Source of hot water while cruising

[boatpoker]

Standard Seaward 11g. water heater - boxed in 4" of blue foam board insulation - hot water for four-five days at anchor.

[JPA Cate]

Originally Posted by Mike OReilly

I have hot water on demand; it’s called a pot on the stove .

Seriously, we live very comfortably without a hot water tank. We live at anchor most of the time. Our shower is a black pressurizable sprayer which gets very hot sitting under the dodger. Dishes that require hot water are easily accommodated with a quick zap on the stove. If you need to wash yourself in warm water, again it takes about 2 minutes of propane from the stove.

Easy, peasy.

From 1983 till 2003, we did as Mike does. In our case, we did not shower below decks, but in the cockpit, with a privacy curtain (in order to keep soap scum out of the bilge). Our present boat has a propane flash heater for the shower, and we use that for showering (separate sump pump). I heat water on the stove to do dishes. I am content with this. It is all simple and easy to manage.

It has been obvious to me for a long time that people's wants vary a lot, relative to what is "okay" for a shower. We have also used the garden sprayer painted black. It can be used for a number of different jobs aboard, and it's nice for a warm shower after a cold swim. It is inelegant, unless you happen to find simplicity elegant of and by itself.

I think noelex and Seaworthy Lass's solution is elegant, and apparently works seamlessly, and how really nice that is!

Ann

[MikeTC]

Our house bank is usually full by 11am on a normal day, we then use solar/battery for 13-20 min through the inverter to run the water heater. The house bank takes a small hit and recovers in an hour or more depending on solar shading and ambient. Without sun I run the portable generator as I don't like putting expensive hours on the main engines.

Instant gas looks attractive, If I was starting out.

All the best with yours!

[Paul L]

Part of a note from Practical Sailor on on-demand marine propane heaters

Tankless propane water heaters carry serious risk of causing carbon-monoxide poisoning or oxygen depletion when mounted in a tight or sealed space. Because a boat is more tightly sealed than a shoreside home, the carbon monoxide is more likely to become trapped. Multiple boater deaths have been attributed to tankless water heaters, and several brands have been recalled over the years—among them Wolter Water Heater, Paloma, and Rheem-Rudd—because they posed a carbon-monoxide poisoning hazard.

[Paul L]

It's always interesting to hear what creature comforts are desired by different cruisers for comfort. As long term cruiser we don't look at it like camping or even glamping. This where we live and there's plenty of daily discomforts to make up for any luxury living we might add to the boat.
When we decided we wanted to add an efficient heater to the boat before wintering over in cooler climes I wanted to not use up a lot of space and wanted to get hot shower water too. We went with a Hurrican Zephyr heater. This diesel heater heats the boat via a couple of radiators during the winter and provides on-demand hot water all year round. It fit in the place of our old tank calorifier. Not cheap, but one of the best upgrades we've made.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Part of a note from Practical Sailor on on-demand marine propane heaters

No doubt they have to have good ventilation.


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[Paul L]

Originally Posted by smj

No doubt they have to have good ventilation.


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I met a guy who lost his daughter this way. It made an impression on me.

[john61ct]

True for any unvented appliance whatever the fuel.

Instant HWS is just doing it at an extraordinary rate.

[Paul L]

Except they are vented.

[john61ct]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Except they are vented.

The portable ones designed for outdoors certainly aren't.

The ones that are, should then not deplete O2 nor increase CO if installed properly.

But still add more risk than I'd personally feel comfortable with.

Besides the insurance issue.

[Paul L]

These are not portable, they are built in with vents. They are in a tough marine environment that takes more care and safety than an RV or cabin.

[john61ct]

Sorry did I miss specifics?

Those using propane instant HWS please post the make / model you recommend, and ideally links.

I may want to use on land anyway.

Never mind cost issues.

[Seriously Slow]

Originally Posted by MikeTC

Our house bank is usually full by 11am on a normal day, we then use solar/battery for 13-20 min through the inverter to run the water heater. The house bank takes a small hit and recovers in an hour or more depending on solar shading and ambient. Without sun I run the portable generator as I don't like putting expensive hours on the main engines.

Instant gas looks attractive, If I was starting out.

All the best with yours!

Exactly what we do on our boat. We have only used this system in the longer days of summer, so we will see what winter in the Bahamas and later the Caribbean holds for us. We will probably use the generator more.

[boatpoker]

Originally Posted by Paul L

Except they are vented.

yes, they are vented however they are not "room sealed". i.e. They do not draw combustion air from outside the cabin as required by ABYC. They draw combustion air from the room they are in, therefore posing a CO risk.

[smj]

Originally Posted by Paul L

I met a guy who lost his daughter this way. It made an impression on me.

If installed and used with common sense in mind they are less of a risk than the propane stove/oven. I’m guessing they will burn the same amount of propane as 3 burners on a stove though for us only run about 30-40 seconds per shower.