Boat heaters

T.R. Bauer":813ptan9 said:
I don't see how anything drawing 2 amps on 12 volts will warm anything at all. 2 amps at 120 volts is about 200 watts. If you ran it on 12 volts it should take around 20 amps, or a little more after the loss from the inverter, shouldn't it? I mean we are doing E=IR, right?

The post said shore power or inverter which makes me think it is running on 120V. RIght?
 
Yes, it runs on 120 and 1.66 amps not counting inverter losses on 12v.

Quote from liveaboard blog:

"Twice the heat means twice the sleep.

When the weather dips below freezing, the small electric heater has trouble keeping the entire cabin warm, so I purchased a second tiny 200w heater for my v-berth. Man alive. Now it’s so warm and toasty in the v-berth I struggle getting my lazy butt out of bed. It feels so good in there! I could hibernate all winter and be happy."

Like Roger says, for the price it is worth a try.

A couple of these could be run from a small inverter for cabin heat while under way in a 22 and likely take the chill of winter off nicely and alot cheaper than a liquid fuel heater minus the risky gases.

I don't see a great reason not to experiment with the possibility of such a small, easy to mount and power heater for such little cost.
 
We have used one of these electric heaters for the past three years all winter long in our boat's cabin running off the boats 120 volt power outlet while boat sits in our driveway connected to our 30amp shore power cord connected to our house via an adapter. It's a made by Honeywell the model is HZ 2200. See link below. Bought this beauty at Wally World (Walmart) before cruising the Erie Canal in the fall of 2009 for around 25 dollars. It has been great we leave it on a low heat setting and the fan comes on and off when the thermostat calls for heat based on the setting. It has tipover protection and other safety features. We carry it along on cruises when we feel it might be nice to use on overnights or cool mornings. We only use it when we are connected via shore power. When anchored out or moving on the water we use our Espar D-2 diesel heater.
http://www.honeywellcentral.com/product ... eater-gray I'm sure you can find them cheaper than what is listed on the Honeywell site. Been a good piece.
D.D.
 
200W will draw 1.66 A from the 120V system but if it is run on an inverter drawing from the 12V system it will (as T.R. states) draw 16.6A plus whatever loss one gets from the inverter (so maybe 18-20A). So if it draws only from battery, you can't run it for more than an hour to a few hours depending on battery capacity. Still it looks like it might make a nice berth heater.
 
I have four of these. Two for the house, one for the boat, and one for the RV. Here is why I like them. 400 and 800w setting and they are quiet. They have full safety features, which is why I leave one on in my bedroom, 24/7.

In the boat, I use it underway and anchored, plugged into my 1500w inverter or Honda Genny. My boat is an inboard so I have the benefit of an alternator. With CDory's, you will probably need to use a genny.

I also have a Mr. Buddy and they are fine...but wet.


http://www.amazon.com/Optimus-H-521...8DWA/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1326473250&sr=8-1

-Greg
 
We were at Wally World today and saw the Lasko MyHeater for $11.88, so we picked one up. Not much to it, so we'll see how it does. Checking the reviews on 'em, people seem to love 'em... until they quit working in a short time; either 5 stars or 1 star. :roll:

I like having an electric heater onboard when we're plugged in during cool temps. It's only 60º here today, with a chilly north wind... below normal for us, I may try this little thing out. 8)

Thanks for the tip on this... you people have to stop recommending stuff to buy - I'm running out of stuff to pull off the boat (that old "one thing in, one thing out" rule).

Best wishes,
Jim
 
JamesTXSD":2mv4h7gw said:
<stuff clipped>
Thanks for the tip on this... you people have to stop recommending stuff to buy - I'm running out of stuff to pull off the boat (that old "one thing in, one thing out" rule).

Best wishes,
Jim

From now on, we'll only make our recommendations for new stuff to Joan. BTW - how much volume do you occupy on the boat? :wink:
 
rogerbum":10isensk said:
JamesTXSD":10isensk said:
<stuff clipped>
Thanks for the tip on this... you people have to stop recommending stuff to buy - I'm running out of stuff to pull off the boat (that old "one thing in, one thing out" rule).

Best wishes,
Jim

From now on, we'll only make our recommendations for new stuff to Joan. BTW - how much volume do you occupy on the boat? :wink:

By volume, I'm probably the biggest thing on the boat. (Both noise and space) :wink: But, the cat gets the biggest storage compartment. And you can be darn sure that no cat toys will be left behind. :cat Truth be told, I think Joan is saying "OK" for this little stuff so there will be no room left when we go to the boat show!
 
Jim! only 60 degrees? You guys must be freezing! It is cold here in the old dominion today with a wind chill making it 30 degrees...........And I expect the Alaskan's to pipe in any minute with it's below zero here...........
 
I must really be missing something here--but a heater for the V berth? I have a great sleeping bag (and wife to snuggle up to--add in one poodle if necessary) and wonder why we need a 200 watt heater? If you have to increase the warmth--there are even 12 volt electric blankets--or even a regular electric blanket with the inverter, using much less than this heater which draws 20 amps from the house bank.

OK--assuming that you have a large boat and hydronic heating--sure heat the whole boat (and I have done that). But the C Dory is a minimalist boat--and we are better off keeping it that way. Most of the outboards on the 22 will be in a dedicate amp output with 20 amps off an inverter.
 
