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I have been adding a few blog posts on what we did to protect our boat while we are away in the winter, we are based in a marina with power, but decided to fit a frost protection thermostat to control our diesel heating system.

 

1.  Frost Protection options with our Canal Boat

2. Winterizing final things

3. Eberspächer D4W Diesel Powered Frost Protection – Update

4. New Heating Thermostat and Isolation Switches

 

I hope this is of help, we spent a long time looking for the most efficient method with what we had available at the time, always interested to hear what others would recommend.

 

Thanks

 

 

David

www.floydtilla.co.uk

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We keep our boat on the same marina as David. We've a couple of oil filled radiators set on low thermostats and on a timer (not frost stats, just the lowest setting). Last winter we were using about £7 a week in electric off the bollard. This year we went from mid Jan to the end of Feb and had used less than a tenner. Definitely a mild one!

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I had two temperature data loggers running throughout the period December to February on a totally unheated boat moored in Cropredy marina on an east-west axis with the stern pointing east. One of the loggers was in the stern alongside the calorifier and the other beside the water pump situated amidships below the dinette seating. Neither logger recorded a temperature below + 1.2 c. The lowest forecast temp for Cropredy that I saw was -5c.   

34 minutes ago, gatekrash said:

We keep our boat on the same marina as David. We've a couple of oil filled radiators set on low thermostats and on a timer (not frost stats, just the lowest setting). Last winter we were using about £7 a week in electric off the bollard. This year we went from mid Jan to the end of Feb and had used less than a tenner. Definitely a mild one!

Making an assumption that your batteries were on charge (float) I wonder how much of your tenner was used for this. I keep meaning to monitor mine but never remember.

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1 hour ago, robtheplod said:

Last year I had some oil heaters on, but this year just turn off water/pumps and opened taps and its been fine. It has been milder so far though I think?

It's been a very mild winter, hardly a real winter at all, I remember a week where it snowed a bit beyond that hardly a frost 

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This year has been very mild, but we are planning for the worst possible weather, the £10 was us staying over a weekend and I also left the inverter switched on, my mistake. Next year we will have more active temperature monitoring onboard, but more on that later as I develop it…

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I have used electricity to power  the dehumidifier but nothing on frost protection heating this winter.

The domestic water is drained off as far as is possible since November.

A very thin sheet of ice did form on the marina water at one point.

A little early to say the danger of frost sufficient to cause damage has passed - some night frosts are forecast  in the week ahead but nothing to get excited about.

 

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1 hour ago, Idle Days said:

Our insurance cover is dependant on the internal temperature being maintained at 10ºC during the winter period. Is this an unusual requirement?

Is it really?

 

49 minutes ago, Idle Days said:

GJW

Maybe I should ready our policy. I expect ours is the same. My frost protection is on at 3.5 degrees and off at 7. But since I don't have temperature logger installed I don't know whether it works. No burst pipes so far, though.

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Just now, George and Dragon said:

Is it really?

 

Maybe I should ready our policy. I expect ours is the same. My frost protection is on at 3.5 degrees and off at 7. But since I don't have temperature logger installed I don't know whether it works. No burst pipes so far, though.

I suppose that if you don't suffer any damage then the insurance requirement is mute.

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On 05/03/2022 at 18:08, Slim said:

Making an assumption that your batteries were on charge (float) I wonder how much of your tenner was used for this. I keep meaning to monitor mine but never remember.

That depends on how much 12V power is being consumed.

If my battery charger is on and the boat is unoccupied the (Victron Bluesmart ) charger on float/maintenance mode consumes 2p per day in energy cost.

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22 minutes ago, ditchcrawler said:

Or turn the water off

That is only an option if there is no central heating.

 

 

32 minutes ago, robtheplod said:

Interesting... so they would expect if you have a Webasto etc it is used all the time to maintain the 10oC?  

Yes

The wording seems to be intended for a house rather than a boat.

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I'm. not surprised comprehensive boat policies won't pay out on burst pipes. There would be thousands of claims on unheated and unoccupied boats if people knew they would be compensated for not taking any action to prevent freezing, which would wipe out any profit. 

 

Or put another way, excluding frost damage helps keep premia down to affordable rates.

 

 

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This winter may have been mild but that doesn't necessarily mean they all will be from now on. Although winters are getting warmer, the inherent unpredictability of climate and weather means that anything can happen.

Edited by blackrose
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13 hours ago, MartynG said:

This is what the GJW policy says

image.png.6fd2b88b380993c2716ed813f050042e.png

10 degrees is ridiculous. Frost stats are normally set to 4 or 5 degrees C.

In any event, neither the insurer nor the policyholder can prove what the internal temperature in the vessel was maintained at. So its just a dishonest way of saying that you aren't covered for burst pipes if you have central heating.

But apparently you are covered if you have no CH and you leave your water system undrained with the main stop valve closed.

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9 minutes ago, David Mack said:

10 degrees is ridiculous. Frost stats are normally set to 4 or 5 degrees C.

In any event, neither the insurer nor the policyholder can prove what the internal temperature in the vessel was maintained at. So its just a dishonest way of saying that you aren't covered for burst pipes if you have central heating.

But apparently you are covered if you have no CH and you leave your water system undrained with the main stop valve closed.

The policy doesn't say "no central heating", it says "not centrally heated".  Two different things.  The second seems to allow for having some form of central heating but not using it.  In which case you have to turn the water off.  A much simpler and cheaper solution than running CH all winter.

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