Hurricane Diesel Heater Question

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Russell Clifton

Russell Clifton

Guru
Joined
Sep 10, 2012
Messages
877
Location
usa
Vessel Name
Sea Fever
Vessel Make
Defever 49 RPH
We have a Hurricane II diesel heater on our boat. I see in the owners manual that these heaters have a 120v heating element that can be wired so you don't need to always use diesel to heat the water. It looks like it would be easy to do.

Have any of you that have these heaters done this and does it work satisfactorily? Of course it would only be used while connected to shore power.
 
I'd love to have that option. I have an earlier version without the 120V add-on but we do have the engine exchanger and hot water heater exchanger so we leverage engine heat when underway. Having all three options (diesel furnace, engine exchanger, 120V) would be amazing.
 
Last edited:
Espar also has this as an option but I've never installed it. We just use household AC space heaters when we need heat on shorepower.
 
Yes I have the option. Break water marine out of Tacoma can sell you what you need and install it for you. If you decide to install your self we should talk as there some special relays that need be sourced. The unit is approximately 8”x8”x14”.

It works very well after all the only change is the water being heated by electricity instead of diesel.
 

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Let’s try these pictures
 

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The electric heating element is already installed in the heater. There is nothing else to buy except some wiring supplies and wire it up per the instructions in the owners manual. That kit you are showing must be for a older or different model.
 
RC
Our Hurricane II has the element connected. It doesn't do well heating water from a cold system whereas the diesel burner does. Once up to temp the electric unit does OK. We seldom use this option though.
 
Russell,

I have that operational on my Hurricane. Like someone else said, I don't use it from a cold start but do overnight when I don't want the diesel noise and when I am gone to keep an above freezing temperature in the boat. Works great.


Bill Fleenor
Double-Wide
 
With just one 1500 watt heating element I wouldn’t expect much. My system uses 2 1500 watt elements and it can heat up from cold. Event with 2 elements the diesel is much quicker.
 
Our Hurricane II has the electrical element but our installer did not connect it and I have not tried. I like the idea of using that over night. Thanks - a new project.
 
I also have it in a Hurricane II. As others have said, at 1500 watts (5000 btu) it isn't going to do what the 35,000 btu diesel burner will do. Given some time and limited water use, it does work. Do not try to heat the boat with it.
 
Also consider whether your electric is flat rate or metered. I have encountered a number of places where the electric is metered and very expensive, like more than the slip. In that case, heating with diesel would be preferable.


Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't you want to just let the diesel heat run? We never turned ours off, so it would run at anchor or at dock just the same with excellent results all the time.
 
The heater is working perfectly. My moorage payment this winter includes electricity so I was thinking maybe could save a few bucks by not using so much diesel. Not hearing any glowing reports about how well it works on electricity so will probably just drop the idea. Thank you to everyone who replied.
 
RC
Do you have 30 or 50 amp? If 50 you certainly have some interesting oil filled heater options. I'm with TT, hydronic is pretty nice expecially when temps dip below 40 at night.
 
I have often thought about running the 120V AC element in the water heater, then just circulating the hydronic loop to keep temps above dew point. Sort of using the domestic water heater tank as the heat exchanger. I'm sure it would not be as effective as an AC element directly on the hydronic system.


Has anyone tried this approach?
 
AKFish said:
I have often thought about running the 120V AC element in the water heater, then just circulating the hydronic loop to keep temps above dew point. Sort of using the domestic water heater tank as the heat exchanger. I'm sure it would not be as effective as an AC element directly on the hydronic system.


Has anyone tried this approach?
Click to expand...

Excellent idea.....I'm interested if anyone is doing this. I'd try it myself but my HW tank is drained for the winter.
 
My system is plumbed thru the hot water heater and the engines. I would think that if the element in the hot water tank would be enough to keep the water warm, than my diesel burner would never need to fire up and reheat the water. The water would instead be kept warm by the hot water tank. This is not the case. Or maybe if the water tank element was cranked up to a hotter temperature ??
 
Russ, AKFish's post got my attention because I have two heat exchangers in my HW tank.....one connected to the stbd engine and one to the hydronic furnace. If I ran the hydronic circulator pump and turned on the fans when I'm heating the HW tank, I'd have heat throughout the boat without running the hydronic boiler. Great idea.
 
