Hydronic heating. cabin/water

[DavefromNZ]

Simply put; neither idea is viable. The Eberspacher is a closed loop and works fine.

[Fendell]

Originally Posted by DavefromNZ

Simply put; neither idea is viable. The Eberspacher is a closed loop and works fine.

Fair call. the 0.1l/hour quoted up thread would equate to about 16 litres a week. in practice does that seem about right? or is it barely noticeable in the scheme of things? I guess for the price of 2 blocks of beer to have a warm boat is work every penny... cheers again Dave.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Fendell

Fair call. the 0.1l/hour quoted up thread would equate to about 16 litres a week. in practice does that seem about right? or is it barely noticeable in the scheme of things? I guess for the price of 2 blocks of beer to have a warm boat is work every penny... cheers again Dave.

Those figures are reasonable. I got through winter here in South Australia using less than 60 litres for the whole winter. That was keeping an uninsulated beamy 42 footer at a pleasant 17 degrees C during the day and letting it fall to 12 degrees C over night.

[DiverSailor]

Greetings
I just installed a Webasto Thermo Top Evo, 5kW coolant heater.. and it came with the Smartemp control that appears to only be a timer and not really a thermostat.. documentation shows temp.. but not mine? Anyone else see that? Other ideas on using a thermostat? Something is missing here.. not sure.. it should heat run up to a set temp and shut off.. not just run on time only..
thanks ahead of time..
Ed

[GILow]

Originally Posted by DiverSailor

Greetings
I just installed a Webasto Thermo Top Evo, 5kW coolant heater.. and it came with the Smartemp control that appears to only be a timer and not really a thermostat.. documentation shows temp.. but not mine? Anyone else see that? Other ideas on using a thermostat? Something is missing here.. not sure.. it should heat run up to a set temp and shut off.. not just run on time only..
thanks ahead of time..
Ed

Might be worth starting a new thread.

For what it is worth, my Thermotop C simply heats the water to, I think, 65C before reducing to half power, then it keeps heating to 80C before shutting down the burner.

(Those temperatures may not be exactly correct, but I am pretty sure they are close.)

The control systems I looked at early on during my build all seemed to be timers, there was nothing to control the actual coolant temperature.

Anyway, to be able to help you it would be good to have a description of your setup and what you are trying to achieve. A new thread is the way to go.

[Cgstock]

Originally Posted by ColdEH

I use these little thermostat's to control the system .

http://www.amazon.ca/AGPtek-All-purp.../dp/B00862G3TQ

These things are great , never had one fail , I bought 10 of them and use them in the refrigeration system as well.

Regards

These are tied into the remote radiators you install around the boat to control the fan on that unit?

[Cgstock]

Originally Posted by richwest3

This thread was the start of my new water heater and I thought I'd post the results here. I installed a Espar Hydronic II D5S Diesel Heater along with a Webasto plate heat exchanger and I couldn't be happier. We have hot water three minutes after turning on the heater... lots of very hot water. We now have better showers on board than we've had in a lot of nice hotels (curse you water-savers!).

We posted the results on our blog here: I Took a Shower! | Two At Sea

I hope this is helpful to someone.

I read you blog on install. Please install the muffler.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Cgstock

I read you blog on install. Please install the muffler.

Why the rude facepalm? The muffler is not essential. Frankly, it’s a PITA and choosing not to use it strikes me as a smart move.

[bcboomer]

Originally Posted by GILow

Why the rude facepalm? The muffler is not essential. Frankly, it’s a PITA and choosing not to use it strikes me as a smart move.

You'd better not use it in a marina then. Your neighbours won't be impressed.

I increased the diameter of my exhaust as well as installing a muffler. The larger pipe lowers both the temperature and the tone of the exhaust. Less intrusive IMHO.

[GILow]

Originally Posted by bcboomer

You'd better not use it in a marina then. Your neighbours won't be impressed.



I increased the diameter of my exhaust as well as installing a muffler. The larger pipe lowers both the temperature and the tone of the exhaust. Less intrusive IMHO.

Well, I could barely tell the difference from ten feet away with my system. I have the muffler, but frankly, I don’t know why I bothered.

