does anyone know how much

[Happy Sailor]

can anyone tell me how much it would be i have a 55ft boat with and eberspacher that is powered by the diesel. it is very noisey and so i want to put a back boiler on my Morso to heat the water and the radiators..

 

is it very expensive to have done i have three raidiators and one in bathroom

 

Happy sailor

[ChrisPy]

can anyone tell me how much it would be i have a 55ft boat with and eberspacher that is powered by the diesel. it is very noisey and so i want to put a back boiler on my Morso to heat the water and the radiators..

 

is it very expensive to have done i have three raidiators and one in bathroom

 

Happy sailor

Midland Chandlers sell Morso spares. As far as I know the back boiler is simply an add-on.

[Dominic M]

can anyone tell me how much it would be i have a 55ft boat with and eberspacher that is powered by the diesel. it is very noisey and so i want to put a back boiler on my Morso to heat the water and the radiators..

 

is it very expensive to have done i have three raidiators and one in bathroom

 

Happy sailor

Changing your c/h to run from a back boiler depends on where the pipework is in relation to the stove - for some it is relatively simple, for others you need to do quite a lot to extend the pipework without creating an unsightly mess. Is the main part of the central heating - the 3 rads - on the same side of the boat as the stove?

 

You will also need a circulation pump. Choose carefully - if you think the Eberspacher is noisy some 12v pumps can be a lot more noisy. I'd be tempted to see if the Alde pump could be adapted to such a use - they are very low consumption and extremely quiet. A 230v conventional c/h pump will be pretty quiet too - but unless you are permanently hooked up to te mains I wouldn't choose that option personally.

 

As for the Morso Squirrel, I have a suspicion that you either buy the stove with or without a back boiler, and that it cannot be added later. But I can't swear to that. Ring a chandlers or any stove shop and ask them.

[alan_fincher]

Whilst the Squirrel is undoubtedly one of the best boat stoves, previous postings on here leave me wondering whether many of the solid fuel stoves can really heat up to 4 radiators, and hot water, even if the plumbing is spot-on, (which it may not be, if you need to modify existing).

 

People have indicated that virtually all the heat can be taken by the back boiler, still not fully heating what you want it to, leaving the stove putting out little heat.

 

I agree with Dominic - if it's noise you are worried about, a pump could be the issue with the new arrangements.

[Smelly]

To answer your question... about 130 quid for the boiler then about 20 quid each for cheap 500mm square rads, assuming you've already got a calorifier.

 

Pipework depends whether it's pumped or gravity, see Dominic's comments above, I remember the 28mm stuff I fitted costing about 18 quid for 3m lengths then I spent about 60 quid on valves, fittings and solder. I regret soldering now as re-arranging it to fit a towel rail later this year will be a royal pain the the Harris.

 

28mm push fit fittings are expensive at about 10-12 quid each but are available. B.E.S supply a full range, use brass compression fittings within a couple of meters of the fire.

 

If it's pumped use a smaller bore, Alvechurch use 22mm and add an extra 100 quid or so for the pump, you can get cheaper generic ones on ebay (50 quidish) but a badge is probably to be relied upon, also you can get away with using hep20 or pushfit pipe for the main runs if it's pumped as it'll tend to run a bit cooler, a pumped system will spread the heat out a bit more effectively than a gravity fed system.

 

Problem with a pumped system is that you need the pump running all the time the fire's lit which has an impact on battery banks, I've known a couple of people sitting in the cold as their batteries were flat or knackered hence they didn't dare light the fire. I like the thought of a two sided system, one side gravity fed and one pumped, that way you're not too worried about low batteries if you need to light the fire. Don't know how practical that would be though.

[Pete of Ebor]

can anyone tell me how much it would be i have a 55ft boat with and eberspacher that is powered by the diesel. it is very noisey and so i want to put a back boiler on my Morso to heat the water and the radiators..

 

is it very expensive to have done i have three raidiators and one in bathroom

 

Happy sailor

 

You haven't said which Morso it is . Is it The Squirrel - remember that's only rated at about 4 kW. Assuming you can retrofit a back boiler - and I don't know if you can as they usually come factory-fitted - you may find it's not powerful enough for your needs. At present, it may be chucking out 4kW to warm your living area, but if you have a back boiler, then some of that same 4kW is going to be redirected to your rads and hot water leaving you less to heat your living area. Probably worth getting an 'expert' to do the sums. As someone once told me, if you think it's expensive using a professional, just wait 'till you've used an amateur !

[mike-h]

I've only recently fired up my Squirrel a couple of times to try it out. More practice needed! The back boiler is connected to a bathroom rad and 1 bedroom rad.

 

The first small attempt got it started but little or no heat to the rads. I put it down to inadequate firing time and not much coal - trial run only. Next time started earlier with more fuel. Got it going nicely so went to check batteries. Screams from crew... Hot water and steam everywhere... Wont forget to switch pump on next time!! Pump operation calmed things down, topped up header tank and rads started to warm up.

