Anyone got under floor heating in the boat?

[Bobbybass]

I did try this and it worked quite well. Put an aluminium plate under a hatch on the bathroon floor..bolted some home made 'loops' of 10 mm copper pipe to it...and 'T'd it into my bathroom radiator pipes using 15/10 reducers.

By the way...I sprayed the top of the plate / floor hatch black...and put some foil and then insulation under it.

Edited December 9, 2014 by Bobbybass

[Jambo]

We are thinking about underfloor heating, but I have been put off it by the thought that you are effectively paying half of your money to heat the canal.

 

In order to get a really good and effective layer of insulation between the source of the heat and the bottom plate, floor levels would need to be raised therefore losing cabin height.

 

I am willing to be convinced otherwise, if anyone knows better...

 

No you really should insulate below. Take a look at aerogel insulation. It's very high performance so you can get away with thinner layers than conventional insulation and you can buy aerogel floor insulation. It doesn't come cheap though....

[Loafer]

what... with my missus's cold arse?

 

Don't put your ecofan on her arse. It'll stop working! Put it on the stove, then bring her arse to that.

 

No you really should insulate below. Take a look at aerogel insulation. It's very high performance so you can get away with thinner layers than conventional insulation and you can buy aerogel floor insulation. It doesn't come cheap though....

 

DEFINITELY insulate below. That will fix most cold arse problems.

[TaffyRon]

Don't put your ecofan on her arse. It'll stop working! Put it on the stove, then bring her arse to that.

 

DEFINITELY insulate below. That will fix most cold arse problems.

Where does that gel go?

[Loafer]

Where does that gel go?

 

Not sure. I didn't pay much attention there, not having any cold arse issues!

[Tom Richmond]

Saw a guy fitting out a wide beam in the marina where I bought Foxie, who had underfloor heating in all other rooms but the main salloon (which was obviously heated by the stove). He had an inch of cellotex below the piping, which was of the flexi plastic type, probably about an inch (outside diameter) and he was cutting that in between another layer of cellotex, before laying an engineered floor on top of that. I was slightly suspicious of the weight bearing capacity of the cellotex, but he assured me it was the way it was done! Running a fairly big stove (8kw or thereabouts) and a tiny little 12v central heating pump. He assured me that the whole thing was super toasty.

 

I have seen it argued (on here I think) that the relative size of floor area to volume of air in a boat means that UFH doesn't make practical sense, but if you are considering it being run from a stove, then you already have that heat source so it should be good.

 

Out of interest, what is your floor? I have bare plywood (at this time of transition) and haven't found it overly cold at all... I do have an inch of cellotex underneath, maybe that is all you need? I also have an ecofan, without it everywhere is cold except for right by the stove, which is unbearable.

[paulstoke1975]

Doesnt stop the bone chill, and my dog destroys them

well buy the dog some too, hes or she are probably the jealous type