Electric Space Heaters

[Solitude]

How many of the northern boaters leave space heaters on in the boat while away? What do you use?

I imagine there are many variations of this; light bulbs, space heaters, oil space heaters, ceramic, dehumidifiers.

What precautions should one take? Why not just use "dry z air" and winterize?

[roverhi]

Almost all dockside boat fires are caused by electrical problems. Leaving an electric heater running in your absence is not the wisest thing to do. The problem is how to keep your pipes from freezing if you are in the hard cold of Midwest and North East, assuming you are talking live aboard. If it's just storage, winterize the boat and leave it till spring.

[sailvayu]

Read my article here
NCSurveyor.com

Hope this may help some, I am sure others will have some good advice as well

Wayne Canning, AMS
projectboatzen.com

[Chief Engineer]

Many Marinas around here post signs that say specifically no space heaters are to be left on....

One Ceramic Heater 1500 watts+loose shore power cord=Fire
(or at least a charred inlet/cord)

I see a lot of damaged boats in the spring where people have plugged them in and forgotten them.

They don't check their boats over the winter.

You know the "rest of the story"

[rebel heart]

A guy here burned his boat down that way. Took out a couple neighbors too I think. Left a heater running for a couple of weeks, and something happened. Boom.

[rebel heart]

You might want to consider golden rods for certain compartments.

GoldenRod Dehumidifiers - Moisture Control like Magic - Oxnard, California USA

Not as safe as nothing, but in my last boat I had them running all the time.

[delmarrey]

I use the 250 watt heat lamps. One over the motor. One in the main solon and one up forward. In sub zero temperatures they'll keep the boat at around 50º and dry as well.

I also open up the access to the fuel tank so that it stays warmer then the hull. (The tank has an air gap around it, mounted on wood strips)

You can buy the clamp-on light holders rated at 250 watt in hardware stores. They'll have a ceramic socket and a good clamp. When they are clamped on in the boat I put them on something they can be tied to with a twisty so they can't fall and break.

I've been doing this for the past 7 years w/o a glitch. You just have to make sure they are not too close to anything. And point them into an open space, not directed at anything and all will be OK.

BTW avoid getting anything on the bulb. Even ones oily hands can cause the glass to crack after long term use.

The golden rods work too but it takes more of them.

[Solitude]

I don't use anything right now but (salt) dehumidifier tubs.

And I fully agree that space heaters sound like a bad idea..high load... tippy (some)..not made for the enviroment.

I was reading 48 north this month and there is an article sugesting using heaters with fans... It just made me wonder howmany of my dockmates use them?

[sarafina]

I learned in the tropics to leave a bulb burning in the closets to help with humidity. Here in San Francisco it isn't really so very cold, it just SEEMS like it because of the damp. We have always burned a 100 watt bulb in the cabin to keep things dry. Not a total cure, but enough to avoid creeping black mold under cushions. Currently a brass bankers lamp is doing the job just fine. Has a very heavy base so it is stable even in weather.

[David M]

Cool...a lamp with a gender! Is the little Pixar lamp across the Bay in Emeryville a girl? Oooooh, mini lights!

I leave a fluorescent light on for security....a dozen watts or so is enough to keep the creeps and the mildew away.

[sarafina]

Originally Posted by David M

Cool...a lamp with a gender! Is the little Pixar lamp across the Bay in Emeryville a girl? Oooooh, mini lights!

well.. never good to assume anything about gender, especially in the Bay Area, but that lamp has always seemed pretty dudish to me!

[barnakiel]

Nothing, if unattended. There are granulate dehunidifiers that work fine.

b.

[cabo_sailor]

The most I leave on is a 12v fan. It seems to circulate enough air to keep the crud under control. If I were worried about a hard freeze, I'd probably just leave the reverse cycle on heat mode but with a fairly low kick in temp - forty or so F. It's not common here but I can remember one winter with 12 in icycles on the lifelines. Usually though winter just means long pants and perhaps a sweater or jacket.

Rich

[Dockhead]

I use an oil-filled low-power 240 volt radiator, set with the thermostat turned way down. Seems much safer than heat lamps or space heaters because there is no high temperature anywhere.

I'm thinking about programming the Eberspaecher hydronic heater to come on for an hour every few days. All that combustion, unattended, is pretty scary, but it can't be riskier than other variants.

The cold damp this time of year is nasty. I've had a lot of electronics problems (including a dead laptop) because of it.

[Solitude]

Originally Posted by Dockhead

I use an oil-filled low-power 240 volt radiator, set with the thermostat turned way down. Seems much safer than heat lamps or space heaters because there is no high temperature anywhere.

I'm thinking about programming the Eberspaecher hydronic heater to come on for an hour every few days. All that combustion, unattended, is pretty scary, but it can't be riskier than other variants.

The cold damp this time of year is nasty. I've had a lot of electronics problems (including a dead laptop) because of it.

The oil filled radiators are quite popular in Europe for heating and I agree they seem to be a safer alternative with no moving parts.