Portable, Temporary Underway Heater

[hellosailor]

Terry-
What cell phone has a CO detector built into it? That sounds like a truly niche market product.

[bensolomon]

I use a heat pal, too, on my hunter 37.5. Sail in the Chesapeake during the winter. Works great!!!! I use grain alcohol in it and there's zero CO and zero condensation. It burns 6hours on the high setting per fill, and it is a stove, if needed.

[Jammer]

Originally Posted by TrialRum

Hey Terry,
Use clay pots on the stove burners. Same clay pots used for planting. On lowest heat they will heat up and generate considerable heat to the surrounding areas. Use the stove fiddles to keep them in place.

People have died doing that.

Originally Posted by bensolomon

I use a heat pal, too, on my hunter 37.5. Sail in the Chesapeake during the winter. Works great!!!! I use grain alcohol in it and there's zero CO and zero condensation. It burns 6hours on the high setting per fill, and it is a stove, if needed.

Any fuel-burning device that is not vented outside produces some CO, and can produce a good deal of CO if it ends up running rich for whatever reason, such as a blocked air intake or overfilled font.

[Scotty Kiwi]

Originally Posted by TrialRum

Hey Terry,
Use clay pots on the stove burners. Same clay pots used for planting. On lowest heat they will heat up and generate considerable heat to the surrounding areas. Use the stove fiddles to keep them in place.

This seems like a simple and elegant solution. You tried it? Providing the ventilation is adequate. How do the gases and water vapor vent off? Is there a Dorade vent above the stove? If so does the venting allow the heating to still be efficient?

I used to use the propane oven as a last resort in winter. Never tried putting bricks in it. Didn't notice any moisture build up. I guess the oven was vented, and there was a Dorade directly above, but I never felt very safe with it, and never had it on unless I was able to keep an eye on it - ie not while asleep.

[Sojourner]

If you only need cheap, temporary heat while underway, the big buddy is great. I used to have one strapped to the 'galley' of my 1977 VW bus when I lived and traveled in it. Not a problem. As others say, strap it to the stove, and don't sleep with it. Yes, condensation, but you can get away with almost anything temporarily. Alternatively, if you'll be motoring a lot or have a good gennie, buy a couple/three of those little 10 dollar space heaters. Our Amel came with three installed permanently, and the original 26 year old units still work. Together they pull 3000 watts on low setting, but that's plenty to heat up the boat in a few hours before bed. Like the other heater, just secure them well.

[newhaul]

Ok to dispel some of the threads bs. The burning of propane produces 1oz of moisture with each 1k btu per hour. For a temporary day use I would consider a Mr heater big buddy setting on the cabin sole in a metal cake pan with rubber feet attached ( to keep it from sliding when tacking.) and protect the sole from possible heat issues. Just don't run it when sleeping or not on the vessel.
For a more perm situation I would recommend looking into a diesel forced air heater.

[Tspringer]

Originally Posted by hellosailor

Terry-
What cell phone has a CO detector built into it? That sounds like a truly niche market product.

CAT S61 phone. It is indestructible or as close as a phone can get. Waterproof to 10' for an hour, has underwater camera mode. Youtube videos of running them over with bulldozers, no issues. IP59 military spec rating. The S61 has a built in air quality monitor including CO detection. It also has a FLIR camera that is awesome and an integrated laser measure that is surprisingly handy.

https://www.catphones.com/en-us/cat-s61-smartphone/



Terry

[boatman61]

Originally Posted by TrialRum

Hey Terry,
Use clay pots on the stove burners. Same clay pots used for planting. On lowest heat they will heat up and generate considerable heat to the surrounding areas. Use the stove fiddles to keep them in place.

Old wives tale.. tried it on a 23ftr.. lotsa condensation and no warmth worth the grief.

[hellosailor]

"I use a heat pal,...grain alcohol...zero condensation. "
Yeah, that's a reflection on having adequate ventilation and environmental factors (relative humidity, moisture sources like humans exhaling, etc.) and not a reflection on alcohol sources in general.
The cruel physics of it are that the combustion of alcohol., any kind of alcohol, releases more moisture vapor into the air, per btu produced, than any other other fuel choices. For some folks it works, for others, it produces a rain forest before dawn.
An electric mattress heater (an electric blanket built to take the weight of a mattress pressing won on it) sold for truckers and RV use, will keep you toasty warm while using minimal power and producing absolutely no moisture. More efficient than an electric blanket, since all the heat travels up through you before it gets into the cabin air.

[Checkswrecks]

I've had both the Buddy and Buddy Jr - Would suggest getting the Jr.

The bigger unit works great but is a better size for a garage. It just takes up a lot of real estate, both for keeping a clear area in front of it in use and for storage. It also goes through canisters faster unless you plumb it to the 20# tank. Both definitely need a CO monitor but you already said you have that.

For the cabin of the 32' boat, the Jr takes a little longer to get things warm but is easier to live with in all the other aspects. For example, if you point it toward the V berth it is less of an obstacle when you are moving past it.

The one place the Jr has an issue is with stability and that is easily addressed by making a simple interlocking stand, like below with a third side and longer legs.

[Stu Jackson]

Originally Posted by rbk

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>these also all have a thermocoupler with pilot light, if the light gets blown out it kills the gas, if the light goes out from lack of o2 or excess CO it kills the gas. These are quit safe even in enclosed spaces when used properly.

Very good point. We had a power outage at home last December. I brought our Coleman catalytic heater from the boat, but needed more, so bought a Little Buddy. rbk is right about the differences, the buddy has a pilot light that must stay lit for it to work. The Coleman does not, starts with a piezeo (sp?), while the buddy requires holding down the start button until the pilot light starts and then hits the heater core. That pilot light is VERY sensitive, as in: moving the unit too quickly, even across a room, can put it out. The heat part works very well, really puts it out, compared to the identical capacity Coleman.

[Dave22q]

Seems like you are in a pickle. Generating heat uses LOTS of energy be it electric or propane. I would opt for the generator/heat pump option as both safer and probably less expensive. You might experiment to see how long your batteries can support the heater but risky if you run them down too far. Of course if you motor instead of sail you can probably run the heater off the engine generator.

[john61ct]

I don't think anyone was talking about an electric heater run off batteries.

The fans of a forced air system are usually efficient enough, but actually producing the heat must come from shore power or fossil fuels.

Or burning wood

[robwilk37]

was about chime in then realized i read the header as "underwater' heater...

[Dockhead]

Originally Posted by john61ct

The little Buddy Jr is plenty big for a small space.

Never burn while sleeping, install CO & Propane alarms, provide ventilation.

Very dangerous.

A portable diesel parking heater in a Pelican case, mounting spot for intake & exhaust hoses, much safer.

These things are dangerous on two different levels:


1. Explosion risk from leaking gas. Disposable LPG containers are much more prone to leaking, than large ones, and you should not have containers of gas inside the cabin in any case. Such devices are against ABYC and will likely void any insurance.


2. Asphyxiation risk. People die every year from being asphyxiated from unvented heaters in boats. Are you going to trust your life to a made in China CO detector?


On top of dangerous, the combustion products are spewing out into the air you breathe. I don't know about you, but propane fumes give me a headache -- at best!



You might get away with it with a hatch open, but in that case, are you really getting any useful heat?


I would never use one of these on a boat, myself. Just about any other heat source (except maybe charcoal! ) would be preferable, in my opinion. I would run my generator and use electric heat, if I had no better choice.