Adding heating to boat

[Cardo]

Hi again, yet another one of my endless questions!
Do you guys know how difficult it is to fit heating (eberspacher/webasto) to a boat? I'm guessing it depends on the boat, but is it a right pain in the ass, so would one be recommended to buy a boat that already has heating, or is adding heating later a real possibility?

 

[savageseadog]

Superficially an easy job but more difficult in detail especially in a sea boat. I think the way to look at it, is easy to do a decent job as long as you know the pitfalls. Other things like decent tools inluding hole cutters and drills including a right angle drill will help. PM me if you want some specific help.

 

[Cardo]

For a very rough ballpark figure, if I had someone else fit it for me, how much would I be looking to spend? Any ideas?

 

[savageseadog]

UK pounds £4-600

 

[Cardo]

[ QUOTE ]
UK pounds £4-600

[/ QUOTE ]
Hmm, that shouldn't be too bad. So in the region of £1000-£1500 for a good heating setup, including the heater itself. Will need to budget this in, if the boat doesn't come with heating.
Cheers!

 

[scarlett]

It might be informative to look at previous Webasto posts. Their units got a bit of a ------- because of some reset switch which is only resettable by paying a fee.

 

[Cardo]

[ QUOTE ]
It might be informative to look at previous Webasto posts. Their units got a bit of a ------- because of some reset switch which is only resettable by paying a fee.

[/ QUOTE ]
Might have to stick to Eberspacher, then!

 

[absit_omen]

If you are going to the Med as you say, this is a waste of money as you will probably end up somewhere with shore power for the winter. A fan heater is infinitely preferable to the complexities of diesel heating. We have not used our ebespacher for over four years.

You are better off spending money on a wind generator and an awning (bimini) - both of which you will need at anchor during the summer in order to save the money for the marina in winter!

 

[Cardo]

[ QUOTE ]
If you are going to the Med as you say, this is a waste of money as you will probably end up somewhere with shore power for the winter. A fan heater is infinitely preferable to the complexities of diesel heating. We have not used our ebespacher for over four years.

You are better off spending money on a wind generator and an awning (bimini) - both of which you will need at anchor during the summer in order to save the money for the marina in winter!

[/ QUOTE ]
Oh, I'll be living in sunny ol' London! The travelling to the Med idea is something I could do in a number of years time. Take a year out of work and cruise down to the Med. Wouldn't be a permanent thing, though, would need to pop back to ye ol' England after the trip.

 

[scarlett]

Please check the web sites. I am not sure about Eberspacher too. I think someone did a cheapo one that got the best review on here. Check back to get some good advice.

 

[Talbot]

I fitted an eberspacher D4 airtronic winter before last - saved abt £500. Perfectly possible for a competent D-I-Yer. as has already been said, get a right angle drill (or a rt angle drive to fit in a normal drill - which is what I did) and definitely buy bi-metal hole saws from screwfix. Happy to discuss further details by pm.

 

[mainshiptom]

I often stay in London and no heating fitted on the boat but I have A genarator and shore power ! One radiator in cabin and one fan heater in saloon , Boat is lovely and warm, even in summer nights leave raditor on low to keep towles warm and shower cosy !

If I run my geny for heating then at the same time battries get charge , hot water readliy available and all the lights can be turned on , not to mention microwave oven and so on,


Tom

 

[absit_omen]

Sorry, I thought I had read an enquiry from you on PBO site asking about getting from the Channel to the Med via French rivers. Must have been another Cardo or someone impersonating you!

 

[Cardo]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry, I thought I had read an enquiry from you on PBO site asking about getting from the Channel to the Med via French rivers. Must have been another Cardo or someone impersonating you!

[/ QUOTE ]
That would be for a trip down to the Med (My Mum's Spanish and lives on the Med coast). As said, I wouldn't be staying there permanently, it would only be a trip.

 

[SQUIRRELS]

Brother-in-law has Vancouver in med, wintered in Malta, Greece and most recently Barcelona; sails on tight budget. When I mentioned the possibility of changing our ebespacher he was very keen to buy it from us (for not a lot mind you), but out there 6 years now and he would certainly welcome a diesel heater over and above the fan heater.

Appreciating Cardo will be in London, but nevertheless thought this worth pointing out for others.

 

[CharlesM]

Just a quick out of the box post

I know you are looking for diesel heaters, but I read an article recently that praised solid feul (ie wood and coal).

Any thoughts on that?

Charles

 

[colinroybarrett]

Just a quick observation, the warm air heaters (Webasto/Eberspacher etc) do seem to create a lot of internal condensation. We suffer a lot from this when over wintering in cooler climates.

If you have access to shore power, use a fan, or convection heater; when we could, we found this created a lot less damp in the boat.

 

[Sea Devil]

If you intend to use the boat as a liveaboard - in a marina or similar I do not think it worth fitting a 'boat/lorry' heating system - Just use blow heaters or similar - normally the insulation in a good boat is good enough to make one or two small -cheap blow heaters keep it like an oven for say a 36-40 ft.

The boaty heaters - as in Lorries are really intended for when you are on anchorage or voyaging in really cold weather and wanting to heat a cabin. They consume both electricity and diesel...

 

[Guest]

That's interesting, my experience had rather been the opposite - before I fitted an Eberspacher I had loads of condensation dripping everywhere. The Eberspacher keeps the boat almost dry while I'm aboard, almost as good as a dehumidifier.

I wonder if there's a difference between our installations? One thing that I am always quite careful about is to have a very slightly open hatch somewhere when the heater is running. After all, the heater can't blow warm air into the boat any faster than air can escape from hte cabin, otherwise the boat would burst!

 

[savageseadog]

[ QUOTE ]
Just a quick observation, the warm air heaters (Webasto/Eberspacher etc) do seem to create a lot of internal condensation. We suffer a lot from this when over wintering in cooler climates.

[/ QUOTE ]
Sorry but there must be something wrong with your installation or more likely your boat is very damp. Eberspachers are totally dry heat.