water heater

[Dodgy Diver]

so our boat has a shower and 2 taps on the basin yet only 1 connected and no hot water system
what are my options to have hot water on board
1992 Four Winns 235 vista
thanks

 

[colhel]

The usual method is a calorifier which heats up using the the cooling water from the engine.

 

[Dodgy Diver]

yeah but if we stay overnight then we have to run the engines before a shower

 

[colhel]

Yes but they can also have an immersion heater. Another method is a gas heater, Planar do one I think.

 

[Dodgy Diver]

5KW 12V Remote Control Diesel Water Heater Kit For Boat Trucks Camper Trailer RV

 

[Dodgy Diver]

the one above looks like another Chinese copy for a quarter of the price of the named brand

 

[fred247]

to fit a calorifier you will have to have a heat exchanger fitted to the engine, or an immersion heater, which requires shore power or as above
If your engine is just raw water cooled it'll never get hot enough.

 

[fred247]

5KW 12V Remote Control Diesel Water Heater Kit For Boat Trucks Camper Trailer RV | eBay
to fit the above heater you'll need a sepate diesel tank and fuel lines

 

[Dodgy Diver]

5KW 12V Remote Control Diesel Water Heater Kit For Boat Trucks Camper Trailer RV | eBay
to fit the above heater you'll need a sepate diesel tank and fuel lines

I have the air heater version so already got the separate fuel tank , thank s

 

[Falcoron]

I was in same position and am restoring my 35 sedan, only hot water was an old gas boiler which i ripped out.
I bought a reconditioned Webasto top c water heater for £450, replaced the exhaust with a leak proof marine one and bought a 30ltr calorifier for £400.
I Have fitted radiators throughout the boat and as the calorifier has an internal emersion heater i will have hot water on demand when on shore power or when not the Webasto will heat the boat when we want, manually or from a thermostat and will also heat water for showers etc.
I didn't connect to the engine. havent finished the install yet as in rewiring the large battery banks at the moment but once that is done all i have to do is connect to the radiator plumbing, the water tank and fire up the heater.

 

[Dodgy Diver]

I was in same position and am restoring my 35 sedan, only hot water was an old gas boiler which i ripped out.
I bought a reconditioned Webasto top c water heater for £450, replaced the exhaust with a leak proof marine one and bought a 30ltr calorifier for £400.
I Have fitted radiators throughout the boat and as the calorifier has an internal emersion heater i will have hot water on demand when on shore power or when not the Webasto will heat the boat when we want, manually or from a thermostat and will also heat water for showers etc.
I didn't connect to the engine. havent finished the install yet as in rewiring the large battery banks at the moment but once that is done all i have to do is connect to the radiator plumbing, the water tank and fire up the heater.

all I want is about 10l enough for a quick shower in the morning , thanks

 

[QBhoy]

to fit a calorifier you will have to have a heat exchanger fitted to the engine, or an immersion heater, which requires shore power or as above
If your engine is just raw water cooled it'll never get hot enough.

Raw water GM engines do a fine job of heating a domestic water system. There are countless boats doing exactly this.

 

[QBhoy]

Hi, you can get a hot water tank that can utilise both the engine cooling water and a 240v feed. They have a element in them and feed off the engine cooling water. On the GM engine, it is tapped in near the t stat and the blank plug on the main circ pump. thousands of petrol engined sealines, fairlines and the likes have exactly this set up. Plenty others too. I had such a system on a Sealine with a 4.3 VP. If I was sailing the afternoon before, there was still enough hot water for a quick shower in the morning.

 

[fred247]

Hi, you can get a hot water tank that can utilise both the engine cooling water and a 240v feed. They have a element in them and feed off the engine cooling water. On the GM engine, it is tapped in near the t stat and the blank plug on the main circ pump. thousands of petrol engined sealines, fairlines and the likes have exactly this set up. Plenty others too. I had such a system on a Sealine with a 4.3 VP. If I was sailing the afternoon before, there was still enough hot water for a quick shower in the morning.

Pics ----Please

 

[QBhoy]

Pics ----Please

 

[QBhoy]

to fit a calorifier you will have to have a heat exchanger fitted to the engine, or an immersion heater, which requires shore power or as above
If your engine is just raw water cooled it'll never get hot enough.

Hi Fred, just thought I would add...generally, raw water engines (certainly these type at least), probably run hotter than a closed circuit cooled engine. Just as an example...your average and very common mercruiser or VP GM 4.3, 5.0 or 5.7 raw water cooled engine will have a 160oF T stat in it...a closed cooling version of the same engine will have a 140oF T stat. If it helps any.

 

[Plum]

all I want is about 10l enough for a quick shower in the morning , thanks

Darren, I completely understand your need for hot water without a shore connection and without having to run the engine and I have tried to find a solution for my boat but so far have not installed anything. However i have found a very interesting system. You said you already have a diesel air heater and this system uses that existing air heater, with a diverter to divert that hot air so it passes through a heat exchanger to heat water plumbed into a small holding tank to feed your shower. Bobil Air Xchange | Bobil Vans

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

 

[Dodgy Diver]

Darren, I completely understand your need for hot water without a shore connection and without having to run the engine and I have tried to find a solution for my boat but so far have not installed anything. However i have found a very interesting system. You said you already have a diesel air heater and this system uses that existing air heater, with a diverter to divert that hot air so it passes through a heat exchanger to heat water plumbed into a small holding tank to feed your shower. Bobil Air Xchange | Bobil Vans

Www.solocoastalsailing.co.uk

that looks very smart indeed

 

[fred247]

Hi, you can get a hot water tank that can utilise both the engine cooling water and a 240v feed. They have a element in them and feed off the engine cooling water. On the GM engine, it is tapped in near the t stat and the blank plug on the main circ pump. thousands of petrol engined sealines, fairlines and the likes have exactly this set up. Plenty others too. I had such a system on a Sealine with a 4.3 VP. If I was sailing the afternoon before, there was still enough hot water for a quick shower in the morning.

that's interesting I had a Sealine 290 with Twin 431's the strb engine was fitted with a heat exchanger piped to the s/s calorifier.

 

[QBhoy]

that's interesting I had a Sealine 290 with Twin 431's the strb engine was fitted with a heat exchanger piped to the s/s calorifier.

Be exactly the same as that system pictured, I’d think. That would be a normal set up for twins like yours in a sealine.
Edit…oh…do you mean you had a closed cooling system ? Got you.