[bcboomer]

They don't bother me much because I can't hear them from inside the boat but howling heaters drive my wife crazy.
I suspect the hearing aids in my future will change my opinion.

[Stormshag]

Originally Posted by ColdEH

Hey Matt.

Yes i have the water running through the system all the time , this adds the volume I need and also keeps the system a little simpler with less places for leaks to start , I hate to think of all the clamps i used to put it all together, Hmmm i had better give those a check .

As for heat in the cabin from the hose and heaters with the fans off, none , I really don't notice any extra heat at all . I have all the hose below the floors , it is always cool down there, the warm pipes actually help keep the bilge area dry and mold free , .

I use these little thermostat's to control the system .

http://www.amazon.ca/AGPtek-All-purp.../dp/B00862G3TQ

These things are great , never had one fail , I bought 10 of them and use them in the refrigeration system as well.

Regards

Hi ColdEh! Thanks for sharing your setup details. I'm specing out my system around a planar 5s right now. I'm looking at how to wire thermostats to control the heat exchanger fans. I'm not terribly electrically savvy. The vendor that sold me the units said to wire the thermostat through a relay but I'm not sure how to go about it. Could you perhaps share how you wired yours up?

Thanks!

[GILow]

Originally Posted by Stormshag

Hi ColdEh! Thanks for sharing your setup details. I'm specing out my system around a planar 5s right now. I'm looking at how to wire thermostats to control the heat exchanger fans. I'm not terribly electrically savvy. The vendor that sold me the units said to wire the thermostat through a relay but I'm not sure how to go about it. Could you perhaps share how you wired yours up?

Thanks!

I haven't seen ColdEh on Here for a while.

You might be better off starting a new thread.

[alaskanviking]

I've read this thread a couple of times. the system you guys worked out looks really promising. several advantages actually being able to parallel a large and small diesel heater, and square tank is easy to add pink/blue foam board insulation.

that being said, how hard would it be to add an electric heating element?

Can you fabricate from stainless or copper/bronze instead of steel? i am assuming yes, but i may have missed the reason for the choice of steel.

what safety devices did you put in it? ie pressure release valve, drain valve ect. and if so I'm guessing you just welded in a threaded bung?

is there an issue with the square/rectangular shape tank? i thought most water heaters are round because round tanks hold the pressure of hot water expanding better.

what's better storing hot water for heat, or storing domestic hot water? the system is a reverse of most, but it looks like it works well.

how did you design the mounts/straps to account for the insulation thickness to bolt it to the bulkhead?

not that several of these systems have been in use, is there some best practices, recommendations, or things you would have liked to change ect.

Thanks

Robert

[GILow]

Originally Posted by alaskanviking

I've read this thread a couple of times. the system you guys worked out looks really promising. several advantages actually being able to parallel a large and small diesel heater, and square tank is easy to add pink/blue foam board insulation.

that being said, how hard would it be to add an electric heating element?

Can you fabricate from stainless or copper/bronze instead of steel? i am assuming yes, but i may have missed the reason for the choice of steel.

what safety devices did you put in it? ie pressure release valve, drain valve ect. and if so I'm guessing you just welded in a threaded bung?

is there an issue with the square/rectangular shape tank? i thought most water heaters are round because round tanks hold the pressure of hot water expanding better.

what's better storing hot water for heat, or storing domestic hot water? the system is a reverse of most, but it looks like it works well.

how did you design the mounts/straps to account for the insulation thickness to bolt it to the bulkhead?

not that several of these systems have been in use, is there some best practices, recommendations, or things you would have liked to change ect.

Thanks

Robert

I don’t know which of the systems described in this thread you are asking about.

FWIW, the system I built, pretty much the same as the one devised by ColdEH, does not need a pressure relief as it is unpressurised. The holding tank I built is square-ish, mainly shaped to fit neatly between the oven and the side of the boat and constructed from plywood and fibreglass. It is built into the boat so no holding straps required.

Mine has had most of a winter in Tasmania to prove itself now and it has worked well. It certainly coped fine through a winter in Adelaide, but that is at a significantly lower latitude.

ColdEH turned the conventional design on its head with his approach of storing heat in the treated coolant and I think his idea was brilliant. After a couple of years of running his design I have no hesitation recommending it to others.

Matt