Furnace suggestions for Mk2

[Hayden Watson]

After nursing it along for 20 years, my obsolete Arctic furnace gave up the battle this past week so now it is time to get serious about the replacement. I am looking for info in making the decision as to what to put back in.
I have looked at Wallas, Espar and Wabasto. Those of you with forced air heat, what do you have (make/model), where is it located, where do the ducts run, do you like it...
Any help would be appreciated.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

I just purchased a Planar 44D for my 36. It is a Espar knockoff. Wallas is the Cadillac of forced air diesel heaters and priced accordingly. I could buy 4 Planar for the price of the wallas.

Les

 

[jssailem]

@Hayden Watson
I received a Diesel forced-air heater with my purchase of the boat. The unit was new in a box, in the closet. I took it to ScanMarine USA in Seattle (the Wallas distributor) and they gave it a compete inspection and upgraded the electronics. They were very helpful with the info on the install. The biggest issue was deciding where to put the registers in my boat. It is a great forced air heating furnace.

1. what do you have (make/model), Wallas 40DT
   
2. where is it located, I installed it in the aft lazarette space.
   
3. where do the ducts run, Exhaust runs to the Starboard aft quarter. The Fresh air intake is in the aft lazarette positioned near the stern cowl vent that vents the aft lazarette. One heat vent runs under my starboard aft quarter berth and open to the salon. The other heat vent runs up the port side opens to under the salon table. I have not run a vent to the v berth, but am considering it. There is a cabin air return located in the upper aft wall of the quarter berth. I presently run a fan to draw heated salon air into the V berth. I also use an electric oil heater in the v berth when in the marina.
   
4. do you like it... I love the heater. I have found in the dead of winter when the temps are in the 30's and below that you need to heat the boat for at least 24 hours before you can get the chill off the boat. But after that the boat is toasty warm. The ability to use diesel and the low amp usage of the Wallas are big pluses.
5. TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
   MODEL 40DT
   FUEL Diesel
   POWER 5118 BTU – 13648 BTU
   OPERATING VOLTAGE 12V
   FUEL CONSUMPTION 0.21 – 0.42 QT/H
   POWER DRAW 1.0 – 3.9 A
   HEAT VENT 51 – 86 CFM
   SPECIAL FEATURES Fresh air vent
   ACCOMMODATES BOAT SIZES 29 – 49 Feet
   

I have a friend with a CAL 31. He opted for the Wallas Stove. It works very well for him. They use the Salon beds during winter. The Stove efficiently heats the salon of his boat.

 

[Hayden Watson]

I just purchased a Planar 44D for my 36. It is a Espar knockoff. Wallas is the Cadillac of forced air diesel heaters and priced accordingly. I could buy 4 Planar for the price of the wallas.

Les

Thanks for the info Les.
What is your experience with the Planar both as a product and a company. How much have you been able to use it. I found one video about one failing to start after a week of constant use at low settings due to soot buildup. After cleaning it was fine but that was troubling.
I am also looking at there BINAR 5S which is a hydronic boiler that looks to be the right size for a C30. I have hydronic heat in my motorhome and love it.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

Saw the soot video so will be sure and run full out every day. No experience yet with it, just fabd a mount and will start pulling vent ducting and wire tomorrow

I used my cnc router for the holes then mig’d the Al pieces inside and out. A coating of Cali par paint to finish off.

I’ll mount it just forward of where the port cockpit seat starts and the top of the bracket mounts to the underside of lazerette floor.

 

[Hayden Watson]

I am now thinking about going a different route. I had planned on installing a Wallas GB30 which is $2500 for the full kit. Now I think I might go hydronic with this 17kbtu boiler. 2 cabin heater with 2 outlets are about $250 plus 50' of 3/4" water heater hose.

 

[jssailem]

I like the Hydronic system if you are in using it all the time. The issue is it is slower to start up heating the space. I think it provides a good even heat.

 

[Stu Jackson]

Now I think I might go hydronic with this 17kbtu boiler. 2 cabin heater with 2 outlets are about $250 plus 50' of 3/4" water heater hose.

Hayden, what model?

 

[Mark Maulden]

Hydronic is good but if all you have is a couple outlets, it will short cycle and wear out the ignitors etc. i would put an everhot hot water heater on the circuit also which adds considerably more water as a buffer and you will have unlimited potable hot water as long as the Espar is turned on.

 

[LeslieTroyer]

I thought about hydronic but it kills the power budget. Rather take the hit on noise and difficulty of the install

Plus what John said above.

Les

 

[Hayden Watson]

I like the Hydronic system if you are in using it all the time. The issue is it is slower to start up heating the space. I think it provides a good even heat.

If you are plugged into shore power with the water heater on, the heat will immediately. The reason it takes some time to get heat is because the WH cools the loop until it warms up. Away from the dock you need to plan ahead for that lag.

 

[Hayden Watson]

Stu, Espar S3 D5E.
Mark, If you size the boiler properly you can minimize the short cycling. The unit I am looking at has variable stepless heat output from 8000 btu to 17000 btu. That way it can throttle back to provide longer run times. As you said, if you have a good exchanger in the water heater, it can recover stored heat to keep the burner from coming on too frequently.
Les, the S3 D5e has a max dc consumption of 4.2amps (6.0amp startup) and drops to 1.9 at low burn. The two cabin heater one with 1 outlet and the second with 2 use 120mm computer muffin fans rated at 0.5amp and I can improve on that by getting better fans. All of this is much better than the 18amp startup and 7 amp running that I got from my old Arctic and it short cycled terribly with 5 on 10 off most of the time. As for ease of install, that is one of the big reasons for the hydronic. The case will bolt into the same spot as the arctic and it is easy to run 3/4"ø hose. We want to have heat in the head and getting a 3"ø duct + insulation under the icebox and around the red dot under the oven was not looking very doable.