Taylor's model 65 paraffin cabin heater - advice needed, please!

Poignard

Poignard

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I have acquired an ancient, but never used, Taylor's model 65 paraffin cabin heater which I want to install this winter.

If anyone has one of these, I'd be grateful for some information on how it should be mounted on a vertical surface.

The photos below show that there are two pairs of lugs at the back of the heater. These have no holes for screws and I assume they would have clipped into some kind of bulkhead mounting bracket which I will have to make.

Can anyone let me have a photo, sketch or description of the missing bracket? Or even a chance to visit your boat and take photos (if not too far from London or Portsmouth).

Any help greatly appreciated!
 
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One of these on our sailboat

Greetings. It was great to see your photos. There's one of these on my McGruer Lorne class sailboat (1963). It was there when we bought her, and we never have figured out what it is or who made it. We suspected Taylors since the boat is Scottish-built, but were unable to confirm.

Your Question: ours has one 1/4" bolt hole through each of the four feet. It is through-bolted to a bulkhead. I suppose Taylors sold a quick-release wall bracket, but bolting it directly causes no problems.

The burner in ours, as well as the burners in our Taylors cooking stove, were replaced. They all work very well, with little smoke if you get the preheat timing just so.
 
I'm glad the photos helped identify your heater.

I have no experience with Taylor's heaters but someone, who has a later model, warned me that the casing will get very hot so I assumed the feet would also get very hot and that the mounting bracket would be designed to insulate the heater from the bulkhead so as to avoid setting fire to it. But as yours is directly bolted to the bulkhead this is obviously not something I need to worry about.

By the way, I had a look at your website - that's a fine boat you have.
 
Not the best photo, a side view would be better, but my Taylors is well shielded from the surrounding wood work. There is some heat protective type board between the tiles and the wood. You'll definitely want something between the heater and the wood, those feet won't stand it off enough.

3622127819_4aa7818ab1.jpg


It looks like you have two types of burner there, the one on the heater is (I think) the "4 leg" version which rare and difficult to get parts for. The "spare" in your photo looks like a newer burner. The burners are pretty much old Optimus camping stove burners and the parts cost a lot less from Optimus.

The flue also gets very hot and you will need to make sure there is a good free flow of air into the cabin to avoid potentially dangerous fumes and ensure the flu draws properly (For example I have slatted cabin doors).

3617378615_48a148f06b.jpg


Chris
 
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Thanks - that's a very neat installation. I'm planning to install mine opposite the heads, using up some of what is now the clothes hanging space. There isn't room anywhere else on a Twister.

You are right about the burner - the original (unused) one is in the heater. The other is a later, used one that the seller threw in as part of the deal.
 
hot

I don't want to discourage you from insulating it from wood. The heater is currently off the boat as we restore the interior, and I expect it will be well insulated when it goes back in. This can still be accomplished when bolting the feet onto the mounting surface.
 
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Maybe if I were to bolt it to a piece of s/s sheet about 12" wide and 15" high, with its edges turned over and a piece of asbestos substitute in between that and the bulkhead ..........

Similar to what the modern Taylor's heaters have (as I can just see behind ECC's heater)
 
parsifal said:
I'm planning to install mine opposite the heads, using up some of what is now the clothes hanging space. There isn't room anywhere else on a Twister.
Click to expand...

Will there be enough air moving around the heater where you suggest? It could in effect be an enclosed space which would make that area very hot and limit effectiveness heating elsewhere?

Chris
 
EastCoastChris said:
Will there be enough air moving around the heater where you suggest? It could in effect be an enclosed space which would make that area very hot and limit effectiveness heating elsewhere?

Chris
Click to expand...

That's a good point but the heater won't be enclosed within the clothes locker. I'll do what other Twister owners have done and set the front panel of the clothes locker back enough to allow space for the heater. It will have more than a foot either side of it and will be the thickness of the mounting bracket away from the locker panel. The best place in the boat for enjoying the heater will be on the heads opposite it!

Next time I go down to the boat I'll try and remember to take a camera and get a picture of where it will be fitted.
 
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owendov17 said:
http://www.vertueowners.org.uk/used Pages Picture/100_5379.JPG
this is a link to the heater fitted in my Vertue Owendo
Works really well and keeps boat warm and dry, much quicket than a solid fuel heate
Click to expand...

Thanks for that useful picture. How is your heater fixed to the bulkhead behind it? Is there a special bracket or are the feet simply drilled for bolts, as Kairos describes?

Also I can't see any insulation between it and the plywood panel, so presumably you don't have a problem with the bulkhead getting too hot?

Finally, is there any significance in the fire extinguisher being mounted so near the heater? :D

One more thing - do you have the instruction book for your heater?
 
parsifal said:
It will have more than a foot either side of it... The best place in he boat for enjoying the heater will be on the heads opposite it!
Click to expand...

