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Has anyone installed a diesel heater in their 310/315?
- Thread starter VFR750
- Start date
Did you watch the video that Maine Sail made that is linked to in post #15? If it is stamped /edge crimped metal and not 100% welded construction it will leak which can be deadly. If you have a short piece of the flex pipe left over, I would unwind it to see if it is double wound. With this type of pipe, the middle of one wrap overlaps the middle of the previous one so that there are always two layers of stainless steel. Just because a mfr says marine does not mean it is safe for marine use.
The crimped silencer in that video is indeed scary! Here's a picture of the Autoterm one, it is welded all around:
Here's a close up of the one in my boat, before I removed it due to the back-pressure issue:
I also see what you mean about the single-wound pipe in the video. The pipe supplied with my kit was much thinker. I'll take a pic of the profile when I get a chance.
Here's a close up of the one in my boat, before I removed it due to the back-pressure issue:
I also see what you mean about the single-wound pipe in the video. The pipe supplied with my kit was much thinker. I'll take a pic of the profile when I get a chance.
The automotive flex pipe is attached edge to edge, so it is one layer thick. The marine flex pipe is attached edge to center so that it has 100% overlap for two layers full length.
You could test your silencer to see if it has any leaks. The simple test is to put your palm on one end and blow into the other to see if it leaks. The crimped ones have massive leads and a drain hole that is just wide open.
My Espar was extremely loud when I first installed it so I got one of the welded marine mufflers and the difference was amazing. It went from sounding like a 707 doing a runup to a bare whisper.
Good description. I' now confident I've got marine flex pipe. I've seen photos of the cheap edge-to-edge stuff you're talking about.
When I work on it again, I plan to install this Espar 24mm Marine Exhaust line that I got from HEATSO. It has the cylindrical silencer in the middle and the rest of the line wrapped in insulation inside an outer jacket. It wasn't cheap, but using that dusty exhaust wrap line is something I want to never do again.
www.heatso.com
By the way the 24mm line in the middle of this assembly is exactly what the one that came in my kit looked like.
When I work on it again, I plan to install this Espar 24mm Marine Exhaust line that I got from HEATSO. It has the cylindrical silencer in the middle and the rest of the line wrapped in insulation inside an outer jacket. It wasn't cheap, but using that dusty exhaust wrap line is something I want to never do again.
Espar / Eberspacher 24mm Marine Exhaust (with silencer and insulation)
Espar / Eberspacher 24mm Marine Exhaust (with silencer and insulation)
www.heatso.com
By the way the 24mm line in the middle of this assembly is exactly what the one that came in my kit looked like.
Now that I'm back to thinking about this, I took apart that Espar insulated assembly to see what things look line inside:
Seems like 24mm marine exhaust hose, a nice looking but very long (maybe 18" silencer), all wrapped in a sock and then the thin outside tube. It's not exactly "one piece," there is clearly some sealant where the exhaust hose enters and leaves the silencer, but it does seem well built and well sealed.
I'm not sure I'll get this to fit into my compartment, but going to try.
Seems like 24mm marine exhaust hose, a nice looking but very long (maybe 18" silencer), all wrapped in a sock and then the thin outside tube. It's not exactly "one piece," there is clearly some sealant where the exhaust hose enters and leaves the silencer, but it does seem well built and well sealed.
I'm not sure I'll get this to fit into my compartment, but going to try.
The exhaust silencer for our heating system is all welded and insulated with a fiberglass sock filled with insulation. These came from Sure Marine.
This is the same setup I have except that I got the welded muffler from ebay for well less than Sure Marine charges. Their boat tax is pretty high.
That is a nice looking exhaust and about what Sure marine charges for just the muffler.
I found a picture of the currently installed exhaust. This is what I changed to after my original setup with the silencer had too many bends and too much back-pressure.
I thought it would be loud without a silencer, but it's not. The exhaust points straight out behind the boat, and I don't think with the sound of the water passing under the transom we'll be able to hear it at all while sailing. I can see how a neighboring boat in an anchorage might be annoyed if it was pointed directly in their direction, but that's not a use case for the foreseeable future.
The fancy Espar exhaust with the silencer in my post above might just be too big for this space - the silencer is nearly 18" long. I think it might result in a bunch more bends and I'll be back to the back-pressure problem.
If I had it to do over again, I'd mount the heater higher so that I have more natural flooding protection and don't require that S-curve to get the exhaust connected to the bottom of the heater.
I thought it would be loud without a silencer, but it's not. The exhaust points straight out behind the boat, and I don't think with the sound of the water passing under the transom we'll be able to hear it at all while sailing. I can see how a neighboring boat in an anchorage might be annoyed if it was pointed directly in their direction, but that's not a use case for the foreseeable future.
The fancy Espar exhaust with the silencer in my post above might just be too big for this space - the silencer is nearly 18" long. I think it might result in a bunch more bends and I'll be back to the back-pressure problem.
If I had it to do over again, I'd mount the heater higher so that I have more natural flooding protection and don't require that S-curve to get the exhaust connected to the bottom of the heater.
A quick note to say that after the 700NM run down the Pacific cost, and a cold 4th fireworks anchoring session in SF with my partner, the heater has been deemed to be a champ. The little 2Kw model will bring the aft berth and head (the only locations to where I ran vents), up to approximately one million degrees and warm the rest of the cabin up too if the companionway is closed up. This is all in approximately 50 F external temps. Operation is dead simple, I leave it on high all the time based on wisdom read elsewhere. There is a slight stink in the cockpit during the first few minutes of use, but that goes away quickly. I never did add a silencer (see above), but the sound is not bothersome over the normal sounds of sailing.