In the beginning, boating was a summer sport. Cruising was done in summer wearing shorts. Winter boating was done on a rare sunny day just for an hour or two, only to say we did it. Heat on board was typically a rad and fan heated by the engine and warmth was only while under way.
As time has passed and more people have become boaters, their expectations have changed. If the seats in my car are automatically warmed and my floors at home are heated, why can't my boat be warm? And with more boats to serve and higher comfort expectations, new heating systems became available. This lead me to decide "The Life" needed some form of a heating system to extend the season and create a snuggly environment for that first cup of coffee.
There is a selection of simple cabin heaters that run on various fuels. Dickinson is a Coquitlam company that has been making heaters since 1932. Their cabin heaters run on a variety of fuels - diesel, kerosene, propane and wood pellets. They can provide good dry heat for a small space at low cost. Their Newport Propane Fireplace/Heater can provide up to 9000 BTUs, runs on either the small disposable bottles of propane or can be plumbed for the large BBQ bottles, has a fan to help circulate the warm air and uses outside air for combustion. It is simple, requires no electricity unless you want a fan and is low cost.
This didn't suit my needs as it does require cabin space to mount it, has to be vented through the cabin roof and is designed for attended operation. A quick calculation showed I would need 3 or 4 of them to provide the heat needed for "The Life". It seemed most suitable as a fireplace for one room as the name suggested.
I was looking to duplicate the heating comfort of home. Convection heaters just can't achieve that. This led me to investigate force air and hot water eating.
Common forced air systems are Espar and Webasco, both German made. They work by drawing outside air into a combustion chamber where diesel fuel is burned and the hot exhaust is passed through a heat exchanger on its way outside again. Fresh air is circulated around the heat exchanger and blown into the cabin. The system is totally automatic and works like a forced air furnace in a house. A thermostat senses the cabin temperature and turns on the furnace when the temperature drops and turns it off when the cabin reached the set temperature. Installation is simple. The furnace is located in the engine room and hot air is run in one 4" duct to where it is needed.
Hot water systems are also like a home heating system. Espar and Webasco also make a variant that heats water instead of air and locally, Hurricane makes hot water heating systems. Water is heated and pumped to where heat is required where a radiator and fan distribute it.
So which to choose? Both types of systems can easily provide the amount of BTUs needed. For "The Life" that was about 32,000 BTUs. Both systems did not require cabin space. Hot air systems need ducting behind the cabin walls and under the floor. Hot water needed hoses under the floor and rads behind walls or cupboards. Both needed 12V power but adequate power was available from the existing house batteries. Cost was similar. What decided it was hot water offered near silent operation, offered the ability to have different heating zones with their own thermostat and could provide unlimited domestic hot water at anchor. To achieve these additional benefits, a more complex installation was required. I decided the extra effort was worth it to have the best system.
Before starting the installation, I took a lot of time to think through all the steps and make a list of all the installation steps. I kept a log of each step I did, how long it took and any easier way to do it next time.
First, I taped the electrical runs to a hose and pulled in the hot water supply hose and cooled water return hose from the engine room to the galley and forward stateroom. The heater core and fans were screwed down out of sight and 4" ducting run to eyeball outlets, the hoses attached and fan wires connected. Thermostats were mounted and wired in the stateroom and galley area. A quick cleanup finished off all the work in the cabin.
In the engine room, I mounted an expansion tank and overflow bottle and 4 ball valves to bypass the flow of hot water through the cabin in summer for comfort and to isolate the system if the hot water tank or pump ever had to be replaced. An electronic control panel that controls the furnace operation, pump, thermostats and fans was also mounted in the engine room.
Under the back deck I mounted the furnace and water pump and hooked up the hoses to the water heater and on to the cabin. The furnace is sealed and needs outside air for combustion. A combined inlet and exhaust fitting was placed through the hull and a fresh air inlet hose and stainless steel exhaust pipe and muffler were attached. A fuel filter, isolation valve and fuel line was run off the starboard diesel fuel tank.
Each installation step was done slowly and carefully to make sure it was done right the first time. It took less than a week to install the furnace, through hull, exhaust, fuel filter and line, water pump, control box, expansion tank. overflow, valves, hoses, wiring, 3 heater cores with 5 hot air outlets and 2 cold air inlets, 2 thermostats, bedroom fan speed control and remote on-off switch (whew!). No job was very difficult, each activity was thought through first and everything proceeded according to the plan.
So how did it work? On the first starting of the system, each piece worked, but heat output was low. I determined the hot water flow was being restricted, so I rerouted the water flow into 2 parallel branches and discovered the real culprit - a pinched hose. Now the system heats up from cold in 7-8 minutes and keeps the cabin and bedroom toasty warm at the selected temperature. As a bonus, we now have hot water at anchor. And the system is very quiet.
If you wish to see the system in operation on "The Life" or discuss how to install a system on your boat, call me. I would be glad to share my experience.
Rob Donaldson 531-9025