Recommend me best heating method

[sakura26]

Hi, like most yachts I have no heating.
The plan is to cope with Norwegian nights down towards zero and not be an icicle, to be comfortable.
Hard to get any sleep when i am Cold.
The yacht in question is a contessa 26. Thus space is a strong consideration. Budget less so.
Thanks for any advice on my options.
The answer can not rely on shore power.

 

[dgadee]

I have a Sig Marine diesel heater on a 30 footer. Roasting. No power used. Can you accommodate a 3” flue?

 

[stu9000]

I would fit a Chinese eberspacher copy

 

[pvb]

I would fit a Chinese eberspacher copy

Fairly power-hungry though.

 

[srm]

If you are serious about keeping warm when away from mains electricity go for the Wallas diesel heater.

I had their paraffin heater in a boat while living aboard in a Shetland winter. Moved that heater in to the next boat so years of service. Fitted the Wallas diesel heater into my current boat (but run it on paraffing when I can get it as cleaner fuel) while based in Orkney and long term cruising in Scandinavia and West Scotland.

Wallas heaters are somewhat more bulky and, if these forums are anything to go by, more reliable than the eberspacers.

Also, consider good insulation.

 

[peteK]

Chinese diesel heater.

 

[sakura26]

Thanks for all replies. Currently googling Wallas and Sigmarine.
Is it fair to say that you do not get more for your money by paying the price premium on the Webasto and Eberspächer brands ?

 

[johnalison]

You'll need a heater, but don't forget hot water bottles too. They can be a godsend.

 

[mountain]

Take a look at the Webasto integrated systems which will handle heating, water and a/c

For us, Cyprus based, all covered with one system? Priority, though, was a/c but nights can be chilly in Jan/Feb.

 

[wully1]

Dickinson or Reflecks.... virtually None or zero power consumption. Reflecks can heat a pot , both can run a hot water coil to warm some other part of the boat.
check out Alluring Arctic on YouTube - he spends winters above the arctic circle in a stock Beneteau with no insulation and has a good video on heating - I’d go for his choice of blown air heater......

 

[dgadee]

Thanks for all replies. Currently googling Wallas and Sigmarine.
Is it fair to say that you do not get more for your money by paying the price premium on the Webasto and Eberspächer brands ?

With my Sig Marine heater I used SS 3" pipe for the flue. I made up a deck fitting using a short SS male threaded piece welded to a SS disk (really a very large washer bought off ebay) which was attached by bolts to the deck and closed it off with a female cap (search BES for Screwed S/Steel Round Blanking Cap). A 3" extension welded to a second cap after I removed the centre section then with a cowl on top made up the removable chimney (search ebay for 80mm Chimney Cowl Anti Down Draught Stainless Steel Flue Pipe). The chimney part thus replaces the blanking cap when the heater is needed - making sure it doesn't get in the way of sheets etc. Keeping the chimney on when the boat is not used increases ventilation.

A day tank (search ebay for 2L Black Racing Universal Car Aluminum Alloy Oil Catch Can Reservoir Fuel Tank) made all the difference when fuel is pumped to it (old 12v pump), saving having to fill the day tank in the cockpit. That is just a recent addition but makes a big difference to usability - heater can run for hour upon hour.

I think the Sig Marine heater is expensive for what you get, but better value than the alternatives - particularly for a small boat. I wasn't too keen on the expensive and seemingly flimsy flue offers available for the heater, so went for the more robust version described above.

 

[Plum]

Hi, like most yachts I have no heating.
The plan is to cope with Norwegian nights down towards zero and not be an icicle, to be comfortable.
Hard to get any sleep when i am Cold.
The yacht in question is a contessa 26. Thus space is a strong consideration. Budget less so.
Thanks for any advice on my options.
The answer can not rely on shore power.

