Eberspacher fresh air intake in cockpit?

NormanS said:
We'll I'm at home just now, sitting in a room heated, as are all the other rooms in the house, by hot water radiators. The radiators heat the air, setting up a convection system whereby the hot air rises, circulates and warms the room, and then drops down before being warmed again by the radiators. Probably a classic example of heating by recirculating. It doesn't cause any condensation or dampness. Why should a similar system in a boat be any different? But please yourselves, if you want to raise a constant stream of freezing cold air up to a comfortable temperature, then go ahead, but maybe just think about the unnecessary use of fuel involved.
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Houses are built sing a lot more porous/breathable/'vapour permeable' materials and they leak a lot more air.
Houses with insufficient ventilation are often squalid.
 
mrangry said:
A boat isnt insulated the same as a house and is a damp environment...a house should not generally be. As said before the fuel consumption on these units is not a consideration as they are so frugal.
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With my boat, I endeavour to keep "the damp" on the outside. I have taken trouble to insulate wherever possible, and the fairly large decksaloon windows are all double glazed. If you allow your boat to be damp and uninsulated, then yes, you will pay the price in squalor and condensation. It's your choice. ?
 
NormanS said:
With my boat, I endeavour to keep "the damp" on the outside. I have taken trouble to insulate wherever possible, and the fairly large decksaloon windows are all double glazed. If you allow your boat to be damp and uninsulated, then yes, you will pay the price in squalor and condensation. It's your choice. ?
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Or you will follow manufaturers guiidance and source drier fresh air as the source of you diesel heaters air intake preventing the recirculating of damp air. Your choice as you say though.
 
A deck saloon boat in a cold place is a lot different from a boat like mine on the South Coast. If you mostly steer from the deck saloon, you can keep the cold and damp outdoors. My boat, if you are sailing in drizzle, a lot of moisture gets in on clothing etc. Because the outdoor air is warmer, it can carry a lot more water vapour, so you need to bring in a lot more 12degree damp air off the channel and heat it to 20 degC for it to carry away the water vapour produced by a couple of people breathing and drinking tea. But it doesn't matter from that point of view whether the fresh air you need comes through the heater or through other vents.

If x-amount of water vapour needs to be removed from the boat, you need y-amount of warm air leaving the boat, depending on the humidity of the air that replaces it. I can't see that the combustion airflow would be enough, but even that implies air is entering the boat, so doubtless air is also leaving the boat.

I think people are exaggerating the difference it makes.
I doubt there is much benefit in putting lots of ducting and hard work to change from one to the other?

The heater I bought does have some Chinglish about air pressure differences, for example the combustion air and exhaust shouldn't be in certain places on a vehicle and (I paraphrase) you should avoid ram-air or suction effects on the cabin air supply duct. I have slight reservations about how mine will work with a gale up the transom, but that implies I'll be in the pub anyway?
I've read opinions about wind effects starving the combustion air making the device soot up, or causing flame failure. Clearly some people's heaters run a bit more happily than others in the long run.
 
NormanS said:
So? Taking cold air from outside, and heating it up to an acceptable temperature for inside, is going to use much more fuel than simply boosting the temperature of the inside air.
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I suppose what I was saying in reply to the comment I relied too…was that if the thoughts were it would use more fuel, because it can’t regulate the temp efficiently, because it’s not taking already warmed air from the area it’s heating, that would be wrong, on this occasion. They can control the temperature by taking a reading off the controller itself.
apart from that..I’d defo want it to take clean fresh air into it or the air it’s already warmed for sure. I have one of these heaters. Takes it from under the floor..but I have an outboard engine.
 
QBhoy said:
I suppose what I was saying in reply to the comment I relied too…was that if the thoughts were it would use more fuel, because it can’t regulate the temp efficiently, because it’s not taking already warmed air from the area it’s heating, that would be wrong, on this occasion. They can control the temperature by taking a reading off the controller itself.
apart from that..I’d defo want it to take clean fresh air into it or the air it’s already warmed for sure. I have one of these heaters. Takes it from under the floor..but I have an outboard engine.
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I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you mean, or what point you are trying to make.
 
NormanS said:
I would have thought that all heaters do that.
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I run all my ebi heaters without a thermostat as the thermostats that came with heater in both old and new boat proved eccentric to say the least. The upgrade heater I will install in a fortnight doesnt even have thermostat connection and I doubt I can be bothered to fiddle with the wiring to add one.

I just turn it on low or high a bit like I do with the charcoal heater in boat, or the propex in our van
 
Daverw said:
Easy quick test of the difference between fresh air in and recerc air, switch your ac off in your car and drive for a while with heating set for recerc and see how quick your windows mist up, this is from nice dry sealed car. Hugh amount from breathing alone.
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That seems a little unfair. A car is a smaller volume and generally better sealed up. On any boat I've owned there's always been a good bit of air getting in even with every hatch and vent closed.
 
My boat one draws air from a cockpit locker which is independent of the cabin. The motorhome one draws air from the living space and recirculates it. After this thread I may just add a y valve and external air feed to the MH as it can get humid when in the Alps in winter after I have blocked off the enormous door vent to stop the -20º gale.

My worry with a cockpit vent would be flooding the heater in the event of a pooping, plus generally less dry and hence more corroded internals.

I figure that if I stay off the Aldi whisky I should be able to limit internal corrosion though.
 
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