Hydronic Options - Dometic Proheat

[stiggy]

Our KK does not currently have diesel heat which is potentially a major limitation for us living in the PNW. We do use our boats year round and have and plan to again anchor out routinely.

Talked with a Dometic rep about their ProHeat X30 at the boat show last week. Interesting platform seems great from the sales pitch but was wondering if anyone has had it installed and have some experience with it. Our previous boat a GB46MY had a Wabasto furnace with hydronic throughout the boat and it wasn't perfect but got the job done.

Thanks for the information in advance.

 

[DDW]

30K Btu output might be on the low side for a 48'er in the dead of the PNW winter. I have an ITR Zephry, 33K Btu output on my AT34, it isn't overkill.

 

[Snapdragon III]

I don't have any experience with dometic. I Installed a Kabola system on my boat a few years ago. It is and great heater and while complicated to install and not cheap, it has worked perfectly with zero issues, and heats the boat great. The downside that I did not anticipate is that it uses more power than I would have guessed. If you are spending a lot of time at anchor in the winter, when the solar doesn't do much, it adds to gen run time quite a bit. Our last boat had a Dickenson Newport bulkhead mounted diesel heater that did not spread the heat around the boat nearly as well, but was really nice that it could just run 24/7 while using zero power. If you can find room for it, I would look into a Refleks Diesel heater with the hot water coil, so you can pump some heat to other rooms, and use engine heat while under way. If you have room, and the boat isn't too big, I think it's the ideal solution. A diesel bulkhead heater in the main space you spend time in, in addition to a built in hydronic system would be great too.

Thread on installing Kabola system

Hydronic heating system install.

As I have posted elsewhere on this forum I bought a new, used boat last winter, and just finally got it home to Anacortes WA from Hawaii this July. One of the big projects I knew I would need to tackle upon getting it home was installing heat in the boat. It had apparently originally had a...

www.trawlerforum.com

Refleks heater

Departments - STOVE REFLEKS SS 61MSF 19750 BTU AIR INTAKE&COIL

Refleks 61 Series 61MSF Oil Stove for Ships, Stainless Steel, 19,750 BTUs, 715MM H x 345mm W. Includes fresh air intake and copper coil to connect to radiators. Diesel oil or kerosene, most efficient at "half-throttle". Low fuel consumption, reliable and efficient. Requires 90mm stovepipe...

shop.hamiltonmarine.com

 

[Bmarler]

I agree that the btu output may be too small for that large of boat. I have an espar that produces 42k btu in my 40 footer and it’s sized just right. I have 5 fan powered air handlers, 2 heated towel bar radiators, and a radiating pipe loop in the engine room.
The boiler runs on high till it gets up to temp then you can hear it vary the output to maintain the coolant temp.

 

[sean9c]

30k btu's is way too small for your boat by about half.. If you're close to Seattle go talk to Sure Marine.

 

[Mambo42]

I have a Kabola diesel heating system onboard, which is coupled to radiators in every space of the boat. It is basically like normal household central heating and it works great. In less than 30 min the boat is warm and will remain warm.
In addtion I have 3 Dometic air conditioners that can also be used for heating, but this time air only. Each Dometic uses about 5 Amps at 220 V or around 50 Amps at 24 V. Per hour that comes down to roughly half the amps.
If I wanted to I can also change the system to the same set up as a heat pump, means heating up the water with the dometic and then spread it around via the radiators. However, since I already have the diesel heater I now have a choice. If it is just a bit fresh I only use the dometic heating, if it is really cold I use the diesel heater to heat up the whole boat.
As a tip I can only say: 'don't go for one airco / heater for the whole boat.' If you have multiple smaller units you can just switch on what you need, thereby limiting the draw on the batteries or generator.

 

[Ertyqway]

We have an older Dometic hydronic system in our boat. It's great. Heats up well and keeps us snug and cozy even quite cold weather. Diesel heaters are a must for PNW cold season cruising.

