Winter with shore power

[nimrod1230]

We are hopefully getting shore power in the next two or three weeks which will be a first for us.
Any recommendations for a dehumidifier, tube heaters, oil filled radiators, fan heater.
Do's and don't s from your experience would be very welcome.

 

[dylanwinter]

We are hopefully getting shore power in the next two or three weeks which will be a first for us.
Any recommendations for a dehumidifier, tube heaters, oil filled radiators, fan heater.
Do's and don't s from your experience would be very welcome.

it is hard to beat a fan heater for instant heat - but it gets a bit annoying after a while

it is wonderful to stretch and arm out and switch it on in the morning and within minutes the place is toasty

I also have a single ring electric hob which is silent and saves on gas when cooking - so I might have that on low for a while of an evening.

Been on the boat for the past week

toasty

D

 

[JSYmartini]

I find my fan heater dries the air much more than my non fan electric heater. Gives me a sore throat and makes me feel a bit rough but it does heat a cabin up in no time.

 

[Hadenough]

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Dimplex-Watt-Mounted-Frostwatcher-Heater/dp/B0037VVY9U/ref=pd_cp_kh_3

Used one of these on our old 30' boat. Kept the main cabin at 20 degs when it was minus 5 outside. Fitted it permanently and set the frost stat when we weren't aboard.

 

[Hadenough]

http://www.airconcentre.co.uk/meaco...r+dd8l+-+free+3+year+warranty+(c1)/4261797862

Have one of these on our current livaboard boat. Brilliant, runs about 15mins in every hour on low overnight and keeps the whole boat dry. Has a laundry setting too which is great for drying out wet oilies quickly. Auto reset too if (when) you loose shore power.

 

[ghostlymoron]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/121056526599?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&lpid=95&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=95&ff19=0 These give a nice steady heat and you can often find similar in builders skips (but test them first) a fan heater is good for instant heat. Check the capacity of your shore power if you don't want it to trip out. With shore power you also have the luxury of kettles and toasters.

 

[JumbleDuck]

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/like/121056526599?hlpht=true&ops=true&viphx=1&lpid=95&device=c&adtype=pla&crdt=0&ff3=1&ff11=ICEP3.0.0&ff12=67&ff13=80&ff14=95&ff19=0 These give a nice steady heat and you can often find similar in builders skips (but test them first) a fan heater is good for instant heat. Check the capacity of your shore power if you don't want it to trip out. With shore power you also have the luxury of kettles and toasters.

I have one of these titchy ones (600W) and though it's pretty good, it is only just able to keep the chill at bay in my well-insulated 26' boat when the outside temperature is below zero. Fine for cool days, basically, but not for cold ones.

 

[ghostlymoron]

it is hard to beat a fan heater for instant heat - but it gets a bit annoying after a while

it is wonderful to stretch and arm out and switch it on in the morning and within minutes the place is toasty

I also have a single ring electric hob which is silent and saves on gas when cooking - so I might have that on low for a while of an evening.

Been on the boat for the past week

toasty

D

What's happened to the tea lights?

 

[sealegsjim]

I have built in one of those kitchen plinth heater which I have fitted under the saloon seat and it's brilliant. It takes up no saloon space and it is very unobtrusive. Don't forget the electric blanket also.

 

[Jamesuk]

Leaving a boat for winter you really want the air to by dry otherwise rust will begin to appear and clothing will
Smell.

I have a Webasto but run it once week for an hour but daily I have two fan electric heaters glowing away. Keeps the boat at a good temp throughout the night. Come lightning everything goes off.

Enjoy the heat

 

[Halo]

I would suggest a few things
If on board
- use a convector type heater at night as they are silent and use a fan heater in the day as they stir the air up
- make sure there is some ventilation
If leaving her
- have at least one of the very low power tube heaters on board on a thermostat (available argos) heater and leave it on. Ideally one at either end
- have a dehumidifier with the "dryness" setting about mid range and leave it on - rig it so it drains through the sink but try and catch some of the condensed water as it is great for swmbo's steam iron
- if using de humidifier make sure you seal her up thight as you can and cover the head bowl with cling film ( dont forget to take it off when you get back!!)
She will feel great when you get back and there will be no mildew forming

 

[laika]

http://www.airconcentre.co.uk/meaco...r+dd8l+-+free+3+year+warranty+(c1)/4261797862

Have one of these on our current livaboard boat. Brilliant, runs about 15mins in every hour on low overnight and keeps the whole boat dry. Has a laundry setting too which is great for drying out wet oilies quickly. Auto reset too if (when) you loose shore power.

