Jump to content

Heating options.

abfab

By abfab
in Living Afloat

 Share

Featured Posts

deletedaccount Experienced

deletedaccount

Posted
Posted
Well is the answer not to fix it or install a controller more to your liking?

 

It sounds as if the heating works but your control unit doesnt suit you. Not a fault of the heater unit.

 

In addition to having a crap controller, being expensive to run and using a ton of electricity, the heater doesn't keep the boat warm either.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bargemast Influencer

bargemast

Posted
Posted
Soid fuel is easy imo. Much easier than trying to get the bloody timer on my central heating to work.

 

Diesel central heating is more expensive to run, uses precious battery charge and keeps the boat just above freezing in the winter.

 

My boat didn't have a stove on it when I got it. I have no idea how the previous owners coped.

 

 

Don't forget you're talking about your boat which seems to be, apart from your bloody timer, way to small to warm your boat if you can only just get it above freezing in winter. Maybe the previous owners only used it during the summer months and the heating was only there to get the chill of a cold morning or evening.

 

Mine has nothing to do with Mikuni, Eberspacher or Webasto, which are as far as I know not really made to permanently heat a boat, and they are noisy and heavy electicity consumers, mine is a Somy it's more like a domestic boiler very easy controlable with a good thermostatic control and it heats my boat in the middle of the coldest winter with no trouble at all, and I've got big windows everywhere (all double glazing).

 

Burning wood can be much cheaper, I do agree and you can sometimes even find it for free which you never can for fuel, but I can't possibly see that it's easier to heat your boat like that unless you like it as training for your hobby as stoker on a steamtrain.

 

Peter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
mrsmelly Veteran II

mrsmellyDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted
What can be easier than turning a dial/pressing a button?

 

Making and keeping a fire going isnt everybodies idea of fun.

 

:lol: Ok Ok so I am a saddo at least I admit it, but due to this thread starting yesterday I today have TIMED all the massive amount of work I have had to do to said squirrell.

This morning given a thorough riddle and poke to drop all ash into pan, pan then removed and taken off boat to bucket outside and dumped ash pan then replaced into stove and smokeless fuel applied closed door. Total time taken was 1min 20 seconds. This evening I have riddles and put a bit more on cos I have it burnin a bit cos its cold but my boat is red ot, time taken 20 seconds I will have to do similar after returning from pub for bed so another 20 seconds add em all up...........its hardly much of a chore when one reaps the benefit of a real fire :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
abfab Engager

abfab

Posted
  • Author
Posted
If you are going to live aboard then try to have as many options as possible for heating and hot water. Never be reliant on one system, otherwise you'll be in big trouble if it fails.

 

Using engine heat is an obvious winner, so a coil from the engine is a good start.

 

Immersion heaters are handy in a Marina PROVIDED the shoreline supply is up to it. Our supply is 16A and I think that's pretty good compared to some places! Best to specify a relatively puny element and leave it on for longer, rather than ending up with one that trips the power all of the time.

 

Solid fuel stoves do need a fair amount of looking after, but they're low tech so the jobs aren't difficult. I have a Villager Puffin stove which is towards the budget end of the market. It produces so much heat that I only close all of the windows when the temperature is below freezing outside. The back boiler is very effective and heats one large radiator at the other end of the boat, by gravity / convection. I am sure it would be able to heat the tap water too, if only I were able to include the calorifier tank in the circuit. Unfortunately, though, the layout of my boat rules this out.

 

I also have an Alde boiler towards the stern which heats the water and also heats two fin rads in the saloon. It's not the most reliable thing in the world (bloody microswitches!) but it's useful in the summer as I can isolate the fin rads and use it just for hot water. In the winter when the stove is on, my main hot water supply is normally the kettle sitting on the top!

 

I've also found that it is possible to provide some heat through the fin rads and cool the engine down by turning on the Alde pump and using the calorifier as a heat exchanger when we're out on the Rivers!

 

The key thing with all this is that it needs to be THOROUGHLY PLANNED from the design stage. If you have an immersion heater, a 240V supply will need to be wired in. If you run a coil off the stove back-boiler, the stove and calorifier really need to be on the same side of the boat to aid the plumbing. If you have an Alde, it will need gas and 12V, and the plumbing for the calorifier and/or radiators. If you go for a diesel stove it will need diesel and all the rest. The boiler will need some space around it for maintenance, which can be tricky. The stove needs to be positioned to give the best flow of heat around the boat, and with enough space that it will be safe and not set fire to the boat.

