I have a H37c with, I'm assuming, the original 1980 heater, which seems to be in very good condition. Our sailing home is northern Wisconsin where we need a heater. Haven't used the Force 10 yet, may remove it and go with a Mr Heater (well vented) instead. Any thoughts?
Force 10 Use
- Thread starter JHoward
- Start date
Don't yet know that, have not fueled and primed it to test it. Is it a reliable to-sleep-with kind of heater?
Neither the Force 10 nor the Mr. Buddy should ever be used while sleeping, unless you don't like waking up to a new day.
Get a down sleeping bag AND a marine CO detector... !!
A proper & safely designed marine heater, one that is marine safety standards compliant, has "room sealed" combustion. This means it is using outside air for combustion and also venting combustion gasses direct to the outside.
NEVER sleep with one of those heaters going. The only time I ever sleep with any heater is when on a dock and using an electric
we used the force 10 heater the first year we owned our boat...., and slept with it going, as its a vented heater. (but we did install a CO monitor/alarm) and it never killed us or even made us sick. the following winter I learned something I did not know about it.... when its really cold and you have the boat closed up, and need the most heat from it, it will shut itself off because it senses a slight drop in the oxygen in the cabin space (it shuts down when it senses a 2% drop in O2).... so you are without heat.... so even though it never harmed us, it has angered me a few times due to the low oxygen shut down device that is built into it....
if you leave the hatches open to keep the O2 levels high, the heat will rise out and you are left cold.... on a 34ft boat, with it closed up, the force 10 will run about 4hrs on high before shutting down..... (it will run longer on low)
the CO was never a problem, as I monitored the count and it never came close to the alarm level.
since then I have installed a Wallas forced air diesel heater.. and it heats the cabin nicely, with much more comfort due to the constant exchange of air... its a much drier heat. and the ironic thing is, now, due to the positive ventilation given by the wallas, the force 10 will burn on high and stay lit indefinitely... which I have never had to do, but when the wind is howling and the temps are well below freezing, its a nice booster heater..... and in my opinion, thats all its really good for.
as for the buddy heaters, we have one in our macgregor, and they are built for indoor use as long as there is ventilation because it will still deplete the oxygen.
the down side is they still create a lot of moisture that is given off by them, so unless you want damp bedcovers, you have to have the hatches open when its on.... we only use ours in the mornings while the coffee is brewing and the hatch is open anyway... when used in that manner, it may work for you, but dont expect it to be the dry comfortable heat like you get at home....
if you leave the hatches open to keep the O2 levels high, the heat will rise out and you are left cold.... on a 34ft boat, with it closed up, the force 10 will run about 4hrs on high before shutting down..... (it will run longer on low)
the CO was never a problem, as I monitored the count and it never came close to the alarm level.
since then I have installed a Wallas forced air diesel heater.. and it heats the cabin nicely, with much more comfort due to the constant exchange of air... its a much drier heat. and the ironic thing is, now, due to the positive ventilation given by the wallas, the force 10 will burn on high and stay lit indefinitely... which I have never had to do, but when the wind is howling and the temps are well below freezing, its a nice booster heater..... and in my opinion, thats all its really good for.
as for the buddy heaters, we have one in our macgregor, and they are built for indoor use as long as there is ventilation because it will still deplete the oxygen.
the down side is they still create a lot of moisture that is given off by them, so unless you want damp bedcovers, you have to have the hatches open when its on.... we only use ours in the mornings while the coffee is brewing and the hatch is open anyway... when used in that manner, it may work for you, but dont expect it to be the dry comfortable heat like you get at home....
Hi, I also have a HC 37 and Force 10 I am waiting to install. The previous owner installed a diesel powered 17,000 BTU heater that stank the boat out and darn nearly burned it down - see the attached picture.
The exhaust went up past the chart table and through a hole in the coach roof. I am leaning toward installing the force 10 in the same location with the exhaust going through the same place in the roof. I assumed that some kind of heat guard would be essential even though the force 10 is less than 6,000 BTU.
I would be very interested to see pictures of your installation and find out how well it works for you.
I also totally agree with advice above about safety, there are many reasons to have a CO detector - we had a mixing elbow hole develop while motoring and it set off both the CO and fire detectors.
The exhaust went up past the chart table and through a hole in the coach roof. I am leaning toward installing the force 10 in the same location with the exhaust going through the same place in the roof. I assumed that some kind of heat guard would be essential even though the force 10 is less than 6,000 BTU.
I would be very interested to see pictures of your installation and find out how well it works for you.
I also totally agree with advice above about safety, there are many reasons to have a CO detector - we had a mixing elbow hole develop while motoring and it set off both the CO and fire detectors.
Attachments
I am a little confused as to why the O2 level would go down if the air consumed goes up the exhaust stack and is replenished through the dorades and all the other "leakage" into the boat. Did you have it exhausted to outside?
I do suspect that 5,500 BTU is not going to do much other than take some of the edge off of the cold - suitable for latitude 38 but maybe not for Oregon or Washington.
Yes it is vented with the standad 1" flue pipe for it.
A 2% drop is not very much, and when there are two people consuming and a hotflame, without replenshment, it drops below the stoves limitations... yes, its silly to have it that sensitive, but its the way it was designed.
And while itnis burning on high, it will maintain a comfortable heat down to about 38-40 degrees outside... as long as it stays lit...
But i will also say that i think the moistness of the air has some effect on the O2 sensor also, as when we had stuff hanging to dry, it seemed to snuff out quicker...