New England Liveaboard Heating Recommendations

[handcrafter]

Friends of mine have a 72' steel trawler year-round in the water liveaboard on the north shore of Lake Superior. They use wood pellet stoves, one being a parlor stove in the main salon and the other being a boiler type below decks for their radiators. VERY easy to use and pellets are cheap and available everywhere. Minimum power draw feeding pellets from the hopper and for the combustion fan. Great setup.

[toddster8]

For those advocating diesel heaters: All of the inexpensive ones appear to be forced-air. What about hydronic units? It would seem easier to route hot water lines than air ducts through the boat. However, most of these units appear to run on 24VDC. Any experience?

I too am considering moving up to a 40ish footer that currently lacks any sort of heating so would have to add something right away.

[Bowdrie]

As a note for those who might be considering a Dickinson bulkhead mount heater, try to mount the unit as low as possible.
Not only for more effective heat radiation but for more efficient burn.
The key is sufficient stack temperature to maintain a stable draft.
In cold weather any above deck stack length tends to run a lot cooler and this reduces draft, keeping most of the stack length inside the boat adds interior heat and enhances draft.
Another item is the flue cap/smoke head/Charlie Nobel.
I've tried a few, and while no cap is proof against downdraft, some are better than others.
The "DP" and the "H" styles from Dickinson are not the greatest for preventing down-drafts, the H model works better, but can snag lines easily and is not well suited for having some kind of guard around it.
The old Lunenburg Foundry made a most excellent cap, but alas they are long gone.
Perhaps the best cap ever made was the patented "Breidert" cap, they are gone but that style is still being made.
It's not made in the 3" size for the small Dickinsons but IIRC, a reducer can be obtained to allow the 4" cap to fit a 3" pipe.
Another issue can be the draft fans, 30>40 years ago the Dickinson fans were made by Canon, (yes, the camera people,) they would last for years of 24/7 service even being run off of a rheostat for slower speed.
Today's fans are not so long lived, nor are they as suitable for slow speeds, the answer is rigging-up a 4" size "computer" fan, they, while being only one speed can work great at reduced fuel settings and draw only ~.3 amps or so.


https://abrwholesalers.com/air-distr..._type=vent-cap

https://www.hvacexpress.com/zipp-air...ilator-4-inch/

[Boatyarddog]

Originally Posted by Caleb_Grey

Propane is not good in a cold environment, unless you like condensation and mold. Even with the trouble of a dehumidifier, it will still be a wet boat.

Other than a low caloric count, propane is fine as long as one vents to the outside and draws fresh air from the outside to eliminate condensation problems.
Boatyarddog

[Anders]

I would get two of the cheap Chinese heaters. Install one and keep the second as spare. Definitely get a dehumidifier.

[Fatbob]

This seemed to be a good option that a guy installed for a life aboard in Denmark.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zePPqHDsekI

[Ifitsworthdoing]

Following - but with a proviso that we would need an all-electric solution as we have plenty of solar and try to make a point of going fossil fuel free …

[Tupaia]

Originally Posted by Caleb_Grey

In the long run you would be best off with a diesel cookstove.

Bristol Diesel Cook Stove | Dickinson Marine

Wallas www.wallas.fi cookers are much more user friendly and easier to install. Available with heater blower lid.


For heater consider a hydronic system with radiators or matrix heaters; Ebespatcher, Webasto or Wallas all can operate on 12v

[Manateeman]

Diesel. Hydronic. German not copies. eBay for military hot water to air boxes 24 volt ...don’t forget...Alarms for CO, fire.
Who would buy anything Russian right now. Seriously.
The manatee crew is stupefied by that suggestion.

[Jetx]

We have a hydronic Webasto diesel heater. Works well for us, and seems bulletproof. Just have to be sure the 12v supply is adequately sized, or it can struggle to start (brief glow plug draw, uses very little power in operation). As noted above, water hoses for a hydronic unit are much easier to route through the boat than air-ducts.

[Rumrace]

The R factor on boats do not qualify them as winter homes. Plastic bag them turn them into a sweat box and you’ll survive.
Twothree bubblers to keep your boat from being crushed from ice. 2013 Ice storm saw power outages the east side of the city for 5 days. The news didn’t mention the great deal you could get on a crushed hulls.
There are two grandfathers floating houses on the island on one illegal one from one of the islands creepy families. I honestly don’t know why they are still afloat. I don’t believe either legitimate one has a bubbler. The inlet behind Algonquin island freezes solid.
We are happy to put the boat away in the fall and happier to bring it out in spring.
I don’t believe this city will have any liveaboard slips within 5 years, especially winter. The Island club avoids the conversation by not having emergencies services winter access.
So the 5 liveaboard boats on the island scramble for the ever shrinking clubs who tolerate them. The clubs winter too. Most of them. A few are active all winter but will not allow a boat to winter. You’d almost think the city short on housing would permit and promote liveaboard boating. But suggesting to someone 1 inch of fibreglass is a good -36C home is misleading information.

[CaptTom]

Originally Posted by Ifitsworthdoing

Following - but with a proviso that we would need an all-electric solution as we have plenty of solar and try to make a point of going fossil fuel free …

It's not really the same question. With electric you have only two choices; either resistance or a heat pump. Resistance is easy; plug it in. You'll get exactly the same efficiency whether you use a small box floor unit, a fancy fake Amish fireplace, or anything in between. It's just a matter of how much heat you want and how you want to distribute it.

A heat pump (i.e.; reverse-cycle marine air conditioner) is a bit more efficient, down to a certain water temperature. I think in Boston (like the OP) you'd be below that limit some of the time.

Back to the OP's question, I agree hydronic is a great option, but not all boats lend themselves to putting baseboard heaters where they're needed.

[winjamerk]

We purchased a bench-test used Webasto hydronic diesel heater for our 40' sailboat for living aboard in Boston area over two winters. then used full-time for 7 years on the Chesapeake Bay (sometimes with 2' snowstorms). Purchased used and had local outfit in Boston install primary unit with electronics, exhaust, operational hookups. I ran the anti-freeze heating fluid hose lines, etc and fan-assisted heat exchangers along the starboard length of boat. Unit plumbed to fuel tank, dc-operation for running with 6 fan-assisted heat exchangers so could use underway, easily during cold weather operation. Power draw was about 3 amp/hour for heater and about 1/2 amp for each of 6 heat exchangers.

If you can access space next to hull. slide in foil covered bubble wrap full length of boat. Same with access to underside of coach roof if accessible. Get roll of 3-mill plastic from hdwre store and open all ports and insert oversized sheet inside and close tight. if you have removable screen inserts for hatches, remove screens, cut oversized 3-mil sheet and cover screen frame and re-insert below hatches. Always have 12-volt fans running or ac units in dock. Never had condensation!!!!! There's a reason Webasto heating units were in so many truckers units parking overnight, staying toasty warm back when mine was installed. I'd do it again. Heating hoses coiled thru the hot water tank also. Summer is best time to complete install......... before you know what's coming.

[Russ]

Anyone using the Plano suitcase version Looks like a Pelican suitcase with side mounted fuel take. Obviously meant to be portable but NO work to install vs the Espar type knock offs

[giliganthegreat]

I had good luck with a small little buddy propane heater. Had co2 cutoff sensor and sips fuel.