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Old 16-08-2017, 01:35   #1
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Water heaters.. which brand?

Hi All,

I've been looking at a water heater that includes an engine heater exchanger and there's a few to choose from. At this stage I'm looking at : isotherm, force 10, quick nautic. Does anyone recommend or (not) any particular model? The boat is a twin engine31 foot cabin cruiser. Won't be out for more than a weekend at a time. If we go over night it will only be myself and a partner otherwise it might be 6 adults for day trips.

Thanks In advance. Mark, Melbourne Australia

Isotherm does one which runs two coils while I'm leaning towards due to the utilisation of both engines which I assume will heat faster
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Old 16-08-2017, 02:12   #2
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

Mark, even with a raw water cooled system our tank is hot after 30 minutes of motoring so save the complication and cost of plumbing in both engines.

What I will say is our 20 litre tank goes cold over night. Now its 30 years old so probably due for replacement and I am looking at 30-40 litres with a mixer valve to conserve the hot water in the tank. Its likely to be this winters project. Luckily they make tanks just down the road from me so its an easy choice. http://www.surejust.co.uk/calorifiers

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Old 16-08-2017, 06:29   #3
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

I agree on the single engine is enough. Even with my small 44hp diesel it is screaming hot pretty quickly.

Mine is a Raritan 6 gal with glass lined stainless tank. I really like it, given me zero troubles and is at least 10+ years old. With my wife and 2 kids we all get showers daily but we are taking military showers lol.
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Old 19-08-2017, 02:01   #4
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

Military showers [emoji23] poor kids
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Old 19-08-2017, 03:56   #5
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

Quote:
Originally Posted by tronic72 View Post
Hi All,

I've been looking at a water heater that includes an engine heater exchanger and there's a few to choose from. At this stage I'm looking at : isotherm, force 10, quick nautic. Does anyone recommend or (not) any particular model? The boat is a twin engine31 foot cabin cruiser. Won't be out for more than a weekend at a time. If we go over night it will only be myself and a partner otherwise it might be 6 adults for day trips.

Thanks In advance. Mark, Melbourne Australia

Isotherm does one which runs two coils while I'm leaning towards due to the utilisation of both engines which I assume will heat faster
Mark, my boat came with a woody's hot water system, non pressurised tank that has two coils, one for heating from the engine the other is used to actually heat the water for consumption. The water in the tank is the heat bank, the pressure relief valve fitted to the fresh water coil where it leaves the tank dumps any hot water back into the tank.
Everyone that has spent any time on the boat is amazed at the quantity of hot water that this produces, far more than just the contents of the tank.
While the heater is no longer made, there may be something similar out there. Cheers
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Old 19-08-2017, 03:59   #6
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

We have an Isotemp and are very happy with it. For a low-tech unit, it has the biggest owners manual I've ever seen (98 pages).

That being said, there are other quality brands out there. I would first determine the dimensions of the space you have available for the replacement. Decide if you want a cubical form, a cylinder, and will it be installed horizontal or vertical, etc. Once you do that, I would buy the unit that will give you the most hot water from that volume.

Cheers!

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Old 19-08-2017, 06:07   #7
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

Quote:
Originally Posted by sailah View Post
I agree on the single engine is enough. Even with my small 44hp diesel it is screaming hot pretty quickly.

Mine is a Raritan 6 gal with glass lined stainless tank. I really like it, given me zero troubles and is at least 10+ years old. With my wife and 2 kids we all get showers daily but we are taking military showers lol.
Have you replaced the magnesium anode on the hot water discharge valve and checked the function of the pressure relief valve? On the Raritan, anodes need replacement at roughly 5 year intervals while the pressure relief valve should be checked annually and replaced at roughly 3 year intervals. Note too, that Raritan's pressure relief valves let go at 75 PSI, about half of what common hardware store PRV's are rated at.

N'any case, the Raritan and/or Isotemp seem to be good choices.

FWIW...
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Old 19-08-2017, 13:47   #8
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Water heaters.. which brand?

Look for something that is not an aluminum tank.
I just bought a cheap Kuma as it was the same dimensions as my old one.
I have been told aluminum tank water heaters don't last long, however the one I Just replaced was working fine, just excessive corrosion on the hold down fittings and it was removed and I didn't want to put an OLD water heater back in, it had an aluminum tank.

My next one will be an isotherm, reason is three fold, mixing valve, Stainless tank and excellent insulation.
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Old 19-08-2017, 15:05   #9
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

Thanks a64pilot. I did look at the Kuuma force 10s which are almost half the price of the isitherm. Your post explains why.
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Old 19-08-2017, 15:45   #10
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

I got the isotherm with dual coils, one for engine water, the other for generator.

I use the generator on the hook and it heats the water up in about 20 minutes (8kw westerbeke). Got the round cylinder version which was an almost drop in replacement for the 30 year old British colorifier.

The first image is the new water heater, the second is the original, unfortunately rotated 90 degrees. The new one is in the same position as the old, quite a job getting it back in there without cutting anything!!! Very happy!!!
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Old 19-08-2017, 19:52   #11
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

Hey nice job on the new unit. The isotherm dual element unit is looking like my heater of choice. I'll plumb it in with one engine and can always add the second later. I've sent a request to the manufacture to see if they have any specifications on the difference between single and dual element heaters.

Thanks for the replies. Mark, Melbourne Australia.
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Old 19-08-2017, 20:58   #12
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

I like the Isotherm SPA series. It has all the goodies, heat exchanger, stainless tank, and mixing valve. It doesn't have a stainless cover which makes it a very good value.

The mixing valve is a nice thing to have. It allows you to heat the water to a high temperature then mixes it with cold water to bring it down to a safe temperature as it comes out of the heater. This gives you more usable hot water.
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Old 20-08-2017, 04:44   #13
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

+1 on Isotherm. I just replace a 40 yr old Seward(?) with a slim. Good insulation, mixing valve a +
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Old 20-08-2017, 06:08   #14
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

We sell and install several brands; our experience is that Isotherm make a good unit; the best we've worked with is the Torrid line; many models including 3ph for larger boats, custom sizes available with multiple elements and multiple heat exchanger bosses. They even customized a 6g unit with both high voltage (120) and a 600watt 12v element (for solar dump) for us; great people; recommended.
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Old 20-08-2017, 07:01   #15
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Re: Water heaters.. which brand?

We have a 40 liter Quick on our sailboat and couldn't be happier. The water heats up very quickly and the next day it's still warm enough for a shower. The water also doesn't gradually loose its heat while you shower, until the very last moment. We find 40 liters give us abundant showering and dishwashing water for two people for a day.
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