We like to work on the boat during the winter. The full cover makes it tolerable to do short amounts of deck work. The sun warms up the air inside the cover but the cabin always starts out much colder. When the bilge or engine covers are pulled off, the temperature just plummets along with my desire to work on the engine. We were using an electric and Mr Heater portable buddy heater. Unfortunately our Buddy heater died. Two replacements of the same model have been ordered and both gave off some heavy fumes, made us both very tired (yes, big sign of CO poisoning and low oxygen) even with the hatch opened a bit. The electric heaters are helpful but don't do much to keep the cabin warm on its own. The yard has GFCI outlets but I'm not sure how many circuits are by us. What do you use to stay warm in the winter?
Keeping warm for winter boat work
- Thread starter Project_Mayhem
- Start date
Dress warm. Pick warmer days. Expect shorter work days. Take home what can be taken home. And use a small ceramic heater.
When using an electric heater use an extension cord that is up to the job of carrying 12-15 amps over a long distance. You'll need at least a 12 ga cord, 10 gauge is even better. Even with my 12 ga cord, the plugs get warm. The bigger wire will offset the line loss reducing the fire hazard and improving the heaters efficiency.
When using an electric heater use an extension cord that is up to the job of carrying 12-15 amps over a long distance. You'll need at least a 12 ga cord, 10 gauge is even better. Even with my 12 ga cord, the plugs get warm. The bigger wire will offset the line loss reducing the fire hazard and improving the heaters efficiency.
I use an electric heater. Not all electric heaters are the same. While they all are rated at 1500 watts, some of them, like oil heaters, cannot put out 1500 watts continously.
I find the "utility" heaters you can get cheap at hardware stores put out the most heat but are loud and bulky. For less demanding times I use a compact ceramic heater.
I connect my 30A shore power cord and use the outlets in the boat for one heater. I know people who like 2 heaters and they run a separate heavy extension cord for that so as not to set their boat on fire.
I find the "utility" heaters you can get cheap at hardware stores put out the most heat but are loud and bulky. For less demanding times I use a compact ceramic heater.
I connect my 30A shore power cord and use the outlets in the boat for one heater. I know people who like 2 heaters and they run a separate heavy extension cord for that so as not to set their boat on fire.
As a long time survivor of winter ,don't discount the use of electrically heated clothing
I used an electric plug in heater most of the time working on Tally Ho over the winter. If it was really cold, or I needed more heat, I could light the stove burner and cook something (or boil some water) or put a ceramic flower pot over the top. I was able to get the temp up enough to paint the inside of the hull under the water tanks and in the engine bilge.
The only time I had an issue was when trying to do some fiberglass repair (drill & fill some winch bolt holes and repairing a crack in the rudder).
I could not get the epoxy to kick in the holes, so I had to get a heat gun and give it some direct heat to the area to get it to kick. For the rudder, I had to build a little cardboard tent over the rudder, and put a heat gun with the trigger locked on, under the cardboard to get the epoxy to kick.
Greg
The only time I had an issue was when trying to do some fiberglass repair (drill & fill some winch bolt holes and repairing a crack in the rudder).
I could not get the epoxy to kick in the holes, so I had to get a heat gun and give it some direct heat to the area to get it to kick. For the rudder, I had to build a little cardboard tent over the rudder, and put a heat gun with the trigger locked on, under the cardboard to get the epoxy to kick.
Greg
Greg,
You may be on to something. I looked up the specs of a similar marine stove and was surprised at what I found.
BTUs:
• One 3400 BTU Simmer Burner
• One 9200 BTU Top Burner
• 5100 BTU Oven
• 5500 BTU Broiler
If this works, this would definitely save money on propane and be much more convenient. I'm guessing a contraption like this might make it more efficient?
My tank is stored in a locker in the stern so it's exposed to the cold. At what temperatures does propane have issues flowing out of the tank?
The problems with using propane on an enclosed boat in the winter are moisture and CO. The moisture will condense on the cold surfaces and feed the mold. But you won't mind if the CO does you in.
It's about time one of us in Florida chimes in with a "The cure for Winter is moving to Florida" post. 81 degrees today and epoxy kicks just fine.