 

The heating system has antifreeze but i had partially drained the hot water system at end of the summer. There would still be water in the calorifier. Can anyone advise if it is ok to run the Squirrel given this situation.

 

On your question about running 4 rads I'd be surprised if the squirrel could cope but I dont think I'm the right one to give any advice yet!!

[Smelly]

I've only recently fired up my Squirrel a couple of times to try it out. More practice needed! The back boiler is connected to a bathroom rad and 1 bedroom rad.

 

The first small attempt got it started but little or no heat to the rads. I put it down to inadequate firing time and not much coal - trial run only. Next time started earlier with more fuel. Got it going nicely so went to check batteries. Screams from crew... Hot water and steam everywhere... Wont forget to switch pump on next time!! Pump operation calmed things down, topped up header tank and rads started to warm up.

 

The heating system has antifreeze but i had partially drained the hot water system at end of the summer. There would still be water in the calorifier. Can anyone advise if it is ok to run the Squirrel given this situation.

 

On your question about running 4 rads I'd be surprised if the squirrel could cope but I dont think I'm the right one to give any advice yet!!

 

You will eventually burn the back boiler out if you run the fire with the boiler dry, so an old sailor once told me. Never seen it with a Squirrel but have with a Rayburn.

[Doorman]

I've only recently fired up my Squirrel a couple of times to try it out. More practice needed! The back boiler is connected to a bathroom rad and 1 bedroom rad.

 

The first small attempt got it started but little or no heat to the rads. I put it down to inadequate firing time and not much coal - trial run only. Next time started earlier with more fuel. Got it going nicely so went to check batteries. Screams from crew... Hot water and steam everywhere... Wont forget to switch pump on next time!! Pump operation calmed things down, topped up header tank and rads started to warm up.

 

The heating system has antifreeze but i had partially drained the hot water system at end of the summer. There would still be water in the calorifier. Can anyone advise if it is ok to run the Squirrel given this situation.

 

On your question about running 4 rads I'd be surprised if the squirrel could cope but I dont think I'm the right one to give any advice yet!!

 

Might be a good idea to fit a thermostatically controlled switch for your circulation pump. Saves worrying about amnesia or 'senior moments' . These are adjustable in temperature range and can be clamped on to the flow side or output pipe from the back boiler. A pressure relief valve in the system that vents safely through a skin fitting should also be considered.

 

Good luck,

 

Mike

[mike-h]

Might be a good idea to fit a thermostatically controlled switch for your circulation pump. Saves worrying about amnesia or 'senior moments' . These are adjustable in temperature range and can be clamped on to the flow side or output pipe from the back boiler. A pressure relief valve in the system that vents safely through a skin fitting should also be considered.

 

Good luck,

 

Mike

 

Didn't appreciate your comment about `senior moments`. Fortunately Ive already forgotten what you.... Now where did I put those bloody keys?

 

As I've been wondering (worrying!) about the pump failing, with the stove blazing away, a pressure relief valve sounds sensible. Is this a standard CH fitting? Anyone know a suitable fitter in Mddx?

 

Thanks for your advice

[Doorman]

Didn't appreciate your comment about `senior moments`. Fortunately Ive already forgotten what you.... Now where did I put those bloody keys?

 

As I've been wondering (worrying!) about the pump failing, with the stove blazing away, a pressure relief valve sounds sensible. Is this a standard CH fitting? Anyone know a suitable fitter in Mddx?

 

Thanks for your advice

 

 

Both items can be sourced from a decent plumber's merchant. You did'nt say as to whether there's a bleed valve on the outlet side of the boiler. This omission seems to be a fault even with some 'professionally fitted' boats. The danger here is that an airlock trapped within the backboiler allows for a build-up (head) of steam once the boiler is fired and without any means of escape (pressure relief valve), something will have to give.

 

As previously mentioned, it would be worthwhile contacting an expert in this field to plan your system in advance of any more alterations.

 

Good luck

 

Mike

Edited March 13, 2009 by Doorman

[Happy Sailor]

Hi we did have a look at the pipe work after reading this.. but unfortunatley it will look messy so we decided not to bother.. So that leads me to the second question

how can we get the eberspacher to be quiet is there a silencer of sort for it and are they easy to fit..

 

thanks everyone for the advice re the morso squirrel

 

Happy Sailor

[Happy Sailor]

Just Bumping this up

[Doorman]

Just Bumping this up

 

 

Hi,

 

With regard to the noise level of your Eberspacher heater, there should be an exhaust pipe leading from the heater to a metal skin fitting on the hull. Check if this pipe is of the correct length for your particular heater model, there is also a stainless steel exhaust box available from Eberspacher, which can be installed between the heater and the skin fitting.

 

It seems by their very nature that these heaters are noisey. The water pump and fuel dosing pump can be heard from inside our narrow boat while the heater is running, while the exhaust volume is still quite high even with the aforementioned exhaust box fitted.

 

Try www.espar.com for further info and download manuals for your heater. Also, from experience, I've bought genuine Eberspacher spares off Ebay at a fraction of the Chandler retail price.

 

Regards,

 

Mike