Electric Hot water left on in error

[DAKA]

I have left my hot water on by mistake.

Will it be alright or should I ask the marina to turn it off ?

It will be on for 2 weeks.

 

[sarabande]

no, leave it on. I've got a share in British Energy. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif

You can always alter your bio to update us on the size of the conflagration...

(Seriously, my only concern would be the cost, localised heating and drying out above the calorfrier, and what you might say to the insurance company.)

 

[mjf]

I leave mine on all the time in the winter.

i have a warm air blower to the windscreen and it blows air thro a honeycomb of HW pipes to get warm air to the screen even with fan off.

In winter I figured the HW capillary action would keep the interior of the boat better than with the HW off and the laz would be kept warmer too.

 

[DAKA]

thanks.
That is one less thing to worry about.
/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[mainshiptom]

I leave mine on since its keeps the engine nice and warm, well only one of them anyway.


Tom

 

[Wiggo]

[ QUOTE ]
I leave mine on since its keeps the engine nice and warm, well only one of them anyway.


Tom

[/ QUOTE ]Which raises an interesting question (albeit a bit of a threadjack). When I spend the night on anchor, is there any way to stop the calorifier heating element from working in reverse? As far as I can see, the hot water in the tank then spends the night partially keeping the starboard engine warm.

 

[David2452]

[ QUOTE ]
Which raises an interesting question (albeit a bit of a threadjack). When I spend the night on anchor, is there any way to stop the calorifier heating element from working in reverse? As far as I can see, the hot water in the tank then spends the night partially keeping the starboard engine warm.

[/ QUOTE ]

Ours has a ball valve on the feed and return pipes from the engine cooling ststem, might be worth checking yours, if not you could always fit a couple. Also I find the engine reaches operating temp a lot quicker if I leave them closed. Easy enough to crack them open once the motor is warmed up.

 

[Wiggo]

Thanks, I'll look into something automated as I'd rather not have to remember. 12V solenoid valves powered from the ignition switches or something. Anyone know a supplier?

 

[David2452]

You should only really need one, just to stop the circilation.

 

[DAKA]

Not sure but I think you might be trying to over engineer a problem here ?

Your hot water tank is heated by engine coolant.

Your engine already has a thrmostat that opens when your engine is hot.

when it cools the valve is closed and circulation paused.

 

[Wiggo]

You almost fooled me there!

The problem, I think, is that the engine thermostat will isolate the block from being kept warm by myhot water tank, but not the engine heat exchanger. I know that if I have the immersion heater on, the hoses leading to the engine are warm, or even hot to the touch, so presumably without the immersion on my hot water is gradually warming up the rest of the calorifier circuit leading to tepid showers and tears before breakfast time.

 

[Wiggo]

I'd like to see how long water stays hot with the tank properly isolated from the engine circuit, though.

 

[leomagill]

Run the pipes downwards from the calorifier to create a thermal lock in the pipes then they should only let water flow when the engine is pumping it round and not by thermo-syphon.

 

[nedmin]

You dont need a solenoid, just make sure the pipes from the engine form a "U". If poss. make sure the bottom of "U" is lower than the calorifier or as low as poss. this will stop the thermo syphoning. Regarding leaving the immersion on the prob. here is that there is no way of topping up the calorifier tank because the pump is not running.I doubt if you will in 2 weeks,evaporate the amount of water to cause the heater to burn out .If it was me I,d get the marina to unplug the mains.

 

[Ceejay]

My immersor doesn't have an on/off switch, so if the shore power is plugged in, the immersor is on. This is how it was sold to me by the builder. I've always meant to fit a switch but so far haven't got round to it.
CJ

 

[Frontier]

with the electric bills I have had recently at our marina I think you might be wise to ask them to turn it off.

D

 

[AndieMac]

I agree with Frontier, turn it off.

 

[oceanfroggie]

I'd leave it off, but that's just a personal preferance. Reason, fire risk however unlikely should a pipe leak, or the thermostat fail allowing the water to boil off and dry. Very unlikely, but I've seen it happen once in a domestic appliance (ie fire in a hot press).

 

[dragoon]

I've made the mistake of doing the same with ours. In the end I fitted a timer switch, one push and it's on for 15 minutes, 2 pushes and it's on for 1/2 hour.

It cost around 15 pounds from an electrical wholesaler and has fixed the problem of leaving the water on.

Hope that helps. Just a thought....

Cheers,
Paul

 

[John100156]

No problem at all - lots of people do the same with their domestic electric HW systems when they go on holiday! Waste of energy though I know!

It will of course use additional energy depending on the level of tank insulation and surrounding air temp, but this will not be too significant.

Risk of fire is very low indeed, even if the HT cut-out failed and a leak mysteriously drained the tank the element is contained in a metal cyclinder and although it could get hot, if it melted it would likely trip its electrical breaker!

With regard to loss of energy through tranfer through the engine circuit, again I would expect this to be low due to the resistance of the circuit when the engine is off. You could feel the flow/return pipes to see how far heat transfers, I would not expect it to be very much!

So, sleep soundly and enjoy your instantaneous hot water when you next visit the boat! /forums/images/graemlins/cool.gif