Diesel Boat Heaters

[TollyWally]

EZ,
It's nice your system works so well. A gal I know has one in her boat(espar) it works so well she doesn't even know she has it. Mine was magnicent when it worked, a thermostat is such a civilizing device! But not wanting to repeat myself, it was a glorious day when I ripped that finicky european bastard out by the roots and I do grin and giggle every time I light my old timer.

[Boston]

all very interesting stuff folks
I liked Easy's idea of having a couple heaters handy just in case

[Easy Rider]

Boston,
I don't use them like twin engines in a boat most of the time. I use them a bit like a thermostat. When it's 45 to 50 degrees out i'll only use one. When it's 5 degrees out I'll use all three for sure. When it's 30 degrees and we're under way I'll use the Red Dot AND the Wabasto. Then the wabasto won't run all the time. When we're under way the Wabasto may run all the time at 25 degrees or the Sigmar (not installed yet) may be red hot to get the job done. The larger oil stoves the fishermen use will run ya out of the boat set as low as possible in normal summer weather and then soot up or cause a stack fire and burn the boat as well as the stove. Summer up here is at least 3 months long. And I mighn't add .. we're not there yet. Overnight in the berth the thermostat is the only way to real comfort. Anything else is camping. But I'm glad you like hearing our/my opinions .. not everyone does.

Easy

[Boston]

nah
I am a firm believer in carefully listening to all the input and then making my own decisions

one reason I've hung out and tried to learn what I can, then design my own. No one but I knows what I am really after and I want to tailor the final design to reflect my abilities to there fullest

I just appreciate it when folks offer there thoughts and dont worry how there advice fits in with someone elses overall plan

its an organic process, designing a boat, and what works best for one may not work best for another. All your input is greatly appreciated

whats funny is that no mater how much time and effort I put into learning the ropes so to speak I am compelled to hire a NA to check whatever I come up with in the end. I refuse to simply build a Raw Faith or an otherwise expensive coffin; I will however design my own to fit my needs and skills. Whats it been two years of study so far and Im just now barely able to produce a few drawings that "might" work

I have a ways to go yet and genuinely appreciate the many varied approaches of people far more experienced than I even on something as simple as just the heater. the multiple redundancy approach seems prudent to me and you were after all the one to point out the value in that logic. Simple yet accurate and besides the one unit was insufficient anyway so rather than just try and find a larger one it does seem reasonable to buy two smaller units and place them strategically within the structure

cheers and thanks
B

Speaking of summer, there is a narrow window when the ice breaks just right for Barrow bowheads. That time will happen late this week. Bos, did you say you had, or had not eaten muktuk?
Easy's opinions are always valued. Spring arrived here and somebody said "this is like summer"...so it snowed and is blowing again!

[Boston]

why you planning on running a few over

never heard of road kill whale before

long story short my budy was supposed to get me some fresh flown in from your area but never did so all I've had is the frozen stuff which his wife assures me is terrible as compared to fresh right off the kill

tell you what
if you can overnight me some honest to god beluga muktuk I'd be forever in your debt
hell might even be able to arainge a nice dinner for you and the MS at your fave place and put it on my card if they will let me over the phone
am dying to try it actually
the idea that overfishing has eliminated so many excellent foods is just tragic, simple reality is that if we had effective enforcement in place we might all enjoy the occasional delicacy

strange as it sounds, in my mind and in my faith we are destined to be what we are and the better one lives up to the purpose the closer one is to the great spirit , in my case (human) an omnivore, it is unnatural that I should be restricted to wasi'chu foods simply because thats what the corporate oligarchy thinks is profitable. Game animal and a sprinkling of respect always makes the best meal IMHO. my Alaskan brothers will kill and eat and if Im lucky share there food with me as I hope to someday share with them. It is a circle and all things have a place.

No Beluga (I won't go into THAT now - politics) just bowhead.

[Truls]

I have had a Webasto unit in my commercial fishing boat for about 10 years. I believe the Espars are very similar. The first few years I had a lot of problems with the system. Like said previously, when you needed it the most, a glowplug would repeatedly burn out or it would be hard to start.

After having the unit apart a few times and finding lots of carbon in the combustion chamber and on the coils of the glow plug, I finally figured out that when the boat was sitting for long periods of time, wind would blow soot and sand down the exhaust and into the combustion chamber. It would solidify when fired up and cause problems such as burning out the glow plug (at $75 each).

