Australia.
Posts: 1,338
Re: Boat Heaters

Why would someone that hates boats be on this forum.

Edit: sorry my bad.
__________________
Simon

Bavaria 50 Cruiser
SimonV is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2012, 04:05   #5
Marine Service Provider
 
NornaBiron's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: Greece
Boat: Custom steel cutter, 15m
Posts: 649
Re: Boat Heaters

We have a Refleks heater with an internal coil hooked up to the hot water tank. This supplies our hot water and, with the addition of a circulating pump and a few radiators, keeps our whole boat toasty
NornaBiron is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2012, 04:23   #6
Registered User

Join Date: Apr 2011
Location: Maryland
Boat: Island Packet 35
Posts: 132
We got a Wallace 40 dt forced air system last fall. We are liveaboards up in Maryland and last winter was nothing. If I was to do it again We would have gotten a Webasto water heater.

With the Wallace we got just over 1.5 gallons a day economy. It typically would only get the boat to 66 degrees or so. But it did move air around really well so we supplemented it with a electronic oil radiator...with the two the boat was toasty. The 3 in ducting was difficult to route and limited where we could put the vents. It did however make our aft locker a warm/dry winter storage location.

Friends have the webasco. I understand from them.....running the small water lines was really easy allowing for greater flexibility in placing the radiators. Their boat (much larger than ours) stays really comfortable with just the diesel
heater. The have constant hot running water with the heat exchanger. And its wasn't that much more money.

Hope this helps.
Hotel L is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 12-04-2012, 05:31   #7
Registered User

Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Durban South Africa
Boat: L 34
Posts: 284
Re: Boat Heaters

LOL SimonV, I'm beginning to hate the idea of being where I have to heat my boat.! But I want to go to Pitcairn/Easter/Juan Fernandes and don't want to go through Panama again.
holmek is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2013, 05:56   #8
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Boat: Kadey Krogen 42
Posts: 5
Re: Boat Heaters

Hi all,

I'm having the same debate right now. I have sort of settled on the Wallas dt40, in large part due to its quietness and ability to dry out the boat. I have spoken to some who have thier boat in the Gulf of Alaska and this is a very popular option in SE Alaska.

I have planned on using my existing A/C ducting, so that I do not have to run more ducting, which I too think would be a real PIA.

I am somewhat taken aback by the consumption mentioned above. 1.5 gal/day=50 gal/month=roughly $300/month just to heat boat. Seems like a lot.
Maybe I should look at other options??

THought?

Richard
wxman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2013, 06:34   #9
Registered User
 
rebel heart's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2005
Posts: 6,185
Images: 3
Re: Boat Heaters

Fuel costs a lot, not a lot of ways around it. Smaller boats, smaller spaces to keep warm.
rebel heart is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2013, 06:57   #10
Registered User
 
ColdEH's Avatar

Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Toronto Canada
Boat: Bristol 45.5
Posts: 848
Images: 1
Re: Boat Heaters

Quote:
Originally Posted by Hotel L View Post
We got a Wallace 40 dt forced air system last fall. We are liveaboards up in Maryland and last winter was nothing. If I was to do it again We would have gotten a Webasto water heater.

With the Wallace we got just over 1.5 gallons a day economy. It typically would only get the boat to 66 degrees or so. But it did move air around really well so we supplemented it with a electronic oil radiator...with the two the boat was toasty. The 3 in ducting was difficult to route and limited where we could put the vents. It did however make our aft locker a warm/dry winter storage location.

Friends have the webasco. I understand from them.....running the small water lines was really easy allowing for greater flexibility in placing the radiators. Their boat (much larger than ours) stays really comfortable with just the diesel
heater. The have constant hot running water with the heat exchanger. And its wasn't that much more money.

Hope this helps.
The biggest issue with heating a boat is not keeping it warm , it is the constant struggle against condensation and then the resulting mould on the inside of the hull.
I had a webasto hydronic system on my last boat with all the hoses and heater cores. Kept the boat very warm and damp. The system only recirculates the moisture laden air inside the boat .
If I was to do it again I would use a hydronic system over a single heater box with all the air drawn in from outside through the heat exchnger ( Heater 901 - 50 000 235 ) and ducted through the boat .