It will add some heat. The way my hydronic loop works, the fans will not turn on if the water is not hot. I know from experience that the electric heat will not get the water hot enough to turn on the fans. Or it will, but only for a moment, then the fans cool the water too much and they shut off. Just running the hydronic loop will add some heat to the boat, but that would be a lot of hours on the pump without doing much.
 
twistedtree said:
Also consider whether your electric is flat rate or metered. I have encountered a number of places where the electric is metered and very expensive, like more than the slip. In that case, heating with diesel would be preferable.


Just out of curiosity, why wouldn't you want to just let the diesel heat run? We never turned ours off, so it would run at anchor or at dock just the same with excellent results all the time.
Click to expand...

We always used a kerosene heater for this very reason. But for heating water, we also decided to buy electric, since due to the price it is really impossible to switch completely to electric heating.
And you use heaters from which brand? We trust Heatstar By Enerco HS50K it can cover up to 1,200 sq. ft. and boasts of an overheat safety shut-off. But now we want to take another heater of another model for testing
 
1500W is only about 5000 BTU, what one std 15A electric heater could do.

Diesel is well over 120,000 BTU per gallon.

It takes BIG electric to heat a boat .
 
I have a big old boat with a long main deck salon. I have a wood stove, a pellet stove and a diesel stove in the galley. All have water coils that can be tied to the hydronic heating system. There is a 20 gallon fast recovery water heater mainly used as a reservoir for the hydronic system that only runs when a generator is running. It won't heat the boat. In cold weather it won't heat a small part of the boat.
My power costs about 7.5¢/kwh. Electric heat is the most expensive, followed by diesel @ $2/gl. Even at $4/gl, diesel is cheaper. Wood pellets are by far cheaper and cost about 50% of the diesel cost @ $2 diesel. Wood is only cheaper if the wood is free, close by and I do the cutting, splitting and stacking. And I need about 2 cords a month in cold weather. Maybe 7+ cords a season.



 
Lepke said:
I have a big old boat with a long main deck salon. I have a wood stove, a pellet stove and a diesel stove in the galley. All have water coils that can be tied to the hydronic heating system. There is a 20 gallon fast recovery water heater mainly used as a reservoir for the hydronic system that only runs when a generator is running. It won't heat the boat. In cold weather it won't heat a small part of the boat.
My power costs about 7.5¢/kwh. Electric heat is the most expensive, followed by diesel @ $2/gl. Even at $4/gl, diesel is cheaper. Wood pellets are by far cheaper and cost about 50% of the diesel cost @ $2 diesel. Wood is only cheaper if the wood is free, close by and I do the cutting, splitting and stacking. And I need about 2 cords a month in cold weather. Maybe 7+ cords a season.



Click to expand...
Takes a big old boat to store 7 cords of wood!
 
2 cords/month!!

Lepke said:
I have a big old boat with a long main deck salon. I have a wood stove, a pellet stove and a diesel stove in the galley. All have water coils that can be tied to the hydronic heating system. There is a 20 gallon fast recovery water heater mainly used as a reservoir for the hydronic system that only runs when a generator is running. It won't heat the boat. In cold weather it won't heat a small part of the boat.
My power costs about 7.5¢/kwh. Electric heat is the most expensive, followed by diesel @ $2/gl. Even at $4/gl, diesel is cheaper. Wood pellets are by far cheaper and cost about 50% of the diesel cost @ $2 diesel. Wood is only cheaper if the wood is free, close by and I do the cutting, splitting and stacking. And I need about 2 cords a month in cold weather. Maybe 7+ cords a season.



Click to expand...
 
Here in high wage CT the power company has expensive meters that can be read by a passing truck .

If electric continues to increase in price , and mass production continues to lower prices of electronics , boats will be metered . Even just for overnight use.

The energy hogs will no longer get a free ride , and the folks that only keep a battery alive will get a brake.
 
DDW said:
Takes a big old boat to store 7 cords of wood!
Click to expand...
I only burned wood at my dock. Stored in under tarps on pallets on the bank. If I cruise in the winter I use wood pellets when I'm anchored. I can store about 5 tons. Now the wood stove is mostly used for all the paper that comes with food products or shipping trash. It's too much trouble to burn wood for heat on a liveaboard.


 
"It's too much trouble to burn wood for heat on a liveaboard."

That is why coal and coal ranges and furnaces were invented.
 
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