Hot water tank for liveaboard

[GRIT]

Thanks for clearing that up for me. I don't know why I thought I remembered it was propane. I'll look again, but I did decide against it for some reason.

Thanks again.
Paul.

[GRIT]

I went back to the website and took another look. Beautiful system.

I probably decided against using that system because we already have two 4kw air circulating Espar units, and I think the Hurricane system would be overkill, as we're planning to stay away from the Northern climes for a while.

I would have been better off to get the hurricane system right from the start, and a big one at that. Timing is everything though, and we've had Espar heaters in the last two boats, so that was my initial "go to" heater.

I like the fact that the Hurricane seems very "commercial" looking, whereas the espar is a bit of a mouse. Though I won't complain about the espar too much, I have been using the heck out of them, these last few years.

Thanks again for straightening out my comments. Others will read this thread, and I wouldn't want them thinking the Hurricane systems were propane, when indeed, they're Diesel fired (and furnace oil, stove oil, etc.)

I should add this: http://itrheat.com/products/marin-heating-systems/

Cheers.
Paul.

[Seafarer7]

Thanks for including the link. I’ve learnt so much from this forum and found it a treasure trove of experienced people and insights. Good idea to document for future readers

[Dwayne Lister]

Well, I'm not sure I am qualified to offer advice but my hot water tank is around 80 Liters (possibly more), with w fresh water capacity around 220liters.
Yea it's overkill, but the price was right.
At least I never run out of hot water - EVER!!

Regards

Dwayne

[Olddan1943]

Attachment 161334

However I didn’t want to risk issues with the engine (failure of the loop could result in engine overheating).

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On my N46, I put isolation valves for the FW in and out of the engine heat exchanger. I need to do the same thing on my AT34.

If you are concerned about the electric water heater, turn it off at night. The recover time is quick. I have taken showers and washed dishes for 3 days before I realized, I had shut the hot water heater off. I think my tank is between 5 and 7 gallons.

[GRIT]

A quick closing, for those who might look at this thread, wondering what we decided to do.

Here's what works for us.

The boat's launched now, and we have been aboard, full time, for about 10 months.

We decided to use a 30l isotemp hot water tank, and a 5kw (diesel) espar hydronic heater.

We heat water for 30 minutes, turn off the espar, and each have a hot shower.

While the heater is running, we have unlimited hot water from the shower. Our shower head puts out 12l per minute, but it's a hand-held device, which requires you to keep the button pushed for water to flow. It's time efficient, if not flow efficient, and man it feels good.

It's a lovely heating system, and I suspect it would keep a low flow showerhead, supplied with unlimited hot water. Though we're limited to 400l in tankage.

After two quick showers, there is still enough heated water to supply the galley, for doing dishes.

As an aside, the heater came with a 1 week timer/controller. We set it up to come on at whatever time we want to wake up (it's in our hull, so we hear it) and 20 minutes later we can have a hot shower. If we're not showering right away, the water stays hot all day, so there's no rush.

Cheers all, and thank you for your contributions.

Paul.