Its a unique little unit using relatively low power for that type and some folks can make good use of them. I would pay it very little attention if sitting far south but i can say the unit we have in our berth really adds comfort and dryness to our winter season overnights and a smaller unit would be even more ideal based on our experience with a 600 watt unit.

Bob, i think the same thing each time I see a pic of an AC unit shoehorned into a C-Dory window. A simple little heater mounted on the ceiling in the berth is magic when it's 28 degrees and your dockside on a january morning.
 
We have a electric heater that works at 400 watts or 800 watts and it does well off of our EU 1000 or shore power.

I just today bought the Lasko My Heater at Wally World, I was pleased at the heat that it puts out. We will use it for short periods on battery power with our inverter.
Our Mercury Opti-Max has a 60 amp alternator, so we should be able to have unlimited use of the small heater while underway with no adverse effects on the batteries.
 
retnavy":3h1kouhw said:
Jim! only 60 degrees? You guys must be freezing! It is cold here in the old dominion today with a wind chill making it 30 degrees...........And I expect the Alaskan's to pipe in any minute with it's below zero here...........

Didn't figure I'd get any sympathy, except maybe from the Florida guys. :wink: That 60º number was the high today... about 10º below normal for us. And, it got all the way down to 48º last night! Did I mention the cold north wind?

On Wednesday, we were in shorts and t-shirts - actually had to wear jackets and long pants yesterday and today. North of us, I heard about places that got (gasp!) below freezing! Oh, the humanity!

8)
 
Greg--Aurelia,
I spent over 5 seasons cruising the PNW--including 4 trips to AK--so I fully understand the issues of your part of the world. How much time have you spent in the waters of Florida?

We cruised for over 5 years in tropical waters, without air conditioning in sailboats. But that was where there were "free breezes". In the more confined waters of Florida an air conditioner is almost essential--no way that you can cuddle in a warm sleeping bag out of that heat and humidity!
 
thataway":1m68a52t said:
Greg--Aurelia,
I spent over 5 seasons cruising the PNW--including 4 trips to AK--so I fully understand the issues of your part of the world. How much time have you spent in the waters of Florida?

We cruised for over 5 years in tropical waters, without air conditioning in sailboats. But that was where there were "free breezes". In the more confined waters of Florida an air conditioner is almost essential--no way that you can cuddle in a warm sleeping bag out of that heat and humidity!

Some sailors refer to the Sea of Cortez in the summertime as the Celiba-Sea, because it can be so hot, humid, and windless that you can't stand to touch, much less snuggle. :crook

Follow the good weather. 8)
 
After researching heater options and following discussions from the wealth of experience on this site, I chose to install the Dickinson Newport P-9000. I still have not figured out how to post pics with a message but I uploaded a few pics of the install in the Lochsa "Heater" album.

My goal was safe, reliable heat without sacrificing limited space, particularly on the counter top. This particular installation mounts the factory stainless back plate directly to the window frame. It does not interfere with the lid of the Origo stove and does not use any counter space.

I ordered the regulator and shut off mounting assembly for the 1 lb. bottles from Dickinson and mounted it in the starboard spashwell. I elected not to install the solenoid shutoff at this time. This propane source installation has only one connection within the hull, that being where the rubber supply hose connects directly to the heater where it is readily available for regular inspection and soap testing. All remaining fittings are in the spashwell where potential leakage is overboard. The 1 lb. bottle will go 5-7 hrs. depending on low/high setting.
 
Thanks for posting this! The P9000 is on my "consideration" list, and I've been reserving my starboard lazarette just in case I want to make it into a propane locker. I hope you'll post back with a review once you've had a chance to use it. I like that the fan is optional (to use), because I don't like noisy, blowy heat.

kennharriet":1dkjlo82 said:
I still have not figured out how to post pics with a message

You've already done the hard part! What you do now is go to your album, click on the photo you want to place here (so that it enlarges), and then right click on that enlarged photo (control click on a Mac) and select "Properties" and copy the address it gives you (just select "copy image address" on a Mac).

Now paste that into your post, then highlight it and go up above the posting window and click "Img," which will put image tags around it. You do each photo (if you want more than one) individually.

Once you've finished, "Preview" your post - if the photo(s) show up correctly, you've got it. If they don't, I often find that for some reason it has done something like put the final "Img" tag on the next line, or etc. So I fix that and Preview again.

A tip: I've made a bookmark for my own album, so I can easily open that in another tab and go back and forth when I'm adding a photo to a post.

Here is the photo of your P9000 - looks fantastic :thup

IMG_0406.jpg

Sunbeam :hot

PS: In the past when reading the instructions, I wondered if I would be able to get enough chimney in place. Were you able to use the full section (I think it's 28", if I remember correctly). Or how did you handle that?
 
Sunbeam":23b43fsa said:
I wondered if I would be able to get enough chimney in place.

I wondered the same thing. The instructions say 20" minimum clearance to ceiling. The picture doesn't look like that much clearance. A very nice looking installation though.

Rob
 
I did reduce the length of the chimney to fit the distance between the stove and flu cap (13 1/2 in. from stove top to cabin ceiling). It does not affect the stove operation that I can tell. I cut both the outer and inner flue with a pneumatic cut-off wheel.
 
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