Heating

[beatnik]

Another question about heating. I've read plenty of threads on the subject but I wanted some thoughts...

 

 

We're fitting out a 58' narrowboat.

 

We've heard all of the stories about how cold it can get, but we aren't sure if we are overdoing the heating.

 

 

 

The plan was to have a solid fuel stove in the stern and bow rooms, plus heating (either rads or underfloor).

 

But now, after speaking to more people, they seem to think that the stoves (with eco fans) are enough.

 

Is it going overboard (boom boom) to have additional heating?

[Yoda]

It's difficult to get warm if you have insuficient heating. I think that two stoves will be OK and if your cooking then that will add extra heat. The important thing is to be able to spread the hot air around the boat.

[Chris Lingwood]

I've got 1 stove to heat the entire boat. Its plenty, BUT I don't have any walls. Unless you fancy 2 stoves (which you well might) it would make more sense to have one and have radiators elsewhere I would have thought. 2 stoves could get pricey or labour intensive if its wood you are burning.

 

The advantage of the electric/diesel heating is that it can warm you up in the morning before you get up whereas a wood burner takes time. The worst part of the winter isn't the evenings, they will be fine. Its the mornings!

Edited November 2, 2006 by Chris Lingwood

[bottle]

Hi

 

You do not have to use all the heating systems at once (obvious) but to have two independent systems, is a good idea.

 

If one fails then the other will be there and if they both fail you can always go to bed with a hot water bottle.

 

I will be having diesel (Erbaspacher) and a solid fuel stove in the saloon.

 

Is it going overboard (boom boom) to have additional heating?

 

In my opinion No.

 

If you have too much, then you can always turn it down but if not enough you will be cold.

[StoneHenge]

I've got eberspacher heating with rads as one form, which is great for giving the boat a boost, and a solid fuel in the saloon.

 

If you can keep the fire burning all night (which we did last night), you can stoke it up again in the morning (when you really need it), and have it going lovely in no time.

 

Plus our galley is next to the saloon so once the kettle is going (we have a gas one) it also adds to the heat.

 

Our stove has a back boiler which feeds the rads as well, but we only have one switched on at the far end of the boat, because the stove would have to be volcanic to heat them all sufficiently, and heating only one at least give the far end some heat and the eco fan does well, but it can't travel through divides.

[beatnik]

So much to think about...

 

The reason we were put off a diesel heating system was the cost.

 

We have a shoreline and quite a high ceiling, so were toying with electric underfloor heating (with good insullation underneath obviously!). I don't want a hot air blowing one as I fear it would dry out my eyes (contact lenses).

 

I'm sure we can afford the diesel system, I don't know, just the thought that the price may go up and up... I don't want to be too dependent on it.

Whereas leccy could eventually be run on a good turbine...

 

 

My brain hurts. Sooooo many decisions for a fit out! Everything that was crystal clear is now clear as mud!

[Crazy Scheme]

We've a stove which feeds two rads (bathroom and bedroom), an eco fan and also an Alde, which can be used to heat the back cabin rad, plus all the others.

 

Have never used the Alde because we're too tight to buy many gas bottles. the stove does the job fine, the boat is toasty all the way through.

 

Agreed it can be nippy in the morning - depends what your comfort level is though? A cup of tea and an energetic walk with the dog first thing does the job for me. There was a frost this morning but I've still sat here with the doors open and no stove on all day.

 

If you're the sort of person that prefers to have the heating cranked up to 'care home' levels, then get more than just a stove, coz you'll need it.

Edited November 2, 2006 by Crazy Scheme

[bottle]

We have a shoreline and quite a high ceiling, so were toying with electric underfloor heating

 

Check the maximum load allowed on the shoreline, usaully 16amp and may be lower, this equates to approxiamately to 3.6 Kw @ 230volt.

 

I do not think this would be enough to heat the boat, it may maintain the temperature once it (temperature) was at the level you require.

 

To maintain a temperature the heat going into a container (boat in this case) must equal the heat loss, to raise the temperature more must be going in than out.

