Boat heaters

[20dauntless]

In my current boat I have a Webasto diesel heater and a propane stove. Granted, it is a different boat, different setup but I now realize what I was missing. I can easily get the inside temperature up to 80+ degrees should I want and I can boil water in 3-4 minutes.

Same here, except my heater is Espar not Webasto. Not having to wait 15+ minutes for the Wallas to get hot to cook on is great. And having near-instant heat ducted throughout the boat is much more effective.

ALL of these heaters require maintenance. When they start smoking on startup/shutdown they're accumulating soot in the combustion chamber. Eventually they'll be so dirty they won't light and they'll need to be disassembled and cleaned. The Wallas cooktop is actually pretty easy to disassemble and clean. I had to do it several times and it only takes ~45 minutes. You need a bottom mat and ring, wire brush, and vacuum. Also carry a spare glow plug.

My Espar hasn't been trouble free. I've replaced a glow plug and two flame sensors, although the second flame sensor replacement was only a week after the first and was probably just an unfortunate fluke.

I think many of these heaters have a problem if they run on too low a setting or cycle frequently. Both situations cause soot to build up more rapidly. It's probably best to run the Wallas on high all the time and open a window if things get too hot inside. Many of the furnaces cycle on and off, which can be tough on batteries since start up draw is high. And in my case, with an oversized (Espar D8LC) furnace on the NT, the furnace normally only runs for less 10 minutes at a time once the cabin warms up. The frequent start-stop cycles create soot.

 

[Will-C]

We have a Espar D-2 installed were the refridge used to be under the helm seat. It has had no issues in the last three years. It warms the boat up pretty quickly and our berth area is insulated and our bedding is warm enough that heat while in the sack is not required. So we turn the heater on high and warm the boat up and then shut it off. Since we usually have our camper top on we leave the back door open if we are traveling. We don't sleep with heater running so we do not having cycling issues. In the morning we turn the heater back on warm up the boat and then shut it off. We carry a small Honeywell heater mentioned earlier in the post to use if we have shore power available. Our heater sounds similar to a small jet engine. They make mufflers for them but they just change tone and do not really quiet them down. Luckily when it cold everyone else has their boat buttoned up so we never had any complaints but in a marina situation we like the quietness of the electric heater. Espar's usually have their fuel pumps encased in rubber mounts which does reduce the fuel pump noise. Not an item everyone needs but they are nice to have when it gets cold and damp. Since we don't sleep with all our clothes on getting dressed after reaching out of the berth and flipping on the heater for about fives makes all the difference in the world.
D.D.