Also , if you are using a boat in cold water , try to find a boat with a cored hull , they are warmer and cut down a lot on the inside cold surfaces.

Regards
ColdEH is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2013, 07:00   #11
Registered User
 
Dhillen's Avatar

Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: South Pacific
Boat: Oyster 53
Posts: 359
Re: Boat Heaters

Keep in mind if you decide on the Webasto or Espar diesel heater you will not be able to use existing aircon ducting. That ducting is designed for cold air and will melt - so the technical guys assured me - if you stick one of those powerful diesel heaters on it. This means new heat resistant ducting needs to be run around the boat.

We went with a Webasto hydronic system and love it.

Cheers.

Dhillen
__________________
www.theseaissalt.com
Dhillen is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2013, 07:06   #12
Registered User

Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: NYC
Boat: Kadey Krogen 42
Posts: 5
Re: Boat Heaters

Quote:
Originally Posted by typhoon View Post
The biggest issue with heating a boat is not keeping it warm , it is the constant struggle against condensation and then the resulting mould on the inside of the hull.
I had a webasto hydronic system on my last boat with all the hoses and heater cores. Kept the boat very warm and damp. The system only recirculates the moisture laden air inside the boat .
If I was to do it again I would use a hydronic system over a single heater box with all the air drawn in from outside through the heat exchnger ( Heater 901 - 50 000 235 ) and ducted through the boat .

Also , if you are using a boat in cold water , try to find a boat with a cored hull , they are warmer and cut down a lot on the inside cold surfaces.

Regards
Thanks. We have been in Maine all summer and I am already having problems with the boat never drying out inside. I appreciate your thoughts. and yes, I will check to make sure my current ducting can take the heat.

Richard
wxman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2013, 07:06   #13
Registered User
 
Tim R.'s Avatar

Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Portland, Maine
Boat: Caliber 40LRC
Posts: 609
Re: Boat Heaters

We have an ITR Hurricane hydronic heater on our 40 ft. Caliber. We expend roughly 2 gallons per day in the months of Jan, Feb and Mar in Maine. We usually run the heater at 67° while awake on board and 60° while at work or sleeping. For safety and noise the heater is installed in teh sail locker with the exhaust out the transom. This system is very popular in the PNW. It is not cheap but very well made and has options to pre-heat the engine or on-demand hot water.

The boat gets clear shrink wrap in the winter which helps with the heating costs during the day. The system is completely 12v so we can also use it at anchor. It has 3 zones so we can control what gets heated and when. We cruise from May 1 to Dec 1 in Maine.

See my website if you want more details.
__________________
Tim R.
Our Carina is sold
1997 Caliber 40LRC
TKR on a Boat Website
Tim R. is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 19-09-2013, 07:28   #14
Registered User

Join Date: Dec 2006
Location: Seattle
Boat: Cal 40 (sold). Still have a Hobie 20
Posts: 2,944
Images: 7
Re: Boat Heaters

Quote:
Originally Posted by wxman View Post
Hi all,

I'm having the same debate right now. I have sort of settled on the Wallas dt40, in large part due to its quietness and ability to dry out the boat. I have spoken to some who have thier boat in the Gulf of Alaska and this is a very popular option in SE Alaska.

I have planned on using my existing A/C ducting, so that I do not have to run more ducting, which I too think would be a real PIA.

I am somewhat taken aback by the consumption mentioned above. 1.5 gal/day=50 gal/month=roughly $300/month just to heat boat. Seems like a lot.
Maybe I should look at other options??

THought?

Richard
You have a long tube shaped ( lots of surface area to radiate heat per volume) non to poorly insulated house.
cal40john is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search
Display Modes Rate This Thread
Rate This Thread:

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off


Advertise Here


All times are GMT -7. The time now is 08:07.


Google+
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.
Social Knowledge Networks
Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.8 Beta 1
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions, Inc.

ShowCase vBulletin Plugins by Drive Thru Online, Inc.