Assuming you have a Diesel engine the logical choice is to use diesel for the heater. If you can live with the electrical demand, then a blown hot air system (Eberspacher, Webasto, Chinese copy, etc,) are great. If you want minimal/zero electrical demand than the drip-feed types (Taylors, Dickinson, etc) are the next best thing.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[noelex]

Our Reflex drip feed diesel heater has been fantastic. Very simple, reliable, no power consumption. It provides a great cooking option in addition to the above benifits, but it is not always easily fitted retrospectively especially on a smaller yacht. However, if you can squeeze it in is is an ideal solution.

 

[Kelpie]

For a Co26 the major constraint is going to be space. A Refleks or similar takes up a fair bit of space by the time you've put in the flue.
We had a llittle Wallas paraffin heater on our first boat- the flue for this was only 1" so not too hard to find a space for. Adequate amount of heat for the size of boat, and minimal electricity consumption. But carrying a separate fuel supply wasn't ideal, and when it broke down it was uneconomical to repair- these things are very expensive.

These days I would find it very hard to look past the Chinese units. You'll need a bit more battery power, but you'll have oodles of budget left over to work that one out.

 

[sakura26]

Thanks again for all shared wisdoms.
You are coming up with names I am completely ignorant of and products I know nothing about. Taylor’s. Dickinsons. Reflex. So a fair bit to check up on.
Spent the last hour on the Wallas website and first impressions on their smallest diesel model [the 22g] is very impressed. But given that my boat is after all a wee contessa, and not the greatest volume of air to keep warm, the Wallas paraffin model seems the very simplest installation, the smallest in size and weight, but lacks a thermostatic control. Am I wrong to think that matters?

 

[sakura26]

You'll need a heater, but don't forget hot water bottles too. They can be a godsend.

Absolutely agree. Essential equipment.

 

[sakura26]

I have a Sig Marine diesel heater on a 30 footer. Roasting. No power used. Can you accommodate a 3” flue?

My sense so far is that whichever final decision I go for.
The main issue of the installation will be this, accommodating a flue, presumably out through the cabintop. It will have to be sealable when on passage.

 

[sakura26]

Take a look at the Webasto integrated systems which will handle heating, water and a/c

For us, Cyprus based, all covered with one system? Priority, though, was a/c but nights can be chilly in Jan/Feb.

I have actually been skiing on Cyprus, and I don’t mean on the water.

 

[mountain]

I have actually been skiing on Cyprus, and I don’t mean on the water.

Troodos.

Built by the British army.

A few miles south, and downslope, is Platres. The Simla of the eastern Med. Forest Park hotel, sadly modernised, was like a relic of the Raj. In the rainforests nearby locals will guide you to Grivas's hideouts. And, of course, the monasteries which used to hide arms and explosives.

Interesting area.

 

[Kelpie]

My sense so far is that whichever final decision I go for.
The main issue of the installation will be this, accommodating a flue, presumably out through the cabintop. It will have to be sealable when on passage.

My Wallas had a mushroom vent on the coachroof, totally waterproof seal but if you forgot to open it you would fill the cabin with horrible fumes. Ideally you would place it somewhere that you could easily see it through a hatch.

With the blown air heaters (Chinese, Planar, Webasto, Eberspacher, Propex) the flue is pretty simple as it can be placed almost anywhere, generally on the transom or coaming, up to 2m from the heater unit.

The heaters that use a 3" flue really do need a lot of space, because you have to leave a significant air gap all around the flue. You also want the flue to rise up somewhere that it will draw well- most people seem to put them abeam of the mast.

One option that hasn't been discussed much on this thread is charcoal. I fitted a Pansy charcoal heater when my Wallas died, as it used the same flue diameter. It is a lovely thing if you can get it to work- no power draw, completely silent apart from the tinkling of the coals, and not much in the way of fumes. But I really struggled to get mine to draw. I think that a yacht facing in to the wind, with a sprayhood up, experiences a sort of negative pressure in the cabin, and the flue wants to draw down very strongly. I had to keep adding extra lengths to the flue, and also resort to heating the flue with a blowtorch to make it draw upwards. Opening the forehatch also helped, but rather defeated the objective of warming up the boat.