Heater Question

[Roniszoro]

I'm looking at Dickerson heaters to install on my 37 foot sloop. The diesel heater generates much greater heat (BTUs) than the propane heaters, and diesel fuel is much easier to get than propane. (I've been advised to use the diesel one buys at gas stations vs. the mairine diesel one buys at the dock, as the former burns much cleaner.) But does the diesel unit smell of diesel? That would be an important factor in my decision. The cost of the units are not different enough to have an impact on my purchase.

Thank you in advance for any input you can provide.

Ron

[Cheechako]

-Yes it smells a bit.
-They are difficult to get going well, but burn fairly clean once they are really hot. For occasional use this is not a good thing.
-You may end up with soot on your boat from the initial combustion etc.
-kerosene is far cleaner burning and more trouble free.
-You may find installing a forced air diesel truck heater a big asset compared with the old school diesel burner. (Much cheaper than Espar/Webasto etc) Not sure how it works out $ wise.

[Roniszoro]

I should add that I will not be using the boat in the winter in cold climates. Rather my likely coldest night time temperature environment will likely be in the mid 40s F.

[Discovery 15797]

I have a Dickinson Antarctic heater on my boat that was great in the PNW (not so much in HI). It would make the interior toasty warm, and dry. Also great for a kettle of hot water. But, yes...the smell and soot is mostly on startup. You need to pipe it well, and include a barometric dampener to control well IMHO. A lot of smell and soot problems result from poor burn.

I would not go with a propane heater.

Another choice could be a solid fuel heater like the Dickinson Newport. Burns wood, coal, pellets, etc.

http://dickinsonmarine.com/product_c...d-fuel-heater/

[barnakiel]

I have some experience with Danish Reflex diesel heaters.


Yes they have a slight smell but this was never a problem.


Reflex are easy to start and we found them extremely effective - to the point that we were forced to switch ours off for the night (small boat, probably no problem with more volume). I would buy such a unit for my own boat without any doubt.



LPG heaters are supreme when it comes to size and ease of maintenance though.


Imho diesel heaters are the ultimate solution for extensive use, LPG are fine where there is no real winter, just a cold period.



b.

[gonesail]

I have a propane cozy cabin heater. puts out a nice blue flame that looks like a small fireplace at night .. and provides plenty of dry heat for a 30 foot boat. for North Florida it works really well. I have dual 10 lb. tanks. Even the small pilot flame puts out some warmth.

[Roniszoro]

Originally Posted by barnakiel

LPG heaters are supreme when it comes to size and ease of maintenance though.


Imho diesel heaters are the ultimate solution for extensive use, LPG are fine where there is no real winter, just a cold period.

b.

My cool weather use would be Nova Scotia in summer and Southern New England in all of May & early June and late Septmber and all of October. So it is likely that at night it would rarely get below the mid 40s F and more likely 50ish.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by gonesail

I have a propane cozy cabin heater. puts out a nice blue flame that looks like a small fireplace at night .. and provides plenty of dry heat for a 30 foot boat. for North Florida it works really well. I have dual 10 lb. tanks. Even the small pilot flame puts out some warmth.

That is a double violation of ABYC and egregiously dangerous -- no propane heaters without sealed burners, and no pilot flames. Does your insurance company know about this device?


To the OP: I would never use propane heat on a boat. There IS an ABYC compliant heater with a sealed burner -- made by Dickinson. ONE on the market AFAIK. But why do you want even more gas risk on board? And unless you are using it very occasionally, it gets old humping propane rather than just burning out of your diesel tank.

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

-Yes it smells a bit.
-They are difficult to get going well, but burn fairly clean once they are really hot. For occasional use this is not a good thing.
-You may end up with soot on your boat from the initial combustion etc.
-kerosene is far cleaner burning and more trouble free.
-You may find installing a forced air diesel truck heater a big asset compared with the old school diesel burner. (Much cheaper than Espar/Webasto etc) Not sure how it works out $ wise.

I tend to agree.

