Heater ducting overheating!

[NH..]

I have a Beneteau 381, with an Ardic 42 diesel forcedair heater...Unfortunately the warm air ducting overheats near theheater, causing a white smoke and an ugly smell in thecabin!!!Any soultions? What other material can I use??Any suggestions appreciated...Thanks,-Neal.

 

[TOM mcnamara]

HEATER DUCTING

I GATHER YOU LIVE ABOARD AS DO I. WE HAVE A WEBASCO UNIT THAT HEATS WATER THAT CIRCULATES THE BOAT AND KICKERS LIKE AUTO HEATERS BLOW THE WARM AIR. IT IS A 4 ZONE SYSTEM .2.ON THERMOSTATS AND 2 THROUGH ALL THE CLOSETS,OIL FIRED. STOPS ALL THE CONDENSATION AND IS GREAT.[COST $11,000.]INSTALLED- MCBUBBA720@AOL.COM

 

[Patrick Ewing]

Same unit, same problem, same installer?

We have the same heater that you do and it had the same problem. It resulted from a poor installation. I found out that the duct tape used to seal the hot air was not the right thing to use since the adhesive would char and smoke from the heat nearest to the hot air outlet at the heating unit. It ( tape ) was also not suitable to physically hold the duct in place. My installation had a short four inch long three inch diameter ( I am told that actually it is a metric size ) duct between the heater and the large shielded duct. I replaced that and put on stainless hose clamps to hold it in place at that point. What I call the shielded duct - the large six inch diameter metal duct section - should be attached directly to the main heating unit since the standard aluminized duct is not rated for the high temperature at that point. My installation was such that the larger duct could not fit on directly because of the way it was installed so I had to use the short section of aluminized duct at the time. I plan to find something to replace that with as soon as I find some suitable metal ducting or I may relocate the heater. I am thinking of using flexible car exhaust tubing for that short section but haven't done that yet. I couldn't find the right size when I was fixing the heater but will replace it when I do find some. The temporary replacement of the ducting and removal of the duct tape residue has made the unit work for now. I also had to replace the fan shroud on the unit since it was cracked. That was not related to the smoking problem. The old one was plastic and the new one is stainless steel. The Seattle dealer is Scan Marine 206-285-3675 or 1-888-606-6665email me at patrick.ewing@juno.com or call me at Admiralty Marine (on Saturdays) 206-781-9030 and we can discuss this if you want.