 

You can 'just add a stove' as a stand alone thing, but without a back-boiler, radiators and a hot water coil, you won't really be getting the full benefits from it. Getting this right can dictate the interior layout of your boat, so it needs very careful planning!

 

Oh my, so confusing, but I think I'm getting there. Interior is pretty much decided on but I think it may change to suit the heating we choose by the sounds of it. Theres obviously loads more to think about than I thought ..Thanks for helping..

Link to comment
Share on other sites
nb Innisfree Veteran II

nb InnisfreeDonate to Canal World

Posted
Posted

We have a Villager Puffin and love it but if we ever need to use our Mikuni MX60 feeding 6 rads and 2 cals shared between both sides of boat it copes easily with our 60 nb + it can also pre-heat the engine coolant at the same time, but then so it should with 7 kW of heating power. Uses electricity though... :lol:

Link to comment
Share on other sites
saltysplash Experienced

saltysplash

Posted
Posted (edited)

Another vote here for the Refleks diesel stove. Fuel is gravity fed from the main tank and temp is adjusted by a tap at the rear which increases or decreases the flow of fuel.

It feeds 3 rads and hotwater the only electric used is a small circulating pump for the rads.

Weve only had it since November and it has been running night and day except for 1 glitch when I allowed the tank to get too low and fuel stopped flowing.

 

Another huge advantage of the Refleks is that the outer casing doesnt get hot, so no danger of setting light to the fire surround

 

 

edited to add....also has a large hotplate on top with fiddle rail for cooking/brewing up or placing your ecofan for its visual effect

Edited by saltysplash
Link to comment
Share on other sites
abfab Engager

abfab

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Another vote here for the Refleks diesel stove. Fuel is gravity fed from the main tank and temp is adjusted by a tap at the rear which increases or decreases the flow of fuel.

It feeds 3 rads and hotwater the only electric used is a small circulating pump for the rads.

Weve only had it since November and it has been running night and day except for 1 glitch when I allowed the tank to get too low and fuel stopped flowing.

 

Another huge advantage of the Refleks is that the outer casing doesnt get hot, so no danger of setting light to the fire surround

 

 

edited to add....also has a large hotplate on top with fiddle rail for cooking/brewing up or placing your ecofan for its visual effect

 

Thanks. Sounds interesting, taking into account the possibility of future grandchildren and safety issues..think there will be 4 rads tho, so lots of investigating ...

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Colin Smith Collaborator

Colin Smith

Posted
Posted
Another vote here for the Refleks diesel stove. Fuel is gravity fed from the main tank and temp is adjusted by a tap at the rear which increases or decreases the flow of fuel.

It feeds 3 rads and hotwater the only electric used is a small circulating pump for the rads.

Weve only had it since November and it has been running night and day except for 1 glitch when I allowed the tank to get too low and fuel stopped flowing.

 

Another huge advantage of the Refleks is that the outer casing doesnt get hot, so no danger of setting light to the fire surround

 

 

edited to add....also has a large hotplate on top with fiddle rail for cooking/brewing up or placing your ecofan for its visual effect

 

Sounds like an interesting alternative. Maybe a daft question but do you get any diesel smell from it at all?

 

Colin

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Julia M Gongoozler

Julia M

Posted
Posted
I've got a diesel central heating system with a domestic type pressure burner and thermostat control, so if I have to leave, I only turn the thermostat down to about 10°C and don't worry.

 

Peter.

 

Sounds like what you have would be perfect for me - replacing an old worn-out stove that wasn't maintained for umpteen years. What make and model would you recommend?

 

Thanks!

Julia

Link to comment
Share on other sites
bargemast Influencer

bargemast

Posted
Posted
Sounds like what you have would be perfect for me - replacing an old worn-out stove that wasn't maintained for umpteen years. What make and model would you recommend?

 

Thanks!

Julia

 

Hi Julia, mine is a Somy and I don't think that you can find one like that in the U.K., but Kuranda are importing Kabola boilers that are quite simular, the only thing is that they take up a lot more space then something like a Webasto, Eberspächer or Mikuni etc. If you have the space, they are a good choice and should operate many years trouble free, and I think by what I've been reading that Kurande gives good aftersales service.

 

Good luck,

 

Peter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.