I like the "old school" heaters and in a 37 foot boat the drawbacks of those heaters in terms of heat distribution are not too bad.

But it's awfully hard to find bulkhead space for them, and I would hate to be cutting a hole in the deck. THEN you have the issue of soot on the deck. PLUS it's quite a bit of faffing around compared to a forced burner type of heater.

For the OP's kind of use, I would keep it simple and just use an Eber, Webasto, or Planar forced air heater. Very simple to install, requires to no interior space, no hole in the deck, no soot, no problem. Should be cheaper. Drawbacks are it makes a certain amount of noise and uses a certain amount of electrical power. Another drawback is that they require occasional service. So the OP will have to decide for himself, but that's certainly an option worth serious consideration.


One more thing: All these liquid fuel heaters work much better on kerosene. In the UK, this is sold as light heating oil and is about half the cost of diesel. Have no idea what it costs there or how available it is. Putting in a separate tank for that would be quite a faff and certain amount of expense, but might really be worth it just for the increased reliability and better function, and especially if the fuel itself is readyily available and cheaper than diesel.

[chris mac]

No experience with that type, but the diesel forced air systems don't smell, and offer almost instant heat. We use planar brand, and it was pretty cheap to do

[Annie in WA]

Went to a boat show seminar "warm dry boat" and my recollection is that the bulkhead mounted diesel furnace that uses cabin air for combustion dries the boat since it brings fresh air in the cabin thru ports or hatches. The double flue style doesn't bring fresh air to cabin just to furnace. 100% humidor air at 40 degrees from outside becomes much dryer relative humidity air when heated inside. If you are just heating air but not changing it than moisture from people and cooking can be an issue. It used to amaze me how quickly our wet foulies would dry in the cabin when it was raining outside but the furnace kept the humidity low as well as the temperature comfortable. Now in the tropics moisture and heat are tougher to control.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Annie in WA

Went to a boat show seminar "warm dry boat" and my recollection is that the bulkhead mounted diesel furnace that uses cabin air for combustion dries the boat since it brings fresh air in the cabin thru ports or hatches. The double flue style doesn't bring fresh air to cabin just to furnace. 100% humidor air at 40 degrees from outside becomes much dryer relative humidity air when heated inside. If you are just heating air but not changing it than moisture from people and cooking can be an issue. It used to amaze me how quickly our wet foulies would dry in the cabin when it was raining outside but the furnace kept the humidity low as well as the temperature comfortable. Now in the tropics moisture and heat are tougher to control.

Using cabin air for combustion also is contra ABYC and maybe an issue for your underwriter. Oxygen depletion from such appliances is a potentially serious issue.

[dfelsent]

We’ve got an espar/eberspacher forced hot air heater.
(Cross my fingers) installed 30 years ago still runs well with occasional maintenance.
But perhaps the best for New England is the traditional cast iron stove. The residual heat kept your interior dry in the Maine fog. But lots more work when you start cooking. Been there too.

[Annie in WA]

boatpoker
With all respect what exactly does ABYC say about using cabin air for my bulkhead mounted furnace? Boat was surveyed by competent registered guy in Bellingham Wa and Dickinson Marine still sells this unit designed for bulkhead mounting on boats and has for decades. It seems to me that the manufacturer or Defender Marine or west Marine would face some consequences if it was not compliant. Perhaps I’m missing something?
Fair Winds

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Annie in WA

boatpoker
With all respect what exactly does ABYC say about using cabin air for my bulkhead mounted furnace? Boat was surveyed by competent registered guy in Bellingham Wa and Dickinson Marine still sells this unit designed for bulkhead mounting on boats and has for decades. It seems to me that the manufacturer or Defender Marine or west Marine would face some consequences if it was not compliant. Perhaps I’m missing something?
Fair Winds

I don't know what a "competent registered guy" means but as a "non attended appliance" any fossil fuel burning heater heater must draw combustion air from outside the accomodation spaces according to ABYC.

Send an email to boatpoker@gmail.com and I'll respond with a pdf of the relevant ABYC Standards.