Recommend me best heating method

[fredrussell]

So the heat output is determined by the pump? Fine, I guess, as long as your batteries don't flatten.

No. Heat output is controlled by drip rate. When the pump senses the pressure between it and drip device lower, it pulses and brings the pressure back up. Pump is rated at 0.01 Amp/hour - you’d struggle to flatten your battery with it!

 

[apogee]

I have a Sig Marine diesel heater on a 30 footer. Roasting. No power used. Can you accommodate a 3” flue?

SigMarine on a 9m cat. Brill.

 

[pcatterall]

I have a Chinese 5kw diesel heater in my 23’ boat. It’s probably overpowered and if doing again I would probably go for the smaller type. Once it’s reached its set temperature it continues to tickover to the extent that I need to open the hatch to stop it climbing to 30°+, even in the middle of winter.

The biggest improvement over my previous heating arrangement is the low level output vents. My previous heater gave a noticeable boundary between hot and cold air about ⅓ of the way up from the floor.

On tickover it consumes 115ml of diesel & 0.6A per hour.

Yes, I find that with the outlet mounted low the warm air can be directed across the cabin at floor level , very toasty for my 'plates of meat'

 

[V1701]

I don't think anyone's mentioned insulation yet - if it were me I'd be thinking of insulating the hull sides and coach roof as well if at all possible, which I appreciate will be tricky there's little enough headroon in there to start with. And a dripfeed diesel heater or a charcoal heater for simplicity, reliability and lack of need for electric power. For comfort you need to find a balance with a combination of insulation, ventilation and dry heat...

 

[convey]

Aren't the coach roofs of the Contessa 26s double skinned? I have no idea how that works in practice. Can you cavity fill them? Otherwise, no argument against insulating everywhere, even in the lockers.

 

[Plum]

No. Heat output is controlled by drip rate. When the pump senses the pressure between it and drip device lower, it pulses and brings the pressure back up. Pump is rated at 0.01 Amp/hour - you’d struggle to flatten your battery with it!

Yes, quite right, that is the arrangement I have. On a small boat it is difficult to mount the header for a gravity feed that is 4 feet above the heater to get the correct head of pressure. My pump "clicks" once per minute.

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[ryanroberts]

I don't think anyone's mentioned insulation yet - if it were me I'd be thinking of insulating the hull sides and coach roof as well if at all possible, which I appreciate will be tricky there's little enough headroon in there to start with. And a dripfeed diesel heater or a charcoal heater for simplicity, reliability and lack of need for electric power. For comfort you need to find a balance with a combination of insulation, ventilation and dry heat...

No idea of the cost, but you can get 45mm vacuum insulation panels that are a lot more efficient than foam / thinsulate. 45mm still quite a lot of volume lost in a boat that size, and not sure how they conform to surfaces that are not flat

 

[V1701]

Aren't the coach roofs of the Contessa 26s double skinned? I have no idea how that works in practice. Can you cavity fill them? Otherwise, no argument against insulating everywhere, even in the lockers.

I think so (FG/balsa sandwich) in which case it will certainly help...

 

[dgadee]

No idea of the cost, but you can get 45mm vacuum insulation panels that are a lot more efficient than foam / thinsulate. 45mm still quite a lot of volume lost in a boat that size, and not sure how they conform to surfaces that are not flat

You remind me of Roger Taylor and Ming Ming. Not much space left after he insulated. Stoves take up less room, perhaps?

 

[srm]

Once you heat the inside of the boat condensation will occur on any relatively cold surface (for the 'nit pickers' any surface at or below the dew point of the air). Windows and alloy frames are often the first culprit. For dry comfort insulation is needed between the warm air and the cold structures of the boat. Especially so as the OP mentioned Norwegian winters where sea temperatures will be low and air temperature could drop well below zero centigrade.

Having wintered on board a boat above 60 degrees north I speak from direct experience. Hull and deck structure insulated and lined down to the floorboards. Warm and dry inside with ice on the deck.

 

[JumbleDuck]

Hi, like most yachts I have no heating.
The plan is to cope with Norwegian nights down towards zero and not be an icicle, to be comfortable.
Hard to get any sleep when i am Cold.
The yacht in question is a contessa 26. Thus space is a strong consideration. Budget less so.
Thanks for any advice on my options.
The answer can not rely on shore power.

I have a Hampshire Heaters bulkhead-mounted charcoal stove in my 26 footer. It heats and dries the boat beautifully but is an absolute sod to light, and on average I only manage one in every two or three times I try.