I have the older version of that. Love it. When the weather started turning cold I'd always be woken up by condensation dripping on me. Chuck the dehumidifier on low and everything is dry in the morning. If you remember how rotten the weather was in summer 2012, we were very pleased to have it when we rocked up in plymouth with the whole boat dripping wet. Laundry mode: yay!

I used to leave it running with a tube going down the sink when away from the boat but there have been stories about fires started by errant dehumidifiers so I tend to leave the hatches open a crack instead. On my "to do" list is measure how much juice it draws (which in my current cost-saving mode has become more important)

 

[sailorman]

I would suggest a few things
If on board
- use a convector type heater at night as they are silent and use a fan heater in the day as they stir the air up
- make sure there is some ventilation
If leaving her
- have at least one of the very low power tube heaters on board on a thermostat (available argos) heater and leave it on. Ideally one at either end
- have a dehumidifier with the "dryness" setting about mid range and leave it on - rig it so it drains through the sink but try and catch some of the condensed water as it is great for swmbo's steam iron
- if using de humidifier make sure you seal her up thight as you can and cover the head bowl with cling film ( dont forget to take it off when you get back!!)
She will feel great when you get back and there will be no mildew forming

If leaving heating on, get a 13A plugin thermostat rather than a time switch, it will soon save you its cost

 

[Alan ashore]

Be careful when buying a dehumidifier to find one that restarts automatically after an interruption to the power supply. Like everything else the last couple of decades has seen electronic controls taking over from good old fashioned switches and potentiometers, and a lot of domestic dehumidifiers now power up in some useless "stand-by" mode, waiting for a finger to press the on button.

I've bought quite a few dehumidifiers over the years, ranging from the cheapest I could find in the hardware sheds (NB much cheaper in the summer when they want rid of them) up to several hundred pound "better" ones. Some have died within two or three seasons, some have kept going for ages, with no evident correlation between price/make and longevity. Currently I have 2 in regular use, both bottom of the range devices from B&Q. One of these has been running 24/7 at about a 50% duty cycle for over eleven years.

So my approach would be to buy the cheapest you can find that auto resets (and has a continuous drain facility and meets any space criteria you may have - some are irritatingly and unnecessarily tall). Don't worry whether it lasts ten years or one year, it'll still be good value.

 

[macnorton]

Convection heater, better than a noisy fan.
I also have small 240v strip lights which give off some heat.

 

[nimrod1230]

Thanks for your experiences so far. Know one has mentioned greenhouse tube heaters. They may not be powerful enough so any experience good or bad? I am looking at permanent frost protection at low cost and a couple of tube heaters look very economical to run 24/7 as demand can be from an inbuilt thermostat.

 

[jac]

They should be fine, don't forget to spread 2 or three around, making sure you have one near the engine/exhaust and one near the water tank.

Don't forget that heaters can be connected to different thermostats at different temperatures. We have the tube heaters which seem to come on about 4-5degrees - then have a bigger 2kw convection heater we use if onboard. I have a thermostat for that that I will set at about 2 degrees so if it's too cold for the tube heaters to maintain temp they get some heavyweight assistance. That gives me a whole lot of heating power if I need it but that only comes on when really needed.

 

[laika]

On my "to do" list is measure how much juice it draws

To report back....my dehumidifier is a meaco (also sold as "ecoair" I believe) DD122 which won a product comparison in PBO 4 years ago. On high turbo laundry mode (ie turned up to 11) it draws 650 watts. On low about 390watts. However it switches to a standby mode when the air is dry enough which draws about 30 watts (@240v). Overnight draw over about 9 hours in my aft cabin (with me in it) last night was 1.4kWh. This was from a "standing start" so I would expect the per-hour current draw to be less once a closed boat was dried.

 

[CFarr]

A chap I spoke to yesterday (an RYA instructor of many years) told me of someone who's insurance didn't pay out when a fire was started by his dehumidifier developing a fault whilst on a timer.
No further info just yet but I'll endeavour to find out.

Just checked.
SOME insurers insist the dehumidifier is rated for marine use otherwise the policy is invalidated.

 

[pvb]

I've never bothered with a dehumidifier. If the boat has adequate ventilation, it'll be fine over winter. Marina-based boats afloat are unlikely to suffer any frost damage, although it's worth leaving hot and cold taps open in case of freezing.
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