A few things to keep in mind though:

• Because it's hydronic, it takes a little while to warm up when started. The diesel heater is warming water, which then has to circulate out through pipes to radiators or local fan coil units. It's not an "instant on" kind of thing
• Be mindful of where you install the heater and its exhaust port. Ours was installed by a previous owner, and the tailpipe is close enough to the water line that some salt water can wash into it in rougher conditions. No bueno. We have a little cone-shaped hull plug on a cord we stick in the ex port when not in use.
• After it's been sitting for a few months without use, it won't start without being primed. So put it somewhere you can easily get to it
• Those fan coil units aren't huge, but they do take up some space. We've got two of them, and they eat an unfortunate amount of storage space. And you will need to be able to access them for maintenance. Plan accordingly. The pipe radiators can go just about anywhere, but will need covers to protect them.

The other commenters are right that you will likely want more than 30k BTU for a 48 foot boat.

 

[BVrolyk]

We have had a Hurricane diesel heater built in BC Canada for 10 years, used often. Great product from International Thermal Research. We bought it because even the USCG buys them for their boats, despite it being built in Canada. Ours heats domestic hot water and runs a loop out to three large radiators. Output is 50,000 BTU. There is a small 4-5 gallon domestic hot water tank in the heater to avoid power cycling the burner too much. There is also a 1500 watt 120vAC heating element in the water tank, and there is an option to use this as a block heater for the engine or to capture engine heat. The entire product is designed to be self-serviced by a sailor in the US Coast Guard, which means it is dead simple. I'd highly recommend taking a look at these.

Marine Diesel Heaters: Hurricane Hydronic Heating for Boats & Yachts | ITR

ITR's Hurricane systems deliver advanced diesel hydronic heating and hot water solutions to the marine sector. Perfect for boats and yachts seeking efficient, reliable space heating solutions.

itrheat.com

 

[BrentAPerry]

Our KK does not currently have diesel heat which is potentially a major limitation for us living in the PNW. We do use our boats year round and have and plan to again anchor out routinely.

Talked with a Dometic rep about their ProHeat X30 at the boat show last week. Interesting platform seems great from the sales pitch but was wondering if anyone has had it installed and have some experience with it. Our previous boat a GB46MY had a Wabasto furnace with hydronic throughout the boat and it wasn't perfect but got the job done.

Thanks for the information in advance.

I have been using the Dometic Preheat X30 for about 6 months, basically through the winter. I have it on my sailboat, a 48' ketch with three staterooms and a good sized salon/enclosed cockpit, and it worked really well in providing all the heat we needed through the winter. I have five exchangers on the system, and it takes about 35 minutes from start to see a noticeable warming starting around 0F, and about 1-1/4 hours to Bring the whole boat up to about 70F, where we keep it. very good on fuel, my only criticism is that the unit needs to be housed where you can sound insulate it and you do need to insure good air flow to it. Even with that knowledge, I am really happy with it, it is bullet proof. I do have a spare 2 x thermostats I can pass along if you go this way, let me know.

 

[BrentAPerry]

I have been using the Dometic Preheat X30 for about 6 months, basically through the winter. I have it on my sailboat, a 48' ketch with three staterooms and a good sized salon/enclosed cockpit, and it worked really well in providing all the heat we needed through the winter. I have five exchangers on the system, and it takes about 35 minutes from start to see a noticeable warming starting around 0F, and about 1-1/4 hours to Bring the whole boat up to about 70F, where we keep it. very good on fuel, my only criticism is that the unit needs to be housed where you can sound insulate it and you do need to insure good air flow to it. Even with that knowledge, I am really happy with it, it is bullet proof. I do have a spare 2 x thermostats I can pass along if you go this way, let me know.

I can also add that the local Preheat guys in Vancouver are a really good asset, always answer the phone and happy to help sort out details and installation issues. it was refreshing to get such good support locally.