 

[convey]

Once you heat the inside of the boat condensation will occur on any relatively cold surface (for the 'nit pickers' any surface at or below the dew point of the air).

What source of heat were you using, and where do you think the water was coming from (including, of course, humans/wet clothing)?

I'm mindful of being told that for every litre of gas burnt on a cooker, a litre of water is produced.

I'm not sure what the dew point will be but portlights/uninsulated hatches will surely always be below it. Has anyone ever tried double glazing fixed portlights with a second piece of acrylic on the inside? Would it make a difference?

Off boats, we used to use hibachi, a Japanese charcoal burner, for cooking mushrooms and heating. The trick there was to heat one chunk of charcoal until it was red hot and burning (flamelessly) using the gas cooker, and then keep it or subsequent ones, lighting others. To slow them down, you'd use the ash to cover the embers.

I wondered if using a blowtorch would achieve the same result?

Used to produce a lovely dry heat. Not sure if it works in a metal box, but it radiates IR heat.

 

[ghostlymoron]

There's really no better solution than a blown air eber type heater and, though some of the drip feed and solid fuel stoves are very effective and attractive, they can't be used while underway.

 

[Poignard]

The Taylors paraffin heater can be used underway and also has the advantage that you can warm yourself by pumping it up!

 

[dgadee]

There's really no better solution than a blown air eber type heater and, though some of the drip feed and solid fuel stoves are very effective and attractive, they can't be used while underway.

Doesn't Skip Novak run his 24 hours a day down in the Antarctic?

 

[Scomber]

Plenty of previous threads on this topic but I must say our charcoal hampshire heater , which I fitted 2 seasons ago for w coast scotland has been one of the best jobs we've ever done on our 29' er. Carry easy to pop in charcoal parcels , a little piece of fire lighter in flue first (like a cardboard eco type) , just brilliant. Look for previous postings for other charcoal success stories. Dont think hampshire heaters still operating but its very unfair not to mention our positive experience. Oh,,and yes we've an eber too ,, but I know which I prefer for anything more than 20 mins.

 

[scruff]

Doesn't Skip Novak run his 24 hours a day down in the Antarctic?

he does indeed - if you go via the yacht world homepage on here, you'll find a link to a multi part series he wrote, with videos, talking about his boat design choices for Antartic charters / living down there.

I'll admit the thought of a pilot house sailing yacht, with a perpetually burning refeks stove and muckle big anchor sounds just the ticket for year round Scottish sailing!

 

[Poignard]

Plenty of previous threads on this topic but I must say our charcoal hampshire heater , which I fitted 2 seasons ago for w coast scotland has been one of the best jobs we've ever done on our 29' er. Carry easy to pop in charcoal parcels , a little piece of fire lighter in flue first (like a cardboard eco type) , just brilliant. Look for previous postings for other charcoal success stories. Dont think hampshire heaters still operating but its very unfair not to mention our positive experience. Oh,,and yes we've an eber too ,, but I know which I prefer for anything more than 20 mins.

I remember when they were being offered. I liked the look of them and the simplicity but I had not long previously bought a Taylors so decided to stick with that.

 

[BabaYaga]

There's really no better solution than a blown air eber type heater and, though some of the drip feed and solid fuel stoves are very effective and attractive, they can't be used while underway.

My Refleks type diesel stove certainly works fine under way (although I have yet to have it lit under very bumpy conditions). It is important though that the stove is oriented so that the regulator is in line fore-aft with the pot, otherwise the burner might overflow or become starved of fuel when the boat is heeled.

Two other potential drawbacks of the bulkhead mounted oil stove that has been adressed in this thread are the risk down draft through the chimney in windy conditions and the heat not reaching the floor level. Both these can be overcome, even if the installation becomes more complex.

My heater is a 1,8 kW Glembring, very similar to the Refleks (same regulator), installed in a 29 foot sail boat. It is placed in the hanging locker space opposite the toilet. It has a balanced flue, so the combustion air is taken from a cowl on the coach roof, next to the chimney. This means that no exhaust fumes will enter the boat even if the air/gas flow should be reversed because of strong gusts.
The heater has an internal copper coil for water heating (Refleks can be had with these too), water which circulates through a loop with five convectors distributed around the boat, in cavities under the bunks. It takes a while after lighting up until this water is heated, but once hot these five convectors will put out about 50 percent of the heat at foot level (the other 50 percent radiated from the stove and flue pipe of course).

 

[convey]

Refleks suggests up to 10° of lean. That might be a plus for a pumped system for some.