Now, I disconnect the exhaust flex hose when the boat sits for extended periods of time and the unit has been working great ever since. I have it wired through a standard house thermostat and the whole unit is the size of a football. I originally had a bunch of ducting and vents for it, but found it worked much better with one or two strategically placed vents. I have two spare units that I picked up at Ebay, but my old unit keeps going. It has to be about 20 years old by now, and provides heat with the flick of a switch.

I have also used the Dickinson stoves and really miss the flicker in the window when you sit on anchor at night, but it is hard to beat a propane stove and a forced diesel heater combo, in my opinion. The oven in the big Dickinsons are great, but try to fry something on the stove when you are in a hurry. And they seem to have a mind of their own at times.

I have heard mixed reviews of the smaller units.

Regards,

Truls

TW, why don't you give the Webasto a look-see and let me know how it goes? Good reviews but I'm afraid to take the plunge!

[Easy Rider]

Turls,
Very interesting about the injestion of stuff through the exhaust. My last boat w Wabasto had an incredibly short exhaust and my present boat has the maximum (10'). I'll keep that in mind. I do run the Wabasto every 2 or 3 weeks and so far no problems.

Easy

[Boston]

now that is an issue I had thought I had covered
ok on my plan of the aft cabin the heater/wood stove is offset under the cat walk and not directly under the designated stack. This means that I have to angle the flue over to the stack and they up alongside the engine exhaust and combustion air/ventilation. So the questions is are these things so finicky that its a really dumb idea to play god with the flue or am I limited to venting this thing virtually only ( a generalization to be certain but as a whole is this a limitation I need to be worried about )

you can see in this plan view what Im talking about best



starboard side just to the left of the steps leading down to the aft cabin is where the stove is. Ive added a mantle since that drawing but its position was determined by its need to allow access to the door of the head and the max angle of the flue given the height of the stove and the elevation of the cat walk above plus the distance to the stack

[Truls]

In addition to the webasto I also have a bus heater that I will occasionally turn on to dry out the cabin while underway. For hot water, same thing, a well insulated tank that uses either shore power or engine cooling water for heat. Have not had any problems as long as I have had the boat, with the water heater. And if I ever run out of water, I have 8 gallons in the hot water tank.

Thought I should mention that I have heard the old Webasto units were more dependable than the newer ones with more electronics.

Regards,

Truls

Originally Posted by Truls

I believe the Espars are very similar.
Truls

You are right Truls,

Espars is a "Eberspächer" daughter (the systems are originally Eberspächer), and there is NO difference between Eberspächer and Webasto (and they cooperate btw.)

Disconnecting the exhaust duct is not a bad idea when the unit is not used for longer period. The soot contains sulfur and humidity and sulfur makes a good acid to corrode the exhaust.

Regards
Richard

[TollyWally]

Been away
Mark,
I happily concede that the forced air diesel furnace is just grand when working. More power to those who can get reliable service from them. I love my Dickensen and grin every time I light it. I use a little propane job for flash heating water for coffee or the occasional frypan work when the Dickensen is too slow etc.

You on the other hand seem the perfect candidate for research and developement!

My problem is that it is not just a convenience for me - I cannot recount the times that we have ended a perfectly good family outing because we just couldn't get warm and dry enuf..."well, let's go back to Homer, get dry clothes and sleeping bags and come back out" kind of talk. I am afraid that the 300 or 400 pounds and $7,000 dollars of genset are going to be my ultimate goal - I thot about the WhisperGen,
http://www.whispergen.com/main/dc-marine/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z2bjsKyaYw

but they are rediculously priced and, I understand, finicky. Otherwise, they would be perfect for my boat, as I recall, 1KW continuous power and seven KW continuous heat - Imagine a large battery bank and 1KW continuous - that's more than enuf for 40 ft boats, and 7KW of heat - WOW! For northern climates, when they get a firm distributor system (Seattle didn't even want to sell to me in Alaska with no service agents here) and the price comes down out of the startosphere, last I checked, over $10,000, this will be the ticket.
A final note; Earlier in the thread, I recommended drawing combustion air out of the head - I hope everyone will note that if one is sucking oxygen out of the cabin, there needs to be a source of replacement, i.e., an open door.