Livaboard heating

[Bee]

Bee has a vesion of a Taylors heater, couldn't cope with a proper winter but its good for chilly autumn and spring days. Here's a real Taylors heater.

 

 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185281628048?hash=item2b23a54790:g:YHwAAOSwpeRh~VMv

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

55 minutes ago, Loddon said:

If i havent switched the solar batteries over to off grid then  I have an Alladin oil lamp or LED battery powered battens from the van that I can use

Lights are the easy bit

Biggest problem for me would be the freezers but the solar should just about keep them going in winter.

 

yep, lights are the easy bits

 

but please tell me what kind of a solar panel set up will keep a freezer going in the winter. 
I’m close to buying  a 12v freezer. 

[GUMPY]

6 minutes ago, Goliath said:

yep, lights are the easy bits

 

but please tell me what kind of a solar panel set up will keep a freezer going in the winter. 
I’m close to buying  a 12v freezer. 

It would be really touch and go but from observations since it was installed it should just be possible. 

12x365w panels (4.38kW)

Hybrid SolaX inverter

5.5kW battery bank.

It's a bit big for most boats 😉

Inverter has several modes one of which is off grid but generally don't use that as it can't be used with feed in from the grid. ☹️

 

 

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

5 minutes ago, Loddon said:

It would be really touch and go but from observations since it was installed it should just be possible. 

12x365w panels (4.38kW)

Hybrid SolaX inverter

5.5kW battery bank.

It's a bit big for most boats 😉

Inverter has several modes one of which is off grid but generally don't use that as it can't be used with feed in from the grid. ☹️

 

 

Wow!!

12 x 365w panels!

 

I like it

 

and here’s me considering whether to go from 150W to 300W 🤡

 

👍

 

 

 

[GUMPY]

14 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Wow!!

12 x 365w panels!

 

I like it

 

and here’s me considering whether to go from 150W to 300W 🤡

 

👍

 

 

 

It was the most I could squeeze in the space on the roof as their are obstacles at one end 

I have 2x240w on the boat for the same reason . it's enough for us 😎

[peterboat]

38 minutes ago, Loddon said:

It would be really touch and go but from observations since it was installed it should just be possible. 

12x365w panels (4.38kW)

Hybrid SolaX inverter

5.5kW battery bank.

It's a bit big for most boats 😉

Inverter has several modes one of which is off grid but generally don't use that as it can't be used with feed in from the grid. ☹️

 

 

I have 4.6kw of solar and 9.6 kwhs of batteries and can manage it, with your tilted panels you should be ok Julian, better than me anyway 

[GUMPY]

3 minutes ago, peterboat said:

I have 4.6kw of solar and 9.6 kwhs of batteries and can manage it, with your tilted panels you should be ok Julian, better than me anyway 

Its the Washing machine, dish washer, tumble dryer that kills it. Plus on a mucky day like today only getting 2.4kWh from the panels none of which went into the batteries 😟

[beerbeerbeerbeerbeer]

2 minutes ago, Loddon said:

Its the Washing machine, dish washer, tumble dryer that kills it. Plus on a mucky day like today only getting 2.4kWh from the panels none of which went into the batteries 😟

Dishwasher? Tumble drier?

 

 

We talking boat or house?

 

[GUMPY]

2 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Dishwasher? Tumble drier?

 

 

We talking boat or house?

 

House 

But I did have a Tumble dryer on my previous boat 😉

[peterboat]

47 minutes ago, Goliath said:

Dishwasher? Tumble drier?

 

 

We talking boat or house?

 

Boat in my case, I don't do camping 

[system 4-50]

2 hours ago, Goliath said:

Wow!!

12 x 365w panels!

I can beat that:

for keeping the mains gas heating & freezer on:

    23 x 3xx W panels (don't have the exact figure)

    1 x ~11Kwh battery with automatic switch in.

    1 x Honda Eu20i for when the battery runs out

for cooking:

    1 x barbeque with separate 6Kg propane bottle

The nuisance is I can't keep petrol in store for the EU20i as it would go off.

This is my house and is slightly more than I had on my boat:

    1 x 150W panel 

[peterboat]

11 minutes ago, system 4-50 said:

I can beat that:

for keeping the mains gas heating & freezer on:

    23 x 3xx W panels (don't have the exact figure)

    1 x ~11Kwh battery with automatic switch in.

    1 x Honda Eu20i for when the battery runs out

for cooking:

    1 x barbeque with separate 6Kg propane bottle

The nuisance is I can't keep petrol in store for the EU20i as it would go off.

This is my house and is slightly more than I had on my boat:

    1 x 150W panel 

My friend Jon who now lives in Cornwall is building something similar 16 panels x 300 with a 17.6kwh battery bank.  He is building a bio digester for the gas for cooking and generating electricity! They have a small farm so it can be done 

[jonathanA]

6 hours ago, Bee said:

Bee has a vesion of a Taylors heater, couldn't cope with a proper winter but its good for chilly autumn and spring days. Here's a real Taylors heater.

 

 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185281628048?hash=item2b23a54790:g:YHwAAOSwpeRh~VMv

Looks like a primus stove with a milk churn on top ! Get that going in a boat and the CO or CO2 will get u long before the cold....😀

[Phoenix_V]

8 hours ago, jonathanA said:

Looks like a primus stove with a milk churn on top ! Get that going in a boat and the CO or CO2 will get u long before the cold....😀

if it is properly set up why wouldnt they go up the chimney?

