Quote:
Originally Posted by kimberlite
I am considering installing an espar d5 air heater on kimberlite. anyone have a problem with their heater. what maintenance is required and what spares should i have? fair winds eric
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Caveat: Very limited time using a
diesel furnace for
cabin heating
I chartered a
Nordic Tug 32 out of Juneau two years ago. The
boat had a
diesel furnace, but it also a "bus heater" where
generator or
cooling water">engine
cooling water would be used to provide
cabin heat. The hot
water heater was powered by 110V via the
generator, or main
engine heat.
I found the diesel furnace to be LOUD in this
installation, as well as on another I heard on a
marine patrol
boat. The furnace was much louder than the generator. The generator made a soft low rumble we could barely discern, while the furnace roared at about the same volume and frequencies as speech, obliterating the ability to comfortably carry on a conversation.
Since we needed the generator from time to time anyway (110V
service, microwave, hot
water, recharge the
laptop, cameras, and phones, ...) we found we generally just turned on the generator when we wanted to warm the boat up, even if just for 10 to 30 minutes at a time.
I did see many people with diesel furnaces up there, including on
outboard powered
fishing boats that had special diesel installations just for the diesel furnaces. So they do have quite a following in the field.
I was just surprised that using the generator to heat the boat was a more pleasant option.