 

I do not think 3.6Kw will be enough to raise the temperature.

 

Any heating engineers on here that could work out the typical losses and therefore the amount of 'heat' required.

 

 

Edit; spealling

Edited November 2, 2006 by bottle

[Yoda]

Check the maximum load allowed on the shoreline, usaully 16amp and may be lower, this equates to approxiamately to 3.6 Kw @ 230volt.

 

I do not think this would be enough to heat the boat, it may maintain the temperature once it (temperature) was at the level you require.

 

To maintain a temperature the heat going into a container (boat in this case) must equal the heat loss, to raise the temperature more must be going in than out.

 

I do not think 3.6Kw will be enough to raise the temperature.

 

Any heating engineers on here that could work out the typical losses and therefore the amount of 'heat' required.

Edit; spealling

 

3.6 KW is alot of power and if used to power oil stage heaters would do quite well infact.

 

3.6 KW is alot of power and if used to power oil storage heaters would do quite well infact.

[Bones]

and heating only one at least give the far end some heat and the eco fan does well, but it can't travel through divides.

 

 

how does the ecofan fair when you keep the doors between the stove and your parlour open? Does the air circulate suitably? I currently use a newspaper or walk around the boat to circulate the air which seems to work pretty well, but I wonder how it compares to the ecofan.

[beatnik]

Apparently it's 32amp.

 

I'll question the electricity questions raised with my boyfriend's dad who is doing that bit for us.

 

THanks for all the input, keep it coming!

[tomsk]

3.6 KW is alot of power and if used to power oil stage heaters would do quite well infact.

 

 

Don't know about underfloor heating but a 3.6 Kw storage heater is perfectly adequate for a large front room with heighish ceilings

Edited November 2, 2006 by tomsk

[alan_fincher]

It's difficult to get warm if you have insuficient heating.

 

A genius the Jedi master is.

 

Think of that, why didn't we !.

[blackrose]

If you're concerned about heating in winter, firstly make sure your boat is well insulated. That includes doing something about the windows, draft excluder around the doors (which is a job you'll wonder why you're doing as you look at the non-closeable vents), and some kind of underlay on the floor if it's not insulated underneath.

 

I've got a solid fuel stove & an erbaspacher which I don't use much. It's good to have two different systems plus I can always use an electric heater at the mooring. I would worry about relying only on a deisel heater although I know drip feed are more reliable. My neighbours glow plug burnt out last night and they had to ask around to borrow a spare. Not much can go wrong with a solid fuel stove, but they tend to make the boat dusty.

Edited November 3, 2006 by blackrose

[DHutch]

Apparently it's 32amp.

I would be *very* supprised if you would have 32amp on tap.

- The sockets/cables used for shorelines are 16amp Ceeforms, so for a start, to get 32amp on the boat, you would eather need two, and run the heating etc of two seprated cables, ro you would need to use a diffrent, nonstandard, lead. Which then needs somewhere to plug into!! - I wouldnt be suppised if 32amp is feed to the whole basin/moorings.

 

Heatingwise, we have a squaral with three rads in our (58ft) boat.

- The squral itsself heats the main living space very nicely, with two of the rads are in the foreward bedroom, which heats tht very well.

- The loop then extends aft, to a third rad in the aft bedroom and the calorifer. These only get medum warm, and although after a full day warming it takes the chill of the room enough to sleep in, with a 3season mummybag, its not overly hot in here! - A pump on the aft loop may improving things, and i would deffonatly fit one if we used the aft room much.

- The engineroom and wheelhouse and bathroom are then unheated. Although the bathroom, being btween the living room and forward bedroom, does get warm.

 

To conclude. You proberly could heat the whole boat from the squarral if you really tryed, and where fairly hardy. But its backboiler is proberbly only just about big enough.

 

 

Daniel

[William Martin]

58' boat here too - I have a diesel stove up front and three rads down the length of the boat. The rads have a circulation pump which, if I left off the rads are cold. Without this pump on little or no heat makes it to the back of the boat. I leave the whole sytem on at night with no problems - dont forget your smoke and CO2 alarms tho.