Really small heater for 18ft boat

suspect the reason no one has developed a cheaper mini eber heater is the potential sales volume is too small c/w the development cost for a properly developed marketable and safe product

If your thinking say £250 then you need to sell a large number before you become a millionaire. People don't usually develop products out of charity
 
EuanMcKenzie said:
suspect the reason no one has developed a cheaper mini eber heater is the potential sales volume is too small c/w the development cost for a properly developed marketable and safe product

If your thinking say £250 then you need to sell a large number before you become a millionaire. People don't usually develop products out of charity
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If you are thinking £250, you are still above the real low-budget market, the used eber market etc.
To retail at £250, that's £200 ex VAT, £120 trade?
In quantities of a few hundred, you do not get much for that!
Even after the costs of CE certification, design and testing have been absorbed by the first few hundred units.
 
ghostlymoron said:
Those of you advocating unventilated heaters in a boat should take note of THIS. Any appliance burning hydro carbons (including parafin/candles/tea lights) in a confined space should be used with the utmost caution.
Externally flued appliances are the only safe solution to heating away from shore power. As somebody has already pointed out, Propex gas heaters are much cheaper than diesel and, allegedly, have a lower electrical current requirement.
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With respect, there hasn't been a single comment advocating unventilated heaters. The discussion appears to revolve around the amount of ventilation that's required....

Too much ventilation and it's ineffective, and too little, and you die.
 
chrisbitz said:
bit of a sideways thought - how about heating a brick or something outside, and then bringing it in or something along those lines?
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What you want is a large lump of cast iron that you heat up using diesel fuel then leave in the middle of the boat.
I think Yanmar and Volvo make them :-)
 
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Well done, Jimmcgee, that shows I'm not crazy!! Very reassuring, because I was beginning to wonder.

That set-up is certainly very simple, and appears to predate today's compact stove designs. The point, for everyone who has contributed here or just read this thread, appears to be that it's perfectly possible to heat a sealed cabin, without bringing the burner inside.

I find it impossible to believe the burning/heating/exhaust-elimination layout could not be shoehorned into a very compact system, incorporating ducts & internal battery, made mobile & weatherproof, so that when night falls, the cabin temperature doesn't!

Let's hope someone with more manufacturing know-how than me, starts production again. :)
 
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I'm expect I'm over simplifying this, but if I use some sort of cooking stove to warm up inside and have a decent quality and fully working carbon Monoxide and Dioxide detector, then if I don't have enough ventilation, it'll go off?

My worry is about not enough ventilation, but as long as the detector doesn't go off then the chances are, I'm not about to die?
 
This thread started off "really small heater for 18' boat". Whan I had an 18' boat it didn't have any power at all and there was no place on the boat for it.
If you want heat from a system that requires power you need a bigger boat with an inboard to charge the batteries.
On an 18' boat forget using 12V. Think more camping afloat.

A storm lantern worked for me, with a good sleeping bag.
 
chrisbitz said:
My worry is about not enough ventilation, but as long as the detector doesn't go off then the chances are, I'm not about to die?
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Sounds a reasonable assumption, but a poor shortcut to peace of mind, or to an undisturbed night's sleep. Plus the fire risk. Plus...doesn't carbon monoxide cause bottomless drowsiness? So you risk falling into a slumber from which a sluggish CO alarm mightn't waken you.

All very uncomfortable thoughts, but not beyond solution, I think. I must respectfully disagree with Aquaplane; my boat, when I can afford it, will be much more modest than his first craft as described...but advances will have allowed much more effective kit aboard...

...I'll have GPS & VHF & masthead light, and definitely some safe species of heater, even if it only serves a boom-tent!

I honestly like the traditional simplicity of not relying upon state-of-the-art cleverdickery...but in some respects it's such a boon, we'd be crazily stubborn not to enjoy the advantages.
 
Small heater

Hi. We live aboard our narrowboat and have recently fitted a Pipsqueak solid fuel stove in our back cabin which is about 10x7 feet. Its a dinky little thing but works really well. I got it from Canvas and Cast who also supply the chimney etc. Hope this might help.:)
 
Heaters and safety

Many light aircraft particularly piston engined twins have a petrol burning heater I imagine not much different to an Eberspacher or similar. Essentially a tube with fan air feed of outside air into the cabin. Around this is another tube with fan forced, air a petrol burner and overboard exhaust. it also has a spark generating igniter.
The point of this is that it is mandatory in most jurisdictions to completely overhaul the heater at no more than 500 operating hours. This particularly involves a pressure test of the sections to confirm no leakage from burning air to fresh air and a close examination of the walls of the tubes for signs of burn through.
I wonder at people buying second hand Eber or similar if they consider the integrity hence safety of the burners. Maybe Eberspacher are much heavier metal construction or are people just very hopeful. olewill
 
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