I don’t know at what temp propane won’t vaporize, but I used to BBQ all winter and never had a problem. I don’t think that is a problem In Chicagoland temps.
As others have pointed out, moisture and CO are a concern. The electric heater can help some with the moisture, as well keeping some ventilation open while using propane to heat. Winter is usually a low humidity season in Chicagoland.
One other thing I used once was a portable catalytic heater that mounted on a 1-pound propane bottle. Same device I used in the tent when winter camping. Maybe this is what a Mr. Buddy is…not sure. How long did you let them run for? Maybe they just needed to burn off for a while?
I once bought a WWII-era kerosine heater on EBay for winter camping…it looked sketchy, but I was bound and determined to try it. I set up a tent in the snow in my back yard…lit the heater and climbed into my sleeping bag. I unzipped one of the windows for ventilation. Wasn’t a restful night, and at 4:00 in the morning, I hear footsteps crunching in the snow…and I hear “Greg, are you still alive?”. Wife couldnt sleep either worrying I was going to be asphyxiated in my sleep. Sold it on eBay after the test…
Your best bet is probably the electric heaters for every day heating. I only supplemented with sort of “burning fuel” heat when I really needed extra heat. But then you have other concerns/issues.
+1 for Florida….will be 83F or so today. Only real decisions are “beach or pool” and “beer, G&T, or Mai Tai”?
Good luck with your winter projects!
Greg
So far moisture hasnt been an issue. We do run a 1500w electric heater as well
Already done. If memory serves me correctly, CO sinks. We immediately felt and something when we stood up but was able to do engine work a couple of feet off the ground without any issues. Over the course of a few hours we both realized that we felt tired. 10 minutes after leaving the yard we were wiped out, despite not doing a whole lot of work
Nice place to visit but so many reasons not to move there
We had the hatch cracked last week. It seemed to help a little.
The Mr Heater Buddy that we used is a ceramic heater. I'm not sure if the ceramic block has a catalytic effect or if it just acts as a heatsink. It looks like the flame simply heats these up and my memory is a bit rusty on the basics of catalytic effects.
I had a Kerosene heater that I used to heat up a garage. It worked great. I believe it was rated around 25k BTU. One day I had to work on someone's car in the cold so I brought it with me. Kerosene spilled all over my back seat. For the rest of that winter I had to drive with the windows open or I'd feel sick. I did consider this style of heater but hesitated as mine would occasionally shoot fire out the front when it started up. It was old and had some issues. I eventually gave up and chucked it.
I picked up a propane tank extension to hook up my grill's tank to the boat so I could try to the stove.
jssailem
SBO Weather and Forecasting Forum Jim & John
- Oct 22, 2014
- 22,410
I’m waiting til temperatures rise. I have some glue ups needed. At the present temps Epoxy and various glues will not cure. It is not the air, but the temperature of the wood and fiberglass on the boat. Even though it’s sunny and 34 degrees getting the boat temps up is a battle. Keeping them up for a week to get full cure just too expensive. It will be a bit longer but Mother Nature will come around.
You could install one of these…cheap Chinese diesel heaters.
One more project, but it would give you some fairly reliable heat.
Since you will be sailing in the cold April waters of Lake Michigan, might be nice to have a heater.
Greg
One more project, but it would give you some fairly reliable heat.
Since you will be sailing in the cold April waters of Lake Michigan, might be nice to have a heater.
Greg
Oh yeah,
For your viewing pleasure…I hear snow is expected in the region today.
Sorry, that wasn’t nice
Greg
For your viewing pleasure…I hear snow is expected in the region today.
Sorry, that wasn’t nice
Greg
Beats the view from my front window in Indiana though… looks the snow has already started…
But on a fun topic, I missed the wind anemometer cups spinning on the boat, so I put up a weather station down here in Florida….
You can watch our nearly perfect weather this time of year on my weather station page…
Seasons Weather Report - Weathercloud
Again….sorry!
Greg
But on a fun topic, I missed the wind anemometer cups spinning on the boat, so I put up a weather station down here in Florida….
You can watch our nearly perfect weather this time of year on my weather station page…
Seasons Weather Report - Weathercloud
Again….sorry!
Greg