I want to put a bulkhead mount diesel heater in our Endeavor 32 and am
going round and round on the type. I’d like to hear some thoughts and
actual experience.

I like the idea of a pipe running from the main fuel tank so that the
heater will simply run as long as there is fuel. However, all the
units that can be piped up this way seem to depend on 12 volts being
available and are a current draw.

The idea of the heater being completely independent from electric
power is attractive but this seems to involve pumping up pressure
tanks. The idea of getting up in a cold boat in the middle of the
night to pull out a loose can of fuel, refill a tank, pump it up, and
get the heater going again doesn’t appeal.

The only thing I’m sure of is that I don’t want a drip pot burner set
up like I saw so many of on the West Coast years ago. I understand
they are heel sensitive and I’d like my boat to be warm and toasty
when I go below after sailing it hard. I'd also like it to not be too
warm and toasty. I've seen what happens when drip pots go wild.

I’m looking ahead to trips up around Newfoundland and Labrador so
reliability is important. I also plan some very late season sailing in
Maine with long periods aboard so I would like the heater to run long
periods with minimal attention.

--

Roger Long

Roger Long wrote:
I want to put a bulkhead mount diesel heater in our Endeavor 32 and am
going round and round on the type. I’d like to hear some thoughts and
actual experience.

I like the idea of a pipe running from the main fuel tank so that the
heater will simply run as long as there is fuel. However, all the
units that can be piped up this way seem to depend on 12 volts being
available and are a current draw.

The idea of the heater being completely independent from electric
power is attractive but this seems to involve pumping up pressure
tanks. The idea of getting up in a cold boat in the middle of the
night to pull out a loose can of fuel, refill a tank, pump it up, and
get the heater going again doesn’t appeal.

The only thing I’m sure of is that I don’t want a drip pot burner set
up like I saw so many of on the West Coast years ago. I understand
they are heel sensitive and I’d like my boat to be warm and toasty
when I go below after sailing it hard. I'd also like it to not be too
warm and toasty. I've seen what happens when drip pots go wild.

I’m looking ahead to trips up around Newfoundland and Labrador so
reliability is important. I also plan some very late season sailing in
Maine with long periods aboard so I would like the heater to run long
periods with minimal attention.

Roger,
We have a Dickinsen Pacific in my boat (Truant 33):
http://community.webshots.com/photo/...15779639vNsHyY
that keeps the entire boat very warm. It is also our cook stove. In
the summer we use an alcohol stove on top of it when it is too warm to
light the Dickinsen. It is gravity fed from a 6 gallon day tank and
works at all normal angles of heel in all weather. The day tank is fed
from a small 12v pump led off the main tank. The stove will run for a
week continuously from the day tank before it needs refilling. (I guess
that makes it a week tank)

The Dickinsen line of heaters and stoves is very respected by folks
here on the west coast. I have seen various models in everything from
fish boats to tugs. I have a bigger one, the Dickinsen Beaufort, in
Oriole (the 102' ketch I am Master of). I have several friends who run
Alaskas and the other straight heater models. In fact I almost bought
an Ontario 32 with one. They are a terrific, trouble free source of
loads of heat. Kind of like a wood stove in a cabin.

I love ours.
Gaz

That looks great. A galley stove like that is what I would really
like but I can't see how to make it work with the arrangement on our
boat. I'll want to put the dodger back on for cold weather sailing
and the stove pipe would come right up through it. Even without that,
the sheeting arrangement and other rigging makes a hot stove pipe
right by the companionway very problematic. The pipe up forward as
you have, should be a lot easier to live with, thus the bulkhead
heater.

I have a beautiful antique Shipmate "Skippy" that I restored for the
boat but have given up on it for the same reason. It's looking for a
good home if anyone wants to burn wood.

--

Roger Long

On Wed, 11 Jan 2006 01:02:54 GMT, "Roger Long"
wrote:

I like the idea of a pipe running from the main fuel tank so that the
heater will simply run as long as there is fuel. However, all the
units that can be piped up this way seem to depend on 12 volts being
available and are a current draw.

