mains water heater for my 34 foot

aarons6 · Sep 10, 2019

id like to add a water heater to the boat.. currently the only way to get hot water is to run the main engines.. which is sort of a useless way to make hot water as you cant just let them idle while in port.. ?

so i was thinking about adding a hot water tank that plugs into the main power from the dock..
would something like this work?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Eccotem...ctric-Mini-Tank-Water-Heater-EM-4-0/205811530

there is plenty of room for it by the water pump..

DavidM · Sep 10, 2019

Yes, it should work fine.

I am a little curious what kind of system currently heats hot water from your engine. Usually these are water heaters of 6 gallon capacity with an electric coil and a coolant coil which circulates engine jacket water through it for heating. Are you sure you don't have one. If so just hook up power.

If you do use the on demand water heater in the link above, plumb it into your existing system in series so it will act as a booster.

David

Comodave · Sep 10, 2019

What kind of boat is it? Is it gas or diesel? I would just put in a marine water heater with a heat exchanger in it. If it has a water heater now, it probably has a 120 volt element in it. What brand and model is the current water heater?

aarons6 · Sep 10, 2019

hmm i have no idea.. i know the water only comes out hot when the engine is running..
it has dual perkins diesels the non turbo ones.

maybe its not hooked up right? i guess next time i go back to the boat ill go down and take some pictures of it.

Comodave · Sep 10, 2019

Most likely it has an electric water heater with a heat exchanger hooked up to the engine. Since the heat exchanger is heating the water, it is likely an electrical problem. Is the circuit breaker turned on? Have you looked at the wiring? Is there 120 volt wiring going to the water heater? If you don’t understand marine electrical work, get someone knowledgeable to look at it.

Lepke · Sep 10, 2019

Those small point of use water heaters don't heat water as high as a typical home water heater. They're ok for a sink or one quick shower. They don't keep up with the heat loss so if you use hot water at a high rate it gets colder the longer it's used.

aarons6 · Sep 10, 2019

To be honest my dad never used the water or anything else really. Just unplugged the boat and went fishing and plugged it in when he got back.

There is a breaker for hot water. It is on.
I wonder if it's tied into the generator and not the shore power? I have not messed with the boat switches. I don't even know what some do.

The refrigerator, the freezer and ac works on shore power.

I'm going to be going to the boat this weekend. I will take a bunch of pictures and post them up.

FlyWright · Sep 11, 2019

aarons6 said:
id like to add a water heater to the boat.. currently the only way to get hot water is to run the main engines.. which is sort of a useless way to make hot water as you cant just let them idle while in port.. ?

so i was thinking about adding a hot water tank that plugs into the main power from the dock..
would something like this work?

https://www.homedepot.com/p/Eccotem...ctric-Mini-Tank-Water-Heater-EM-4-0/205811530

there is plenty of room for it by the water pump..

Aaron,

Here's what I installed in my 34 LRC over 10 years ago and recently replaced due to a tank leak. It fits just inside the fwd ER door to port.

https://www.amazon.com/Kuuma-Water-Heater-22-5-11841/dp/B007G2IR6O

Perhaps you can verify the AC power connection and function of your tank. Let us know what you find.

aarons6 · Sep 17, 2019

im going to say i dont think this is fixable.. the yellow wire has completely corroded and is no longer connected to anything.
the whole thing is a mess.

here is the mfg tag.

BruceK · Sep 17, 2019

Usually anything that works on shorepower works on the genset too, and vice versa, by means of the Genset/Shorepower switch.

FlyWright · Sep 18, 2019

Santa Monica, CA...near where the boats were built. That looks like an original tank like the first one I pulled from my 1977 boat that was stamped with a date. Can you find a build date on that one?

For what it's worth, the 11 gal unit above fit in perfectly on my boat. Similar hookups and all.

Comodave · Sep 18, 2019

I would put a new one like FlyWright showed above. Hook it to the shore power and the engine for the heat exchanger. Then you will be good to go. Forget the household type.

mains water heater for my 34 foot

aarons6

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