[LadyG]

On 11/02/2022 at 08:07, Idle Days said:

We Have a Webasto diesel heater feeding radiators and a calorifier together with a solid fuel stove in our 60ft narrowboat. We plan to get rid of the filthy solid fuel stove during the summer and replace it with a diesel bubble stove or similar. Apart from the dust and dirt generated by the stove we find it difficult to control the heat output, so it has to go.  The Webasto works reasonably well but has proved to be unreliable and very expensive to repair so we don't want to rely on it for a main heating source. 

You become reliant on one fuel , I would suggest a small stove at one end plus a refleks with cooking top at the other plus small ebespacher.

You will use less power from batteries, I think s f smokeless is cheaper you are not dependant on any one system for heatin g or eating

 

 

 

[peterboat]

9 minutes ago, LadyG said:

You become reliant on one fuel , I would suggest a small stove at one end plus a refleks with cooking top at the other plus small ebespacher.

You will use less power from batteries, I think s f smokeless is cheaper you are not dependant on any one system for heatin g or eating

 

 

 

Having had a diesel bubble stove and solid fuel both have pros and cons, the big plus for the bubble is its clean and easily adjustable for output as well as very easy to light. Cost wise if burning kerosene I would think there isn't much in it between them especially with marina bought solid fuel. I buy from a coal merchants so its relatively cheap in comparison. Solid fuel is dirtier inside the boat and you have to store it somewhere as well 

[GUMPY]

On 11/02/2022 at 08:07, Idle Days said:

We Have a Webasto diesel heater feeding radiators and a calorifier together with a solid fuel stove in our 60ft narrowboat. We plan to get rid of the filthy solid fuel stove during the summer and replace it with a diesel bubble stove or similar. Apart from the dust and dirt generated by the stove we find it difficult to control the heat output, so it has to go.  The Webasto works reasonably well but has proved to be unreliable and very expensive to repair so we don't want to rely on it for a main heating source. 

If you think a webasto is expensive wait until you fit a drip feed stove 😱

I fitted one twenty years ago it lasted 3years before I removed it and replaced with a solid fuel stove. The money saved on diesel over the next winter paid for the new stove and installation and diesel was cheap then.

If you can't control a solid fuel stove which is a simple matter a drip feed stove will be a challenge🤭

Solid fuel choice is the major thing, with the right fuel you can light your fire in October and put it to bed in March with ease.

 

[peterboat]

22 minutes ago, Loddon said:

If you think a webasto is expensive wait until you fit a drip feed stove 😱

I fitted one twenty years ago it lasted 3years before I removed it and replaced with a solid fuel stove. The money saved on diesel over the next winter paid for the new stove and installation and diesel was cheap then.

If you can't control a solid fuel stove which is a simple matter a drip feed stove will be a challenge🤭

Solid fuel choice is the major thing, with the right fuel you can light your fire in October and put it to bed in March with ease.

 

Julian solid fuel stove is dirty, diesel ones are clean and on kerosene not bad on costs, also easy to control 

[GUMPY]

22 minutes ago, peterboat said:

Julian solid fuel stove is dirty, diesel ones are clean and on kerosene not bad on costs, also easy to control 

So burning one fossil fuel is better for the environment than burning another that is 50% recycled materials.

Kerosene is doable if you can take delivery of a large amount no one locally to me at that time would supply less than 1000L which was to much for my 850L tank 😟

Remember Kerosene is still just another type of dirty diesel 🤭

Burning anything to produce heat is bad for the environment.

 

 

[IanD]

1 minute ago, Loddon said:

So burning one fossil fuel is better for the environment than burning another that is 50% recycled materials.

Kerosene is doable if you can take delivery of a large amount no one locally to me at that time would supply less than 1000L which was to much for my 850L tank 😟

Remember Kerosene is still just another type of dirty diesel 🤭

Burning anything to produce heat is bad for the environment.

 

True, but HVO (in a diesel stove/boiler) is probably less bad than anything else you can burn on a boat, and is starting to become more available on the canals.

[GUMPY]

5 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

True, but HVO (in a diesel stove/boiler) is probably less bad than anything else you can burn on a boat, and is starting to become more available on the canals.

HVO is not a fossil fuel 🤣

[IanD]

4 minutes ago, Loddon said:

HVO is not a fossil fuel 🤣

Of course -- but you said "burning anything..." 😉

 

(which is still true for HVO, but much less so -- and this does change the position for solid fuel vs. liquid in favour of liquid...)

 

The only alternative to "burning anything" is to use renewable energy, which is difficult on a boat (except one that's moored and plugged-in) for obvious reasons... 😉

Edited February 14, 2022 by IanD

[GUMPY]

Ok should have said any fossil fuels, slapdash typing on my part 

[peterboat]

21 minutes ago, IanD said:

 

True, but HVO (in a diesel stove/boiler) is probably less bad than anything else you can burn on a boat, and is starting to become more available on the canals.

I latterly burnt HVO in the bubble and it worked well until someone mixed water with it😟 an advantage was it doesn't have that acrid smell of diesel

[GUMPY]

22 minutes ago, IanD said:

True, but HVO (in a diesel stove/boiler) is probably less bad than anything else you can burn on a boat, and is starting to become more available on the canals.

It's even more expensive than diesel 😱