Post by Roy on Feb 23, 2013 21:14:02 GMT
◊ Heating ◊
Heating is important... there is nothing more miserable and uncomfortable than being cold.
◊ Solid fuel heating. ◊
In my opinion is the most effective form of heating.
It produces a dry heat (less condensation, which is always a problem on a boat)
You can always take advantage of logs you may come across on your travels; not only logs
but also clean seasoned timber can all provide you with fee or low cost heating.
Bagged, smokeless fuel works well, little or no visible smoke, fire can be kept in over night keeping
the boat nice and warm all the time. (We light ours at the start of the winter and we don't let it out till the end)
The down side to solid fuel heating is the need to empty the ashes every morning and somewhere to store your fuel.
(but as far as I am concerned, well worth it)
Ideal if you like cruising during the winter months too as this allows you to be self-sufficient.
Some stoves come with back boilers; you could consider installing radiators to spread the heat
around your boat especially if it's a large boat.
Regulations for solid fuel boat stove installation
See Diagram below
◊ Diesel heaters. ◊
These can be of the hot air type or the ones that produce hot water to supply radiators.
The most popular and often already installed on boats is the hot air type.
Webasto and Eberspächer are the main contenders.
With these systems the most you see is a small control panel somewhere within the boat,
controlling temperature, timers and other functions.
The hot air is blown through ducting to outlets strategically place throughout the boat.
Drawbacks to these systems are, they were not designed to run 24/7.
when used all the time they have a tendency to break down a lot, need regular servicing (costly)
and use a lot of battery power when starting up.
If you have the room for a separate fuel tank and use heating fuel rather than diesel,
the tendency to break down is greatly reduced.
◊ Gas fires ◊
Gas fires are expensive to run, cause considerable condensation, and the risk of being overcome by carbon monoxide.
It would be wise to buy a carbon monoxide alarm, just to be on the safe side.
and get a gas fire that has an outside flue.
◊ Electric ◊
If you have a permanent mooring with mains shore power and don't intend to cruise during the winter then
electric fires or oil filled radiators could be your answer.
Downside. Only heat when plugged into the shore power, expensive to run.
☼
There are other forms of heating that may be worth looking at too,
Full gas fired central heating, oil stoves, etc.
At the end of the day it's down to personal preference and what is most suitable for your type of boat.
Most fuels will need to be brought aboard your boat in one form or other.
Whatever you choose, do make sure it complies with current regulations and that it is fitted by a qualified installer.
Think! and be safe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Regulations for solid fuel boat stove installation
See Diagram below ▼
Heating is important... there is nothing more miserable and uncomfortable than being cold.
◊ Solid fuel heating. ◊
In my opinion is the most effective form of heating.
It produces a dry heat (less condensation, which is always a problem on a boat)
You can always take advantage of logs you may come across on your travels; not only logs
but also clean seasoned timber can all provide you with fee or low cost heating.
Bagged, smokeless fuel works well, little or no visible smoke, fire can be kept in over night keeping
the boat nice and warm all the time. (We light ours at the start of the winter and we don't let it out till the end)
The down side to solid fuel heating is the need to empty the ashes every morning and somewhere to store your fuel.
(but as far as I am concerned, well worth it)
Ideal if you like cruising during the winter months too as this allows you to be self-sufficient.
Some stoves come with back boilers; you could consider installing radiators to spread the heat
around your boat especially if it's a large boat.
Regulations for solid fuel boat stove installation
See Diagram below
◊ Diesel heaters. ◊
These can be of the hot air type or the ones that produce hot water to supply radiators.
The most popular and often already installed on boats is the hot air type.
Webasto and Eberspächer are the main contenders.
With these systems the most you see is a small control panel somewhere within the boat,
controlling temperature, timers and other functions.
The hot air is blown through ducting to outlets strategically place throughout the boat.
Drawbacks to these systems are, they were not designed to run 24/7.
when used all the time they have a tendency to break down a lot, need regular servicing (costly)
and use a lot of battery power when starting up.
If you have the room for a separate fuel tank and use heating fuel rather than diesel,
the tendency to break down is greatly reduced.
◊ Gas fires ◊
Gas fires are expensive to run, cause considerable condensation, and the risk of being overcome by carbon monoxide.
It would be wise to buy a carbon monoxide alarm, just to be on the safe side.
and get a gas fire that has an outside flue.
◊ Electric ◊
If you have a permanent mooring with mains shore power and don't intend to cruise during the winter then
electric fires or oil filled radiators could be your answer.
Downside. Only heat when plugged into the shore power, expensive to run.
☼
There are other forms of heating that may be worth looking at too,
Full gas fired central heating, oil stoves, etc.
At the end of the day it's down to personal preference and what is most suitable for your type of boat.
Most fuels will need to be brought aboard your boat in one form or other.
Whatever you choose, do make sure it complies with current regulations and that it is fitted by a qualified installer.
Think! and be safe.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Regulations for solid fuel boat stove installation
See Diagram below ▼