Boat heater: diesel or wood ... self made??

[hildegard78]

hello,
with 100 F today looks strange like argument
but
next fall i would like to sail the cheaseapeake
and North and i would like to install a heater on board.
i have a Kerosene force 10 stove for cooking.
so i'm thinking about a no propane heater.
Kerosene, diesel or wood ??

i don't know if kerosene is better than diesel,
i would prefer diesel cause i have a 90 gallons tank.
and i don't like to carry jerrycan.

What about wood??

a lot of people prefer it!
but is just the charme of burning wood ore there are
real benefits (less humidity??)

then,
which stove do you have on board and would you change
it with something different??

looking at the price of the heater on internet i'm thinking about
making it by myself starting from a gas bottle
(a lot of video on youtube)
somebody already tried??
thanks a lot
Roberto

p.s. i have a 33 insulated steel "open space" sail.

[sailingdog]

Get a diesel heater. The Dickinson bulkhead heaters are pretty nice, and pretty to look at too... Roger Long has a good write up on a recent installation of one that he did on his boat.

[cormeum]

diesel is more convenient, solid fuel is dryer (charcoal or coal). We have solid fuel heat (Luke) and it works really well on charcoal, and ok on coal.

[sailingdog]

A properly vented diesel heater is no wetter than a charcoal or coal-based heater, and a lot more convenient. I'd point out that diesel is far more compact a fuel in terms of BTUs per cubic foot of fuel.

[velero]

I am looking at Webasto Top Evo 5500, Espar D8LC and Wallas Nauti 40D in the 25,000 BTUH range. I want to get an air heater rather than a hydrophonic because is one less system to leak. In the next few months I will be comparing the features of these heaters. I cant get myself to think about heaters yet, despite the brutal winter I just went thru). My diesel tank does have a third port making the fuel connection easier.

[capecodda]

I've only had it for a year, so I cannot speak to longevity.

What I can say, is you can get the boat really warm inside under control of a thermostat (like being home), it seems to sip diesel, and it also seems to sip amps. I have not used it in winter, but I've done quite a bit in Maine on cold foggy days.

You do need to find space for flexible heating ducts, and a place aft to put the unit (like a cockpit locker), but it isn't a lot of space. With a CO2 detector in place, I'm willing to run this thing all night, and wake up to a warm boat. No smells, no mess, etc.

[Capnblu]

We have an Espar forced air diesel furnace. I am very happy with it, and it has excellent heat. I also ran a duct under the main cabin sole, and the floor heats very nicely. It seems to come on less often after I added duct.

[wind_magic]

Prefer wood myself, but the downside is that you can't leave the boat for more than a day unless you don't mind everything in it freezing up. With diesel it could run unattended for long periods of time.

[MARC2012]

Have solid fuel,burn wood,and smells great in cold.marc

[thunderbird885cc]

I find convenient to have a diesel heater, using the same fuel as the engine.. Make it simple.

I find the danish built Refleks oil stoves well made and very convenient. They do not require any pressure tanks.

Frontpage - Refleks Olieovne A-S - Ringe

On other issue before thinking heating is the insulation.