So I have done some more inquiring, using the tips provided by the forum group here. We had a marine tech stop by our boat to do an assessment as we are about an 18 hour drive away from the boat.
His assessment came back with a solution very similar to Sean's, only he suggested using a stainless manifold with valves to control;
- heating water with main engine
- heating cabin with main engine
- pre-heating the engine coolant with Espar
- heating the hot water tank with the Espar
- he also feels moving the hot water tank from the lazarette into the engine room would be a good idea for heat retention
This system seems more elaborate than initially plan, however he's done this before and feels its the best way to go.
Here are my possible concerns;
- valves would need to be in an accessible area
- engine coolant would mix with Espar heater coolant. This alone shouldn't be an issue but then there would be more failure points for engine coolant.
Thoughts from the group?
Thanks again to everyone who has given their opinions thus far
Brent
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