Heating the Cockpit

[ARA]

There is no reason why a matrix can not be used on a raw water cooled motor if tapped at the right point, I know of a couple in use, it will not be nearly as good as if it was in a closed cooling system but it will work and it's free to use.

+1

 

[Mike k]

I have a Tohatsu , it runs on diesel drawn from a tank in the locker and blows warm air through ducting- no probs with this and it seems to do the trick for the wheel house and cabin. I guess warming a cockpit is going to need some serious throughput though.Do you not fancy ducting into the cockpit and avoiid the need for connections from water system?

 

[Alpha22]

There is no reason why a matrix can not be used on a raw water cooled motor if tapped at the right point, I know of a couple in use, it will not be nearly as good as if it was in a closed cooling system but it will work and it's free to use.

I have seen it done on a number of old Freeman cruisers. Very efficient and costs nothing to run.

 

[Alistairr]

Yes, that is certainly a + for the Eberspächer method - although given the small boat size would the noise be a problem at night?

How large is the ducting for the output warm air? Would that be relatively easy to duct round a very small boat (21' cuddy) - or will there not be much in the way of places to run it...?

Has anyone ever done one of these installs themselves and is it relatively straightforward?

Yes, I have in a 23' cuddy.

We went diesel with 2 outlets, one to cuddy, and one to cockpit which we could close off.

Our boat was petrol too, so we made a purpose made tank for the diesel.

Fitting was relatively easy, side storage pockets came out to allow access along the side of the boat to run the ducting, wiring easy to, we put a 14day digital timer in the cuddy for easy operation at night time. We slept on the boat almost every weekend with heater on, it made very little noise, actually noisier outside the boat than in, and during the day if it was cold, we kept the canopy up and heater on, it was comfortable cruising. Definately recommend it.

Only bit I didn't like was cutting a huge hole in the side of the boat for the Eberspacher exhaust outlet. (which incidently was designed by my uncle! )

Cheers
Al.

 

[ontheplane]

Thanks for all the replies.

Re whether it's fresh or raw water cooled - it's a 5.0Gi engine - which the Broker assures me is Raw cooled, and I can see no evidence of any radiator / heat exchanger so I am willing to believe he's correct.

Looking at it all, I think the Eberspacher is the "best" solution - however the "Cheapest and still good" solution may be to tap off the hot side of the raw water cooling system for the engine.

I'll wait to see now if we actually get the boat - if our offer's accepted I will revisit this thread, but if anyone's got any more to add to help me I'd be very grateful.

Thanks for all the help as always.

 

[Searush]

There will be no radiator & the heat exchanger is generally integrated with the engine so it is not always obvious if an engine has a raw water or sealed system. The main sign to look for is a water filler cap & anti-freeze stickers! A sealed system still needs a raw water throughput to cool the sealed coolant.

Never trust the broker's word, they just want to sell a boat & avoid comebacks - they are representing the seller rather than you & while some are very knowledgeable, others know Jack Shit. Look carefully for yourself before you buy.