Cabin Heating with Engine Coolant (another project thread)

I cruise in the same areas as O C and find the need for heat to be minimal, even currently in the high latitudes of Sault Ste Marie.
I don't doubt that my little ceramic heaters are not the best way to heat a boat, but there was no installation, no coolant water running around the boat and perfectly safe with cutout switches if they were to fall over.
The alternators are working a bit harder and I'm probably burning a little extra diesel, but I can live comfortably with that in my warm helm.

mickand said:

I cruise in the same areas as O C and find the need for heat to be minimal, even currently in the high latitudes of Sault Ste Marie.
I don't doubt that my little ceramic heaters are not the best way to heat a boat, but there was no installation, no coolant water running around the boat and perfectly safe with cutout switches if they were to fall over.
The alternators are working a bit harder and I'm probably burning a little extra diesel, but I can live comfortably with that in my warm helm.

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Suggestion
One simple red dot heater plumbed off your engine could be the Cat's meow. Short coolant lines and a simple 12 volt on off switch. A few hour DIY job and inexpensive.

Takes up less space than a few parkas which seem the norm in the Soo for you tough guys.

mickand said:

I cruise in the same areas as O C and find the need for heat to be minimal, even currently in the high latitudes of Sault Ste Marie.
I don't doubt that my little ceramic heaters are not the best way to heat a boat, but there was no installation, no coolant water running around the boat and perfectly safe with cutout switches if they were to fall over.
The alternators are working a bit harder and I'm probably burning a little extra diesel, but I can live comfortably with that in my warm helm.

Click to expand...

While a heat system similar to mine would work well for you, one certainly has to balance cost versus use. If you already had the inverter installed, cost was extremely minimal. I would certainly give you points for thinking outside the box. You may find down the road that most non commercial alternators don't live a long life putting out high amperage. Ran a large marina air conditioner through a Chinese inverter on my charter boat. The Delco alternators lasted a year or so, too the point where I kept a spare on the boat. Switched to a commercial large frame Leece Neville alternator which eliminated the problem. The inverters would last about 3 to 4 years at $400 a pop (sound they made when they died).

Ted

Ted are you referring to inverters or alternators?

makobuilders said:

Ted are you referring to inverters or alternators?

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Both.

A stock alternator isn't designed to run at continuous high amperage. They generally have problems dissipating the heat. Most multi stage external regulators have a temperature sensor that goes on the alternator. When the alternator gets too hot, it reduces the output until the alternator cools off.

The Chinese inverters are made to a price point with mediocre components. The 5 and 10 KW units don't seem to handle boat vibration well. There's a reason they onlt cost around $400. It served my purposes with no expectation of longevity.

Ted

Thorough answer, Ted. Thank you. Makes perfect sense. I don't know what my cruising grounds or habits will be yet, but I hope to have the options thoroughly hashed out as my plan takes shape.

Nice job! CDO owners are the best to buy used boats from... you repowered with the Deere didn't you? Nice setup indeed. To completely overcomplicate and satisfy your compulsions, running the units in parallel by employing manifolds would not only offer balanced zone temperatures but also allow individual valving to gate off separately in the event of a failure yet, still keeping the other zones in service.

You do not have CDO, one of your negative buss heat shrink is yellow, this would be unacceptable for one having a CDO (like me).

L

Juggerknot said:

Nice job! CDO owners are the best to buy used boats from... you repowered with the Deere didn't you? Nice setup indeed. To completely overcomplicate and satisfy your compulsions, running the units in parallel by employing manifolds would not only offer balanced zone temperatures but also allow individual valving to gate off separately in the event of a failure yet, still keeping the other zones in service.

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Thank you!

If I were in a colder environment with more use, that would make sense. The heat loop has coolant flow less than 20% of the time. One also has to balance potential failure points against reliability and features.

Ted

Lou_tribal said:

You do not have CDO, one of your negative buss heat shrink is yellow, this would be unacceptable for one having a CDO (like me).

L

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I use heat shrink wire terminals. The color of the heat shrink insulating sleeve designates wire size. Red is small; blue is medium; yellow is large.

Ted