What type of heat?

[Mikex]

The Wallace stove seems ideal for the boat but very expensive and would cause my full enclosure to get smaller.

Expensive for a heater maybe, but you are getting a forced-air heater and a cook stove in the process and the fuel (kerosene, or mineral spirits) is readily available everywhere. Exhaust is vented outside, so there is no condensation in the cabin and oxygen comes from outside, so the is no depletion of that in the cabin. Not sure about the problem with your full enclosure, please enlighten.

~Rich

[Mikex]

Expensive for a heater maybe, but you are getting a forced-air heater and a cook stove in the process and the fuel (kerosene, or mineral spirits) is readily available everywhere. Exhaust is vented outside, so there is no condensation in the cabin and oxygen comes from outside, so the is no depletion of that in the cabin. Not sure about the problem with your full enclosure, please enlighten.

~Rich

The full enclosure is part of my wish list (heat, enclosure, autohelm, and spinaker) - trying to keep it all within budget : x
The Wallas heater- stove would be my first choice except for the $3000 price tag here on the island.

Mike

[u12fly]

Hi -u12fly,

What size of Honda generator do you have, where do you keep it on the boat and how noisy is it .

Thanks,
mike.

I have a Honda eu2000i which I currently just place on the forward deck (over the anchor locker).... I've seen lots of gens that say they are "as quite" but in reallity when you have them in operation I still think the Honda is the quietest. I've heard if you get it in CAMO (I have the red one) you can't hear it or see it.



We sleep in the aft birth and use the forward birth for storage, I have a "plan" to convert the entire front area in to a storage locker (air sealed). At that time I will mount the generator just below the anchor locker. This way I never have to move the Generator, which weighs in at about 58 lbs or have to worrie about wires. It's not a big deal you can lift it through the forward hatch, that why you're not carrying it all over the boat. We have never used more then a tank of gas (0.8 gal) on any one trip since it is pretty fuel effecient.

Chris.

[mastreb]

Origo makes a heater/stove which will burn about 8hrs on a fill, alcohol is cheap and clean but still makes Carbon Monoxide, and this super simple device still costs over $200.

Ethanol combusts to carbon dioxide and water (2x CO2 + 3x H20). Not technically poisonous as carbon monoxide is, but still and asphyxiant and certainly not safe to sleep with in an enclosed cabin without venting. Denaturing agents may combust to CO depending on what they are (Naptha, etc.).

There's no perfectly safe way to do heat it without either electric or a vent. We ran an unvented natural gas fireplace in our house for years though that generated water and CO2 and never had any trouble from it, though it did occasionally set off the CO2 sensor. We just opened the door for a minute to resolve, and used blankets during the night. Plus it was San Diego.

[Tomfoolery]

I've heard if you get it in CAMO (I have the red one) you can't hear it or see it.

Is there a generator in there somewhere? I can't see it. Nor can I hear it.

[Catigale]

If a generator falls off a tree in San Francisco, is it AC or DC?

[Tomfoolery]

<bada-bum crash>

[Crikey]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AC/DC

If that was an Australian tree - you could have it either way!

So.... to digress a little: providing heating your entire boat interior wasn't a prerequisite, what if you looked at simply an electric blanket (single or double), for the nighttime chillies? No noise, or fumes.

Ross

[Tomfoolery]

So.... to digress a little: providing heating your entire boat interior wasn't a prerequisite, what if you looked at simply an electric blanket (single or double), for the nighttime chillies? No noise, or fumes.

They even make 12V electric blankets for campers and such, though I don't know how effective they are.

[mastreb]

According to the Electric Blanket Institute (not kidding) an electric blanket on the HIGH setting consumes about 75 watts. However, the more typical "medium" setting is 50 watts.

A typical 12VDC blanket consumes 4 amps or 48 watts. So they should be equivalent to a typical electrical blanket that can only go up to medium.

It's by far the most efficient way to stay warm on a boat. Eight hours would consume 24Ah of battery power, which your house battery should have no problem with and which 1 to 2 hours of outboard usage per day should completely replenish, depending on your outboard.

If it's not enough heat, just add another one that you sleep on top of. That would most certainly do the job.

Doesn't solve the cold condensation problem though. February in San Diego with the whole family aboard leaves the cabin top dripping with condensation.

[Gater Dunn]

Whipsyjak a few years ago when I was looking for my I saw two Dickson heaters mounted fore and aft of the galley the one fore of galley was a wood burner so it would limit seating on that side. I don't know how hot the heat shield gets but kids learn quick not to touch

Thanks Seahouse and Tkanzler, so with electric energy in nearly equals energy out, its energy storage that's the trouble.

My main goal in adding a heater would be to reduce humidity safely, which is why for me propane combustion in and of cabin air is not attractive. The Dickinson and Wallace heaters look good but expensive. The wood/charcoal one seems to be middle of the road, but it presents the problem of having a very hot surface in a confined space with kids.

Gater Dunn, where would you mount that little beauty in an ?

How about exterior propane combustion to heat water which in turn runs through a heat exchanger in the cabin with a thermostat and fan? Sounds like something that's probably marketed already....mounted at the stern where most guys have their propane tanks.

Hmmmm,

Willy

[Whipsyjac]

Thanks Gater, the OP MikeX is on Van. Isle too! We were in Winter Cove Sept 15th, a little chilly in the morning and lots of condensation. The Admiral and I plus our 3 girls.

Willy

[yukonbob]

I don't know how hot the heat shield gets but kids learn quick not to touch

Hey, It only took me twice!

But as far as the whole wet heat thing goes, they all still dry the cabin out and relatively fast. Some jsut produce more h2o than others and most of that is expelled up the vent in the exhaust. I just like the diesel because its easier to find than any fuel out there in any harbour and two that its not pressurized and you can safely store it in the cabin. Also I feel bad using those single use non-refilable cylinders.

[Highlander]

I personally would never keep diesel fuel in the cabin that stuff stinks to high heaven, even get it on ur cloths or hands & I can smell it for days even after several washes I can smell it if I get it on my clothes

J

[boaterjen]

I have a generator which I take while "camping" (staying somewhere overnight on boat), for whatever purpose: recharge computer, run heater, recharge battery...

For warmth, I'd plug the heater into it and warm the cabin. Then shut it all off when better.