I know this has been touched on before, but I'm wringing my hands trying to decide which heater. What I would like to know now, is whether or not anyone has installed a vented heater of any fuel type on a 240 specifically or something of a similar floorplan. Namaste
Solid fuel or?
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heaters
heaters are fitted to sailboats that have room for them and not burn the crew. it is for you to decide what will fit your boat, and most of the 'real' heaters require venting that goes thru the overhead and may hang up the rigging. the cheapest start around $300 and go up depending on fuel requirements. if you have the space, and want one, go for it. it may be easier to buy one of the small propane heaters that cost about $70 and use the small stove/lantern tanks with auto oxy sensor to shout down if CO builds up...your boat, your choice...
heaters are fitted to sailboats that have room for them and not burn the crew. it is for you to decide what will fit your boat, and most of the 'real' heaters require venting that goes thru the overhead and may hang up the rigging. the cheapest start around $300 and go up depending on fuel requirements. if you have the space, and want one, go for it. it may be easier to buy one of the small propane heaters that cost about $70 and use the small stove/lantern tanks with auto oxy sensor to shout down if CO builds up...your boat, your choice...
Don't bknow the 240
But we put a solid fuel vented heater in our 37 and have been very happy with it. Not cheap. It's a Newport by Dickinson, all stainless. The stack extends through the deck and about three feet above it. The stack cane be removed and a watertight plate placed over the vent hole so your jib sheets don't rip ther whole thing out. It is mounted on a transverse bulkhead at the front of the saloon, on tile in a wood frame. We burn a mix of anthracite coal and real charcoal (briquettes are not allowed on board.) I mounted a small fan on the ash drawer to give a forced draft. The firebox will glow cherry red and it's really, really cozy on a dank cold day. Wood is not a good fuel. Puts out plenty of heat but this thing will go through a twenty foot 2X4 in a couple of hours. A circuklating fan at overhead level helps move the warm air around.
But we put a solid fuel vented heater in our 37 and have been very happy with it. Not cheap. It's a Newport by Dickinson, all stainless. The stack extends through the deck and about three feet above it. The stack cane be removed and a watertight plate placed over the vent hole so your jib sheets don't rip ther whole thing out. It is mounted on a transverse bulkhead at the front of the saloon, on tile in a wood frame. We burn a mix of anthracite coal and real charcoal (briquettes are not allowed on board.) I mounted a small fan on the ash drawer to give a forced draft. The firebox will glow cherry red and it's really, really cozy on a dank cold day. Wood is not a good fuel. Puts out plenty of heat but this thing will go through a twenty foot 2X4 in a couple of hours. A circuklating fan at overhead level helps move the warm air around.
Brickettes not allowed
Peter, Thank you. I bought the Newport, but have not permanently installed it. Who doesn't allow the charcoal briquettes on board, and why? I'm not sure I can get any of the other kinds of fuel you mention down here. I was planning on using the briquettes or maybe small chunks of hardwood.
Peter, Thank you. I bought the Newport, but have not permanently installed it. Who doesn't allow the charcoal briquettes on board, and why? I'm not sure I can get any of the other kinds of fuel you mention down here. I was planning on using the briquettes or maybe small chunks of hardwood.
What's in them?
Charcoal briquettes, that is. I don't know what's in them but it's not an awful lot of charcoal. These things produce more ash than the original volume of the briquette and that ash makes excellent concrete if it gets wet. The heat output is not all that great either. So they are banned from our boat both for the heater and for the outdoor grill. Real hardwood charcoal, which looks like chnks of black wood, is readily available in twenty-pound bags at most anywhere that handles outdoor cooking stuff, at least it is here in the big city. We get it from a discount grocery called Western Beef for about $9 a bag. 100 pounds of pea size anthracite costs about $20, but is hard to find these days. I bet you can find nice mesquite and oak charcoal in your area. If you are used to briquettes for cooking and switch to the real stuff, you have to adjust your cooking. It will incinerate that 2" steak in three minutes at the old level.
Charcoal briquettes, that is. I don't know what's in them but it's not an awful lot of charcoal. These things produce more ash than the original volume of the briquette and that ash makes excellent concrete if it gets wet. The heat output is not all that great either. So they are banned from our boat both for the heater and for the outdoor grill. Real hardwood charcoal, which looks like chnks of black wood, is readily available in twenty-pound bags at most anywhere that handles outdoor cooking stuff, at least it is here in the big city. We get it from a discount grocery called Western Beef for about $9 a bag. 100 pounds of pea size anthracite costs about $20, but is hard to find these days. I bet you can find nice mesquite and oak charcoal in your area. If you are used to briquettes for cooking and switch to the real stuff, you have to adjust your cooking. It will incinerate that 2" steak in three minutes at the old level.
PS
Don't be in a hurry to install it. I think I mulled it over for about six months after buying the heater before I finally decided where I would put it, how I would mount it and, most important, where to cut the hole in the overhead. That cutout, which clearly demonstrates how well the O'Days were built, is now a coaster on my desk.
Don't be in a hurry to install it. I think I mulled it over for about six months after buying the heater before I finally decided where I would put it, how I would mount it and, most important, where to cut the hole in the overhead. That cutout, which clearly demonstrates how well the O'Days were built, is now a coaster on my desk.
Coal/Charcoal
Thanks for the info on the charcoal. You're right about the ash. I had never thought it before, but the bricket ashes are about the same size as the unburned. I have since learned that charcoal can also self combust. I suppose this would occur if it got damp. At any rate, I'm on the hunt for hardwood charcoal. I am still looking at the installation, although on my little boat, the locations are limited.
Thanks for the info on the charcoal. You're right about the ash. I had never thought it before, but the bricket ashes are about the same size as the unburned. I have since learned that charcoal can also self combust. I suppose this would occur if it got damp. At any rate, I'm on the hunt for hardwood charcoal. I am still looking at the installation, although on my little boat, the locations are limited.
Won't self combust
in the quantites you will be using and will have stored on board, wet or not. You need a really big pile so that the temperature from natural oxidation in the center of the pile eventually builds to the ignition temperature of the charcoal. Ain't gonna happen.
in the quantites you will be using and will have stored on board, wet or not. You need a really big pile so that the temperature from natural oxidation in the center of the pile eventually builds to the ignition temperature of the charcoal. Ain't gonna happen.
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