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12V Heaters


NewCanalBoy

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Are there any 12V heaters that can keep the chill off ? 

Preferably with a timer so that you could get it come on now and again or thermostat.

 

I know anything won't keep away a very cold night but I don't intend to use the boat constantly over the winter. So just something to keep the late autumn chill away

 

Reviews I have found don't sound that great so far !

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16 minutes ago, NewCanalBoy said:

Are there any 12V heaters that can keep the chill off ? 

Preferably with a timer so that you could get it come on now and again or thermostat.

 

I know anything won't keep away a very cold night but I don't intend to use the boat constantly over the winter. So just something to keep the late autumn chill away

 

Reviews I have found don't sound that great so far !

 

To paraphrase Gibbo - anyone who uses 12V to generate heat is an idiot. If you have a shore line and battery charger running 24/7 then as long as the charger can cover the heater load then it will probably work. If not will the thermostat also start a generator to recharge the batteries.

 

Basically the amount of heat you want is proportional to consumption of charge so to make a meaningful difference to internal boat temperature any heater that has a sensibly low consumption will not do the job. Electric heating will ruin batteries PDQ.

 

Probably the easiest way to achieve what you want would be a gas fired warm air blower system.

 

Edited by Tony Brooks
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It is not 'usual' to use your batteries to produce heat as it is a very 'demanding' way of heating.

 

A 500w heater will draw about 45 amps from your battery, so a 100Ah battery will only 'last about an hour'.

 

A 500 w heater will not produce enough heat to heat a space sufficiently to activate a thermostat and will probably run continuously as the heat loss thru the boat will probably be about the same as it's output.

Anything less than 500 watts will (generally) be a total waste of electricity.

 

We have a 400/800 w heater (230v mains) that on 800w just nicely takes the chill off the air - when we want 'heating' we use the 8Kw Ebespacher on a thermostat - that soon heats it up.

 

Heating is best carried out with :

Diesel

Gas

Coal, or

230v electricity

 

 

NEVER 12v DC electricity

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Ok, that's shut me up !

 

Haven't got mains and don't want to go into a marina.

 

Haven't got an invertor and don't want one.

 

So obviously all electric ideas are out.

 

Previous owner left a night storage brick in the oven, so obviously this was their solution to it !!

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17 minutes ago, NewCanalBoy said:

Are there any 12V heaters that can keep the chill off ? 

Preferably with a timer so that you could get it come on now and again or thermostat.

 

No. Forget it, for the reasons previously explained

 

Get a mooring with a 240v shoreline and use a domestic heater. Presumably as you ask for a timer you want it to operate while you arte not there?

 

 

 

 

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I use a Bright Spark Indoor heater by JFA ltd. Runs off small gas cylinders and is supposed ro be the safest for indoor use. Goes out instantly if knocked over or bumped and kicks out a fair bit of heat. I use it in winter when visiting the boat for an hour or two when it isn't worth lighting the fire. 

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2 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I use a Bright Spark Indoor heater by JFA ltd. Runs off small gas cylinders and is supposed ro be the safest for indoor use. Goes out instantly if knocked over or bumped and kicks out a fair bit of heat. I use it in winter when visiting the boat for an hour or two when it isn't worth lighting the fire. 

Just looked them up,Arthur.

The blurb says for outdoor use only!

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No gas burning appliance is now considered to be safe indoors as a heat source including the gas oven, hob or catalytic heater unless the ventilation is so excessive that it is a waste of time trying to heat the space.

 

And the condensation caused by such open burning appliances is terrible.

 

Edited by Boater Sam
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3 hours ago, Arthur Marshall said:

I use a Bright Spark Indoor heater by JFA ltd. Runs off small gas cylinders and is supposed ro be the safest for indoor use. Goes out instantly if knocked over or bumped and kicks out a fair bit of heat. I use it in winter when visiting the boat for an hour or two when it isn't worth lighting the fire. 

I imagine the BSS office would take exactly the same attitue to these as they do to the small camping stoves that use exactly the same gas cannisters and technology. (The base of these looks prety similar).

In fact they might take a dimmer view, because you presumably run these typically for longer periods than you would (say) to boil a kettle on a stove.

 

I really think they are not a great idea on a boat, as the equivalent stoves have been implicated in quite a number of mishaps, I believe.

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Isn’t there something about terracotta pots on gas rings as a form of heating? Seem to recall a thread about that...

 

my experience is that open gas flames eg putting the gas rings on or the gas oven causes condensation that far outweighs the brief impression of warmth....

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12 hours ago, NewCanalBoy said:

Haven't got an invertor and don't want one.

Heating a boat using a 230V electric heater via an inverter would be less efficient than the inefficiency of using a 12V electric heater, because the inverter itself consumes and wastes power.
 

2 hours ago, jonathanA said:

Isn’t there something about terracotta pots on gas rings as a form of heating?

The classic theory - particularly on the London Boaters Facebook group - is to put a tea light or a candle under a terracotta flowerpot. The flame heats the flowerpot, which then radiates heat around the boat. Except that it doesn't.  

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21 minutes ago, Mike on the Wey said:

Heating a boat using a 230V electric heater via an inverter would be less efficient than the inefficiency of using a 12V electric heater, because the inverter itself consumes and wastes power.
 

The classic theory - particularly on the London Boaters Facebook group - is to put a tea light or a candle under a terracotta flowerpot. The flame heats the flowerpot, which then radiates heat around the boat. Except that it doesn't.  

Yes but the power wasted is simply turned into heat and as the inverter is inside the boat, you still keep the heat.

  • Haha 1
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7 hours ago, Mad Harold said:

Just looked them up,Arthur.

The blurb says for outdoor use only!

It didn't when I bought it! They don't seem to make the model I bought any more. But as above, I wouldn't use it for anything other than short periods due to the condensation. 

Edited by Arthur Marshall
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1 hour ago, Chewbacka said:

Yes but the power wasted is simply turned into heat and as the inverter is inside the boat, you still keep the heat.

 

There's you answer then, just turn the inverter on!!

 

Computer wizz mate of mine was in his home office late one night in winter with his son, who said in all seriousness "Dad its getting cold in here. Shall I turn another computer on?

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11 hours ago, Coelum Ruat said:

But why choose 24th of July?

 

It's not a date. It's the price he paid for the stove, 24 shillings and 7 pence in proper money.

 

None of this new fangled decimal rubbish. ?

Edited by cuthound
To remove a letter masquerading as a space
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