===============================

Not sure how big an issue the 12 volt power is in actual practice. If
you are gearing up for serious cruising in the boondocks you will want
to beef up your electrical system in a fairly major way. 440 A-H is
about a bare minimum in my experience, especially if you have a lot of
toys. That should be enough to power a small heater through the night
with no problem.

The key to a reliable electrical system is plenty of reserve battery
capacity, and lots of redundancy for recharging (high capacity
alternator, solar panels, wind charger, etc.) In addition I like to
have one extra battery off to the side completely isolated for an
emergency jump start if needed.

Wayne.B wrote in
:

Not sure how big an issue the 12 volt power is in actual practice. If
you are gearing up for serious cruising in the boondocks you will want
to beef up your electrical system in a fairly major way. 440 A-H is
about a bare minimum in my experience, especially if you have a lot of
toys. That should be enough to power a small heater through the night
with no problem.



Hmm...1500 watt heater, only 5000 Btu. 1500 watts divided by 12V = 125A
if the conversion to 115VAC was 100% efficient, which it's not. 440 AH
is the rating at a 10 or 20A load, not 125A, which would, probably, boil
the electrolyte into steam in short order, the lead melting from the
intense chemical reaction (ever see a car battery explode?).

My old tagline used to read:

"Nothing is funnier than watching a boater with a new 4KW inverter
carrying his heater down the dock with a big smile on his face.".....(c;

All in good fun. We'll standby with extinguishers and the Handy Billy in
case things don't go as planned....

Want me to store the insurance claims phone number, just in case??

On Tue, 10 Jan 2006 22:27:41 -0500, Larry wrote:

Hmm...1500 watt heater, only 5000 Btu. 1500 watts divided by 12V = 125A
if the conversion to 115VAC was 100% efficient, which it's not. 440 AH
is the rating at a 10 or 20A load, not 125A, which would, probably, boil
the electrolyte into steam in short order, the lead melting from the
intense chemical reaction (ever see a car battery explode?).

==========

Larry, you have ridden that horse into the ground and beyond.

He is talking about a DIESEL heater. The 12 volt power is most likely
for a small fuel pump and/or fan.

No lead will be melted here.

Look at Webasto, Wallas, Force 10

Capt. Jeff

"Wayne.B" wrote

440 A-H is about a bare minimum in my experience, especially if you
have a lot of
toys.

I'm a minimalist. Years ago, I was determined to build and cruise in
a boat with a hand start diesel and have the longest and only electric
wire in the boat be the one that ran from one end of the flashlight to
the other inside the case. Age has corrupted me of course but I still
like my sailing simple and my batteries small.

--

Roger Long

In article ,
says...

(ever see a car battery explode?).

No. But I had three boat batteries explode one after the other. Awful mess.

Roger, one option to avoid the need for 12V (at least the continuous use
of 12V) would be to put a daytank above the heater for gravity feed, and
then fill the daytank occasionally using a 12v pump.

bob

Roger Long wrote:
I want to put a bulkhead mount diesel heater in our Endeavor 32 and am
going round and round on the type. I’d like to hear some thoughts and
actual experience.

I like the idea of a pipe running from the main fuel tank so that the
heater will simply run as long as there is fuel. However, all the
units that can be piped up this way seem to depend on 12 volts being
available and are a current draw.

The idea of the heater being completely independent from electric
power is attractive but this seems to involve pumping up pressure
tanks. The idea of getting up in a cold boat in the middle of the
night to pull out a loose can of fuel, refill a tank, pump it up, and
get the heater going again doesn’t appeal.

The only thing I’m sure of is that I don’t want a drip pot burner set
up like I saw so many of on the West Coast years ago. I understand
they are heel sensitive and I’d like my boat to be warm and toasty
when I go below after sailing it hard. I'd also like it to not be too
warm and toasty. I've seen what happens when drip pots go wild.

I’m looking ahead to trips up around Newfoundland and Labrador so
reliability is important. I also plan some very late season sailing in
Maine with long periods aboard so I would like the heater to run long
periods with minimal attention.