Inexpensive Cabin Heater

[Bob Kuba]

On checking the West Marine Catalog for 2004, I see they no longer list this heater. But it indeed was made by Heater Craft, and is the 5H model.

I also considered the area forward of the water tank, under the settee, but I didn't want to draw any intake air from the bilge area and blow those  aromas all around the cabin. I suppose one could add an intake duct to take air directly from the cabin, but it seemed like more work. But I wound up building a cabinet for my heater, so I wound up doing some extra work too.

In any case, it's a good unit, and a good project.

Bob Kuba
Quiet Island
#1291   1994 C34

[mike lofstrom]

Bob:  Your installation looks very professional.  I was thinking about mounting the heater forward of the water tank and then ducting the intake through the V berth locker.  That way, I'll get some ventilation from the cabin back through the forward locker.  I'll have to see how that will work when I get the heater this week.  I like your installation idea as well.   That space is not very useable, so it would be a good place to put the heater.  I Still haven't decided whether I will plumb the system in series with the H2O heater like you did, or in parallel with a shut off valve.  You mentioned that the heater does not get very hot when it is off, Is it an inconveinience in the summer?  I am just a little bit concerned about excess heat in the cabin on those hot summer days.

[Bob Kuba]

I've had this installation for 2 years, and been through through some 100+ days, and it hasn't really added any additional heat to the cabin. But as long as you could ensure a good flow rate in a parallel setup, it should work fine as well. I'd be interested in seeing your results with that setup. Keep us posted.

Bob Kuba
Quiet Island
#1291  1994

[Roland Gendreau]

Bob

How is the fan controlled? do you have a thermostat wired in to it?

Is there some way to valve off the hot water flowing through the heater in the hot summer or does it not through any heat unless the blower is on?

Thanks

Roland Gendreau
Gratitude #1083

[Bob Kuba]

The fan is wired to a 3 position switch, Off, Low, and High. I didn't see the need for a thermostat, since it really wasn't designed to be a "furnace". I use it as a source of supplemental heat to take the chill off while under way.

When dockside, and plugged into shore power, my a/c unit functions as a reverse cycle heat pump, and heats the entire boat. Now that is wired to a digital thermostat much like you would see in a house.

In the summer, even though hot water is flowing through the heater core, very little is dissipated into the cabin. In fact, to gives you some basis for comparison, it radiates less heat than the hot water heater. It's not even noticeable.

Bob Kuba
Quiet Island
#1292  1994

[mike lofstrom]

I got some time this weekend and finished the install of the heater in "Cat Tales".  I mounted the Heater Craft 5H unit under the dinette.  It is mounted  in front of the water tank in a wooden box that I fabricated out of plywood scraps from another project.     ( There is nothing as nerve wracking as cutting large holes in ones boat with a sabre saw!)  The box is sealed with West Epoxy, and gets its air supply from the V-Berth locker via a 3 inch PVC Pipe.  (another leftover from a previous project.)   When I first  hooked the heater into the engine water loop, I put the heater in parallel with the water heater, and installed a shutoff valve so I could shutoff the cabin heater without affecting the hot water heater.  Unfortunately, the M35 has a pretty small water pump.  I just could not get enough flow through the parallel setup to make the heater work properly.  As a result, I re-plumbed it to be the same as Bob Kuba's setup shown in his schematic.  Works like a charm!!   (There really is a bunch of good advice on this site.!  Thanks Bob!)  I haven't really had a chance to give it an extended test yet.   I ran it in the slip at a fast idle for 30 min or so, and finally had to shut it off because it got too hot in the cabin to continue working in there.    I also put a tee in the return line and put a petcock at the end of the line to bleed the air bubbles out.  The petcock is attached to one of the little partitions in the aft cubby behind the dinette seat back.  That also worked quite well.  When I figure out how to upload the pictures, I'll post them.

[mike lofstrom]

Here are some pictures of the heater installation:

[Paul Bosquet]

I don't know the temperature of the hot air coming out of this unit is but for your info , I get 146 f  from my car heater
Paul

[Ron Bukowski]

Why can't I view Mike's photos? I am logged in. Is this something like "The Emperor's New Cloths"?

[Stu Jackson]

Ron and others

This is a link to the IMPORTANT Posting Photos thread.

Thanks,

http://www.c34.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1933

recommends that you also go here:

http://www.c34.org/phpbb/viewtopic.php?t=1747

Essentially, when we swtiched over, many folks didn't resign up as requested by the webmaster.  Once you do so, everything should work.

Sorry for any inconvenience.