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Winterisation - cabin heating by spare solar power?


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20 hours ago, Loddon said:

Even last week when it wasn't very cold my boat sent me a txt saying it was below 6deg C inside the boat at 04.17 one morning in Northamptonshire.

Have reset the trigger point to 4C and we will see when that triggers.

 

ETA it certainly doesnt seem as cold in winter as it was 30 years ago.

Just back on the boat and on the morning of November 5 the temperature in the cabin dropped to 2deg C and freezing outside, This was at Alvecote

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6 minutes ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

I'll bet the baseplate was warmer than that though.  Probably 8 or 10 degrees at the moment.

 

Ferzackerly - if the water's flowing or mebe if there's a lot of flowing water around, then mebe the base[late and sub water boat is 'toasty'...

The difficulty in answering questions on here can be a matter of location, location, location, rather than absolutes yes / no conditions?

 

Bummer!

 

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1 hour ago, TheBiscuits said:

 

I'll bet the baseplate was warmer than that though.  Probably 8 or 10 degrees at the moment.

 

The thermometer wasn't down there it was waist height in the lounge area or should that be saloon its the indoor bit of the weather station.

Edited by ditchcrawler
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On 13/11/2021 at 07:49, Briss said:

Are these type of condensation traps effective?

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Depends upon your definition of 'effective' - does what it says on the box/tin. It absorbs moisture. In fact, it will absorb up to about 50cc. Then it will stop or, at least, it might do. I had a similar one in a cold corner of the house until just last week. Found that it was full to the brim with 'moisture' and had overflowed onto a sensitive surface - not impressed!

It's all going to depend upon how 'wet' your boat is. I've always been a bit skeptical about trying to keep damp free a steel box full of holes (mushrooms vents/door grills/windows) which floats on water. All you are doing is moving the moisture from outside inside and capturing it.

Boat-wise, I have had two rechargeable dehumidifiers on board (nominal 50ft, cruiser stern) for years. They are a simple plastic trough about 7-8" by 3" by a couple of inches deep. Slatted compartment at the top which I fill up with 'Damp Kontrol Krystals' as required (after emptying liquid from trough). I've augmented that with a couple of the el cheapo disposable ones at around £1 a pop. I've also added a Unibond Aero 360. OK - a bit over the top but the boat smells fresh and dry at every visit with no obvious signs of damp where it should not be.

So, in answer to your original question: 'yes'. If we are talking about a boat, I'd guess you'd need about a couple of dozen of that size to have any effect and replace every couple of months (if you're lucky).

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On 12/11/2021 at 07:30, Scholar Gypsy said:

So for the last 40 odd years we have

  • drained the water system, including the calorifier
  • left all the windows open
  • left the curtains hanging loose

 

... and have had no problems with condensation or mould (though the boat can get a bit cold!). 

 

I am toying with the idea of connecting the dump/load terminals on my solar system to a 12V heater, eg a greenhouse heater. Such things do seem to exist, and I think if they are a pure resistive load they will cope with whatever power the controller can deliver to them.  (which in the depths of winter is unlikely to be more than 50W,  I have 200W of solar panels lying flat on the roof).

 

Has anyone tried this? Did it make a blind bit of difference, or work any better than a night light underneath a flowerpot?

Can I slightly hijack this thread with my own question (on behalf of others who do not have fixed solar available)? for Winter I drain down water already in the system. Used to drain the tank to the dregs but got sick of that - watching paint dry much more exciting!! Blow pipes through, leave taps open, close water tank feed, blinds drawn and window vents closed. After some thought I think I know the answer to my question but I'd like someone to contradict and tell me its a brilliant idea. Here goes:

a. one of those portable solar panels you can link up to your 12v battery to trickle charge it - aimed at vehicles that do not go far very often.

b. a small fan heater such as those designed for clearing vehicle windscreens - they plug into cigar lighter socket.

I've got a nice South facing window with no neighboring boat (at the moment) so I'd fix the panel in that window and link to the fan. OK - daytime working only but it would stir up the air and provide very limited warmth. I'm not aiming for a temperature in the teens comfortable to sit in - just take the chill off if it gets really cold in my absence. If it gets too balmy, surplus heat would exit via mushrooms/door vents/chimney.

The catch, to my ignorant eye, is that the panel pumps out up to about 20W and the fan uses around 100 to 150W. 

So would I get any worthwhile effect and does anyone know of more compatible kit - fan or panel - without getting into silly money for limited effect. I've already got a greenhouse heater on thermostatic control / shoreline but would like to augment with something lightweight.

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  • 1 month later...
On 13/11/2021 at 19:44, TheBiscuits said:

 

I'll bet the baseplate was warmer than that though.  Probably 8 or 10 degrees at the moment.

 

OK back on the boat, the lowest temperature recorded outside on the roof was -6 deg.  I don't know how long it was that low but I would guess not long. I put the base station fore the weather recorder in the bottom of the galley unit, just above the water pump and recorded +2 deg.

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Today my 600 watt of solar produced 20 amp hours admittedly into full batteries so probably supplying pumps and lights. When testing them yesterday the were producing 30 watts at about 1pm into a short circuit(ammeter)   Welcome to dull winter days.

 

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