That all sounds perfect :D

Owendo - I'm amazed that speaker hasn't melted with the heater so close, still if it's not causing any problems ... :)

Chris
 
Taylors Heaters

I have recently installed a Taylors 79D (same as ECC). Like Parsival`s Twister my Mk2 East Anglian has nowhere in the main cabin suitable for installation so I too have used the heads area (26" wide with bulkheads/doors both ends). I knew from the outset there would be a need to convey the warm air into the cabin (convected air travels vertically not sideways). My initial thought was to catch the hot air in a hood above the heater and blow it into the cabin and bought a small fan 80 cm square, 900 litres/min, -10 +70C, 12vdc 180mA and Brushless. Maplins P/No YP40T. £7. While experimenting I found that rather than taking the air from above the heater, to draw the air from inside the outer cover through the large ventilation holes in the cover would be a much more efficient means of transfering the heat. The side of the cover could be modified to provide an outlet and the hot air ducted low down in the cabin where it would be most effective (fan being at the cabin end of the duct). Thoughts and comments please.
To continue my tests I need to source some 2.5" or 3" I/D convoluted Ali Foil tube of the type used by the motor trade. Any pointers much appreciated.
On Blakes` advice I increased the air space at the back of the "79D" by a further 1" by means of pillars under the four mounting screws but have not used the heater enough to know if the bulkhead behind needs extra installation.
My concern on Parsifals "65" would not be the conduction down the mounting legs but the radiation and convection from the main body and the further this is from the bulkhead the better if it is like the "79D" which get extremely hot. The "65" does have the advantage however in that being round there is a much smaller proportion of heated area close to the bulkhead. VITALBA.
 
Vitalba said:
MThe side of the cover could be modified to provide an outlet and the hot air ducted low down in the cabin where it would be most effective (fan being at the cabin end of the duct). Thoughts and comments please.
To continue my tests I need to source some 2.5" or 3" I/D convoluted Ali Foil tube of the type used by the motor trade. Any pointers much appreciated.
Click to expand...

Possible source of ducting:

http://www.vortice.ltd.uk/catalogue.aspx?id=807


I had also wondered about getting the heat around the cabin but had not got beyond the stage of thinking I would leave the heads/wardrobe "lobby" doors open and maybe have a low power circulating fan to stir the warm air round a bit!

Another idea I read somewhere is to have a duct run from outside down to near the base of the heater. The idea being that the air needed for combustion is drawn through this duct, instead of through the companionway or forehatch, so avoiding cold draughts. It also has safety benefits, in case someone forgets to leave a hatch open for ventilation (just as long as someone doesn't dump a sailbag on top of the deck vent!)
 
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Vitalba said:
The side of the cover could be modified to provide an outlet and the hot air ducted low down in the cabin where it would be most effective (fan being at the cabin end of the duct). Thoughts and comments please.
Click to expand...

I would be *really* careful that your fan doesn't exert a greater draw than the flue, otherwise you will pull all the fumes into the cabin and stand a really good chance of gassing yourself!

You may not need to pull heat straight from the heater, just circulating the air in the boat will probably be sufficient to distribute the heat.

Edit to add: When I was surveyed the surveyor wanted to see the permanent ventilation (I have louvres in the cabin doors) to go along with the heater. I suspect anything that looks like it might upset the correct flow of air through a heater will not pass any safety check.

Chris
 
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Location of paraffin tanks.

Where have you blokes installed your paraffin tanks? They are not the most attractive looking items but obviously need to be easily accessible for pumping up the pressure and for re-fuelling.
 
parsifal said:
Where have you blokes installed your paraffin tanks?
Click to expand...

Mine's in the heads, the other side of the bulkhead the heater is mounted to. There's a deck filler above.

The best cure to flare-ups I think is a really good prime of meths. So everything is good and hot and the paraffin vaporises before it burns. I've got a lab squeezy bottle and I replaced the tube with a good length of the PVC tubing they sell in DIY shops. I can snake the tube to where I want the meths, give the bottle a good squirt and the priming is sorted, no spills, no fuss.

Chris
 
Vitalba said:
I knew from the outset there would be a need to convey the warm air into the cabin (convected air travels vertically not sideways). My initial thought was to catch the hot air in a hood above the heater and blow it into the cabin and bought a small fan 80 cm square, 900 litres/min, -10 +70C, 12vdc 180mA and Brushless. The side of the cover could be modified to provide an outlet and the hot air ducted low down in the cabin where it would be most effective (fan being at the cabin end of the duct). Thoughts and comments please.
VITALBA.
Click to expand...

I am not a member of the Taylors appreciation society having removed one in favour of a charcoal burner which is less temperamental and is silent.
However, the location poses the same problem of transferring heat from, in my case, the heads/forecabin into the saloon.
The solution for me was to use an ecofan sitting on top of the stove. These little fans use no power... they work on the Sterling heat engine principle... and circulate hot air wherever they are pointed. A fabricated bracket may be needed to position the fan where it will have best effect.
Take a look at: http://www.ecofan.co.uk/woodstove-ecofans.html
 
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