Alcohol boat heater

[C.J.]

How can I ventilate my cabin while using the alcohol heater to warm up my cabin at night and avoid being poisoned by CO2 or something else. my Email address issailingsoon@email.com, Thank you all...

 

[Mike Turner]

Open a hatch/port

Open the main hatch a few inches, or the foward hatch, or a port. The idea is to allow sufficient oxygen to enter the cabin to replace the oxygen burned up by the heater. DON'T rely on the "draftiness" of your cabin, leaks around the main hatch, etc., to supply sufficent 0-2 -- I foolishly did this once and am lucky to be here to write to warn about it.Good luck, and say warm!Mike TurnerS/V Amity

 

[Ray]

Mike is right about open hatches! On our H26

we have a double burner Origo non-presurized alcohol stove. One night using it(with a flat,round rock about 4x4x1.5"above the burner) and our propane lantern for light and heat we woke up with massive headaches the next morning. We had used this set-up for about 2 hrs before going to bed. We left 2 vent/windows open but they were both high in the cabin. The window/vent just over the aft bunk(a port mounted under the cockpit starboard seat)we had closed because of the draft. This could have had a very sorry ending had we used it any longer or slept with this heater going.Now after using this set-up for reading or doing our chart work we open the two upper cabin vent plus the aft bunk vent and turn on the cabin fans for 10 to 15 min. YES, it does cool down the cabin a lot on cold nights here in the Northwest, but, in the morning my body still has heat.RayS/V Speedy

 

[Frank]

Drink up!

Alcohol is for drinking. Mix one large hot toddy(or several) Drink. Bundle up. Get in your sleeping bag and go to sleep without any heater on. Heaters should not be running while you are sleeping unless you have a battery operated CO detector.