I spotted one of those diesel heaters on ebay: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=4539354265&category=26448&sspagename=WDVW Anyone heve any experience with one of these? Are they safe? What do you think its worth? Thanks!
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Smell ?
Ben I don't have any experience with this type of heater, but the smell would be my concern, the guy does say that the unit is sealed but I would expect some diesel smell. I would question why he is selling, it still would get cold in the south is suspect. I'm looking for a heater for my 380. I'm looking at getting a 12V to 240V inverter and running a dry heater, not sure yet if I come up with anything I will let you know. Regards Wayne
Ben I don't have any experience with this type of heater, but the smell would be my concern, the guy does say that the unit is sealed but I would expect some diesel smell. I would question why he is selling, it still would get cold in the south is suspect. I'm looking for a heater for my 380. I'm looking at getting a 12V to 240V inverter and running a dry heater, not sure yet if I come up with anything I will let you know. Regards Wayne
Ben as far a safe, I think they're close to
perfect. I don't care for that style heater because they take room in the cabin, not just for the heater but for safety room, they don't make a good backrest when they're on. They also need a hole in your cabin top and the flue can catch lines. Lastly, the warm air produced is not circulated well, unlike ducted forced air systems. But these use little power. My forced air heater uses about 1.2 amps for the fan. The glow plug only comes on once to start it and then the temperature is controlled via computer by lowering the fuel volume pumped and also the fan speed. Don't ask how much it costs.
See pictures #50-52 on my web site.
perfect. I don't care for that style heater because they take room in the cabin, not just for the heater but for safety room, they don't make a good backrest when they're on. They also need a hole in your cabin top and the flue can catch lines. Lastly, the warm air produced is not circulated well, unlike ducted forced air systems. But these use little power. My forced air heater uses about 1.2 amps for the fan. The glow plug only comes on once to start it and then the temperature is controlled via computer by lowering the fuel volume pumped and also the fan speed. Don't ask how much it costs.
See pictures #50-52 on my web site.
Fred's right
We have the Force 10 version of it. Doesn't heat worth a hoot, even with a fan above it. Stu
We have the Force 10 version of it. Doesn't heat worth a hoot, even with a fan above it. Stu
These are a good choice
The smell is really not much of an issue. They do not take electricity unless you run the fan and they have very few moving parts to fail. They are quiet and relatively cheap. You can get parts to fix them which do not cost a fortune and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to fix. My friend had one bigger than this one for a 46 footer and it worked ok for him. He did have some trouble with the fuel pumps but they ran all of the time because he lived aboard. For a 38 footer, you could use a day tank too and not have that worry. Otherwise just carry a spare pump and the tools to swap it out. Plan on that when you install the thing and you will have a much better, happier life. Down side is that they do take up room in the cabin and you probably will want a fan to move the hot air around. The Espar style is small, expensive, complicated, noisy and uses up the batteries. It puts out very nice hot air wherever you put an air duct. There is also a propane model which is very, very slick but requires that other fuel and that may be an added number of complications. Fred has pointed out some of the limitations but they are not all that bad if you install them properly. See the link for Fred at work!
The smell is really not much of an issue. They do not take electricity unless you run the fan and they have very few moving parts to fail. They are quiet and relatively cheap. You can get parts to fix them which do not cost a fortune and it doesn't take a rocket scientist to fix. My friend had one bigger than this one for a 46 footer and it worked ok for him. He did have some trouble with the fuel pumps but they ran all of the time because he lived aboard. For a 38 footer, you could use a day tank too and not have that worry. Otherwise just carry a spare pump and the tools to swap it out. Plan on that when you install the thing and you will have a much better, happier life. Down side is that they do take up room in the cabin and you probably will want a fan to move the hot air around. The Espar style is small, expensive, complicated, noisy and uses up the batteries. It puts out very nice hot air wherever you put an air duct. There is also a propane model which is very, very slick but requires that other fuel and that may be an added number of complications. Fred has pointed out some of the limitations but they are not all that bad if you install them properly. See the link for Fred at work!
"Diesel Heater"
I just had an Espar hydronic heater installed in my h38. It's diesel fired. We have three registers, front and aft berths and one in the Salon. It's quiet and there are no fumes. Used it a few cold days last week. It's really great; takes a while to warm the whole boat, but it is March and it would be faster if I shut down the V-berth and closed the head doors. I personally don't recommend buying anything that you can't get a warranty on or a dealer to back up, but that's just me.
I just had an Espar hydronic heater installed in my h38. It's diesel fired. We have three registers, front and aft berths and one in the Salon. It's quiet and there are no fumes. Used it a few cold days last week. It's really great; takes a while to warm the whole boat, but it is March and it would be faster if I shut down the V-berth and closed the head doors. I personally don't recommend buying anything that you can't get a warranty on or a dealer to back up, but that's just me.
Smell
We have had the Dickinson diesel stove on our 42 catalina for six years and my wife says that it is the best thing we added to our boat. It runs clean and there is no diesel smell.
We have had the Dickinson diesel stove on our 42 catalina for six years and my wife says that it is the best thing we added to our boat. It runs clean and there is no diesel smell.
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