Heater Recomendations...

[dvideohd]

What type of heaters would be useful in cooler weather...?

When I am working in the back or at dock - I have an inexpensive oil filled heater (1500w) that does the trick pretty well. When going out - this winter (30's - 60's) - I do wonder...

The diesel heaters seem to be favored in the UK.. but for small boats - do not seem a good choice.. 12V electric (ala Truck Warmer) would be a good choice - but would kill the battery fast.. I am quite leery of propane heaters.. but don't have reasons why. CO2??

thanks...
--jerry

 

[Dan Johnson]

Jerry...

anything that creates heat by combustion genereates CO, not CO2. Carbon Monoxide is a silent killer. Be sure to install a detector for your safety's sake.

Your heating fuel choice while underway is going to be diesel, propane, or pellets. For propane ABYC standards are MUST to be followed. Pellets are bulky and you must deal with ash removal. Diesel seems to be the international choice as it's readily available and most sailors are familiar with its handling.

Others will chime in with more practical experience than I can offer for heating underway.

 

[Benny]

Mr. Heater makes a portable propane heater that uses a 16 oz canister. It burns real lean with minimum CO emmissions and has a safety oxygen level depletion cutoff switch. A CO detector is a must in a boat that has a fuel stove, an inboard engine or a generator. It is not recommended to go to sleep with the heater on. Just get the cabin real toasty and then pile the blankets on.

 

[Steve Dion]

Mr. Heater Buddy works well. If you are dealing with really cold temp, the Big Buddy is really nice. It uses two fuel tanks and a fan. I think it puts out about 18,000 btu's. The little Buddy output is about 9,000.

 

[newly anonymous]

liquid parafin

Although I have a diesel furnace on my boat, the primary source of heat on most evenings are two "oil" lamps burning 99% pure liquid parafin. The amount of heat they put out is impressive, and the bonus is the light. Invest in one of the more expensive units with a circular wick.

If this works in the Bay Area on a 46 footer, it should be more than adequate at Dana Point on a 37 footer.

Nice thing is that the two lamps cost around $5,000 less than the diesel heater.

 

[mudtertel]

I read inone of these forums , about using your stove with a clay pot knochedout to fit over the burner . I haven't used this method yet ,but am willing to try .This will give you no CO,I think

 

[Bill Roosa]

I've used it

I don't have a CO detector so I can't confirm that it will produce NO CO but CO is not a required combustion product. H2O and CO2 are the "official" combustion products for any flame. With that said the flame would appear to be well supplied with O2 so there should be no starving the reaction for oxygen. Starving the reaction of oxygen is why CO(1) is produced instead of CO2. I also note that there are numerous homes that use gas stoves and there seems to be no concern about CO production.
I'd note that if you have anything other than the pale blue flame you are producing something other than H2O and CO2.
It does consume the O2 in the cabin and vent CO2 so you would want to monitor that so you don't run out of O2 or make it toxic with CO2.
There is the matter of H2O being produced to consider. Yes it does warm the cabin but it also makes it humid. Certainly not a long term solution from that or a cost stand point.
It does work away from shore power though.
I have used both small (burner ring diameter) and a large (pot holder ring diameter) pots and the larger pot puts out more heat for a given flame. I'd not make the pot so large that it sits on the stove surface and not the pot holder however. The air for combustion is mixed at the valve and the burner does not need additional air to work but in the interest of getting more air contacting the hot pot surface, and keeping an eye on flames in the cabin, I limit myself to the pot holder ring diameter.

 

[Graysailor]

Re: I've used it

Being a livaboard heating is a concern. I have used the Espar diesel heating system. I had the air systems and was not completely happy with it. Made to much noise. If you go that route I would suggest going with the hydroponic system. Much better way to go and a much easier install.
Currently I am using the Marine Air reverse cycle air conditioners for my heating needs. In ten years of being a livaboard this system is working the best. 8 BTU in the aft cabin. (seldom used) and a 16 BTU unit for the salon and forward cabin areas. This system works best with a shore power connection. While sailing the engine will power the 8 BTU unit but not the 16 BTU unit. If I wish to use the 16 BTU unit I must use the genset.
Another note on heating is that I have found that the trick is to start heating the boat before you are cold. If you wait until you are really cold then it takes awhile to warm up the boat.
Also, I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, where the climate is quite moderate. Also, the West Marine plug in electric heaters do a pretty good job if you just need to take the chill out of the air.

 

[Guest]

Heater

Wallas makes a very nice forced air kerosene heater for boats. We had one on our H28 and it worked great even in our PNW winters. Our heater was bulkhead mounted and both the intake and exhaust vented through the coach roof chimney. We were very pleased with its performance. The one gallon kerosene fuel tank lasted for days of continuous operation.

Bud