I posted this same question at "The Samba" a VW forum.
TheSamba.com :: View topic - Eberspacher BN4 in a sailboat... Is it feasible?
Any insights? Thanks!
I own a 30 foot sailboat that I enjoy spending the night on well into the winter. In order to make that more pleasant I have tasked myself with coming up with a good heater setup that doesn't use 110VAC, since it's not always available to me. Since the boat has a gasoline engine with a large fuel tank, an Eberspacher BN4 came to mind. I've had trouble finding the realistic amperage draw specs of one of these heaters. I have a deep cycle "house" battery and a regular starting battery on the boat.
- For those of you that use these, how long could you run the heater with the engine off without killing the battery?
- I've heard the largest draw is the glow plug when the unit starts up, can you avoid this load by leaving the unit on low heat so it doesn't cycle?
- Apart from the natural hazards associated with burning gasoline, any big things to look out for safety wise? I have heard stories, but most of them are a result of poor maintenance or unwise operators.
There aren't a lot of other heating options out there for me and my wallet. I may find that this heater can only run while i'm cooking dinner, and relaxing and then shut it off when I go to bed and just use lots of blankets.
P.s. If this works out I may buy another for my 72 beetle, the heat exchangers are getting pretty bad!
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